Comics and Animated Shorts

Short & Sweet III—Animated Films from Germany

Exploring the New Culture of German Comics, the exhibition Comics, Manga & Co. (www.goethe.de/boston) on view at the Goethe-Institut Boston this March also features two nights of animated shorts from Germany, selections from the DVD package Short & Sweet III, 337 min., 2000-07. Four programs in one box: He And She; Dreams And Demons; Here And There; and Worldly And Otherworldly. Discover the rich culture of German Short Film!

Short & Sweet III—Animated Films from Germany

Now Available on DVD

The Woman with the Five Elephants (Die Frau mit den fünf Elefanten)

The Woman with the Five Elephants, directed by Vadim Jendreyko, color, 97 min., Documentary 2009.
Swetlana Geier is considered the greatest translator of Russian literature into German. Her new translations of Dostoyevsky’s five great novels, known as the "five elephants", are her life’s work and literary mile-stones. Together with the film director Vadim Jendreyko, the 85-year-old woman is making her first trip from her chosen home in Germany back to the places of her childhood in the Ukraine. The film interweaves the story of Swetlana Geier’s life with her literary work and traces the secret of this inexhaustibly hard-working woman.

The Woman with the Five Elephants (Die Frau mit den fünf Elefanten)

Grill Point (Halbe Treppe)

Grill Point, written and directed by Andreas Dresen. 107 min, Germany 2001.
The people: two friendly couples in their late thirties; the place: the not exactly happening city of Frankfurt/Oder, East Germany. They're set in their ways, with nowhere to go, when suddenly they change partners. Their bogged-down existence gets a jump-start, they question their position in life, and suddenly it becomes clear that small miracles are possible even in a place like Frankfurt/Oder - if only you believe in them!

Grill Point (Halbe Treppe)

Brigitta

Brigitta, directed by Dagmar Knöpfel, b/w, 80 min., Germany 1994.
A wide-open country, a foreign world: the Hungarian Puszta. One easily loses one's way here - and, for this very reason, one also has the best chance of finding oneself as well. Based on the novel of the same name by Adalbert Stifter, the production does justice to Stifter, does not speed up the seemingly endless discourse and relies on the secret undertones of the individual shots. The film's viewers are expected to display the same patience as when reading the novel and are rewarded handsomely for it.

Brigitta

The Film Archive Recommends: German Films for Teenagers

There are almost 400 titles available on DVD from the Film Archive Boston. Many of those films are appropriate for High School screenings and could give young German learners an insight into contemporary life in Germany - especially because they have German subtitles (and of course English as well), so you can read along for better comprehension. Due to cultural differences, many of these films are labeled "inappropriate" for American High Schools – and teachers need to select them carefully. As part of our new monthly film archive newsletter, we would like to point out films that we think can be shown to US teenagers. We will include "warnings" if a film includes nudity, alcohol and/or drug use and sex. Today's recommendation:

It's a Jungle Out There (Nach fünf im Urwald)

It's a Jungle Out there, directed by Hans-Christian Schmid, 90 min., Germany 1995.
After an argument with her father, seventeen year-old Anna spontaneously leaves her partens' house in a provincial town in Bavaria and hitches to Munich to take part in a casting. While her parents drive to the city in search of their daughter, Anna has her first unpleasant encounters with members of the opposite sex. Both sides are wiser by the time Anna returns home the next morning. A sometimes extreme film on the difficulties of growing up. Franka Potente's breakthrough performance.
Warning: This is a worthwhile coming of age story, and many kids might recognize Franka Potente from Run, Lola, Run. There are two sequences of a joint being passed around (among teenager and adults); there is very brief female nudity (bare breast).

It's a Jungle Out there (Nach fünf im Urwald)

How to Rent Films

Just send an email to program@boston.goethe.org.
We will answer your request promptly. DVDs will be shipped by regular mail and can be returned by regular mail. Rental fee is $20 per DVD, payable by check. Our films are subject to non-commercial screening laws. The films can be rented for non-commercial, public screenings only. Copying the films onto video or other formats is against the law. Unlawful screenings are subject to prosecution. In order to protect the creators’ rights, the films must be shown in their entirety and cannot be altered. Screening rights cannot be granted to third parties. The films can only be promoted via press releases.
Please note: we do not hold the home video rights for the films in our film archive. For individual home use, please contact the library at the Goethe-Institut New York:

Online Catalog of the Goethe-Institut New York Library