50 YEARS OF GERMAN-ISRAELI RELATIONS CELEBRATED IN JERUSALEM

A special program of five German films was shown on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of German-Israeli diplomatic relations in addition to the German films that had already been selected for the program of the Jerusalem Film Festival. The special program was organized in cooperation with Filmfest München, with support from German Films and FilmFernsehFonds Bayern. A large delegation from Germany traveled to Jerusalem to present the films there in person. The official program in Jerusalem — Israel’s most important film festival after Haifa – included such festival successes as VICTORIA by Sebastian Schipper, WE ARE YOUNG. WE ARE STRONG. by Burhan Qurbani, and FROM CALIGARI TO HITLER by Rüdiger Suchsland. In cooperation with Filmfest München and supported by FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, there were also screenings of ALKY ALKY by Axel Ranisch, HEIL by Dietrich Brüggemann and THE PROCEDURE by Alexander Costea from the New German Cinema sidebar, as well as TRENKER AND RIEFENSTAHL — A FINE LINE BETWEEN TRUTH AND GUILT by Wolfgang Murnberger from the New German Television section. MY FRIEND RAFFI by Arend Agthe was shown from the Children’s Film Fest Competition. A total of 23 German films and co-productions were shown in Jerusalem this year. Matthijs Wouter Knol, director of the Berlinale’s European Film Market, was a member of the festival jury. German Films collaborated with FFF Bayern and the Jerusalem International Film Festival in organizing a reception in the Cinematheque to honor the German productions and festival guests in the program.