On November 9th, the 29th "New German Cinema" festival will begin in Kyiv, Lviv, and Chernivtsi. The opening of the event coincides with the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This was announced by the company Arthaus Traffic, which organizes the festival in Ukraine in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut.
The program includes four new films, considered iconic for German cinema. In Kyiv, the films will be shown at the "Zhovten" cinema, in Lviv at the "Planet Cinema" (Forum Mall), and in Chernivtsi at the Ivan Mykolaychuk Cultural and Arts Center. The festival will also take place in Odessa and Kharkiv at later dates, which will be announced separately.
The opening film is the romantic comedy "Afire" directed by Christian Petzold. The story revolves around a young writer who moves to a house by the sea to concentrate on his book. However, a charming neighbor and unexpected encounters distract him from his work. When a forest fire breaks out nearby, the main characters find themselves trapped, and it's at that moment that their relationship begins to develop.
The drama "Perfect Days" is the latest work by the renowned Wim Wenders, a three-time Oscar nominee and winner of the Golden Palm at Cannes, the Golden Lion at Venice, and the BAFTA Award. This film is about the simplicity and beauty of life. The main character is a toilet cleaner in Tokyo who finds contentment in a structured routine and spends his free time listening to rock music, reading books, and growing trees. The film's lead actor, Koji Yakusho, received the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival.
One of the main German film events of the year is the drama "The Teachers' Lounge," which was submitted for the Academy Award in the Best International Film category. Directed by Ilker Çatak, the film premiered at the Berlinale and received two awards. Later, it won 5 awards at the German Film Awards. The story revolves around an idealistic teacher who tries to unravel a school theft case, which turns into a psychological battle. She finds herself torn between her ideals and the school system, where the consequences of her actions threaten to break her. The lead role is portrayed by Leonie Benesch, known for her work in TV series like "Babylon Berlin" and "The Crown."
"The Theory of Everything" directed by Timm Kröger is a movie featuring Hanns Zischler, who previously worked with Wim Wenders and Jean-Luc Godard. The events of the film take place in 1962 in a hotel in the Swiss Alps. Johannes is one of the scientists who have come here for a conference to learn about a new revolutionary theory. However, the gathering is disrupted by a series of unpleasant events: the lecturer fails to appear, one of the physicists is found dead, and a suspicious pianist from the hotel mysteriously disappears. The main character becomes entangled in this ominous and enigmatic story.
