FRENCH G ERma N Film F FRENCH G Estival ER maN Neighbours Film F Nachbarn Estival voisins Dunedin 2010 auckland Wellington 4–10 Nov 16–23 Nov Cinema 13–14 Nov Academy Cinemas 23 Nov–4 Dec Soundings Theatre Te Papa The Film Archive

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Image © Sharmill Films Welcome Willkommen Media Release Coming soon: Bienvenue New Zealand’s first ever French-German Film Festival Neighbours – Nachbarn - Voisins!

Metropolis Cinema, Dunedin: 4 -10 November NEIGHBOURS NACHBARN VOISINS Academy Cinemas, Auckland: 16 - 23 November Soundings Theatre, Te Papa: 13 -14 November “Neighbour” is a peculiar word – outwardly neutral, expressing neither The Film Archive, Wellington: 23 November – 4 December affection nor dislike, it nevertheless goes far beyond an attitude of in- difference. It awakens the desire to know more, to get to know the strange This year, for the very first time, the Goethe-Institut and the Embassy of person who lives within our reach, to try and look more closely at the France will hold a French-German Film Festival in three of New Zealand’s neighbourly relationship and learn what it is really made of: indifference main cities: Dunedin (4–10 November), Auckland (16-23 November) and Wel- and distance or warmth and friendship… lington (23 November – 4 December). and Paris, France and – we are two neighbours in the heart The ten films included in the festival’s line-up, released in the past five of Europe with a long and rich ultural history. Ever since the signing years, will take you on a rollercoaster ride through of emotions as ou of the Elysée Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Friendship, in 1963, observe the twisted relationships that can exist between family members, ranco-German cultural exchange has blossomed. One prominent example of the lives of prisoners’ wives and the freedom of river surfing hundreds of this cooperation is the French German television channel ARTE, which has miles from the ocean. shown a wide range of bilingual programmes since 1992. And in 2006, both countries teamed up to create the world’s first history book co-written This selection of motion pictures stemming from the two most creative and by two countries. fertile film industries in Europe, was inspired by the success of last year’s respective French and German Film Festivals. In New Zealand the Goethe-Institut, the Alliance Française, the German and the French Embassies have been active for many years fostering cultural Through showcasing the similarities and differences of French and German cooperation and showing films that otherwise would not have eached cinematography, the organisers of the event hope to provide the New Zealand their Kiwi audience. Last year the first German Film Festival in New public with the opportunity to explore the diversity of the neighbouring Zealand commemorated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. countries. The French Embassy has for four years in a row organised a similar festi- val in different cities around the country. The enthusiastic response of To ensure that New Zealanders gain a pluralistic view of the French and our audiences around New Zealand prove that there is a genuine curiosity German cultures, a different film of both nations will be shown on each for world cinema. So here this year we are back again with a French erman day of the Festival. Film Festival, inviting you to celebrate the spirit of neighbourliness and friendship with us – 20.000 km away from our home. Attached please find a press kit which provides detailed information about the films featuring in the festival. We shall let you discover for yourselves what our Franco-German neighbou- rhood is all about. Many aspects are reflected in the films shown, created by two of the most innovativeand productive European film indusries by For further information, please contact: participants who are used to work together with one another, not merely as a result of European roadcasting and creative support policy, but also Deputy Press Attaché: Tui Wilson because they are fascinated by each others’ idiosyncrasies. DDI: (04) 802 7778 Email: [email protected] We welcome you warmly to have a look over the fence and be our neighbours. Press Attaché: Korbinian Poschl “Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome!” DDI : (04) 802 7777 Email: [email protected] —Thomas Meister, German Ambassador —Francis Etienne, French Ambassador Or visit the official website: www.frenchgermanfilmfestival.org Behind the scenes... A Côté Making of

A Côté The director of the film, Stéphane Mercu- rio worked with women from the Ti-Tomm association centre in Rennes for four years. She began to see herself as one of them. Most of the women that Mer- curio spent time with did not discuss their loved- ones’ crimes or sentences. Instead they posed the

same question over and over again: why were they, Directed by being made to suffer for their husbands crimes? Why Stéphane Mercurio were the punishments their loved-ones were sentenced to being inflicted on them as well? 2007 Grégoire Korganow uses photographic sequences in the film to create a feeling of suspended time, one of the major aspects of these women’s life.

Some facts about French prisons: Documentary / 1h32 / Rating Exempt / Distribution Filminger / Cultures France - There are 63, 211 prisoners in France (figures from 1 April 2008) - There are 117 prisons in France - There are 24 detention centres in France - There are 29 correctional facilities in France Plot Summary - There are 5 maximum security prisons in France Women waiting, making themselves look good and feel good, occasionally - There are 13 periodic detention centres in France breaking down, still hoping ... In the little Ti-Tomm association centre, leaning against the wall of men’s prison in Rennes, they wait for visiting hours to begin. These faithful wives, like Homer’s Penelope, live by the routine of their husbands, in the shadows. Time is suspended, and life comes to a standstill. The prisonward, transfers, and prohibition is their Stéphane Mercurio lot. After studying law, working for humanitarian organisa- tions and working as a journalist, Stéphane Mercurio stum- bled across a documentary that changed her life. It was the inspiration for her first film, Scènes de ménage avec Clé- mentine, released in 1992. From then on, Mercurio made it her mission to speak up for those members of society who couldn’t do so for themselves. ‘The perfect union between cinema’s strength and the power of reality.’ Studio Magazine Mercurio admits that she never felt such a need to tell someone’s story as when she was with the women at the Ti-Tomm association centre in Rennes.

