More on the 6th German Film Festival at:
<http://www.curzoncinemas.com/gff.shtml>.
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "Hobein Maren" <[log in to unmask]>
GERMAN FILM FESTIVAL 28 NOVEMBER - 4 DECEMBER 2003
AT THE CURZON SOHO, 93-107 SHAFTESBURY AVENUE, LONDON W1
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GERMAN DOX
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Friday 28 November 4.00pm
THE CHAMPIONS/ DIE CHAMPIONS
Germany 1998 - 2003, 129 mins, colour, English subtitles
Directed by Christoph Hübner
Starring: Francis Bugri, Heiko Hesse, Mohammed Abdulia, Claudio
Chavarria
Borussia Dortmund is one of the most successful German football clubs.
Their success, like that of all other major clubs, depends to a large
extent on finding young talented men all over the world and turning
them into First Division players. Many young men dream of being one of
the chosen few. Christoph Hübner follows four players - one from Ghana,
one from Chile, and two from Germany - for whom this dream has come
true. It soon becomes obvious that joining the team is not
automatically the starting-point for a brilliant career. The training
is tough, not just physically but also mentally. The pressure on the
young men is high. Being away from home, getting accustomed to a new
country, learning the language and having to fulfill the expectations
of the trainers and managers who want to see some pay-back on their
investment, does not necessarily help them to deliver their best
possible performances. In the course of the three years that Hübner
observes the four players, they have to confront a lot of set-backs and
the film shows their different ways of handling failures, injuries and
criticism. Though THE CHAMPIONS gives an insight into a little known
aspect of the soccer industry, its focus is clearly on its four
engaging protagonists who have a lot more to talk about than just
football.
Christoph Hübner was born in Heidelberg in 1948. After working in the
theatre and studying law he enrolled at the Munich Academy of
Television and Film (HFF/M) in 1971. From 1975 onwards he taught at
various universities, academies of art and film schools. Since 1975 he
has worked simultaneously as a producer and director. In 1978 he
founded the RuhrFilmZentrum and Christoph Hübner Filmproduktion. Most
of his films portray the lives of people living in the Ruhr Area. He
has won several prizes, among them the prestigious Adolf Grimme Award.
BERND FISCHER will be present at the screening.
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Sunday 30 November 5.00pm
FROM DACHAU WITH LOVE/ GRÜSSE AUS DACHAU!
Germany 2002, 90 mins, colour, English subtitles
Directed by Bernd Fischer
Screenplay: Bernd Fischer
Photography: Bernd Fischer, Knut Schmitz
In March 2001, for the first time the city of Dachau had a stand at the
International Tourism Fair in Berlin to promote its little known
beauties and attractions. After all it's one of the most frequently
visited places in Bavaria - following closely after Neuschwanstein. But
Dachau's main attraction is a former concentration camp and not a
castle. Director Bernd Fischer grew up in Dachau and has a lively
memory of people asking him the way to the camp. Now he returns to have
a look at the town and discovers that it has not found a unified
approach to dealing with its nationalsocialist past. The Mayor, a
tourist guide and a member of the right-wing Republican party clearly
want to put the past behind them. The town has so much to offer, and
why should an aeroplane not be named after Dachau? The local police are
pragmatic, using the former SS-barracks for training young officers.
The local hospital is avoided by parents who don't want the town's name
stamped onto the birth certificates of their new-born babies. A
survivor of the holocaust and a nun have formed a friendship through
working together and keeping the memory of what happened at the
concentration camp alive. What Fischer observes is at times absurd,
sometimes bewildering, sometimes very moving and shows that whatever
approach people in Dachau take, whether denial, indifference or active
remembering, they cannot escape the town's past.
Bernd Fischer, born in 1964, grew up and went to school in Dachau.
After studying Photography in Munich he trained as a cameraman for film
and television at the the Academy of Film & Television "Konrad Wolf"
Potsdam-Babelsberg (HFF/B). From 1997 - 1998 he took part in workshops
in New York and Los Angeles. Since 1992 he has worked as cameraman for
documentaries, feature films and commercials. In 2001/2002 he provided
artistic advice and the light-concept for Alexander Sokurov's RUSSIAN
ARK. FROM DACHAU WITH LOVE marks his debut as director.
BERND FISCHER will be present at the screening.
