New German Cinema in the Westpark Yurt

Fabio Kühnemuth

10/27/2022

On four Thursdays in November, the Gans am Wasser yurt in Munich’s Westpark will be turned into a screening room, as films are shown on the big screen in a casual, autumnal living room atmosphere, and all absolutely free of charge.

With us you always get the best of two worlds, because each screening is a double feature of a special kind. We’re screening each feature-length film in combination with a student short film that is currently part of the 41st FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH.

New German cinema meets young international voices in film. Coming to terms with the past, a diversity of perspectives, a vision of the future. Come and see us in the movie yurt!

It all starts on November 3 with BEYOND REVOLUTION – FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY. On the ninth anniversary of the Euromaidan revolution, Kristof Gerega’s documentary follows three young politicians on their quest for democracy and self-determination in Ukraine — from the start of the liberation movement in November 2013 to the current resistance to the Russian invasion. Serhiy Leshchenko, Svitlana Zalishchuk, and Mustafa Najjem are fighting against corruption and oligarchs and for a pluralistic society.

As an opener to the Munich premiere of BEYOND REVOLUTION, we will be screening LIQUID BREAD, which also deals with the legacy of the Soviet Union. In this short feature film, director Alica Bednáriková depicts the conflicts experienced by a supposedly normal family in southern Slovakia. Three generations live happily under one roof, but an unexpected visit by a granddaughter upsets their peaceful routine. Between its deep belief in God and its enjoyment of alcohol, the family reveals its tragicomic past.

BEYOND REVOLUTION – FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY

A week later, on November 10, in our movie yurt, we’ll be screening the first of three HFF graduation films that celebrated their world premieres at the 39th FILMFEST MÜNCHEN last summer. First up is Felix Herrmann’s hybrid film GOD IS A BEETLE, which explores deep questions of faith while effortlessly blazing a new — and diverse — trail for German cinema.

As an opener, we’ll be presenting a recently chosen winner of a Student Academy Award. The animated film THE SEINE’S TEARS by eight students from PÔLE 3D in Roubaix, France, takes an imaginative approach to the Paris Massacre. In 1961, a peaceful demonstration by tens of thousands of Algerian workers was brutally put down by the Paris police. At least 200 people lost their lives.

On November 17 — by which time the FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH will be in full swing — the movie yurt will be screening RAGE AT KUBA, a fascinating and raw drama. Naira Cavero Orihuel’s HFF graduation film tells the story of a woman in search of herself, accurately reflecting the gaps in her memory in cinematic ellipses.

Before that, we’ll be screening the empathetic short film I WAS NEVER REALLY HERE by director Gabriel B. Arrahnio. In this film, Sam, a young German-Ghanaian, falls in love with Kwesi, whose residence status is uncertain. Through this, Sam is confronted with questions about his heritage and identity.

GoD is a beetle

Solastalgia

rage at Kuba

Completing our yurt program on November 24 will be SOLASTALGIA and ARALKUM. SOLASTALGIA, Marina Hufnagel’s artful investigation of climate activism, is a clever and timely hybrid film about how the Fridays for Future generation is pushing boundaries. HFF’s short film ARALKUM, from the official Filmschoolfest competition, also tackles the issue of environmental degradation. This poetic documentary by Mila Zhluktenko and Daniel Asadi Faezi observes the inhabitants of Aralkum, a desert on the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan created by the drying up of the Aral Sea.

New German Cinema in the Westpark yurt: every Thursday at 7 pm in the yurt at Gans am Wasser — completely free of charge! Guests from the film teams are expected to attend all the films.