With A Côté, Mercurio illustrates the reality of everyday prison life from a perspective that is too often Dunedin ignored. A glimpse at Mercurio’s films Prize list Sunday 7 November - 8.05pm Belfort Entrevues Festival 2007 Scènes de ménage avec Clémentine - 1992 French Film Prize - Documentary Audience Award Auckland Cherche avenir avec toit - 1997 Rennes Images de Justice Festival 2008 Saturday 20 November - 8.30pm Tuesday 23 November - 6.00pm Envies de justice - 2000 Festival Award Le bout du bout du monde - 2000 Wellington Hôpital au bord de la crise de nerfs - 2003 Creteil International Women Films 2008 Wednesday 1 December - 5.30pm Louise, son père, ses mères, son frère, ses soeurs - 2005 High school Docs Award Saturday 4 December - 7.45pm A Côté - 2007 Behind the scenes... A Year ago in Winter Making of Im Winter ein Jahr After several years of absence from both cinema and TV, in 2008 Caro- line Link was back with yet another adaptation of a literary work for the Directed by screen - Scott Campbell’s Aftermath. The movie, entitled Im Winter ein Caroline Link Jahr (A Year Ago In Winter), has been transposed from present-day America to present-day Germany. 2008 It is most probably Link’s best scenic and narrative piece of work to Starring date. An intense, urgent, haunting drama about the tan- Karoline Herfurth gled webs people weave and the ensuing hurt suffered by a Josef Bierbichler modern family. Im Winter ein Jahr (A Year Ago In Winter) Corinna Harfouch is a subtle, soft, positively unspectacular glimpse into Hanns Zischler the lives of a family that has been traumatised, paralysed Cyril Sjöström and petrified by the death of a loved one. It is also a Mišel Matičević film about loss and how we deal with it, about mourning, pain, taking leave Drama / 2h08 / Rating TBC / Distribution Constantin Films AG from someone. Plot Summary Interior designer Eliane Richter commissions the artist Max Hollander to paint a picture of her two children. Her daughter Lilli is not keen on the idea because her brother Alexander committed suicide and the portrait of the two would be nothing more than a decorative illusion. Eliane’s idea of Caroline Link having a portrait of Alexander and his sister painted is obviously an en- deavour to bring the pair together again visually and to immortalise them – a highly irrational way of ignoring death. Hollander takes the project seriously enough to investigate the reasons for the death and its context. In 1996 Caroline Link made her silver-screen debut He has to do the work that the family has neither the courage nor the sta- with – Jenseits der Stille (Beyond Silence). Even in this mina to deal with on their own. However, even he cannot explain the death, – her first film - her central themes are quite obvious – at least, not in a way that will satisfy his client. The project changes the various aspects and nuances of family life, of people everyone directly and indirectly involved with the painting. existing side by side. Her film debut brought her two Bavarian Film Awards and two German Film Prizes.

Back in 1980 Volker Schlöndorff won one of the highly coveted Oscars for his adaptation of Günter Grass’ epic novel Die Blechtrommel (The Tin “A touching tale of a family coping with a horrible tragedy in an entirely Drum). For almost a quarter of a century afterwards no other German film novel way” The Hollywood Reporter received such an award. But in 2003, the then 40-year-old Munich film di- rector Caroline Link walked away with the golden statuette for her third film, a historical love story, Nirgendwo in Afrika (Nowhere In Africa) for “Best Foreign Language Film”.

A glimpse at Link’s films Dunedin Sunday 7 November - 5.45pm Bunte Blumen - 1988 Glück zum Anfassen - 1989 Prize list Bavarian Film Prize 2009 Auckland Sommertage - 1990 Saturday 20 November - 6.00pm Jenseits der Stille - 1996 Sunday 21 November - 8.30pm German Film Award 2009 Pünktchen und Anton - 1999 Wellington Nirgendwo in Afrika - 2001 Crystal Gryphon Campania Bank Award 2009 Wednesday 24 November - 7.45pm Im Winter ein Jahr - 2008 Wednesday 1 December - 7.45pm Behind the scenes... Bad Faith Making of “What about the kid? Will he be Jewish or Muslim?” Mauvaise foi “He will be French.”

Bad Faith offers a glimpse into the life of second Directed by generation French immigrants. While the parents of such Roshdy Zem individuals often have strong religious ties, they them- selves observe some traditions but attach a great deal of 2006 importance to leading a secular lifestyle. The film also grapples with the issues that can arise when two people of Starring different backgrounds form a relationship. Roshdy Zem Cécile de France “This film is about making compromises. People don’t Pascal Elbé want to make compromises anymore.” Roschdy Zem, director. Jean-Pierre Cassel Pascal Elbé, who plays Milou, Ismaël’s, best friend, hopes that a day will come when people will watch this movie and think: Can you believe what Drama / 1h28 / Rating M-L contains offensive language it was like back then? and shake their heads in dismay. Distribution Filminger / Cultures France

Plot Summary Ismaël is Muslim, Clara is Jewish. They are a very happy couple. One mor- ning, Clara realises that she is pregnant. This is the best thing that Roschdy Zem could happen to the couple, or so they think… They soon realise that things are not as simple as they seem when they make their relationship offi- After a twenty year acting career and having cial through meeting each other’s family. While Ismaël quickly picks up starred in more than 50 feature films, Roschdy on the fact that his family is not overjoyed by the news of the pregnancy, Zem made his directing debut with Bad Faith. Clara discovers that her parents are not as modern and open-minded as she thought. The happiest day of Ismäel and Clara’s life is turning into a The personal experiences of, Zem (Muslim) nightmare. and co-writer, Pascal Elbé (Jewish) enabled the two to offer invaluable in-sight into the sensi- tive subjects dealt with in the film.

