Screening Germany in Australia: Analyzing the Australian Festival of German Films As Cultural Diplomacy
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Screening Germany in Australia: Analyzing the Australian Festival of German Films as Cultural Diplomacy By Irina Veronika Herrschner ORCID 0000-0002-3511-7095 Thesis submitted in Total Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy German Studies School of Languages and Linguistics The University of Melbourne June 2018 Abstract Cultural diplomacy increased in importance in German foreign policy following World War II (WWII) and reunification in 1989. The German model of cultural diplomacy emerged out of the need for a separation of powers between state and cultural politics, and resulted in a unique approach in which the Goethe-Institut (Goethe Institute – GI) became and remains the principal actor representing German culture and language abroad. The GI was re-established after WWII and now operates in 191 countries. As distinct from propaganda, contemporary German diplomacy aims to portray a realistic and multi-faceted image of Germany; it utilises public engagements, various media and – in particular – film. Other nations are adopting this strategy, as the growing number of nationality-based film festivals worldwide shows. Researchers in the emerging field of film festival studies have hitherto scrutinised the role of film festivals in the circulation of film, global cinephilia, as public spheres, as transnational spaces and time events, but not yet as part of cultural and contemporary cinematic diplomacy. My research adds to extant research on contemporary cinematic and cultural diplomacy through analysis of the Festival of German Films in Australia’s (AFGF) role in German cultural diplomacy. The AFGF was the largest festival of German films outside of Germany and was organised by the GI in collaboration with the German Films Service and Marketing GmbH. The AFGF was established in Sydney and Melbourne in 2002, and ran until 2016; it was a platform for Germany and German culture, as well as a marketplace for presenting German films to Australian audiences and distributors. I analyse developments in AFGF programming, choice of films and time-events, with particular focus on the period 2013–15. My research employs a mixed-method approach comprised of audience surveys, audience focus groups, and stakeholder interviews complemented by event 2 and film analysis. My analysis focuses on the three most prominent themes in films and curation of the AFGF from 2002–15: the two world wars, the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (German Democratic Republic), and multicultural Germany. In understanding film festivals as socially constructed, I analyse each category in accordance with Lefebvre’s tripartite concept of physical, curated and lived space. I emphasise an understanding of the AFGF as a time-event and of the roles of its component time-events. These time-events are curated occasions; the GI highlights particular films and themes by screening them on either opening or closing nights, or as part of special events, such as a question-and-answer session or an associated culinary or musical experience. I conclude the thesis by emphasising the potential and the challenges of cinematic diplomacy with a particular focus on contemporary German cinematic diplomacy. Further, I highlight increasingly transnational aspects of the AFGF and their relationship to the cultural diplomatic role Germany holds as an advocate for human rights as a consequence of WWII and the following processes of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (dealing with the past). 3 Declaration 1. The thesis comprises only original work towards the Doctor of Philosophy except where indicated in the preface. 2. Due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used; and 3. The thesis is fewer than 100 000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. Irina Herrschner 4 5 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I’d like to thank my supervisors Prof. Alison Lewis, Dr. Heather Benbow and Dr. Katie Sutton for supervising this project. Thank you, Alison for sharing your immense knowledge and providing me with many useful ideas and sources! Thank you, Heather for always being there, for your close eye to detail, for meeting me in cafes during your sabbatical and for being there for me as a supervisor and a mentor for much more than just thesis-related issues! And thank you, Katie for helping me to get to confirmation feeling confident and excited about my project, for bouncing off ideas with me and reigning them in again and for your detailed feedback on the many drafts of my confirmation report! I’d also like to thank the Goethe Institute for allowing me to undertake this study and for supporting me by providing important information, establishing contacts and allowing me to spend a lot of time in the cinema, feeling like a part of the team and also watching all films for free! In particular I’d like to thank Dr. Arpad Sölter, Gabi Urban, Klaus Krischok and Ralf Eppeneder for being available for interviews and for continuing to forward interesting and useful documents to help my research! Thank you also to my interviewees from germanfilms and to Peter Krausz for the many chats, un-official and official interviews. I could have not done this research without any of you! The same goes for everyone, who filled out the audience survey and in particular to the focus groups participants! I really appreciate the time you took to help me with my research and your comments were invaluable! 6 Thank you also to Joseph Cheer and Ben Nickl for listening to me talking about cultural diplomacy, for providing your opinion and ideas and for being there for me! Joe – thanks for spending a whole weekend reading this thesis with me! Thank you also to everyone else who read a part of my thesis: Peter Hurst, Damien Williams and Giles Fielke. Hille und Uli – Danke, dass ihr immer stolz auf mich seid, ganz egal was ich gerade mache und wo ich gerade bin. - Und für meine Heimat in Ansbach, in der ich immer wieder nur Kind seen und zur Ruhe kommen kann. Hille – unsere Zeit in Inverloch war einfach nur toll! Danke! Jojo – Danke, dass du mir immer eine ehrliche und so ganz andere Perspektive auf’s Leben gibst! Du bist wirklich die beste Freundin, die ich mir vorstellen kann. Und an den kleinen Vincent: Deine Geburt hat meinem Leben einen ganz neuen Aspekt gegeben und dein Glucksen hat mich immer wieder daran erinnert wie schön und einfach das Leben sein kann, wenn ich mal wieder alles über-dacht und verkompliziert habe. My dear friends Phoebe and Nina thank you for always being there for me and for listening to me throughout the last years! I don’t know what my life would be like without our beach breaks, walks, swims, breakfasts and dinners! 7 Dedication This thesis is for my Brr-Oma and Anneliese. Two women who will always continue to inspire me. 8 9 Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................... 2 Declaration .................................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 6 Dedication ..................................................................................................................... 8 List of Figures ............................................................................................................. 14 List of Tables .............................................................................................................. 16 Abbreviations and Acronyms ................................................................................... 18 Glossary of German terms (used more than once) ................................................. 20 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 22 Research Questions .................................................................................................... 30 1 Chapter 1: German Cultural and Cinematic Diplomacy ................................ 32 1.1 Historical Overview: German Cultural Diplomacy ............................................. 32 1.1.1 The German Model of Auswärtiger Kulturpolitik ............................................. 33 1.1.2 Nation Branding and Brand Diplomacy ............................................................. 38 1.2 The Goethe-Institut ................................................................................................. 40 1.2.1 Cultural Nationalism and the Deutsche Akademie (1870s–1914) ..................... 41 1.2.2 Cultural Propaganda (1914–45) ......................................................................... 41 1.2.3 Cultural Diplomacy (1945–89) .......................................................................... 43 1.2.4 Cultural Diplomacy in the GDR ......................................................................... 44 1.2.5 The Goethe-Institut in ‘the European Age’ ........................................................ 48 1.3 German Kulturdiplomatie through a Cinematic Lens ........................................ 50 1.3.1 Weimar Republic ................................................................................................ 50 1.3.2 The Third Reich .................................................................................................. 52 1.3.3 The Legacy of the Third Reich ..........................................................................