German Film Festival 2012: Focus 1

GERMAN FILM FESTIVAL 2012

GERMAN FILM FESTIVAL 2012 2 2012 GERMAN FILM 2 2012 GERMAN FILM

GERMANGERMAN FILMFILM FESTIVALFESTIVAL 20122012 GERMAN FILM FESTIVAL 2012 Focus Wim Wenders 28 August – 8 September photo by Wolfgang Bellwinkel 2 German Film Festival 2012: Focus Wim Wenders 3

“In the beginning I just wanted to make movies, but with the passage of time the journey itself was no longer the goal, but what you find at the end. Now I make films to discover something I didn‘t know, very much like a detective.” SPRACHE. — Wim Wenders ADVERT KULTUR. Welcome

After last year’s success with our German and please don’t miss “Lisbon Story” DEUTSCHLAND. Film Festival FOCUS , – with the most beautiful soundtrack the Goethe-Institut dug deep into the by Portuguese group Madredeus catalogue of films by Wim Wenders for with vocalist Teresa Salgueiro. the 2012 edition of our FOCUS Festival. You will have the chance to revisit four In collaboration with the New Zealand Film decades of Wenders’ work – from the Archive, the Goethe-Institut is delighted earliest to the classic, from the most to be able to bring these and other films obscure to the most poetic – there will by Wim Wenders to the big screen for a be something new to discover even for Wellington audience. We wish to thank all the most die-hard Wim Wenders fan. those, both in and Wellington, who have worked hard and helped to bring We hope to see you at all our films, but about the German Film Festival 2012. if you should only have time for two of them, we recommend “”, Your Goethe-Institut Team

www.goethe.de/nz 4 German Film Festival 2012: Focus Wim Wenders 5

Wim Wenders “I’ve turned from an imagemaker

A highly influential contemporary film He established his own production company into a storyteller. Only a story director, Wim Wenders is one of the most “Road Movies” in in 1975. A year can give meaning And a moral to significant representatives of the New later, Wenders finished “” German Cinema of the 70s. He was drawn (Im Lauf der Zeit). The journey of two men an image.” — Wim Wenders to filmmaking from an early age and his along the inner German border bemoans directing career started at the University the closing of provincial cinemas and also of Television and Film in . He has reflects the social atmosphere of mid-1970s In 1984 Wenders became a member of about an ageing Western star searching produced numerous movies, documentaries West Germany. “” (Der the Berlin Akademie der Künste and was for his children, also received critical and short films. Alongside a successful film amerikanische Freund, 1977) attracted awarded an honorary doctorate by the praise. The film premiered at the 2005 career, Wenders has published a number of the interest of Francis Ford Coppola who Sorbonne University in 1989. In 1990 he Cannes film festival and won the 2005 photography books and essays and a large asked him to direct the film noir homage received the German Federal Cross of European Film Award in the category selection of his photos “Pictures from the “Hammett”. During shooting breaks on Merit, in 1991 the Murnau Award and in “Best Cinematography”. Surface of the Earth” has been exhibited “Hammett”, Wenders worked on “The State 1996 he became president of the European internationally. of Things” (Der Stand der Dinge, 1982) which Film Academy. At the 2011 Berlinale Film Festival, tells the poetic story of a stranded film Wenders presented his extraordinary Born in Düsseldorf in 1945, he shot his first team. The audience is caught up in the magic He returned to the Berlin of angels with project “Pina”. Shot in 3D, the dance film short film, “Schauplätze” in 1966/67. He which evolves through his poignant images “Faraway, So Close!” (In weiter Ferne so showcases choreography by his long-time finished his degree with his first feature of abandoned landscapes in Portugal. “The nah, 1993) and to the Lisbon of failed friend, the late Pina Bausch. A magnificent, length film “Summer in the City” (1971) and State of Things” was awarded the Golden movie projects with “Lisbon Story” (1994). Oscar-nominated celebration of dance, the became a founding member of the German Lion at the Venice Film Festival 1982. Wenders then followed his old companion film won the European Film Award 2011 for film distributor “Filmverlag der Autoren”. Ry Cooder, who wrote the music for “Paris, Best Documentary. Two years later, Wenders made his artistic Perhaps his best known film, the highly Texas”, to Cuba to film “Buena Vista Social breakthrough with the acclaimed road acclaimed “Paris, Texas” (1984), depicts Club” (1998), a video documentary about Wenders is currently a professor of Film at movie “” (Alice in den the connection between the old and the the old men of the Son Cubano – the film the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg. Städten), which won the German Film Critics’ new world, whilst “Wings of Desire” (Der became an overwhelming world-wide award in 1974. In this film, as in most of his Himmel über Berlin, 1987) soon gained cult success and ushered in a revival of the later feature films, Wenders presented his status. The poetic angel allegory filmed Cuban “Son” music. Acknowledgements: protagonists as introspective escapists who in divided Berlin premiered at the 1987 find personal refuge in random travels, pop Cannes film festival and won Wenders the “Don’t Come Knocking” (2005), a road www.goethe.de music or melancholic idleness. award of “Best Director”. movie in the tradition of “Paris, Texas” www.filmportal.de Photo:6 Donata Wenders German Film Festival 2012: Focus Wim Wenders 7

