Powerful German Cinema
11. August 2022
Autobiographical, artistic, documentary: FILMFEST HAMBURG presents Rheingold, Meinen Hass bekommt ihr nicht, In einem Land, das es nicht mehr gibt and Human Flowers of Flesh, the latest films by Fatih Akin, Kilian Riedhof, Aelrun Goette and Helena Wittmann, as well as the documentary Lars Eidinger – Sein oder nicht sein by Reiner Holzemer.
Hamburg-based director and Douglas Sirk Award winner Fatih Akin is on home turf: his latest film Rheingold, starring the European Shooting Star Emilio Sakraya, is celebrating its world premiere at FILMFEST HAMBURG and will be released on 27 October. The film shows the dramatic and adventurous path of Xatar, whose real name is Giwar Hajabi. In the mid-80s, he comes from the hell of an Iraqi prison to Germany with his family, ends up in the gutter, deals drugs and fails time and again. To pay off his debts, he plans a gold heist. Akin tells the story of Xatar, who made it from prison to successful musician and entrepreneur, based on his own biography “Alles oder Nix”.
In the attack on Bataclan night club in Paris on 13 November 2015, Antoine Leiris lost his wife, the mother of his then 17-month-old child. As a reaction to the act of terrorism, Leiris posted a message on social media that spread around the world: “You Will Not Have My Hate!” In a state of emergency between media attention and endless grief, Antoine has to learn to cope with his new everyday life – above all for the sake of his little son. In his film Meinen Hass bekommt ihr nicht (You Will Not Have My Hate), which celebrated its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival, Kilian Riedhof (Gladbeck, Der Fall Barschel) follows a man who responds in a remarkable way to the horror of terror. Riedhof wrote the screenplay for the film, which was shot entirely in French, together with Jan Braren, Marc Blöbaum and Stéphanie Kalfon. It is based on the bestseller of the same name by real-life journalist and author Antoine Leiris.
In einem Land, das es nicht mehr gibt (In A Country Doesn’t Exist Anymore) is based on the life as well as other true events of the director and Grimme Prize winner Aelrun Goette, who was discovered as a mannequin on a street in East Berlin in the mid-1980s. On her way to work, 18-year-old Suzie (Marlene Burow) is photographed by chance. The picture ends up on the cover of the fashion journal “Sibylle” and Suzie becomes a model overnight. This is her chance to escape the socialist factory routine and to immerse herself in the glamorous world of fashion. Together with her new friends Rudi (Sabin Tambrea) and Coyote (David Schütter), Suzie experiences the freedom she has always dreamed of. But everything has its price: What is Suzie willing to give up for her dream?
As in her feature film debut Drift, the sea also takes on the leading role in Helena Wittmann’s latest film Human Flowers of Flesh: Ida (Angeliki Papoulia) lives with her crew of five on a sailing ship. In Marseille, she becomes aware of the mysterious men of the French Foreign Legion and decides to follow their tracks across the Mediterranean. As Ida and her crew sail via Corsica to the Legion’s historic headquarters in Algeria, boundaries and certainties become blurred, but life at sea produces a special mutual understanding. Human Flowers of Flesh by Hamburg filmmaker Helena Wittmann celebrated its world premiere as part of the Competition at the 75th Locarno Film Festival on 7 August.
His acting is characterised by a great love of improvisation: In the documentary Lars Eidinger – Sein oder nicht sein, director Reiner Holzemer (Anton Corbijn – Most Wanted, Martin Margiela: In His Own Words) approaches the exceptional artist through his acting and artistic biography. For the first time, Eidinger shows how he approaches his roles and gives the audience an intimate insight into his working methods. Holzemer accompanies him during the preparation for Jedermann at the 2021 Salzburg Festival, and he observes the intensive collaboration between Eidinger and Thomas Ostermeier, director and artistic director at the Berlin Schaubühne. Lars Eidinger also regularly appears in front of the camera with international stars such as Juliette Binoche, Isabelle Huppert and Adam Driver, to great success. The film follows him while shooting the series Irma Vep, directed by Olivier Assayas.
The films at a glance
Human Flowers of Flesh
Dir. & Scr.: Helena Wittmann
Germany, France, 2022
Verleih: Grandfilm
In einem Land, das es nicht mehr gibt
Dir. & Scr.: Aelrun Goette
Germany, 2022
Tobis Film | German Cinema Release: 6.10.2022
Lars Eidinger – Sein oder nicht sein (Documentary)
Dir. & concept:: Reiner Holzemer
Germany, 2022
Filmwelt Verleihagentur | German Cinema Release: 23.03.2023
Meinen Hass bekommt ihr nicht (You Will Not Have My Hate)
Dir.: Kilian Riedhof | Scr.: Jan Braren, Marc Blöbaum und Stéphanie Kalfon, Kilian Riedhof
Germany, France, Belgium, 2022
Tobis Film | German Cinema Release: 10.11.2022
Rheingold
Dir. & Scr.: Fatih Akin
Germany, 2022
Warner Bros. | German Cinema Release: 27.10.2022
