GOODBYE BERLIN (TSCHICK, Germany, 2016, 93 min), directed by Fatih Akin, based on the book by Wolfgang Herrndorf, with Tristan Göbel, Anand Batbileg, Alexander Scheer, and others
EFA Young Audience Award 2017
Best Youth Film at Bavarian Film Award 2017
Special Award at New Faces Award 2017 German Film Critics Association Awards 2017 Nominee
Rated “culturally valuable” by the German Film Rating Commission
The much-lauded adaptation of Wolfgang Herrndorf's bestseller "Tschick": 14-year-old Maik comes from a well-off albeit dysfunctional family. Deemed a bore and outsider at school, he doesn't stand a chance to get noticed by his secret love. His classmate Andrej Tschichatschow, nicknamed "Tschick", is also an outsider, but for different reasons: He is a migrant kid living in impoverished conditions in Berlin-Marzahn and often causes trouble. Eventually, the two dissimilar boys become friends, and when Maik spends the summer holidays at home alone, Tschick comes up with an idea: With a stolen car, he wants to take Maik on a trip to see his grandfather in Wallachia, Romania. Thus begins an adventurous journey through East Germany, as the two soon lose their way.
“That’s how good a German roadmovie can be.” – welt.de
“Fatih Akin succeeded in creating a truthful and almost vintage coming-of-age comedy-drama, celebrating the great freedom of an adventurous summer.” – epd-film
Fatih Akin (born 1973 in Hamburg)is a German filmmaker who lives and works in Hamburg. He studied Visual Communications at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg. After directing various short films, Akin became the shooting star of German film with his debut "Short Sharp Shock" (1998), which garnered nine awards, including the Bronze Leopard at Locarno Film Festival. In 2004, he won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale for his celebrated German-Turkish drama "Head On" and became, at the age of 30, one of the most influential European directors. He then achieved international success with the drama "The Edge of Heaven" (2007), for which he won Best Screenplay at Cannes, as well as the European Film Award and the German Film Award. For his following film "Soul Kitchen" (2009), Akin was awarded the Special Prize of the Jury at the Venice Film Festival. The Goethe-Institut Toronto honoured his productive output with a retrospective in 2013. Akin's latest feature film "In the Fade" (2017) premiered at Cannes and received the Best Actress award for German actress Diane Kruger.
Wolfgang Herrndorf was born in Hamburg in 1965 and died 2013 in Berlin. For his novel “Tschick” (2010), which was translated into 24 languages, he received the German Literature Prize. Both his diary “Arbeit und Struktur” (2013) and the unfinished novel “Bilder deiner großen Liebe” (2014) were published posthumously.
The original soundtrack includes some of the best current German singers and bands, including Beginner, Beatsteaks, Fraktus, and K.I.Z.
If you want to secure a seat at any of the EUFF screenings, you can book in advance through the EUFF web site in November. Advance reservation is a $10 donation to the festival (all service fees included). General Admission remains free to all films on a first-come, first-served basis.
Part of the Goethe-Institut’s focus on German Film
For more Fatih Akin, join the free Goethe-Institut Deutscher Filmklub screening & discussion of his music film and documentary “Crossing the Bridge – the Sound of Istanbul” on November 24.
