Spotlight on German Films
I also wanted to highlight some of these films:
Sometimes, I Imagine Them All at a Party dir. Daniela Magnani Hüller (Germany) | Focus | North American Premiere
Fourteen years ago, Daniela Magnani Hüller survived an attempted femicide by a schoolmate. Now a filmmaker, she conducts a kind of autobiographical investigation, revisiting the events surrounding that fateful incident. A dazzling collage of documentary footage, interviews, personal recollections, and archival material, Sometimes, I Imagine Them All at a Party is both a deeply personal look into the past and an examination of systemic violence against women.
Prosecution dir. Faraz Shariat (Germany) | Focus | Canadian Premiere
Faraz Shariat’s thriller stars Chen Emilie Yan as Seyo Kim, a young German prosecutor of Korean origin. When Seyo is the victim of a racist attack, she suspects a wide net of complicity and pursues the truth in defiance of her superiors. Shariat has a natural affinity for mystery and suspense, and he uses them to the hilt, creating a propulsive narrative saturated with a thick atmosphere of menace. Prosecution is a thriller for our moment that tackles the rise of the far-right head-on.
I Understand Your Displeasure dir. Kilian Armando Friedrich (Germany) | Focus | Canadian Premiere
Heike (Sabine Thalau) is the manager of a cleaning crew. In addition to supervising workers and fending off angry clients, she mops, wipes, and hauls along with her staff. Faced with threats from above, Heike makes an ethical compromise that turns out be very costly… Thalau portrays the strain of labour so well that every exhausted breath, every arduous lift registers its cost on her soul. This is a film of intense realism, and it imbues its characters with a special dignity.
Trial of Hein dir. Kai Stänicke (Germany) | Focus | Canadian Premiere
After 14 years on the mainland, Hein returns to the cloistered fishing village where he grew up. But upon his arrival, he goes unrecognized by his ailing mother, as well as his childhood friend Friedemann. Amid mounting suspicion and growing hostility, the community holds a three-day village court to verify the returnee’s identity. Recalling Lars von Trier’s Brechtian masterpiece Dogville, Kai Stänicke’s Trial of Hein is a film about the identities we keep hidden and the lies we tell in order to survive.
Ballad from Wednesday to Thursday dir. Christoph Otto (Germany) | Focus | Canadian Premiere
As evening approaches, residents of Cologne gather in bars, cafes, and clubs across the German city. No topic of conversation is out of bounds, with immigration, war in the Middle East, ageism, feminism, and racial profiling all thrown into the mix. As the alcohol flows, conversations get louder and opinions looser. A raucous, ribald ensemble comedy, The Ballad from Wednesday to Thursday is a riotously funny but keenly observed look at a cross-section of contemporary German society.
Dear Future Self dir. Ella Cieslinski, Nina Wesemann (Germany) | Focus | International Premiere
Nico returns to her hometown to lead a workshop with her childhood friend Lori, who gave up her acting dreams to become a teacher. Prompting their students to write a letter to their future selves, the two friends find themselves questioning the intertwined trajectory of their own lives. Capturing its characters’ slow awareness of the sudden calcification of inconsequential choices accumulated over the years, Dear Future Self is a sharply tender story about friendship, dreams, and the desire for agency.