We are happy to partner once again with the
Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) for the
7th edition of
Urban Lens, curated by the
IIHS Media Lab, a one-of-a-kind international film festival that brings together filmmakers, academics and urban practitioners to dialogue on cinema and the urban experience.
This year we present two superb German films!
© Bunkhouse Film
World Taxi
By
Philipp Majer
82 min., 2019/20, Mixed languages with English subtitles
Post-screening discussion:
Friday December 4, 2020, 5.00 p.m. IST
Philipp Majer in conversation with noted filmmaker and writer
Shabani Hassanwalia
The film features five charismatic taxi drivers and their passengers from five different cities: Bangkok, Pristina, Dakar, El Paso and Berlin. For 24 hours, we follow them through their city, their daily routine, their private life, listening to their thoughts. A parallel montage of the different time zones, based on Central European Time, creates a feeling of simultaneity. The taxi rides, the opening and closing of the doors set the pace, link the protagonists together, show the differences and similarities and are at the same time an allegory for the endless opportunities hiding behind every door. A bit like 'Night on Earth' - but in the form of a documentary. This film immerses into the moods, opinions and cultures of five different countries, depicting an image of the current situation at the respective locations.
The film won
Best Documentary at the
International Film Festival Cologne and the
South Texas International Film Festival.
Philipp Majer is an independent filmmaker from Saarbrücken, Germany. He has a passion for authentic people and bizarre funny stories. Often with a political approach. His films are affectionate and have a strong cinematic look. Apart from
World Taxi his other films include ‘Small Town / Die Kleinstadt’ (2018), ‘Smajl’ (2016) and ‘Bunte Liga’ (2014). ‘Smajl’ won the best documentary film award at the Jaipur International Film Festival.
©Deutsches Filminstitut-DIF
Berlin is in Germany
By
Hannes Stöhr
95 min., 2001, German with English subtitles
Post-screening discussion:
Saturday December 5, 2020, 5.00 p.m. IST
Hannes Stöhr in conversation with the National Award-winning film critic
Baradwaj Rangan.
The film takes its origin in reality. After a lengthy sentence which began in the days of the GDR, Martin has now been released into a unified Berlin. He meets old friends and his wife who now lives with his son, whom he has never met, and another man. He is mistakenly caught up in a conflict with the police, but is released with his wife's help and is given another chance.
Berlin is in Germany was selected
Best Film of 2002 by the
Association of German Critics and it also won the
Audience Prize at the
Berlin International Film Festival 2002.
Hannes Stöhr is a
German film director and screenwriter. He studied Scriptwriting and Directing at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin from 1994 to 1999. In 2006, Stöhr was a Villa Aurora grant recipient and lived for six months in Los Angeles, California. Stöhr is a member of the European Film academy, lectures film at Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin and the Goethe-Institut. He lives in Berlin.
To
watch the films register here for
FREE:
https://iihsurbanlens.in/register/
For more
details and
screening schedule check
Festival Schedule – 2020
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