German film week at SM malls
A line-up of contemporary German Cinema, many of which have already received awards in international film festivals, highlights the 2017 German Film
Week at the SM Supermalls.
Organized by the Goethe-Institut Philippinen in partnership with SM Retail, SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc., SM Cinema and with support of Film Development Council of the Philippines, the German Film
Week offers a diverse selection of films for audiences, with the goal of promoting German language and culture.
“We are truly excited to unveil this year’s film and new voices to Philippine audiences,” said Goethe-Intistitut Philippinen director and head of Cultural Programs, Dr. Ulrich Nowak. “Whether mainstream, romantic comedies or micro-budget indies, we made sure our festival attendees will be entertained and pleased.
The German Film Week opening night recently took place at the SM Mall of Asia Cinema 4 with German filmmaker Markus Goller as its guest. Goller, who is the director of My Brother Simple/
Simpel, which opened this year’s festivities, had aQ & A session after the film’s screening. Aside from the Manila leg, the German Film Week will move to other locations: SM City Clark, until Oct. 12; SM City Cebu, Oct. 14 to 18; and SM City Davao, from Oct. 20 to 24.
The festival will screen 12 films that tackles issues such as family, romance, journey, society, terrorism and German history. The opening film My Brother Simple
/ Simpel is based on French bestseller about two brothers — one mentally handicapped — who try to find their long-lost father. Other family related films include Toni Erdmann, directed by Maren Ade, (which follows the story of Winfried and his career woman daughter Ines) and Daniel Levy’s The World
of Wunderlichs about a single mother accompanied by her family on her casting journey. Karoline Herfurth’s You’ve Got a
Message / SMS für Dich is about love in the digital age, while The Bloom of
Yesterday / Die Blumen von gestern by director Chris Kraus is a love story set in the world of academic discipline.
Return to Montauk, directed by Volker Schlöndorff, re-lives a great but failed love affair.
The German Film Week also brings the world of punk rocker Fussel as he struggles between therapy and real life in Happy Burnout; and Marija, a young woman who fights to live a freer, selfdetermined life. Mark Rothemond’s My Blind Date
with Life, on the other hand, shows how Saliya Kahawatte loses his eyesight, yet succeeds in his career.
The event also presented Captive directed by Brillante Mendoza.
There are also films that we can say are ripped from the world headlines. Robert Thalheim’s Old Agent Men / Kundschafter des Friedens is about how Jochen Falk and two further former Stasi agents embark on a dangerous mission to rescue the kidnapped president of Katschekistan; while Welcome to Germany / Willkommen bei den Hartmanns tells the story of Diallo, a Nigerian asylum seeker who is taken in by a family in a posh district of Munich.
Tickets may be purchased at the cinema counters of participating SM malls.