Author: Olesia Vitiuk

The FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS initiative shines a spotlight on some of the most influential German talent currently working in the industry, representing just some of the many dynamic “faces” of German filmmaking today. Since its first edition, the annual campaign has established itself as a platform to give German film talent international visibility and draw the attention of the global film industry to some of the country’s most sensational newcomers and professionals.

The faces of the 2024 FACE TO FACE WITH GERMAN FILMS – THE FILMMAKERS campaign are:

Jan Bülow (DIE UNIVERSELLE THEORIE, LINDENBERG, KAFKA), actor
Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay (ORAY, LOVE, GERMAN MARK AND DEATH), writer, director, producer
Banafshe Hourmazdi (NO HARD FEELINGS, LOVING HER, NO BEAST SO FIERCE), actor
Moritz Müller-Preißer (WIR SIND DATEN, HAEBERLI, GOTTES ANDERER PLAN), screenwriter and director
Mona Cathleen Otterbach (FRANKY FIVE STAR, MILK TEETH), production designer
Eva Trobisch (ALLES GUTE, IVO), screenwriter and director
Soleen Yusef (SAM A SAXON, DEUTSCHLAND 89, WINNERS), screenplay and director

Roman Wegera’s short film WHEREVER PARADISE IS has its TV premiere on January 27, 2024 on ARTE and can be streamed afterwards in the arte-Mediathek.

WHEREVER PARADISE IS
Script by: Roman Wegera
Directed by: Roman Wegera
DE, 28 min., 2023

For Anja – a Russian-German teenager, – Germany is nothing more than a gray backdrop. During the day she skips the school and makes up gangster scenes with her little brother, at night she eats sausage or challenges her boyfriend’s courage. Anja dreams of leaving for America one day, meanwhile the Russian-Ukrainian war in is also making itself noticeable in Germany.
As one day her mother receives a phone call, Anja decides to take care of herself and her younger brother.

BLUTBUCH by Kim de L’Horizon
Director, set & video designer: Ran Chai Bar-zvi

What happens to a person when their tyrannical grandmother dies? Does a formative piece of a family history become buried or is one suddenly empowered to rewrite their own biography, to reinvent their identity, even their mother tongue?
Director and costume & set designer Ran Chai Bar-zvi stages Kim de L’Horizon’s cult novel BLUTBUCH (German premiere), exploring new narrative forms and switching between genres.

The premiere will take place on December 15, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets & more information

BUCKET LIST by Yael Ronen & Shlomi Shaban
Directed by: Yael Ronen

In BUCKET LIST, Yael Ronen reflects on memory mechanisms: What would we to keep in memory before kicking the bucket? Can memories of unpleasant, painful and conflict-ridden events be readjusted with technological help? And if we start to artificially edit our personal memories, what does this step mean for the entire collective memory culture?

This musical marks Yael Ronen’s second collaboration with Israeli songwriter Shlomi Shaban. The duo impressed critics and audiences alike with their hit production SLIPPERY SLOPE at the Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin (invited to the 2022 Theatertreffen).

The premiere of BUCKET LIST is on December 9, 2023 at 8 p.m. at the Schaubühne Berlin.
Further dates are: 13 Dec., 14 Dec., 15 Dec., 16 Dec. 2023, at 8 p.m.
Tickets & info

MITLÄUFER (Followers) from Noam Brusilovsky
Directed by: Noam Brusilovsky
Research & Text Assistance: Lotta Beckers

With this research project, author & director Noam Brusilovsky works for the first time at the Munich Residenztheater. MITLÄUFER (Followers) is a historical examination of the contradictory biographies of those who reached the top echelons of the theater due to close cooperation with the Nazi regime.

The play premieres on 9 November 2023 at 8:30 p.m.
Following dates & tickets

Rébecca Déraspe winns this year’s prestigious Michel Tremblay Prize for Drama. Déraspe was awarded for her latest play LES GLACES, which had its premiere at Théâtre de La Bordée in co-production with Théâtre de La Manufacture in fall 2022.

“With a mixture of clarity and hope, anger and humour, Rébecca Déraspe presents a complex, committed and deeply human fiction about sexualized violence… One recognizes the undeniable talent, the great sensitivity and all the experience of the author in the harrowing monologues, the wonderful symbolic web that haunts the text, the dialogues of impeccable precision and the impeccably taut thread of the dramatic structure.” – from the jury’s statement

Following its successful premiere at the 40th Munich Film Festival, Erol Afşin’s drama IT’S BURNING (ES BRENNT) is currently touring through festivals in Germany and Turkey. At the 37th Braunschweig International Film Festival, the debut will screen in the “New German Films“-category on November 7 and 11, both at 6:00 p.m.
Tickets available under this link.

IT’S BURNING
D, feature, 88 min., 2022
Directed & written by: Erol Afşin

Amal, Omar and their son Ahmad are a happy Arab family living in Germany. In the playground, they meet a man named Franz. The situation gets out of hand when Franz insults and attacks Amal because of her headscarf. A court case is initiated. During the hearings, an incident occurs that will completely change the family’s life.
Based on a true story.

Ádám Czászi’s second feature film THREE THOUSAND NUMBERED PIECES celebrates its German premiere at the Cottbus Film Festival. The film, which bitterly portrays the exploitation of a Romani theater troupe, is running in the competition with two screenings: on November 10th, at 5:00 p.m. in the Stadthalle & on November 11th, at 4:00 p.m. in Weltspiegel (Saal 2).
Tickets & information

THREE THOUSAND NUMBERED PIECES

Directed by: Ádám Császi
Written by: Ádám Császi, Balázs Lengyel
HUN, 2022, 93 min.

After the successful premiere at the 40th Munich Film Festival, Erol Afşin’s drama IT’S BURNING tours through festivals in Germany and Turkey.
At the 3rd Oberschwaben Film Festival, Afşin’s directorial debut wins the Audience Award.

IT’S BURNING (ES BRENNT)
DE, feature, 88 min., 2022
Written & directed by: Erol Afşin

Amal, Omar, and their son Ahmad are a happy Arab family living in Germany. At the playground, they encounter a man named Franz. The situation gets out of hand when Franz insults and attacks Amal because of her headscarf. The case goes to court, but an incident during the hearing changes everything for the family.
Based on real events.