“Zem listens, observes and takes note of anything and everything that A Guess who’s Coming for Dinner? for the 21st century. This is a romantic could help to improve the film. Instead of showing-up with pre-conceived comedy about faith, love and the difficulties of combining the two. ideas with the aim of capturing shots exactly as they appear in his mind, a director should have the ability to realise when things are working and capture them at that exact moment. Zem, due to his acting experience, fully understands this.” French actor Jean-Pierre Cassel – who plays Clara’s Dunedin father. Friday 5 November - 7.45pm A glimpse at Zem’s films Monday 8 November - 7.45pm Director Mauvaise Foi - 2006 Auckland Friday 19 November - 8.30pm Actor Sunday 21 November - 6.00pm Mauvaise Foi - 2006 Indigènes - 2006 Wellington Va, vis et deviens - 2005 Wednesday 24 November - 5.30pm Little Sénégal - 2001 Friday 26 November - 7.45pm N’oublie pas que tu vas mourir - 1993 Behind the scenes... Close to you Making of Like her first feature film Do Fish do it?, director Almut Getto’s Ganz nah bei dir movie Close to you tells the story of a love that faces numerous obs- tacles. In Do Fish do it?, Getto’s shy protagonist Jan suffers from HIV, Directed by whereas in Close to you, one of the main characters’, Phillip, suffers from Almut Getto strange phobias and a social ineptness. Phillip is highly sensitive when it comes to himself, but finds 2008 it difficult to apply that sensitivity to others. He is also afraid of being happy because if his source Starring of happiness ceases to exist, it may mean that he’ll Bastian Trost end up being even unhappier than he was before! When Katharina Schüttler the touchy young man almost causes a scene in a fancy Andreas Patton restaurant by biting the hand of an arrogant waiter, Lina, a blind woman, Traute Hoess is the one to help him out of the tight spot. Heiko Pinowski Jürgen Rißmann “Even though there was a lot of humorous potential in Phillip’s occa- Drama / 1h28 / Rating TBC / Distribution Timebandits Films sionally extreme opinions, unusual way of thinking and unparalleled abi- lity to put his foot in it, I didn’t want to lose sight of the fact that Lina’s handicap is ultimately nothing compared to Phillip’s emotional one. Plot Summary This swinging pendulum between comedy and tragedy, risk and security, fan- Close To You is the story of Phillip. Euphemistically, described as “spe- tasy and reality, happiness and crisis, and rationality and emotion, opens cial”, he has sealed himself off from reality by leading an existence that up a whole new space, and I believe that real life is located somewhere consists of sleeping, eating and working. Lina is blind and she is fed up right in the middle.” - Almut Getto. with other people seeing her as nothing more than disabled. She is sick of the pitying, the mothering and speaking for her. She is a strong, self- aware woman who has achieved a certain virtuoso status in her profession as a cellist and is on the verge of setting up her own string quartet. When the two meet, Phillip is thrown out of his well-ordered orbit. As they Almut Getto draw closer, they keep moving away from the life that they had before – and are forced to realise that things which they previously considered to be A graduate from the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, important are, in reality, perhaps not at all as important as they thought. Almut Getto’s graduation film Spots and Stripes won several awards. Since then, she has been working as an author, director and dramatic advisor. In 2001, the state of North Rhine-West- phalia presented her with the New Talent Award in film. Her first full-length feature film Do Fish do it? also won several “Close to you is in no way a depressing contemplation of self-induced lone- awards, including the prize for Best Director at the Max Ophüls liness, nor does it moralise about dealing with the blind; instead it is Film Festival in Saarbrücken, the German Film Critics Award and the German an amusing and lively love story. We laugh – but are also made to think.” Film Award in Gold for Best Screenplay. Tagesspiegel

Dunedin Tuesday 9 November - 5.50pm

Auckland A glimpse at Getto’s films Prize list Saturday 20 November - 4.00pm Tuesday 23 November - 8.30pm Saarbrücken Film Festival 2009 Mit der Sonne hab ich es eh nicht - 1996 Audience Award Wellington Spots and Stripes - 1998 FilmArtFestival Mecklenburg-Pomerania Tuesday 30 November - 5.30pm Do fish do it? - 2002 Friday 3 December - 7.45pm DEFA Foundation Sponsorship Award Close to you - 2007 Behind the scenes... COPACABANA Making of Copacabana

In Copacabana the film’s director, Marc Directed by Fitoussi, uses a comical tone to make a social Marc Fitoussi commentary. The film’s lead character, Babou, must start acting like an adult. She must think 2009 about accomplishing social and professional goals. Fitoussi forces the audience to think Starring about how difficult it can be to deal with the Isabelle Huppert responsibilities that come with adulthood. Lolita Chammah Aure Atika

Isabelle Huppert was an obvious choice for the role of Babou. “She can be really funny,” Fitoussi says. “She is one Drama / 1h47 / Rating M-DL contains drug use and offensive language of those actresses who can play any character”. Journalists Distibution Sharmill Films and even movie-goers tend to think of Huppert as cold and distant so Copacabana was a great opportunity to portray her Plot Synopsis as an approachable, kind person. Babou seems to be able to shrug off anything. Real jobs, husbands, res- ponsibilities, who needs them? But when she finds out that Esmeralda, her own daughter, is too ashamed of her to invite her to her wedding, Babou decides to make some changes. She starts a job selling time-shares at the Belgian seaside during the off-season and to her own surprise becomes the model employee. However, once again Babou is the cause of her own downfall. At that point, she takes time out to reflect upon what it is that really Marc Fitoussi matters to her. Marc Fitoussi began his career as a director of short films. His first feature film, La Vie d’artiste won the Mi- chel d’Ordana Prize - an award granted to French directors making their debut in film.

Fitoussi’s films tend to revolve around characters who Isabelle Huppert never ceases to surprise. Her touch of crazyness adds do not fit in but are nonetheless very loveable. He him- surrealistic flights of fancy to this “dramedy” self says that his main characters are always grown-ups who never really grew up.

