Welcome
Welcome to the 28th edition of Film|Neu, Washington’s annual festival of contemporary cinema from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
A somewhat old-fashioned synonym for “entertainment” is “diversion” – suggesting that there has always been an element of distraction to leisure activities and pastimes, such as watching movies. The word implies that our goal in pursuing something enjoyable is giving our minds a break from the heavier thoughts, concerns, doubts, and uncertainties that weigh on us from day to day.
When cinemas were open, going to the movies was a ritual that brought diversion and relaxation to many of us: getting out of the house, going to a familiar venue, purchasing a ticket and movie theatre snacks, and enjoying a new flick on the big screen. The cinema was a space separate from the rest of the world – dark, cozy, welcoming, and offering some temporary respite from old and new stressors.
In presenting Film|Neu this year virtually and completely free, the Goethe-Institut Washington and its partners hope to offer something like that space of diversion to you in spite of the difficult times this past year has brought us.
This year, we present Bernd Böhlich’s historical drama Sealed Lips. Set in the early days of the GDR, this tale follows a German woman and her young daughter as they are repatriated to East Germany after spending many years in a Soviet labor camp. We jump to the very last days of the GDR with animated family film Fritzi – A Revolutionary Tale, an adventure featuring a strong-willed East German girl determined to reunite a dog with her best friend who has fled to the West. Equally strong-willed is Ali, the protagonist of Gipsy Queen – a boxing drama about a Roma single mother in Hamburg, who returns to the ring in order to make a better life for her children.
We are also excited to share three documentaries this year. Lovemobil by Elke Margarete Lehrenkrauss reveals to us the precarity of sex work at the fringes of society; Automotive by Jonas Heldt offers a look into the uncertain future of industrial and factory jobs amidst the rise of robots; Island of the Hungry Ghosts by Gabrielle Brady weaves an astounding narrative out of seasonal crab migration on Christmas Island and refugees living in perpetual uncertainty.
Swiss selection Vagenda Stories, Austrian selection Why Not You, and German selections Narcissus and Goldmund and Prélude, explore the complexities of friendship: Leila, Amanda, and Sophie navigate the struggles of societal expectations as thirty-something women in Vagenda Stories; Mario dances his heart out to grieve the tragic loss of his best friend in Why Not You. Based on Hermann Hesse's classic novel, the two titular friends of Narcissus and Goldmund find their lives intersecting again and again. Meanwhile, David, a young pianist, grapples with new relationships in his first year at a conservatory in Prélude.
Between our German, Austrian, and Swiss selections, we hope that a new favorite awaits you in our lineup of filmss.
We look forward to welcoming you virtually to Film|Neu 2020.
Note: All films have English subtitles.
Film|Neu is brought to you by the Goethe-Institut Washington, the Austrian Cultural Forum Washington, and the Embassy of Switzerland in the United States, with generous support from DC Shorts International Film Festival, German Films, and the German Film Office.