26/03/2009

In a line-up dominated by US titles, one thoroughly German film stands out: Germany 09: 13 Short Films About the State of the Nation [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. This major collective project had its avant-première screening out of competition at the latest Berlinale (see review). It was conceived as a rejoinder to German Autumn (directed by Fassbinder, Schlöndorff and Edgar Reitz, among others) after 30 years of German history have passed.

Produced by HerbstFilm and NDR, this work – sometimes funny, sometimes political, but always relevant and high-quality – is being released by Piffl. The film is made up of 13 shorts that represent as many different personal approaches to the country’s situation, directed by some of today’s most prominent young German filmmakers, including Tom Tykwer (who initiated the project), Fatih Akin, Dani Levy, Wolfgang Becker, Dominik Graf, Nicolette Krebitz, Hans Weingartner and Hans Steinbichler.

Meanwhile, Constantin is launching Christian Ditter’s adventure film for youngsters Vorstadtkrokodile [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“Suburban Crocodiles”). This is the director’s second feature after French for Beginners [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and is a new adaptation (after the enormously successful TV version made in 1977) of Max von der Grün’s cult children’s novel.

Produced by Christian Becker (Hui Buh: The Goofy Ghost [+see also:
trailer
film profile], The Wave [+see also:
trailer
film profile]...) for Munich-based company Rat Pack and Westside Filmproduktion, the film stars Nora Tschirner. The story centres on two boys – one of whom is partially handicapped – who want to join the gang of daredevils alluded to in the film’s title.

Younger viewers will also be able to discover the animated film Princess Lillifee [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Alan Simpson, Ansgar Niebuhr and Xu Zhi-Jian, which is being released by Universum (Walt Disney).

Finally, the last local title on this week’s line-up – which doesn’t include any non-German European releases – is Klaus Stern’s Henners Traum (distributed by RealFiction). The documentary follows the mayor of a small German town whose ambition is to initiate "the biggest tourist project in Europe", a luxury complex costing €420m, which is supposed to create 1,000 jobs. Alas, his overly ambitious dream is thwarted by the financial crisis.

(Translated from French)