“I do not feel like I have some calling to deliver a so-called message through my films. I simply hope to convey the complexity of our reality and to express a rather personal point of view. For example, in this film, Dunedin I feel a real empathy for the Thursday 4 November - 7.50pm characters that let themselves get A glimpse at Fitoussi’s films Wednesday 10 November - 7.45pm bogged down in a repressive system. I guess that not all of them were Les Fleurs de l’Algérien - 1998 Auckland Tuesday 16 November - 8.30pm able to find a way of keeping their Ma vie active - 1999 Thursday 18 November - 6.00pm distance from society like Babou was.” Illustre Inconnue - 2003 - Marc Fitoussi. Bonbon au poivre - 2005 Wellington La Vie d’artiste - 2006 Tuesday 23 November - 7.45pm Copacabana - 2008 Saturday 27 November - 5.30pm Behind the scenes... I’ve Never Been Happier Making of Director Alexander Adolph bases the profile of his fictitious frauds- So glücklich war ich noch nie ter in ‘I’ve Never Been Happier’ on four genuine con artists that were fea- tured in his documentary film Die Hochstapler (‘The Con Artist’). Through the use of imagery and cleverly orchestrated scenes, the film-maker is able Directed by to question what perception and worldview such a character might have. Alexander Adolph Adolph uses his empathy with the skill and craft of 2009 con artistry to reach a better understanding of the rela- tionship between con artists and their victims. Not only Starring does the main character of the film, Frank Knöpfel, share Devid Striesow his initials with the protagonist of Thomas Mann’s novel Nadja Uhl Confessions of Felix Krull (1954), but, like Krull, also Jörg Schüttauf defines himself as a man who fulfils the desires of his contemporaries. Floriane Daniel Frank encounters his victims in unspectacular places that Adolph uses to Thorsten Merten counteract the protagonist’s lofty ideas.

Drama / 1h32 / Rating TBC / Distribution Kinowelt The film is characterised by shots of dark, barren corridors and of- fices, places in which close-up shots reveal the real pillars of society. Plot Summary Success is a matter of confidence, particularly in times of crisis. Life Visually, the film is set in the reality of Berlin in 2008. There is would be unbearable if there weren’t beautiful things to brighten it up a no symbolic transcendence implied in the ascending aeroplanes that Frank little, including pretty faces. Frank Knöpfel constantly flirts with life joyfully observes. They do not fly off into a pink sunset but instead tear with his beguiling bright blue eyes. He buys a complete stranger an expen- screaming into the black clouds of the bleak Berlin sky. sive coat in a designer boutique just because he feels like it. He dis- guises himself as a businessman from Oslo, a Mafia boss, a stock exchange specialist and an estate agent, whatever it takes to bring in the cash. He is the type of person who enjoys looking in the mirror, and delights Alexander Adolph in what he sees there. A flirtation with a customer in a boutique leads to Frank’s undoing. He’s busted and sent to prison. After his release, he Alexander Adolph initially made a name for himself as an again meets Tanja, the woman from the boutique. He is determined to free author. He has worked as a freelance writer, journalist and film her from the brothel where she works,b ut in doing so, he succumbs once director in Munich since the mid-nineties. He has won numerous more to his addiction to assuming false identities. awards including two Adolf Grimme Awards and the German Televi- sion Award. He received high acclaim for the crime series Unter Verdacht (‘Under Suspicion’), which he produced for the German ‘The film is exquisitely balanced on that fine line between the moral television channel ZDF. In 2006, he made his debut as a director and immoral. Unsurprisingly, the protagonist, a master of impression with Die Hochstapler (‘The Con Artist’) (2006), a documentary management for whom all the world’s a stage, possesses all the virtues about the lives of four con artists, their peculiar tricks and their vic- required in an ever-adapting middle-class society and which the Ameri- tims. ‘I’ve Never Been Happier’ is the first feature-film that Alexander can sociologist Richard Sennett described as corrosion of character’ Adolph has directed Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Dunedin A glimpse at Adolph’s films Saturday 6 November - 5.45pm Der König von St. Pauli - 1996 Auckland Die Hochstapler - 2006 Wednesday 17 November - 6.00pm Monday 22 November - 8.30pm Der oide Depp - 2008 Endspiel - 2008 Wellington So glücklich war ich noch nie - 2009 Friday 26 November - 5.30pm Der letzte Angestellte - 2010 Behind the scenes... Keep Surfing Making of The origins of surfing can be traced back to Polynesia. About 4,000 Keep Surfing years ago the first humans jumped on wood boards and rode the waves. The oldest European eyewitness accounts are from the enthusiastic log entries of the British navigator James Cook, who watched natives riding waves in Directed by 1788. In 1908 Jack London described the majestic sight of surfers in his Björn Richie Lob report from Waikiki. 2009 Surfing means freedom, anarchy, and being in harmony with yourself. Gliding over the water had a magical aura long before it spread across the Starring entire globe as a sport and alternate religion – today there are an esti- Dieter Deventer mated 80 million active surfers across the entire globe. Steffen Dittric Mark Steffan Gassner Surfers are seeking freedom and are on a global mission. This is also Markus Knörringer true, of course, for the best surfer of them all, Kelly Slater, who won the Florian Kummer ASP World Championship nine times, and the best German pro, Marlon Lipke. Elijah Mack Both of them are fans of the Eisbach wave in the English Garden, right in Feature Documentary / 1h32 / Rating TBC / Distribution Beta Cinema the centre of Munich. September 2009 was the last time Lipke surfed the Eisbach wave. Slater wanted to surf the wave when he visited Munich one Plot Summary time, too, but he was denied the chance. The local Munich Eisbach surf- Keep Surfing tells the story of an unlikely passion in a place that a ers spontaneously turned off the wave. Because this is also part of these large part of the world only knows as Oktoberfest City. Munich has become individualists‘ nature – that you don‘t allow your own free space to be the home of a surfing crowd of urban individualists who pursue their dream encroached upon by outsiders, and it‘s better to scare them away. Too much of happiness by riding a river wave far from the ocean. The film portrays popularity would quickly endanger their anarchistic lifestyle. And then six surfers; among the older guys is Dieter “The Eater”. He was one of the even more surfers would be tripping over themselves and getting in their first to discover river surfing in the late 60s and still rides the waves way. every day. Golden boy Quirin Rohleder is part of the younger generation. He started riding the Munich river wave on a boogie board and has become a surf pro and global nomad. Among the foreigners who joined the local Björn Richie Lob community are surf punk Eli Mack and also surf legends Kelly Slater, Ross Keep Surfing is Björn Richie Lob’s first feature documentary Clark Jones and Taylor Knox. Lob discovered surfing at the end of his school days and it became his passion. He has now been riding waves for 16 years. Lob has worked in the media since 1997. His first jobs were production driver and set runner on his friend Hendrik Hölzemann‘s short film projects. Since 2000 Lob has been working as a director and a freelance artist in the fields of photo- “This kinetic and fast-paced documentary will put you right on the Eisbach graphy and cinematography. in the heart of Munich, where river-surfing was invented 35 years ago. Keep Surfing will make you want to hit the waves!” www.hollywoodnews.com

