German Films at the 60th Chicago International Film Festival

The Chicago International Film Festival has a longstanding history of showcasing the work of Germany’s most gifted auteurs: In the 1970s, the Festival introduced American audiences to the work of the celebrated German New Wave, including Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Volker Schlondorff, Margarethe von Trotta, and Wim Wenders. The Festival has added a long roster of incredible German filmmakers to that list over the past 60 years, including Emily Atef, Doris Dörrie, Dominik Graf, Werner Herzog, Sandra Nettelbeck, Aslı Özge, Christian Petzold, Pia Marais, and Angela Schanelec.

This year, as the Festival celebrates its 60th anniversary, it continues to highlight the best in German cinema. Six new features represent a wide range of creative voices from an array of cultural backgrounds, as well as one modern classic featuring a career-making performance from two-time Academy Award® nominee Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest). Actress Banafshe Hourmazdi, star of Festival title Turning Tables and one of this year’s Face-to-Face with German Films’ talents to watch, will participate on the New Directors Competition jury.

German, German-Language, and German Coproduction Highlights

FARUK
Dir. Aslı Özge | Germany, Turkey, France German and English with subtitles; 97 min.
An elderly widower tries to fight the urban redevelopment scheme threatening his Istanbul condo building. With humor and melancholy, the film watches him as he navigates a changing world.

Sat, Oct 19 @ 1:30pm
Sun, Oct 20 @ 1:00pm

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Dir. Scandar Copti | Palestine, Germany, France, Italy, Qatar; 123 min.
A minor car accident triggers a cascading chain of events exposing lies and unspoken truths in this panoramic portrait of a patriarchal society.

Wed, Oct 23 @ 5:15pm
Thu, Oct 24 @ 11:30am

MARIA
Dir. Pablo Larraín | Italy, Germany, United States; 123 min.
Mariatells the tumultuous, beautiful and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest female opera singer, reimagined during her final days in 1970s Paris.

Fri, Oct 18 @ 6:30pm

MY STOLEN PLANET
Dir. Farahnaz Sharifi | Germany, Iran; 82 min.
Director Sharifi shares her own story alongside images of Iranian women, past and present, to form a vivid and collective act of resistance.

Sat, Oct 19 @ 2:30pm
Thu, Oct 24 @ 3:30pm

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof | Germany, Iran, France; 168 min.
When Iman’s handgun mysteriously goes missing, he reaches a breaking point in this tense Cannes winner crossed with a paranoid political thriller.

Sun, Oct 20 @ 8:15pm
Mon, Oct 21 @ 8:15pm

SEPTEMBER 5
Dir. Tim Fehlbaum | Germany; 94 min.
Set during the 1972 Munich Olympics, the film follows a U.S. broadcasting team that quickly adapts from sports reporting to live coverage of the Israeli athletes taken hostage.

Tue, Oct 22 @ 5:45pm

TONI ERDMANN
Dir. Maren Ade | Germany, Austria; 162 min.
A prickly corporate consultant is at her wit’s end after her hippie father disguises himself as a life coach in an effort to reconnect in this offbeat comedy.

Fri, Oct 25 @ 2:00pm

TURNING TABLES (Klandestin)
Dir. Angelina Maccarone | Germany; 124 min.
The lives of a politician, her aide, an artist, and a refugee become intertwined as values and allegiances are tested in this political thriller.

Mon, Oct 21 @ 8:00pm
Wed, Oct 23 @ 2:45pm

TWO TO ONE (Zwei Zu Eins)
Dir. Natja Brunckhorst | Germany; 113 min.
Sandra Hüller leads a stellar cast in this heist comedy about a group of East Germans who steal a fortune in soon-to-be obsolete currency.

Sat, Oct 19 @ 8:45pm
Sun, Oct 20 @ 7:30pm

FESTIVAL VENUES

AMC NEWCITY 14
1500 N Clybourn Ave, Chicago, IL 60610

Gene Siskel Film Center
164 N State St, Chicago, IL 60601

Music Box Theatre
3733 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613

Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
915 E 60th St, Chicago, IL 60637