Cinematheque Passion and Goethe-Institut Hong Kong team up for the fourth time to present the German Film Festival Kino@Macao 2019 from October 19 to November 13. The festival features ten recent thought-provoking German works, two “Macao Special” films and four compelling works from director-in-focus Volker Schlöndorff, followed by a talk that will explore the artistic practice of this German film maestro.
Adapted from a real-life event, opening film Balloon transports the audience back forty years when Germany was split between the East and West. Portraying a family that plans to escape East Germany to the West in a hot-air balloon, this compelling film depicts people’s hope and fight for freedom.
Based on a sensational “honor” killing event, A Regular Woman charts a Muslim woman’s experience of oppression. Gundermann unveils the relationship between East German secret police Stasi and Gerhard Gundermann, an East German singer-songwriter who tragically died in 1998. Roads is about the friendship between two young men in search of their beloved ones throughout a hilarious and exciting journey. The Most Beautiful Couple investigates hidden desire through the traumatic and dark experience of a middle-class couple. Sweethearts brings you a moving friendship between single-mother-and-criminal Mel and her hostage. 25 km/h unites two brothers at their father’s funeral, and a journey for the meaning of life develops. Documentary Chris the Swiss traces the mysterious death journalist Chris, who is the director’s admired cousin. The Collini Case uncovers a scandal from World War I and a murder. In The Mover, 60-year-old mover Walter kicks tenants out their houses for a money-laundering syndicate, until one day he faces a dilemma: the tenants he has to kick out are his son and daughter-in-law.
Still from The Collini Case, 2018 | Courtesy of Cinematheque Passion
Director-in-focus explores Volker Schlöndorff, German film maestro and prominent figure of New German Cinema movement, turns 80 this year. His remarkable works have earned him the Palme d’Or and Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. His portfolio spans over thirty works and performing arts works. The session, which offers a broad view of his creative paths spanning twenty years, features Baal (1969), Young Törless (1965) and The Legend of Rita (2000). These hard-hitting works illustrate Schlöndorff’s excellent adaptations of the literary canon and criticize social oppression through the character of the rebellious anti-hero. Led by Dr. Derek Lam, a film talk follows to give an in-depth understanding of Schlöndorff’s practice.
Macao Specials with talks by famous authors Lotte at the Bauhaus depicts a young woman as she strives for emancipation and creative development. Before the screening, German author Theresia Enzensberger gives a talk on women during Bauhaus’s early years. Another work exclusively for Macau audiences is Babylon Berlin Ep. 1-2. Combining the first two episodes of this high-budget and chic TV series, the screening brings us the thrilling story of Gereon Rath, a police inspector on a secret mission in the Weimar Republic during the post- World War One period. The screening is followed by a talk by writer Arne Jysch, who adapted the original book into a graphic novel.
When: October 19–November 13, 2019
Where: Cinematheque Passion, 13 Travessa da Paixão, Macau
How much: MOP $60
Full-time students and senior citizens age 65 or above can enjoy 50% discount
Tickets are available from Saturday, October 5, 2019 onwards
For more information, call +853 2852 2585 or check their website
Still from Balloon, 2019 | Courtesy of Cinematheque Passion