Dunedin Friday 5 November - 5.50pm Wednesday 10 November - 5.50pm

Auckland Prize list Friday 19 November - 6.00pm A glimpse at Lob’s films Audience Award Munich 2009 Sunday 21 November - 1.30pm Wellington Keep Surfing - 2009 Thursday 25 November - 7.45pm Saturday 4 December - 5.30pm Behind the scenes... The Other one Making of L’Autre The Other One is based on Annie Ernaux’s book L’Occupation. Patrick- Mario Bernard, co-director of the film, thought about adapting the story Directed by for the big screen as soon as he started reading the novel! The film is Patrick Mario Bernard about an adventure of the mind unwittingly undertaken by the main char- Pierre Trividic acter - Anne-Marie (played by Dominique Blanc). Anne-Marie’s imagination invents numerous scenarios about her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend (the 2008 other one), progressively causing her to lose her grip on reality.

Starring Dominique Blanc Cyril Gueï According to Patrick-Mario Bernard, “The Other One was Peter Bonke written for Dominique Blanc”. The directors of the film had been waiting for an opportunity to work with the actress for some time. Often restricted to playing sorrowful characters, Blanc possesses underexploited skills of strength, depth and Drama / 1h37 / Rating TBC / Distribution Filminger / Cultures France precision. Plot Summary Forty-seven-year-old social worker Anne-Marie breaks up with her young lover, Alex, on good terms. She encourages him to find a more suitable mate for the long-term relationship he is looking for. Alex’s new partner turns out to be another professional woman of a similar age to Anne-Marie as opposed to the younger model she was expecting. What begins as a spark of jealousy transforms into a stalker’s obsession that spirals into a full- blown identity crisis. While Anne-Marie struggles to maintain a sense of Patrick-Mario Bernard & Pierre Trividic normality, monitors an alcoholic client and supports a sick friend, her sense of self? is under constant attack. This is fuelled by Anne-Marie’s Pierre Trividic and Patrick-Mario Bernard envy for her rival, the onslaught of the media treatment of aging as a are both partners in the world of cinematography shameful disability and a home surveillance system that adds up to her and in reality. They began constructing their paranoia. warped universe in the mid-nineties. In 2003, they produced an unusual work of fiction en- Blanc’s performance is astounding in the revelation of the pain, lone- titled Dancing which is about shadows that the liness, vulnerability and touch of madness that inspire the character’s mind can create. In Dancing and a number of outrageous acts. Trividic and Bernard’s earlier works, you can clearly see the idea of the ‘other one’ starting ‘The film continues to find its way inside you like a bad dream, a clear to take shape sign that something is insidiously at work here’ J-S Chauvin, Chronicart

Dunedin A glimpse at Bernard & Trividic’s films Tuesday 9 November - 7.45pm Auckland HP Lovecraft - 1999 Prize list Saturday 20 November - 1.30pm Ceci est une pipe - 2001 Venice Film Festival 2008 Monday 22 November - 6.00pm Dancing - 2003 Volpi Cup - Dominique Blanc Une Famille Parfaite - 2006 Wellington Tuesday 30 November - 7.45pm L’Autre - 2008 Friday 3 December - 5.30pm Behind the scenes... pereSTROIKA-reCONSTRUCTION of a flat Making of A youngster hurtles down the dark passage of an apart- pereSTROIKA-umBAU einer Wohnung ment in an old building. His mother reprimands him – the neighbours hear everything. Housing in St. Petersburg is in short supply. It is not uncommon for families to share Directed by a flat. In PereSTROIKA each of the current three tenants Christiane Büchner of the flat in question occupies a room. The kitchen, bathroom and passageway are shared. No visits are allowed 2008 and the borders of intimacy are strictly observed.

Starring The demand for undivided accommodation in the city is now increasing. Natalja Narbut A saleswoman turns up with a client interested in buying the flat. The Rimma Sacharova two test the walls, knock on the doors, and peep past the washing hanging Valeri Jaroschenja in the room. By purchasing or offering the current tenants a new place Irina Jaroschenja of residence, the real estate agent intends to free the apartment of its Maxim Bannikov occupants. Her task proves trying and complex. Tatjana Lysikova Christiane Büchner follows the various protagonists of this film. Documentary / 1h24 / Rating TBC / Distribution Büchner Filmproduktion GbR With a light touch and a distinctive sense of humour she remains close to them without concealing the camera’s presence, and only occasionally Plot Summary utters an off-screen question. She looks into places where every square Imagine you and your family had to live in just one room and share a kit- centimetre counts, into the toilet where everyone has his own light bulb, chen, bathroom and telephone with up to two dozen other people. In St. and where everyone must live much too close to the others. Petersburg this is not uncommon but a relict from the times of the Soviet Union’s normative resource allocation. And it won’t be a thing of the past PereSTROIKA – Reconstruction of a Flat is a tragicomical illustration for a long time yet. Unskilled in handling property but trained in get- of change and follows the drama of an announced sale of a building, whose ting hold of public allowances, establishing an adequate market value for operetta-like state of affairs is emphasised by an a cappella song, which a single room in this flat spurs a dramatic dynamic. The relationships takes over before the final showdown. between all people involved are put to the test in this confined space one final time. Suddenly, it’s no longer about who uses the bathroom for how long or who stinks out the kitchen with especially pungent odours. Now Christiane Büchner that their paths will irrevocably part, everyone wants to make the most of During her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ber- the situation for themselves and will stop at nothing to do so. Either lin, Christiane Büchner was awarded a scholarship for the everybody moves out or nobody does! Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. After co-founding Büchner Filmproduktion, she was an artist in residence at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Moscow. Following the ‘[…]bordering on the grotesque but narrated with restraint and a complete residency, she undertook post-graduate studies at the Aca- lack of malice, this is a strong and convincing work taken straight from demy of Media Arts in Cologne. the bizarre book of reality.’ film-dienst 4/2009

