Presented by the Goethe-Institut Toronto
with POV Magazine & Hot Docs
Outrage, hatred, excess — exit? What draws or drives people to the radical fringes of expression and action, what can get them out? In an era of global authoritarianism, with extremist movements attracting a motley crew of followers –male, female, political, religious, opportunist– what can be done to counteract the lure of the pied pipers and (re-)integrate former fanatics into civil society?
GOETHE FILMS offers a recent feature and two documentaries, with filmmaker and expert introductions, and a further watch list, to shine a light on the dangers of violent intolerance and the dangers of turning a blind eye.
8-10 March 2021 6pm-6pm streaming window
"Wild Heart" (Germany, 2017, 88 min.), documentary directed by Charly Hübner & Sebastian Schultz, starring Jan “Monchi” Gorkow, Kai Irrgang, Olaf Ney, Christoph Sell and others
Bonus material: Commentary by filmmaker Charly Hübner
Wild Heart tells the story of Feine Sahne Fischfilet, one of the most successful German punk rock bands, and their lead singer, Jan “Monchi” Gorkow. As this film examines Jan “Monchi” Gorkow’s life in home movies and interviews with his parents, we gradually begin to understand that it is a parable of, a coming to terms with and an answer to what happened in the north-eastern German province of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after reunification. One notorious event was when a refugee centre in the city of Rostock was set on fire, the population was applauding and the police looking the other way. That is the time Monchi grew up in. His path –or his rage– took him via the violent "ultras” fans of Rostock soccer club to the moment when his punk band realized at the end of the noughties that Nazis enjoyed their gigs. Taking a stance was called for. The leftist movements of the 1990s failed, Gorkow says, and that this must never happen again. An important, almost normal, poetic and rough film – just like the band.
“Wild Heart not only tells stories about punks and Nazis, it also shows what it means to be a human being.” – Musikexpress
“Wild Heart is the intimate and rousing portrait of a young musician who, with a big heart and an even bigger mouth, braces himself against the growing right-wing extremism with no plans of backing down.” – mm filmpresse
“The film is worth seeing as a character study alone. It further takes you to the East German provinces, into the hooligan scene, to anti-fascist concerts and absurd press conferences of the intelligence services -- intriguing and well done.”– piqd
Festivals & Awards:
DOK Leipzig (2017)
Goethe Documentary Price (2017)
DEFA Förderpreis (2017)
ver.di Award for Solidarity, Humanity and Fairness (2017) by David Wnedt
Nordische Filmtage Lübeck (2017)
Trailer
Charly Hübner was born in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, in 1972. After completing his acting training at Berlin’s Ernst Busch School of Acting, he could exclusively be seen on theatre stages until 2003. He garnered great recognition for his role in the Oscar-winning film “The Lives of Others” in 2006. In addition to numerous roles on the big screen, Charly Hübner (Parents, which the Goethe-Institut Toronto presented at EUFFTO 2015) has appeared in many television productions. In 2017, Hübner celebrated his directorial debut with “Wild Heart”.
Sebastian Schultz was born in Kiel, Germany,in 1974. He started his career as an editor in Hamburg. Later on, turning towards directing, he successfully realized a large number of music videos for the much lauded “Hamburger Schule”. In addition to his work as an editor working on several feature film projects, he started his own production company Eichholz Film GmbG in 2015.
Tailored to fit the moment, GOETHE FILMS resume at the digital TIFF Bell Lightbox with exclusive online access for Canadian viewers. All tickets on sale 4 days prior to screening. Once purchased, viewers will have a 48h-watch window to hit play. After hitting play, you have 24h to watch the film once. For further questions visit digital TIFF FAQs, contact TIFF customer support at customerrelations@tiff.net, or the TIFF support chat at tiff.net/help daily from 2- 8 pm (incl. weekends and holidays).
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