Every year, the Shanghai International Film Festival will have the "Global Village" overseas new film national exhibition unit, which has been introduced before the "Focus on Italy" unit, and today's introduction is the "Focus on Germany" unit. A total of eight new German films will meet the Shanghai audience, they are:
The 2021 Berlin Film Festival Jury Silver Bear Award-winning documentary "Monsieur Bachmann and His Students"; "Lola Run" actor Moritz Bredo's self-written and self-directed feature film debut "Deadly Space"; "Lola Run" heroine Franca Potent's self-written and directed feature film debut "Home"; "The Human Factor", which tells how a family of four collapsed during a rural vacation; "Opponent", which tells the story of a nine-year-old boy smuggled from Ukraine to life in Germany; "The Rival", which tells the heroine to protect herself by learning karate. Nicole"; "God, You're such a bastard", which chronicles the path of cancer girls in search of love; "Curve Ball", which tells how false intelligence contributed to the Iraq War.
Here's a closer look at them:
Mr. Bachmann and his students
Mr. Bachmann and His Class
-2021-
What to watch: Education is a spectacular process
The three-and-a-half-hour documentary is an immersive depiction of the life of a kind old teacher in Stadt-Arlendorf, Bachmann, who leads a lovely class from winter to summer. Directed by Maria Spetter, the representative of the "Berlin School", the film presents the educational philosophy she shares in a completely restrained way. Bachmann instructs students with very different personalities in history, language, and so on. The film won the 2021 Berlin Film Festival Jury Silver Bear Award.
Deadly space
Cortex
-2020-
What to watch: The exchange of souls between half dreams and half awakenings
This film is the feature film debut of Moritz Bredo, the male protagonist of the classic business card of German film history " Lola Run " , written and directed by himself, telling the story of a middle-aged security guard suffering from severe insomnia, in an indistinguishable state of sleep and wake, the soul gradually interchanged with a street asshole. The film uses cold tones to set off the characters' gloomy state of mind, constantly interrupting, flashing back or advancing narrative simulation dreams and the consciousness intertwined in the two bodies, attracting the audience to immerse themselves in this "Schrödinger's dream" step by step in the problem-solving fun of sorting out the plot, and reaching the core of love under the cloak of the brain-burning story. The film was shortlisted for the 2020 Tallinn Dark Night Film Festival in the competition unit of "Rebel with Reason".
family
Home
What to watch: Potent "runs" and Uze guides
Marvin returned to his hometown after more than twenty years in prison, but found that the townspeople had never forgotten his criminal status, how should he return to normal life? Presenting the monotonous and conservative life of a small American town with a few simple characters, the film is the feature film debut of Franca Potent, the heroine of the Classic "Lola Run" in German film history, with which she was nominated for the 2021 San Francisco International Film Festival Best New Director Competition. Oscar actress Kathy Bates played Marvin's mother in the film.
Human factors
Human Factors
What to watch: Emotional storms in intimate relationships
A middle-class family of four goes on vacation to a country house, and a bizarre indoor invasion causes the harmonious family to fall apart in an instant. The film is the second feature film written and directed by Italian director Ronnie Tocque, who abandons the conventional linear narrative and switches between the different perspectives of various members of the family, depicting the same emergency. The dramatic conflict of the film gradually gives way to the characters' anxious psychological state, which is similar to the Swedish film "Tourist", which tells about the storm of marriage. The film was shortlisted for the 2021 Berlin Film Festival Teddy Bear Award and the Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Drama Competition.
rival
Rival
Highlights: The German Adventures of a Little Refugee
Nine-year-old boy Roman smuggled from Ukraine to Germany to live with his mother, and forced to live in a German widower's house where his mother worked illegally, complicated the relationship between the three. Inspired by true stories while filming the documentary, German director Marcus Lenz used suspense filming to shoot this unconventional family drama, refracting social issues from the perspective of children. Ukrainian talented young actor Yelizar Nazarenko brilliantly portrayed the boy who coexisted with innocence and savagery with very little dialogue, which was extremely emotionally contagious. The film won best film in the German New Director Section at the 2020 Hof International Film Festival.
Nicole
Nico
Highlights: Realistic version of "Punching Useful"
Nicole, a German-Iranian woman, is attacked by a surprise attack and, after realizing that she was ostracized because of her ethnic identity, decides to protect herself by learning karate. The film's theme of "The Weak Strike Back" is similar to "The Art of Self-Defense" starring Jesse Eisenberg in 2019. The film also presents the issue of women's rights caught in the slits of racial identity. Actress Sarah Fazirat not only directly participated in the writing of the script, but also completed the film with the director, but also won the Best Young Actress Award at the 2021 Ofes Film Festival for her superb acting skills.
God, you're such an asshole
God, You're Such a Prick
Highlights: The path of cancer girls to find love
Stefi, who had just graduated from high school, was diagnosed with advanced cancer, and she resolutely embarked on a secret journey to Paris despite her parents' objections. The new works of the famous German comedy director André Erku, based on best-selling biographies, such as "Send You a Little Red Flower" and "Get Out!" The combination of "Tumor Jun", the playful teen road movie section can't hide the praise of youth and life. Veteran tough guy actor Til Schweiger ("Shameless Bastard") and the youthful and beautiful post-95 actress and Winner of the German Television Academy Award Promotion Award, Singh Elslinger staged a warm father-daughter relationship.
Curved ball
Curveball
What to watch: How fake intelligence can lead to war
The German government and its Secret Service credulously trusted the disinformation provided by informants code-named "Curve Ball": Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, which led to an eight-year military conflict in Iraq. Based on true events, German director Johannes Nebo and co-screenwriter Oliver Keddell portray the ironic underbelly of the war in a sharp, bold and humorous way. The film was selected for the 2020 Berlin Film Festival screening section.
Stay tuned to us and be the first to grasp the blockbuster list of the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival in 2021.
Note: In case of change in the film schedule, the actual schedule shall prevail.