The 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is being commemorated with two screenings at the 10th edition of the German Film Festival, which is opening today in Valletta.
The comedy Bornholmer Straße, directed by Christian Schwochow, is set in November 9, 1989, when it was announced on live television that all East German citizens will be allowed to cross into the West.
German Democratic Republic soldiers at the Bornholmer Straße border checkpoint in Berlin are shocked as many people caught up in the euphoria head straight to their nearest checkpoint, not realising they still require a passport and visa.
Bornholmer StraßeThe script is based on Gerhard Haase-Hindenberg’s book Der Mann, der die Mauer öffnete about Lieutenant-Colonel Harald Jäger, along with several long conversations with Jäger himself.
The 2014 film, rated 12A, is being screened on Friday at 6.30pm.
The other movie, also showing on Friday at 8.30pm, is the 1989 drama Coming Out. Directed by Heiner Carow, it tells the story of a young teacher in East Berlin who struggles to accept his homo-sexuality. The picture is rated 18.
The festival, organised by the German-Maltese Circle in collaboration with the Goethe Institute, features a mix of genres, with most films having won prestigious German and international awards.
The opening film being screened tonight at 7pm is director Andreas Dresen’s drama Gundermann, which won best film and best directing at the German Film Awards 2019.
The film is a portrait of the contradictory life of Gerhard Gundermann, who made a name for himself as a singer-songwriter in former East Germany before tragically dying at the age of 43 in 1998. The 2018 film is rated 12.
Mountain MIracleTomorrow, the 2018 film Der Junge muss an die frische Luft (All About Me), directed by Caroline Link, will be shown at 6.30pm. Winner of various awards, the 12A-rated film is set in the Ruhr Valley in 1972 and follows a nine-year-old named Hans Peter who grows up in the security of his family and relatives.
He might not be the most popular guy but has a talent for making others laugh, which he refines on a daily basis in his grandmother’s corner shop. However, dark shadows soon loom over the boy’s daily life.
The festival features a mix of genres
Another film, Reisen nach Jerusalem (The Chairs Game), by director Lucia Carla, will be screened at 8.30pm. It focuses on an unemployed woman, Alice, who refuses to get along with the requirements of the unemployment office.
Defiantly, she keeps afloat with gas vouchers she gets from small jobs in market research institutes while trying to take control of her miserly life. The 2018 drama is rated 15.
On Saturday, the 2017 family film Amelie Rennt (Mountain Miracle) by Tobias Wiemann, will be shown at 4.30pm. The winner of the best children’s film at the German Film Awards 2018, it revolves around Amelie, a 13-year-old girl who struggles with asthma. She is taken to a clinic in South Tyrol for treatment but she does not like it there and soon runs off.
While hiding, she meets a quirky boy who leads her on to a mountain, where according to an ancient belief, sick people heal if they manage to reach its peak.
The Chairs GameThe hard-hitting 2018 documentary The Cleaners, which tackles fake news, censorship and the outsourcing of democracy, will be shown on the same day at 6.30pm.
Directed by Moritz Riesewieck and Hans Block, it is rated 12.
The festival will close off with another screening of the opening film, Gundermann, at 8.30pm.
All screenings are taking place at the German-Maltese Circle premises at Messina Palace, 141, St Christopher Street, Valletta.
Films will have English subtitles. Entrance is free for all shows but pre-booking is advised. For more information and reservations, visit www.germanmaltesecircle.org.
The Cleaners
Gundermann