Dunedin Thursday 4 November - 5.50pm Monday 8 November - 5.50pm A glimpse at Büchner’s films

Auckland You’ll never walk alone - 1996 Tuesday 16 November - 6.00pm Thursday 18 November - 8.30pm Neighbours of the Kremlin - 2004 Tanja Rocks - 2008 Wellington PereSTROIKA - 2008 Tuesday 23 November - 6.45pm Saturday 27 November - 7.45pm Behind the scenes... The Girl on the Train Making-of La fille du RER The Girl on the Train was inspired by a play entitled RER, written by Jean-Marie Besset in Directed by 2006. Besset himself was inspired by the report André Téchiné of an incident that took place in Paris on July 9, 2004. On that day, a French woman falsely 2008 claimed to be the victim of an anti-Semitic at- tack in the RER D (a train that runs to and from Starring Parisian suburbs into the centre of the city). Emilie Dequenne Two days later, the woman in question admitted Catherine Deneuve that she had been lying. But, in that short space of time, her lie attained Michel Blanc huge prominence in the world of French politics and current affairs. Nicolas Duvauchelle

The real issue at the heart of The Girl on the Train is the emotional Drama / 1h42 / Rating TBC / Disstribution Filminger / Cultures France state of the lead character: a woman who feels empty, disillusioned and desperately alone, a woman who longs to be loved.

Plot Synopsis Based on the true story of a young woman who shocked France when she fal- sely claimed to be the target of an anti-Semitic attack. Jeanne lives ion the outskirts of Paris with her mother Louise. While Louise earns her living by looking after children, Jeanne flirts with the André Téchiné mysterious Franck and half-heartedly hunts for a job. One day, Louise has the bright idea of getting her daughter a job with Samuel Bleistein, a well-known lawyer whom she knew in her youth. André Téchiné, the director of The Girl on the Jeanne and Bleistein’s worlds are light years apart. However, they collide Train, received much acclaim for works such as Ma saison when Jeanne fabricates an elaborated lie. The film is a story of this lie préférée and Les Roseaux sauvages that were produced in that will become the biggest news and political story of recent times. the early nineties.

The film-maker’s first films were inspired by his personal tastes in theatre and cinema. They were also largely influenced by Brecht, Bergman and Godard. “Techine once again displays a masterful control of all aspects of his Little by little, the director introduced a psychological aspect to movie, a typically rich character study.” Richard Knight, Windy City Times his films. The relationships between characters, whether platonic or ro- mantic, along with the question of identity began to take centre stage in his cinematographic works. Téchiné makes complex films combining drama, social issues and sometimes historic events and which have both sombre and light-hearted tones. Dunedin A glimpse at Téchiné’s films Saturday 6 November - 8.05pm Michel, l’enfant roi - 1972 Auckland Barocco - 1976 Wednesday 17 November - 8.30pm Hôtel des Amériques - 1981 Sunday 21 November - 4.00pm J’embrasse pas - 1991 Ma saison préférée - 1993 Wellington Thursday 25 November - 5.30pm Les Roseaux sauvages - 1994 Thursday 2 December - 7.45pm Les Témoins - 2007 La Fille du RER - 2009 Behind the scenes... The Same Old Song Making of On Connaît la Chanson marked Alain Resnais’ trium- On Connaît la Chanson phal return to mainstream French cinema in the late 1990s - James Travers (Filmsdefrance.com)