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Monay 1 December 5.00pm
VOTE FOR HENRYK!/ HERR WICHMANN VON DER CDU
Germany 2002, 71 mins, colour, English subtitles
Directed by Andreas Dresen
Summer 2002. The election campaign for the general parliamentary
elections has reached the sparsely populated region of
Uckermark/Oberbarnim in the North West of Brandenburg in East Germany.
This is not an easy terrain for securing votes. Many young people have
left the region. The unemployment rate has reached 25%. But twenty-five-
year-old Henryk Wichmann is not to be discouraged. As candidate for the
Christian Democratic Party he is determined to turn the tide and topple
the Social Democratic reign. Equipped with flyers, posters, and a
slogan promising that "A Fresh Breeze Will Stir up Politics", he
travels through his constituency. We see the tireless politician paying
a visit to an old people's home, at his campaign stand desperately
trying to keep control of his flyers when an all too fresh breeze comes
along, or getting prepared for the visit of the party leader, Angela
Merkel, who is sure to draw a crowd. Taking an entirely observational
stance, Andreas Dresen treats Wichmann with respect and sympathy for
the toils of his trade, but also reveals the discrepancies between a
complex reality and the formulaic solutions proposed by even the
freshest of politics.
Andreas Dresen was born in Gera in 1963. After a few amateur films he
became a trainee in the DEFA-studios and worked as assistant director
with Günter Reisch. From 1986 - 1992 he studied directing at the
Academy of Film & Television "Konrad Wolf" Potsdam-Babelsberg (HFF/B)
and from 1990-92 he attended the masterclass of Günter Reisch at the
Academy of Arts in Berlin. Since 1992 he has written scripts and
directed for film and television. His film THE POLICEWOMAN was awarded
the Adolf-Grimme-Award and in 2002 his film GRILL POINT won the Silver
Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.
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Thursday
4 December 7.00pm
TALK STRAIGHT - THE WORLD OF RURAL QUEERS/ ICH KENN KEINEN - ALLEIN
UNTER HETEROS Germany 2003, 100 mins, colour, English subtitles
Directed by Jochen Hick
According to statistics 5-10% of today's population are homosexuals.
But as far as Swabia, a region in the South-West of Germany, is
concerned these numbers don't seem to apply at all, at least in the
opinion of many of its heterosexual inhabitants. They simply don't know
any homosexuals, not a single one. But by portraying the lives of four
gay men of different generations and backgrounds Jochen Hick proves
them wrong and shows that homosexuality, widely accepted in the big
cities, is still something the heterosexual rural population struggles
with. Hick's protagonists have learned to live with the prejudices,
created comfortable lives for themselves and found opportunities for
occasional escapes to places such as Berlin, Zurich or Thailand where
Hick lets us follow them. The insights into their lives at home and at
work are refracted by the sometimes amusingly helpless, sometimes hair-
raisingly insensitive comments from their families, friends and
neighbours. We are also taken to events organized by the mother of two
gay sons who wants to help parents come to terms with their children's
homosexuality and educate the wider public. Scenes as these make clear
that though the participants have come to be informed, they have not
really come to understand.
Born in 1960 in Darmstadt, Jochen Hick is the founder, owner and
producer of GALERIA ALASKA PRODUCTIONS. He received a degree in visual
communication / film from the Hamburg Academy of Fine Arts and studied
at universities in Florence, Bologna and Hamburg. He has worked in
different functions on film and TV productions and as screenwriter and
journalist for various TV-stations. His previous films include NO ONE
SLEEPS (1999), SEX/LIFE IN L.A. (1998), MENMANIACS - THE LEGACY OF
LEATHER (1995), and MOON OVER PITTSBURGH (1984).
JOCHEN HICK will be present at the screening.
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BOOKING INFORMATION
Booking can be made in person or over the phone calling the Curzon Soho
Box Office on 020-7734 2255. All major credit cards are accepted.
Tickets: before 6pm £5.00 (no concessions) after 6pm £7.50 (concessions
£5.00) Festival Offer: 5 tickets for £30 (no concessions) Concessions:
Students, UB40, Senior Citizens, Registered Disabled, Curzon
Cardholders, Westminster Resident Cardholders, Members of ACT
Exclusive.
(Proof of Identity will be required)
Please note: With the exception of the Family Matinee and the Schools
Screening, NO PERSON UNDER 16 SHALL BE ADMITTED TO ANY OF OUR
SCREENINGS
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