Welcome to the 27th edition of Film|Neu, Washington’s annual festival of new films from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland!
This year’s films explored the absurd, the challenges that come with pursuing ambitious dreams, remaining true to oneself in the face of great change, and being an outsider torn between belonging and remaining a misfit. The ACF Washington partnered again with the Goethe-Institut Washington and the Embassy of Switzerland and brought German-speaking films to the nation’s capital.
This year’s festival opened with All About Me (Der Junge muss an die frische Luft): a touching, funny, and uplifting glimpse into the colorful and complex childhood of Hape Kerkeling, one of Germany’s most treasured comedians. In Berlin Bouncer, the festival drew back the curtain on the notorious nightlife of the techno-charged Berlin club scene as documentarian David Dietl spotlighted three of the most famous doormen – a profession described as “absurd“ by one of the main figures. Our Austrian comedy tackled absurdity from a different angle with The Miracle Method (Die Wunderübung), taking place over the course of a 96-minute marriage counseling session.
From the ragtag gang of rehab residents in The Goldfish (Die Goldfische), who embark upon a wild criminal roadtrip, to the cursing and untamed nine-year-old Benni of System Crasher (Systemsprenger), to an upstart sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation leader in Swiss film Zwingli, Film|Neu 2019 offered many narratives of rebels, misfits, and outsiders, whose existences are revolutionary – whether in loud or quiet ways.
And there were many more films to discover at the Landmark E Street Cinema!
The ACF Washington presented the film The Miracle Method as well as the short film Josef Markus Julian as part of the screening Short Films from Germany, Austria & Switzerland on Saturday, November 16.
THE MIRACLE METHOD
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 6:00 PM
Austria, 2018, 96 min. | Director/Screenplay: Michael Kreihsl, screenplay based on the play "Die Wunderübung" by Daniel Glattauer | Cast: Aglaia Szysykowitz, Devid Striesow, Erwin Steinhauer
It was love at first sight, back when they dived together into the warm, clear waters of the Red Sea: perfect harmony and complete trust in each other, but only under the crystalline surface. Perhaps they should have never resurfaced? Now, many years of marriage later, Joana and Valentin Dorek continue to poison each other with their toxic relationship. A session with a couple’s therapist seems to be the last rescue for their relationship. His attempts to get the problems of the two under control fail repeatedly; after all, Joana already knows everything that her husband is about to say, so why let him speak at all? Meanwhile, Valentin is quick to dismiss his wife’s assessment of their emotional disconnection as irrational and overly sensitive. But, as it turns out, not only the couple has problems – the therapist also seems to deal with some troubles of his own.
Director Michael Kreihsl’s wonderful comedy on marriage counseling is an adaptation of the successful play and bestselling book by Daniel Glattauer. Loaded with biting and witty dialogue and astounding twists that do not exclude the therapist himself, the film offers fascinating lessons on the desolate – but not desperate – love affair, allowing audiences much room for identification with its rather frustrating protagonists.
ABOUT MICHAEL KREIHSL
Michael Kreihsl (b. in Vienna in 1958) studied art history and archaeology before graduating from a training program to become a painting restorer. Afterwards, he studied directing at the Vienna University for Music and Performing Arts, Department of Film and Television. Then, he completed a postgraduate study at New York University’s Department of Film and Television. This education was followed by teaching engagements at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, FH Fachhochschule des BFI Vienna, and the University of Vienna’s Department of Film and Television. Michael Kreihsl is a member of the German Film Academy.
When: Saturday, November 16, 2019 | 6:00 pm
Where: E Street Cinema (555 11th St NW, Washington, DC 20004)
NEW SHORT FILMS FROM GERMANY, AUSTRIA & SWITZERLAND
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 12 PM – 2 PM
JOSEF MARKUS JULIAN
Austria, 2019, 24 min. | Director: Özgür Anil
Markus and his son Julian go to the countryside to visit Markus’s father. After breaking his arm, Josef is barely capable of working on his small farm. He is happy about the rare visit of his son and grandson, but he realizes soon that Markus did not only come to see him.
“A mastered film, in its subtle construction, the succession of the sequences that are preparing to the worst and the different tone’s breaks that surprise the audience. Özgür Anil is a very promising director.”
ABOUT ÖZGÜR ANIL
Özgür Anil (b. in Vienna in 1994) studied film studies and philosophy at the University of Vienna. In 2014, he was accepted as one of four students into the directing class of Michael Haneke at the Filmakademie Wien. While continuing his studies he is also working as a journalist and film critic for KURIER, one of Austria’s biggest daily newspapers.
Short Films from Germany
Am Cu Ce - Pride (Am Cu Ce - Mein ganzer Stolz) (2019, Director: Hannah Weissenborn), Moonjump (2019, Director: Lasse Holdhus), and Rude Boys (2019, Director: Ken Hagen-Takenaka)
Short Films from Switzerland
Life is One of the Simplest Things (Das Leben ist eines der Leichtesten) (2019, Director: Marion Nyffenegger), All Inclusive (2018, Director: Corina Schwingruber Ilić), and The Flood Is Coming (2018, Director: Gabriel Böhmer)
When: Saturday, November 16, 2019 | 12:00 pm
Where: E Street Cinema (555 11th St NW, Washington, DC 20004)
