Goethe-Institut Kanada

35 years of the Fall of the Berlin Wall | Goethe on Demand Women at work

For a long time, the image of women in cinema was shaped by traditional role models and was mainly defined in the context of romantic and social relationships. Women in working environments with identifiable professions were rarely shown – an image that corresponded to the social reality in the West. The situation was different in the so-called East. On the occasion of this year's 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the film selection puts perspectives from the GDR in dialog with films from the 2000s to the present day.

The first picture shows three women in a factory looking at the camera in a friendly manner. The second image is black and white and shows a woman looking at herself in the mirror. The third picture shows a woman walking towards the camera and swinging an item of clothing over her head. © DEFA-Stiftung / Wolfgang Ebert | DEFA-Stiftung / Waltraut_Pathenheimer | Turanskyj & Ahlrichs GbR

Learn German

Our experience for your success

Sitzende Menschengruppe mit mobilen Endgeräten Foto: Getty Images

The Goethe-Institut brings the German language to the world. We offer German courses and German exams in over 90 countries.

The right solution for every need
German courses for all levels
Internationally recognised language certificates

Events

Experience culture

Events

Alaska

Director: Max Gleschinski
Year: 2022
Genre: Drama
Length: 124 min.

Kerstin paddles across the Mecklenburg Lake District in a red canoe. It slowly becomes clear what she is running away from, as the past catches up with her on the seemingly endless waters. Alaska is an atmospheric film about searching and finding, fleeing and drifting away.

Part of the annual series "City, Country, River"

Scene from the film “Alaska” Photo (detail): © Jacob Waak / Wood Water Films

Library

Diverse. Open to all.

In the library you will find a selection of media in German and in translation: books, magazines, films, music and games. Get inspired, find out about current topics and trends, and get to know Germany.

Opening hours

Mon:	5 - 9 pm
Tue, Wed, Thur:	2 - 9 pm
Sat Oct. 26:	3 - 6 pm

Lending

The use of books and media in the library is free of charge. For borrowing you need a library card.

Lending books and media

Onleihe

With Onleihe, you have access to thousands of mostly German-language digital media.

Lending of online books and media

Discover the library

Bibliothek Zeitschriften/Leseraum im Goethe-Institut Montreal © Jean Guy Lambert

Belonging

How far has a radically open society been realized in the face of growing nationalist narratives on both sides of the Atlantic? The issue “Belonging” of Gegenüber magazine tells of life in a different homeland to one's grandparents, of cultural reproductions and mutations from one place to another, of new roots and aspects of exclusion that should not be alien to anyone, but which weigh differently. And it asks whether the concept of “native” vs. “migrant” is still valid.

Belonging? School of fish version Photo by Jeffrey Hamilton at Unsplash

Subjects and Projects

Monthly film series now at the Cinémathèque québécoise
ACHTUNG FILM !

Beginning in September 2023, the Cinémathèque québécoise (335 De Maisonneuve Blvd. East, H2X 1K1) will showcase the richness and diversity of contemporary German cinema once a month with feature films, documentaries, bold and entertaining productions by established and emerging directors.

AUTUMN/WINTER 2023: MYTHS & MUSIC
This autumn's program highlights music and myths, as well as legendary operas. The films presented are distinguished by their soundtracks, which give these works a driving force, an individual and atmospheric rhythm, and become, through this conceptual quality, tools for creating images and imaginations.

(Hi)stories of a medium
Radio Around The World

One hundred years ago, in October 1923, the very first German radio station went on the air in Berlin. On this occasion, we celebrate radio, in retrospectives and personal radio memoirs by international artists and authors!

Retrospective
"Robobreak" or how to welcome our machines

"Robots & Algorithms" Retrospective

Exhibition of the results of the project and robotic artist residency “Robots & Algorithms” with window projections, photos and videos.

In 2023, the Goethe-Institut, together with its local partners Milieux, Hexagram and Eastern Bloc, invited young scientists and artists to submit creative project proposals with the humanoid NAO robot. A Montreal-based art and research collective, consisting of Patil Tchilinguirian, Ceyda Yolgörmez and Zeph Thibodeau, was awarded the project.

About us

Cultural exchange

We promote knowledge of the German language abroad and foster international cultural cooperation.