Goethe-Institut: September Films

September 8 - 29: Film Series - Film Will Survive (Das Kino wird überleben)

Films by Alexander Kluge

Author and director Alexander Kluge began his career in the New German Film movement of the 1960s. Revolting against the ruling principles of German filmmaking, he produced films that had nothing in common with the standards of his time.  Having produced fifty-seven theatrical motion pictures, he now experiments with new methods and media techniques, producing short films for iTunes and podcasts. He received the 2008 German Film Prize.  This selection of Alexander Kluge's works shows four longer films from three different decades, each preceded by one of his recent experimental short films. All films will be in German with English subtitles.

Tickets: $4/$6 at www.goethe.de/ins/us/was/ver/en3536212v.htm

Monday, September 8, 6:30pm

Brutality in Stone (1966, 11 min., DVD) and
Yesterday Girl (Abschied von gestern, 1966, 84 min., DVD)
Anita G., a Jewish woman, comes from the GDR to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1966. The stumbling blocks in her path of discovery are depicted in an almost documentary style. Michael W. Jennings, Chair, Department of German, Princeton University, will introduce the films; a discussion will follow the screening.

Monday, September 15, 6:30pm

Portrait of a Movement (1964, 12 min., DVD) and
In Danger and Deep Distress, the Middleway Spells Certain Death (In Gefahr und größter Not bringt der Mittelweg den Tod, 1974, 86 min., DVD)
For ten days Alexander Kluge and Edgar Reitz roamed through Frankfurt with their camera. The resulting film combines documentary footage of the city, demonstrations, and controversies at the SPD party congress with stories of two women - one a thief, the other an agent from the East Bloc.

Monday, September 22, 6:30pm

16 Minute Films (16 Minutenfilme) and
The Blind Director (Der Angriff der Gegenwart auf die übrige Zeit, 1985, 113 min., DVD, Cast: Jutta Hoffmann, Rosel Zech, Armin Mueller-Stahl)
An episodic film that, according to Kluge, "turns its back on classical cinema." Fragments of reality focus on just one thought: how a single moment can consume the past and the future.

Monday, September 29, 6:30 pm

The Power of Emotion (Die Macht der Gefühle, 1983, 115 min., DVD, Cast: Hannelore Hoger, Alexandra Kluge, Suzanne von Borsody)
Five changes of time, five changes of place - numerous fragments and one time-lapse transmit an unusual experience. Alexander Kluge calls this film the key to understanding his work.

September 20 - October 8, 2008: Film Series - Berlin Alexanderplatz and Beyond

A masterpiece of late 20th century cinema, Berlin Alexanderplatz is considered by many to be inventive and provocative director Rainer Werner Fassbinder's vision of humanity and his crowning achievement. Based on a novel by Alfred Döblin, the story concerns a small-time criminal who is drawn into the underworld. Fassbinder's adaptation merged his interests in the themes of love, life, and power. Other examples of Fassbinder's prodigious output are shown in two additional feature films. All films are in German with English subtitles. www.goethe.de/ins/us/was/ver/en3555976v.htm

Saturday, September 20, noon - 11pm: Parts 1-9
Sunday, September 21, 11am - 5pm: Parts 10-18

Berlin Alexanderplatz - Remastered (1980, 887 min., DVD; Cast: Heinrich George, Bernhard Minetti)
Film criticDesson Thomson will provide an introduction before the film on Saturday, and lead a discussion during the break (3:30 - 4:30 pm). Refreshments will be provided. Tickets: General admission each day $12/$9; complete weekend: $20/$15.

Goethe-Institut is open

• Monday - Thursday, 9:00am - 5:00pm
• Friday, 9:00am - 3:00pm

Goethe-Institut Washington
The German Cultural Center
812 Seventh Street, NW
202.289.1200
www.goethe.de/washington
Metro: Gallery Pl-Chinatown (Chinatown exit)