German Film Festival 2022
DATES: 24 May - 22 June https://germanfilmfestival.com.au/festival-dates
LOCATIONS: Palace Cinemas in Sydney | Canberra | Melbourne | Adelaide | Perth | Brisbane | Byron Bay https://germanfilmfestival.com.au/venues
WEBSITE: https://germanfilmfestival.com.au/
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
From this May to June the 2022 German Film Festival presented by Palace, in association with German Films, showcases the best contemporary German cinema direct from major festivals in Europe plus a selection from its German-speaking neighbours, Austria and Switzerland. The festival’s Special Presentation is DEAR THOMAS (Lieber Thomas), a historical monochrome biopic of East German writer and filmmaker Thomas Brasch, starring Albrecht Schuch (Fabian: Going to the Dogs - GFF21). Brasch a German-Jewish emigrant was born in England and moved to the GDR with his family in the 1950s. As he grows into a prolific writer and poetic rebel, he struggles with the reality of censorship in communist East Germany.
Festival highlights include the gripping historical drama THE LAST EXECUTION (Nahschuss) stars Lars Eidinger and is based on the real-life case of Werner Teske. Tempted by the offer of a prestigious professorship, an ambitious scientist is convinced to work for the GDR's Stasi in 1981 East Berlin but is soon accused of espionage. The smart comedy CONTRA directed by Sönke Wortmann stars Christoph Maria Herbsts, Nilam Farooq and Hassan Akkouch. A law student prepares for a debating competition with the help of a cynical professor who has been given a final chance to redeem himself after a video of him insulting a student goes viral.
The Goethe-Institut will again contribute the popular sidebar ‘Kino for Kids’, in addition to a celebration of the organisation’s 50-year anniversary in Australia, with a special selection of films from the 1970s to the 2020s. The festival screens nationally at Palace Cinemas, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas and Luna Palace Cinemas.
All thanks to our friends at Miranda Brown Publicity, Bohemian Rhapsody Weekly Magazine is invited to a media exclusive opening party with film screening of Daniele Luchetti's stylish new drama THE FORGER ( Der Passfäler ) (media: Kieran McNamara)
Berlin, 1942. A young Jewish man, Cioma Schönhaus (rising star Louis Hofmann, Dark, Land of Mine), refuses to let the Nazis take away his zest for life. When he discovers his talent for forging documents – especially passports – he sees this as the ideal way to help not only himself but also others escape deportation. Thanks to his knack for creating new identities, he dares to venture out, hiding in plain sight and navigating around the authorities with inventiveness and charm. He throws himself into the city’s nightlife with his friends Det (Jonathan Berlin, Summer of 44) and Gerda (Luna Wedler), and even catches a fragile glimpse of love in seemingly hopeless times. But the more lives the trio saves, the more the noose tightens around them.
Directed and written by Maggie Peren, The Forger is based on the true story Samson “Cioma” Schönhaus, a Jewish graphic artist who forged documents to help others escape the Nazis. In this illuminating drama, Hofmann embodies Schönhaus’ indomitable optimism and determination, even in the darkest moments, to focus on the light. https://germanfilmfestival.com.au/films/the-forger
please stay tuned for more information.
special thanks: Miranda Brown