The Goethe-Institut co-presents German films at TJFF
As every year, the Goethe-Institut Toronto is happy to partner with TJFF in presenting German films in Toronto.
Blending interviews with skillful and powerful dramatic re-enactments,
The Invisibles (2017) by Claus Räfle, starring Max Mauff (Victoria), reveals the untold stories of four Jews who were among the nearly 1,700 who survived the war by hiding in plain sight in Berlin. Hanni dyes her hair blonde to pass as Aryan, while Cioma uses his art skills to forge passports in exchange for food rations. Teen Eugen is handed to a succession of anti-Nazi families and Ruth poses as a war widow. Featuring moving performances, this film shows how the combination of skill, luck and help from brave Berliners allowed these people to remain in a city that the Nazis infamously declared ‘judenfrei’ – free of Jews.
Bye Bye Germany (2017) by Sam Garbarski is a humorous look at Jewish life in post-war Germany. In Frankfurt, David Bermann is a Holocaust survivor with dreams of a new life in America. But that takes money, and smooth-talking David has an idea. Recruiting six survivor friends, he teaches them the tricks of his former trade: how to use flattery and chutzpah to sell bed linens. Meanwhile, questions about Bermann’s past catch up with him, and US special agent Sara Simon wants answers. Featuring a charming lead performance by Moritz Bleibtreu (Run Lola Run).
The Ancient Law, a German silent film from 1923, will be screening in a recently restored version as a Special Event of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, bringing two musicians from New York for live accompaniment. The film by Ewald André Dupont is set in the mid 1800's in Galicia. Baruch, the son of an orthodox rabbi, yearns to become an actor. Against his father’s will, he joins a travelling theatre troupe. Austrian archduchess Elisabeth Theresia becomes enamoured of the young man. Secretly in love with him, she arranges for him to join the company at Vienna’s Burg Theatre, where he rises to become a celebrated star of the stage. With its complex portrayal of orthodoxy and emancipation, Dupont’s period film marks a highpoint of Jewish filmmaking in Germany.
The new digitally restored version in 2K DCP premiered at this year's Berlinale.
New York-based musicians
Donald Sosin (piano) and
Alicia Svigals (klezmer violin) have scored the film for the Deutsche Kinematek. They will do a live presentation of the score, which features a number of unique shtetl scenes and synagogue rituals. They have played live performances at many festivals and venues including the Lincoln Center, MoMA, TriBeCa et al.
Donald Sosin & Alicia Svigals are guests of the Goethe-Institut
Part of the Goethe Institut's focus on German film
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