PARIS, TEXAS

Tuesday 28 August – 6:30pm Plot Summary “Paris, Texas” is probably Wim Wenders’ Opening Night – by invitation only most successful and critically acclaimed Germany 1984, colour, 149 mins, English film winning a number of international prizes including the Palme D’Or in Screenplay: Sam Shepard Cannes for Best Film in 1984. Cinematography: Robby Müller Editing: Travis’ family broke up years ago and since Music: Ry Cooder then he has seen neither his wife Jane With: Harry Dean Stanton, , Dean Stockwell, Aurore Clément, Hunter Carson, nor his son Hunter. After the separation, Bernhard Wicki, Socorro Valdez Travis disappeared for four years without Production: Road Movies Filmproduktion, a trace. He turns up in a small town in “What is most enjoyable about the Argos Films S.A. the middle of the Texan desert with no memory of his past. With the aid of his cinema is simply working with a Rating: PG brother – who also raised Hunter – he language that is classicaL in the gradually begins to recover his speech and slowly begins to build up a relationship sense that the image is understood with his estranged son. Together they by everyone.” — Wim Wenders finally set off to look for Jane, who they find in a peep show in Houston, Texas. 8 German Film Festival 2012: Focus Wim Wenders 9

DON’T COME KNOCKING THE AMERICAN FRIEND Der amerikanische Freund

Wednesday 29 August – 7:00pm Plot Summary Thursday 30 August – 7:00pm Plot Summary While working on a new film, Western actor Jonathan, formerly a restorer, and now Germany & , 2005, colour, 120 mins, Spence is suddenly struck by the feeling Germany 1977, colour, 121 mins, German/ English a picture-framer, lives in Hamburg. He English that he might not have much longer to live. (with English subtitles) suffers from leukemia and knows he Driven by impulse, the ageing womaniser is dying. Tom Ripley, an American art Screenplay: Sam Shepard Screenplay: Wim Wenders, based on the novel jumps on his horse and rides off. Planning dealer, makes him a very dubious offer: Cinematography: Franz Lustig “Ripley’s Game” by P. Highsmith to reconnect with all the people who played to kill a man in Paris in return for money Editing: Peter Przygodda, Oliver Weiß Cinematography: Robby Müller Music: T-Bone Burnett, Patrick Warren an important role in his life, Spence first Editing: Peter Przygodda with which he, a terminally ill man, could With: Sam Shepard, Jessica Lange, Tim Roth, visits his mother with whom he has had no Music: Jürgen Knieper safeguard the future of his wife and child. Gabriel Mann, Sarah Polley, Fairuza Balk, Eva contact for 30 years. Chased by a detective With: , , , When Ripley’s French client also offers Maria Saint, George Kennedy hired by the film production company, he Gérard Blain, Nicholas Ray, , Peter him the chance to get a second opinion Production: Reverse Angle Production GmbH, continues to travel across the USA. When Lilienthal, , Jean Eustache, Sandy from a leukemia specialist in Paris, and Arte France Cinéma Whitelaw, Lou Castel Spence learns from two of his former love even pays him an unrequested advance, Production: Road Movies Filmproduktion, interests that he has fathered two children Jonathan flies off to Paris… On his return Rating: M – offensive language Wim Wenders Produktion, Les Films du Losange, in his wild days – a boy and a girl – the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) a second murder is inevitable. Ripley ensuing encounters with his unknown himself is now in need of Jonathan’s help. offspring turn out very differently. Rating: M – medium level violence 10 German Film Festival 2012: Focus Wim Wenders 11