Directed by This movie is a puzzle made up of characters who are Alain Resnais linked by a thread that can be pieced together or shat- tered. The viewer must keep in mind that appearances are deceiving because 1997 each word, each wound and even each lie depicted in the film masks pain, anguish and loss. It is not the dialogues, purposefully empty – like your Starring everyday chat – but the songs that tell us what the characters in the film Sabine Azéma are really feeling. Pierre Arditi André Dussolier Resnais’ inspiration for On Connaît la Chanson came from the televi- sion series created by the celebrated British writer, Dennis Potter (Pen- nies from Heaven, The Singing Detective, Lipstick on Your Collar). In these series, the main characters would express their innermost thoughts by breaking into song and dance, miming to well-known songs. Resnais, Musical Drama / 2h00 / Rating PG / Distribution Filminger / Cultures France who dedicates this film as a tribute to Potter, uses the same lip-synching approach, but uses parts of songs rather than complete ballads. It is Plot Summary a concept which works surprisingly well, providing the film with some of its funniest moments. Simon is secretly in love with Camille. Camille, due to a misunderstan- ding, falls for Marc Duveyrier. Marc, a handsome real estate agent, who also happens to be Simon’s boss, is trying to sell an apartment to Odile Alain Resnais Lalande, Camille’s sister. Odile really wants this apartment, despite the silent disapproval of her husband, Claude. Claude, somewhat lacking in One of the most important directors to emerge from the character, finds it hard to stomach the reappearance, after many years, of French New Wave, Alain Resnais fed his early imagination a Nicolas. Nicolas, an old friend of Odile’s becomes Simon’s confidant... varied diet of popular movies, Pulp Fiction, Proust, Katherine The dialogue is partly made up of snippets of French hit songs sung by the Mansfield and comic books. Throughout his career he has retai- actors. With this unique film, Alain Resnais combines two opposing sides ned the ability to bridge the gap between high and low culture of his personality, his passion for experimenting and his love of popular in his films. entertainment. The result is an exhilarating work, a critical and box of- fice triumph. Considered by many the first masterpiece of the French New Wave, Resnais’ debut feature, Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959) made in collaboration with screenwriter Marguerite Duras, won the International Critics Prize at the same Cannes Film Festival that named François Truffaut best director Prize list for The 400 Blows. With Muriel (1963), abandoning his tracking camera for a César (French Cinema Awards) 1998 static, fragmented feel, he overcame the problem of assembling a huge num- Best Film ber of shots by allowing the sound belonging to one cut to overlap briefly Best Actor: André Dussollier into the next - a technique so widely imitated it has become commonplace. Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Wellington Agnès Jaoui Soundings Theatre at Te Papa A glimpse at Resnais’s films Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Jean- Sunday 14 November - 2.00pm L’Aventure de Guy - 1936 Pierre Bacri Van Gogh - 1947 Best Original Scenario or Adaptation: Guernica - 1950 Jean-Pierre Bacri Best Original Scenario or Adaptation: Nuit et Brouillard - 1955 Agnès Jaoui Toute la Mémoire du Monde - 1956 Best Score: Pierre Lenoir Hiroshima, mon Amour - 1959 Best set: Hervé de Luze I Want to Go Home - 1989 On Connaît la Chanson - 1997 Les Herbes Folles- 2009 Behind the scenes... M Making of The central characters of the film are the leaders of the police M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder and the criminal underworld. The government is largely excluded. The film reveals the relationship between collective blindness and organised ter- ror, in this respect reflecting the last years of the Weimar Republic. Directed by By repeatedly showing the police and organised crime in a similar light, Fritz Lang «anticipates their role in the political life of the following years» (U. Gregor/E. Patalas, «History of Film», Gütersloh, 1962). 1931 As in Lang’s early films, the use of light is an important element Starring in M. The interplay of light and shadow produces «bewitched realism» (Die- Peter Lorre ter Kuhlbrodt) giving every harmless gesture a deeper fatal meaning and Otto Wernicke finality. People’s thoughts and feelings also appear to be determined by Gustaf Gründgens this suspicious world of objects. Lang himself had discovered one common Ellen Widmann feature in a number of contemporary crimes: «The public’s terrible an- Paul Kemp xiety psychosis, the self-incrimination of mentally inferior people, the Theo Lingen denunciations in which the pent-up hate and jealousy of years of living Drama / 1h38 / Rating TBC / Distribution Die Lupe side by side appears to be released.»

