Filmforum Shows Unique Docu-Portraits and Exceptional Productions from Northern Germany

The German-Finnish co-production “Summer Window” by Hendrik Handloegten opens this year’s Filmforum, the north German section at Nordic Film Days Lübeck. Its protagonist (Nina Hoss) experiences true love in summertime Finland. By contrast, a truly north German atmosphere can be found in “Casting His Net”, in which a taciturn shrimp fisherman (Peter Heinrich Brix) travels to Tangiers in search of the woman of his dreams. Director Lars Jessen presents his film in person on location in Lübeck. Markus Busch’s “Rough” tells of an amour fou in North Frisia. Cosma Shiva Hagen and Ken Duken are expected at the world premiere of Lars Becker’s new urban comedy “Twisted”. 

"Summer Window"

One focus of this year’s Filmforum is the novel documentary portrayal of figures from cultural history: Director Marc Boettcher tells the tragic tale of the jazz singer Inge Brandenburg in “Sing! Inge, Sing!”. In “Theodor Storm – Come what May!”, Martina Fluck depicts a number of dazzling aspects of the great poet’s personality – from the perspective of a young student. “Charlotte Rampling – The Look” by Angelina Maccarone provides a fascinating, intimate portrayal of the British actress and 1960s fashion icon. And the docudrama “A Royal Affair: The Risky Life of Johann Friedrich Struensee, Personal Physician to the King” by Wilfried Hauke, a long-standing Film Days festival guest, recounts the actions of a famous 18^th century physician from Altona at the Danish court. The documentary film “Resistance in the Spirit of Christ: The Martyrs of Lübeck” by director Jürgen Hobrecht tells the tale of Müller, Prassek, Lange and Stellbrink, four priests from Lübeck who fell victim to the Nazis.

"Charlotte Rampling – The Look"

A remarkable number of contributions to this year’s Filmforum centre on individuals who feel alienated in unfamiliar cultural surroundings: Helmut Schulzeck, documentary filmmaker from Kiel, visits his wife Wangechi’s family in Kenya in “So Close and Yet So Far”. Katja Fedulova’s “Ladies of Fortune” shows five Russian emigrants who seek their fortune in 1990s Germany. As part of the “Long Night of Film Schools”, “Raju” by Max Zähle – which has just been awarded the Bronze Student Academy Award – also concentrates on the topic of feeling out of place in a foreign culture.

 This year the Filmforum section includes a number of international productions with north German participation: “Ufo in Her Eyes” by the Chinese artist Xiaolu Guo was realized thanks to the commitment by producers Klaus Maeck and Fatih Akin as well as the support of Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein. The German-Swedish co-production “Nils Holgersson” (director: Dirk Regel), which previews at Nordic Film Days Lübeck, adds a Christmassy fairytale touch to the Filmforum. The production after the children’s book classic of the same name by Selma Lagerlöf features a surprising combination of live-action sequences and imaginative animation.

"Ufo in her Eyes"