Filmfest Hamburg announces first films

A crisis in Europe, a revolution in the Middle East and an election in the USA. But whilst all this is going on, what is happening in countries such as Estonia, Serbia or Chile, apart from what we see on the news? At Filmfest Hamburg around 140 films will provide insights into the stories, dreams and lifestyles of over 40 countries, large and small ones, once again.

“For the 20th Filmfest it was very important to me to show productions from countries and regions that are unknown in the cinematographic world. It is particularly exciting that Morocco is represented by multiple productions. We have also put together a Far East section with contributions from Malaysia, Nepal and many other countries. I hope that the opening film will also be a surprise – geographically speaking,”says festival manager Albert Wiederspiel.

Included in the program is the new film by award-winning Romanian director Cristian Mungiu. The drama “Beyond the Hills” focuses on two young women who grew up together in an orphanage. When they see each other again after many years conflict ensues. One wants to emigrate to Germany while the other has since become a nun and cannot bear to leave the priory and the religious rituals which have since become her way of life. At Cannes 2012 the film won the Award for Best Screenplay as well as Awards for Best Actress for both Cristina Flutur and Cosima Stratan. “Beyond the Hills” is one of the films that fits into this year's theme of Belief, a visual reminder of the Protestant Kirchentag 2013 in Hamburg.

After 2010 Filmfest Hamburg will once again be showing a film by Xavier Dolan. The young director from Québec has become internationally renowned for his wild, fast-paced and colorful visual language. His new film “Laurence Anyways” is featured in the Voilà! section. The unusually cinematically productive province of Québec in Canada is actually being honored retrospectively at Filmfest Hamburg. The eight films in the Québec Deluxe section were curated by Canadian film maker Denis Coté.

The Australian director Cate Shortland will be presenting her long-awaited second feature film “Lore”. The film maker made a name for herself with the Australian independent film “Somersault” which won several prizes. This time Cate Shortland filmed in Germany. “Lore” is about the 15-year old daughter of high-ranking Nazi officials. At the end of the war Lore has cross the country with her younger siblings to find their grandparents in Northern Germany.

In the TV section 16:9, the multi-award-winning director Matti Geschonneck shows his crime thriller drama “Tod einer Polizistin” (Death of a Policewoman). It tells the story of revenge. Götz George and Jürgen Vogel take on the main roles in this ZDF production. About 18 television films and documentaries are being shown in the 16:9 section and they all have a chance of winning the TV Producer’s Prize worth €30,000. This prize is provided every year by the Hamburg Department for Culture and the Media.

The internationally renowned filmmaker Fatih Akin, always a welcome guest at the festival in his home town, will be showing his new film “Müll im Garten Eden” (Polluting Paradise) freshly from Cannes. It will be shown in the well-established environmental film section Drei Farben Grün.

New sections at Filmfest Hamburg include TANZ! (DANCE!) – a successor of the KUNST! (ART!) section from 2010 and the MUSIK! (MUSIC!) section from 2011 – and Asia Express showing films from the Far East.

From August 23th the new trailer of Filmfest Hamburg 2012 will be screened in selected cinemas throughout the city. It will also be shown on the Filmfest Hamburg website. The trailer was directed by the Hamburg filmmaker Joachim Bornemann in collaboration with the Hamburg advertising agency kempertrautmann. Bornemann showed his film “Vom Kiez zum Kap” at last year’s festival.