Plot Summary The revolutionary montage, which is still unrivalled to- A serial killer is keeping Berlin on pins and needles. The police com- day, is characterised by the consistent separation of sight and mit everything they have to finding him, but to no avail. Even the great sound. Lang primarily concentrates on dialogues and dramati- amounts offered as reward money do not help, but only lead to more panic cally necessary sounds (the whistled Grieg tune) which propel and accusations. Not only the police, but also the underworld is interested the action forwards or indirectly continue the story. in finding the killer. As the killer attempts to approach the next child, he is seen by one of the beggars who calls one of his commissioners. The killer is followed into an office building, circled in on and caught. The underworld court and jury plea for the death penalty, but after the killer Fritz Lang admits his guilt, the defence lawyer warns that a psychologically ill per- Quite apart from the fact that M is Fritz Lang’s first son cannot be held responsible for his acts. In the meantime, the police sound film, it also marks a new era in the director’s work. have found out where the killer is and just as the lynch mob is about to The expressionist experiences on which Lang had based his work execute its sentence, the police storm in and “save” the killer. were not without their uses: his habit of moving his charac- ters about as if they were figures on a huge chessboard made Lang extraordinarily skilful in mastering physical space and in harmoniously using the entire field of vision; in M, he casts off the compulsion to which he was subjected by the ‘M is one of the high points of Fritz Lang’s artistic career’ systematic stylisation. The personal artistic expression now coincides Goethe-Institut completely with the natural development of the action. This is clear, for example, in the scene in which the camera looks down from above onto the asphalt expanse of analmost deserted street; two tiny people at the end of the street block the murderer’s path. The scene appears to have developed totally at random, yet it precisely matches the dramatic development. A glimpse at Lang’s films - 1919 Der müde Tod - 1921 Wellington - Soundings Theatre at Te Papa Metropolis - 1927 Sunday 14 November - 11.00am - 1928 M - 1931 Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse - 1933 You Only Live Once - 1937 Der Tiger von Eschnapur - 1959 Die tausend Augen des Dr. Mabuse - 1960 Behind the scenes... Making of The greatest thing to come out of this film was the Der Blaue Engel discovery of Marlene Dietrich. Although Der Blaue Engel was not her first film (it was her thirteenth, it teamed her up with Sternberg who took her to Hollywood and portrayed her Directed by as a vamp in numerous 1930s movies. Dietrich finally left Sternberg to become an indissoluble part of American show business: a great singer of chansons, a clever actress and 1930 a politically conscious woman. Outside Germany, Der Blaue Engel is now shown solely for the sake of viewing Marlene Starring Dietrich: pure eroticism. Emil Jannings Marlene Dietrich Heinrich Mann, the author of the novel The Blue Angel on which the film is based, criticised the screen adaptation shortly after the film’s release. This was because the movie’s message is quite clearly different from that of the original work. In the book, the former Professor Rath finishes up in a prison van as an embittered anarchist who lives only to Drama / 1h49 / Rating TBC / Distribution Transit-Film GmbH take revenge. In the film, almost sentimentally, he ends up back at his former workplace. Rebellion is replaced by failure. Heinrich Mann’s more normal and calculating singer Rosa becomes Lola, femme fatale. Normality, Plot Summary with which the viewer can identify, becomes immorality with a conciliatory end. Professor Rath, deeply shocked by some suggestive photos circulating among his pupils, pays a visit to the cabaret ‘The Blue Angel’ to make the dashing Lola explain. But the dignified professor is charmed by the young woman, falls in love with her and goes so far as to give up his career in order to marry her. Acting as a clown in a third-rate circus, Professor Rath moves from town to town with his young wife. The ensemble finally ends up his home town. Dumped by Lola and desperate, he goes back to his Josef von Sternberg now deserted classroom where he collapses and dies. When the film was shown again in 1965, the critic Eckhart Schmidt pointed out that director, Sternberg, had deliberately departed from the original story with its criticism of the Wilhelmian period in order to pro- duce an independent film. Sternberg seems to be somewhat ‘Together with Fritz Lang’s film M, Des Blaue Engel is one of the most fascinated by the head-on collision between the solid famous early German sound films. It has retained its magic power even to citizen and the bohemian woman, turning the tragedy of an everyday citi- the present day and is still considered one of the most impressive achie- zen into a petty bourgeois tragedy. Judging by Sternberg’s later work, he vements of the fateful, ominous years leading up to 1933.” Goethe-Institut was not at all interested in Heinrich Mann’s satire. He could only have produced a socially typical work by pure chance. Der Blaue Engel is thus primarily a homage to Marlene Dietrich and only secondarily a portrayal of a bourgeois man’s personal tragedy, with social criticism relegated to a very minor place. A glimpse at Sternberg’s films - 1928 Sein letzter Befehl - 1928 Der Blaue Engel - 1930 Wellington - Soundings Theatre at Te Papa - 1932 Saturday 13 November - 2.00pm Crime and Punishment - 1935 Der Teufel ist eine Frau - 1935 The King Steps Out - 1936 Macao - 1952 The Saga of Anatahan - 1953 Behind the scenes... Jules and Jim Making of Jules et Jim In 1955, cinema critic François Truffaut stum- bled across a novel entitled Jules and Jim. He imme- diately fell under the spell of this story which, Directed by while indubitably indecent, tells the tale of very François Truffaut pure love. He mentioned the book in the magazine Art, highlighting the utter modernity of the lite- 1961 rary work. He then began a written correspondence with the writer Hen- ri-Pierre Roché who was moved by the praise of Truffaut who was a young Starring journalist at the time. It is only years later, encouraged by the success Jeanne Moreau of The 400 Blows, that the now established director adapted Jules and Jim Oskar Werner for the big screen. Henri Serre Even in its darkest moments, Jules and Jim is movingly alluring as the friendship between the two men paints a meaningful portrait of human understanding and compassion.

Drama / 1h50 / Rating R-16 / Distribution Filminger / Cultures France François Truffaut Plot Summary Jules is German, Jim, French. The two friends move in artistic circles in Influential film critic, leading New Wave director and Paris in the 1900s. They share a passion for literature, art and women. The heir to the humanistic cinematic tradition of Jean Renoir, photograph illustrating the sculpture of a woman with an intriguing smile François Truffaut made films that reflected his three pro- fascinates them and leads them to Greece. Upon their return to Paris they fessed passions: a love of cinema, an interest in male-female meet Catherine, who bears a strange resemblance to the sculpture. Both men relationships and a fascination with children. are attracted to the young woman, but it is Jules that Catherine decides to marry. The war breaks out. Following the armistice, Jim reconnects with In 1954, in André Bazin’s influential journal, Cahiers his friends Jules and Catherine in their chalet in Switzerland where they du Cinéma, Truffaut published ‘Une Certaine Tendance du Cinema live with their daughter Sabine. Could Catherine and Jim’s passion be re- Français’ (‘A Certain Tendency in French Cinema’), proposing what came to kindled? be known as the auteur theory. A reaction against the bloated ‘Tradition of Quality’ cinema in France, the article was a plea for a more personal cinema and an informal manifesto for the New Wave, which had not yet bro- ken on the shores of French film. «Few films capture life’s bittersweet rush and tumble so completely, so profoundly as Jules et Jim. It is the cinematic equivalent of catching Truffaut began his career as a film-maker by producing short films. lightning in a bottle.» - Xan Brooks – The Guardian In 1959, he produced his first feature-length film, the semi-autobiogra- phical childhood story The 400 Blows. Two diverging strains characterise most of Truffaut’s work from the early 1960s on. On the one hand, the director celebrated life in the humanistic tradition of Jean Renoir. On Selective Prize list the other hand, many of Truffaut’s films are fatalistic or even cynical, Mar Del Plata Festival 1961 displaying a Hitchcockian fascination with life’s darker side (The Bride Best Production Award Wore Black -1967). Caracas Film Festival 1961-1962 A glimpse at Truffaut’s films Cantaclaros Award Une Visite - 1954 Cinema Academy Award Les Quatre Cents Coups - 1959 Crystal Star, Best French Film, Wellington Jules et Jim - 1961 Grand Feminine Interpretation Award Soundings Theatre at Te Papa Fahrenheit 451 - 1966 (Jeanne Moreau) Saturday 13 November - 11.00am Cartagena Film festival 1961 La Mariée Etait en Noir - 1967 Critic Award La Sirène du Mississippi - 1969 Dutch Oscar ‘Bodil 1963’ L’Enfant Sauvage - 1969 for the Best European Film of the year L’Histoire d’Adèle H. - 1975 Silver Nastro (granted by Italian Le Dernier Métro - 1980 journalists to the Best Film of the year)