KINGS OF THE ROAD A TRICK OF THE LIGHT Im Lauf der Zeit Die Gebrüder Skladanowsky

Friday 31 August – 7:00pm Plot Summary Saturday 01 September – 4:30pm Plot Summary For the past two years Bruno has been This film by Wim Wenders and students Germany 1976, b/w, 170 mins, German with travelling through the small towns and Germany 1996, color and b/w, 77 mins, German of the Munich Film Academy deals with English subtitles villages along the East German border with English subtitles the birth of cinema in Berlin, where the in his van. Along the way he repairs the brothers Skladanowsky built a projector, Screenplay: Wim Wenders Screenplay: Carlos Alvarez, Sebastian Andrae, projectors in the dilapidated local cinemas. the “Bioskop”, at the same time as the Cinematography: Robby Müller Sorin Dragoi, Peter Fuchs, Carsten Funke, Florian One morning he sees a man driving his Lumière Brothers in France and Edison in Editing: Peter Przygodda Gallenberger, Markus Hansen, Henrik Heckmann, Music: Axel Linstädt VW into the river Elbe. The man, Robert Veit Helmer, Germán Kral, Björn Kurt, Bodo America, and thereby co-invented “moving With: Rüdiger Vogler, Hanns Zischler, Lisa Lander, climbs out of his sinking car with Lang, Matthias Lehmann, Stephan Puchner, Britta pictures” in their very own, poetic, poor, Kreuzer, Rudolf Schündler, Marquard Bohm, his suitcase and swims ashore. Bruno takes Sauer, Marcus Schmidt, Wim Wenders endearing and rather “un-German” way. Hans Dieter Traier, Franziska Stömmer, Peter him with him and so begins a journey Cinematography: Jürgen Jürges The film starts a hundred years ago and Kaiser, Patrick Kreuzer through a provincial, unseen Germany. Editing: Peter Przygodda, Barbara Rohm, Germán it ends today, with Max Skladanowsky’s Production: Wim Wenders Produktion, Kral, Eva Munz, Veit Helmer By the end of their journey, they derive daughter Lucie who still remembers her Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) Music: Laurent Petitgand, Daniel Favre comfort from the fact that “in the course father and those early days of cinema With: Manfred Wopalka, Nadine Büttner, Rating: R–16 of time” (the literal translation of the film’s Christoph Merg, Otto Kuhnle, Udo Kier, Bodo very well. The film was shot mostly on German title), their lives have taken on Lang, Alfred Sczczot, Marianna Kavka, Lucie an old hand-cranker from the twenties, shape and significance. It is a quiet, almost Hürtgen-Skladanowsky, Ludwig Licht silent, and in the best slapstick tradition. lyrical film which disdains psychological Production: Wim Wenders Produktion, motivation, suspense and dramatic tension. Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film (HFF, München), Veit Helmer Filmproduktion

