FESTIVALS OF GERMAN FILMS
AROUND THE GLOBE
In 2016 German Films organized Festivals of German Films in a number of potentially attractive territories such as China, Japan, Turkey and Australia. In all these regions the Goethe-Institut was the main partner for the festivals, which aim at reaching out to new audiences for German cinema. Not only the audience (over 30,000 tickets sold at the 4 events) but also the press response proved the interest in German cinema to be above average in 2016. In China, the audiences in Beijing, Chengdu and Shenzhen were particularly taken by the opening film of the festival, COLONIA, and Florian Gallenberger had to give a large number of autographs to the keen, young spectators. Selected films of the festival program could be shown only in special venues like the Goethe-Institut, UCCA or the Institut Français. Among those titles both 4 KINGS by Theresa von Eltz and IN LOVE WITH LOU by Cordula Kablitz-Post were very popular. And the attendance of well-known Chinese filmmakers like Berlinale-winner Lou Ye and actress Zhang Jingchu on the opening night increased the press interest in the event. German cinema has definitely become more attractive for the Chinese audience.
In Tokyo, the HORIZONTE Festival of German Cinema opened with FUKUSHIMA, MON AMOUR and was celebrated by a large audience, with director Doris Dörrie introducing her team to the enthusiastic fans. The young Japanese audience was also very taken by 4 KINGS and director Theresa von Eltz. The 3rd Festival of German Cinema in Turkey toured from Istanbul to Ankara, from Izmir to Diyarbakir. While director Maren Ade couldn’t attend the event in Izmir, the audience nevertheless enjoyed the screening of TONI ERDMANN at the Institut Français. Other popular titles in the program included 24 WEEKS, ME & KAMINSKI, ONE BREATH and WILD. The most long-living event in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut is the Festival of German Films in Australia, which took place in four cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra) in 2016. Opening film GOODBYE BERLIN by Fatih Akin was enthusiastically received, other films in the successful program included THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK by Hans Steinbichler, IN LOVE WITH LOU and FOG IN AUGUST by Kai Wessel.