As part of the Dublin Festival of History 2019
2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. To commemorate the occasion the Goethe-Institut Irland is presenting a short series of films about the Wall and its fall as part of the Dublin Festival of History.
Wednesday, October 2nd 2019, 6:30pm
Good Bye, Lenin!
Dir.: Wolfgang Becker, 118 min, colour, Germany 2003
Kicking off the series is Wolfgang Becker’s 2003 multi-award winning comedy classic “Good Bye, Lenin!”. The screening will be followed by a discussion with German Ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Mrs Deike Potzel.
October 1989 was a bad time to fall into a coma if you lived in East Germany - and this is precisely what happens to Alex's mother, an activist for social progress and the improvement of everyday life in socialist East Germany. Alex has a big problem on his hands when she suddenly awakens eight months later. Her heart is so weak that any shock might kill her. And what could be more shocking than the fall of the Berlin Wall and the triumph of capitalism in her beloved country?
In a wonderful, touching manner, „Good Bye, Lenin!“ tells the story of how a loving son tries to move mountains and create miracles to restore his mother to health - and keep her in the belief that Lenin really did win after all!
Presented by the Goethe-Institut Irland. Admission is free, but booking via Eventbrite is essential.
Wednesday, October 9th 2019, 6:30pm
The Wall / Die Mauer
Dir.: Jürgen Böttcher, 98 min, colour/b&w, GDR, 1989/1990
© DEFA-Stiftung
The second film of the series is a poetic and enigmatic documentary by painter and filmmaker Jürgen Böttcher, who relies on sight and sound to contemplate the Berlin Wall's historic and symbolic significance.
This unconventional film highlights the Berlin Wall, its last days and its highly anticipated destruction. Both seemingly banal and historical moments are captured and presented without verbal commentary. On the broken-down Wall, memorable motion-picture footage is projected – from Emperor Wilhelm's ride through the Brandenburg Gate, to the torch-lit procession of the Nazis, to footage of an East German soldier jumping over barbed wire as the Wall is being built and the fall of the Wall. The images are shown with a painter's sensitivity, shot against the acoustic backdrop of construction equipment, curious masses of people and a relentless media. This masterpiece reflects the soul of Berlin in that moment.
Wednesday, October 16th 2019, 6:30pm
November Days – Voices and Choices
Dir.: Marcel Ophüls, 129 min, colour, Germany/Switzerland/UK 2003
© Ziegler Film
The third film of the series mingles a kaleidoscope of entertainment images, news footage, shot from the streets, clubs and restaurants in Berlin one year after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Inspired by the joy so clearly visible in those television images from 9 November 1989, the day of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Marcel Ophüls resolved to return to the site of these historic events one year later and talk to the people featured in the pictures. He set off with his team in order to establish whether people’s lives really had been changed for better or for worse. Approaching the subject in a relatively light-hearted manner, Ophüls interviews a broad range of East German people, ranging from people on the street to activists, artists and former high ranking politicians. He displays an unerring instinct for authenticity, refusing to let go until the truth has been revealed to him - and to us.
November Days is like a time machine, moving between the present and the past.
Admission free, booking under Eventbrite is required::
Good Bye, Lenin!
The Wall
November Days
Presented by the Goethe-Institut Irland as part of the Dublin Festival of History 2019.
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