Rating: G 12 German Film Festival 2012: Focus Wim Wenders 13

LISBON STORY ALICE IN THE CITIES Alice in den Städten

Saturday 01 September – 7:00pm Plot Summary Thursday 06 September – 7:00pm Plot Summary Philip Winter, a sound engineer and Philip, a journalist from Munich, is Germany 1994, colour, 100 mins, German/ English creator of sounds, receives a message Germany 1973, b/w, 108 mins, German with supposed to be writing an article about (with English subtitles) from director Friedrich Monroe urgently English subtitles the American landscape for his publishers, requesting him to come to Lisbon. After a yet all he has to show from his four- Screenplay: Wim Wenders Screenplay: Wim Wenders, Veith v. Fürstenberg series of mishaps, Winter finally arrives in week tour of the United States are a few Cinematography: Lisa Rinzler Cinematography: Robby Müller the Portuguese capital and finds Friedrich Polaroid photos. He wishes to return Editing: Peter Przygodda, Anne Schnee Editing: Peter Przygodda Music: Madredeus, Jürgen Knieper Monroe’s apartment, only to discover Music: Can, Chuck Berry, Gustav Mahler, Deep to Germany but his agent in New York With: Rüdiger Vogler, Patrick Bauchau, Vasco that the director has vanished, leaving Purple refuses to give him an advance. Because Sequeira, Ricardo Colares, Joel Ferreira behind an old camera, with hand crank, a With: Rüdiger Vogler, Yella Rottländer, Lisa of an airline strike he can only book Production: Road Movies Filmproduktion, cutting table and silent documentary film Kreuzer, Edda Köchl a ticket to Amsterdam and it is at the Metro Filme material about Lisbon. When an alarm Production: Wim Wenders Produktion, PIFDA 1 airport that he meets two other travellers clock rings it becomes clear that Monroe heading to Amsterdam, Lisa and her nine Rating: PG Rating: PG cannot have left his apartment more than year old daughter Alice. When Lisa has a few hours earlier. Winter, fascinated by to cancel her flight, she asks him to take the city and a Portuguese singer, decides Alice with him and promises to come to wait for his friend and to look himself for her soon. Thrown together in this for the sounds to accompany the film. way, Philip and Alice become friends. 14 German Film Festival 2012: Focus Wim Wenders 15

THE STATE OF THINGS Wings of Desire Der Stand der Dinge Der Himmel über Berlin

Friday 07 September – 7:00pm Plot Summary Saturday 08 September – 7:00pm Plot Summary Friedrich, a German director, is making a “Wings of Desire” follows two angels, Germany & Portugal, 1982, b/w, 120 mins, film in Portugal in a deserted, storm- Germany 1987, colour and b/w, 123 mins, Damiel and Cassiel, who watch over the German/ English (with English subtitles) battered seaside hotel. Joe, the camera- German/ English (with English subtitles) people below from their lofty vantage man, tells the director that they have run points high above Berlin. Untouchable and Screenplay: Wim Wenders, Robert Kramer Screenplay: Wim Wenders, out of film and are unable to continue film- at first rarely touched, the angels observe Cinematography: Henri Alekan Cinematography: Henri Alekan ing, while the producer has just left for Los life in divided Berlin. Visible only to chil- Editing: Barbara von Weitershausen, Peter Przygodda Editing: Peter Przygodda Music: Jürgen Knieper Angeles. At first, the crew seeks solace in Music: Jürgen Knieper dren, they are unable to truly intervene. With: Patrick Bauchau, Viva Auder, Isabelle various pastimes, but slowly the interrup- With: Bruno Ganz, Otto Sander, Solveig Damiel falls in love with Marion, a trapeze Weingarten, Samuel Fuller, Rebecca Pauly, tion breaks the team down into individuals Dommartin, Curt Bois, Peter Falk artist who appears able to escape the con- Jeffrey Kime, Camilla Mora, Geoffrey Carey, dealing with unexpected solitude. Friedrich Production: Road Movies Filmproduktion, fines of earth’s gravity and who often per- Alexandra Auder, Roger Corman, Paul Getty, Allen eventually tries to find the missing pro- Argos Films forms wearing angel’s wings. To become Goorwitz, Artur Semedo ducer. Up until then he had always had more truly close to Marion, however, emotion- Production: Road Movies Filmproduktion, Wim Rating: PG – coarse language belief in life itself than in telling stories, and ally and physically, he must give up his Wenders Produktion, Pro-ject Filmproduktion im Verlag der Autoren, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen it was precisely this conviction that led the ethereal existence. A hugely acclaimed and (ZDF) American investor to run off. In the end, the multi-award winning movie including Best director finds himself seriously embroiled in Director for Wenders at Cannes 1987. Rating: M – offensive language a story – that of the producer Gordon. 16 German Film Festival 2012: Focus Wim Wenders 17

