In Times of Fading Light

Director: Matti Geschonneck
2017 | 100 mins | German with English subtitles | DCP | Colour
Introduction and post-screening talk by Andreas Kötzing

Nominated for Best Actor, German Film Awards 2017
Berlin International Film Festival 2017
European Film Awards 2017

I can only escape

Sascha has left his family in the GDR for the West clandestinely, while his family is celebrating the ninetieth birthday of his grandfather, Wilhelm, who is a hardline Stalinist suffering the early stages of dementia. Sascha has always assembled the old wooden table for the buffet for all the guests that present flowers and speeches. While Wilhelm does not know of the reason for Sascha’s tardiness, he grumpily sets up the uneasy table by force. How would the house party end up?

Adapted from Eugen Ruge's semi-autobiographical bestseller, the film has been highly praised by critics. In the words of Stephen Dalton of The Hollywood Reporter, “There is something emphatically old-school about [the director and screenwriter’s] shared creative approach with its lyrical language, beautifully lit interiors and forensically detailed recreation of domestic life in the old [GDR].”