TV Lounge timetable/PROGRAMME Programme German Film Festival 2012

Tuesday 28 August Thursday 06 September 6:30pm Paris, Texas 7:00pm Alice in the Cities (149 mins) (108 mins) by invitation only Image: The New Zealand Film Archive © Dave Murphy Friday 07 September Wednesday 29 August 7:00pm The State of Things 7:00pm Don’t Come Knocking (120 mins) (120 mins) Saturday 08 September Chambre 666 Thursday 30 August 7:00pm Wings of Desire 7:00pm The American Friend (123 mins) Documentary, France & USA, 1982, colour, Plot Summary (121 mins) 50 mins, various languages (with English Location: Cannes, room 666 at the Hotel subtitles) Martinez. Godard, Fassbinder, Spielberg Friday 31 August and other famous directors answer the Screenplay: Wim Wenders 7:00pm Kings of the Road Cinematography: Agnès Godard question: “Is cinema a language about (170 mins) Editing: Chantal de Visme to be lost, an art about to die?” Music: Jürgen Knieper, Bernard Herrmann Saturday 01 September With: Jean-Luc Godard, Werner Herzog, Yilmaz We will screen this film as a loop in the TV 4:30pm A Trick of the Light Güney, , , Lounge at the New Zealand Film Archive, and others (77 mins) open from 9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday. Production: Wim Wenders Produktion, Gray City Inc 7:00pm Lisbon Story (100 mins) 18

LOCATION IMPRINT

The New Zealand Film Archive Goethe-Institut New Zealand Te Anakura Whitiahua 150 Cuba Street 84 Taranaki Street PO Box 9253 Corner Taranaki and Ghuznee Streets Wellington 6141 Wellington 6011 Phone: +64 4 3856924 Phone: +64 4 3847647 Email: [email protected] Website: www.filmarchive.org.nz Website: www.goethe.de/nz

Tickets: $ 8/6 The Goethe-Institut is the Federal Republic of Germany’s cultural institution; it operates 149 institutes in 92 countries. In New Zealand the Goethe-Institut has Programme been based in Wellington since 1980. Changes Design & Layout: The International Office

We reluctantly reserve the right to change Film texts: Hans Günther Pflaum, Wolfgang the schedule by amending dates or Jacobsen, German Films & Marketing GmbH, replacing films. Any necessary changes will www.filmportal.de, www.goethe.de be advertised at the festival venue and on the Goethe-Institut New Zealand website. Images © Reverse Angle Library GmbH A Language

Special thanks to: Filmbereich Goethe-Institut, Duncan Forbes, Elaina Hamilton, Brendan Moore, Sharon With Heart Rhodes, Mark Sweeney, Amanda White Learning German is your Get your free copy of our guide to scholarships, passport to the heart of Europe! exchanges and other opportunities from www.goethe.de/nz [email protected] GERMAN FILM FESTIVAL 2012

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