Lübeck, Oct. 21, 2015. Northern Germany shows off both its “Down-home and Urbane” sides in this year’s Filmforum section. The programme comprises 44 feature, documentary and short films, many of them made with the financial support of the Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein film board and subsidy organisation. Many of the films in this year’s collection of top northern German productions of the last year bring us very personal stories portrayed with a refreshing directness. Viviane Andereggen’s wonderful comedy debut Simon Says Goodbye to his Prepuceis about the complicated life of Simon, a German Jew, following his parent's divorce, when he has a lot to deal with besides just his fear of circumcision. Famed Hamburg director Hermine Huntgeburth will also be a guest of the NFL in Lübeck, presenting her new comedy Return Ticket to an Islet, in which she sends stars Anke Engelke and Charly Hübner off to the North Sea mudflats.
Many of the other films have also taken advantage of the opportunity to show off the diversity of Hamburg / Schleswig-Holstein locations. One example is the documentary Nobody Gets Away, shot in Dithmarschen and on the tidal island of Hooge, which deals with a serious subject with great charm and presents Plattdeutsch dialects as living language. Directors Gisela Tuchtenhagen and Margo Neubert-Maric will be at the screening.
Those films are evidence of a welcome trend that continues this year - almost 50 percent of the films in the Filmforum section were directed by women. One of those directors is Katharina Uhland, with her film On a Scale of 1 to 10, in which she deals with her sister’s cancer diagnosis. Dorothea Carl was on the Nordic Film Days Lübeck programme in 2014 and she’s back to personally introduce her newest film Brief Future. The documentary follows the long-term developments in the fate of a central shopping street in Hamburg’s Altona neighbourhood and how the local residents react when IKEA decides to open a branch there.
Northern German filmmakers who work internationally can always be relied upon to be "urbane" and Kiel's Wilfried Hauke is no exception. He'll be on hand to introduce his film Christina Wasa – the Wild Queen. Another example is Eighty-seven, co-produced by Ecuador, Argentina and Germany and directed by Anahí Hoeneisen und Daniel Andrade. The German-Brazilian production BACH IN BRAZIL is about a bound(ary)less passion for music. The director Ansgar Ahlers and the actors Edgar Selge and Franziska Walser will be at the screening. With new episodes of two much-loved TV series, the Filmforum is pleased to bring back “down-home” north German investigators: Crime Scene Cleaner: Free Weekend and Alarm 110: In the Shadow will be shown as a double feature.
Like Simon Says Goodbye to his Prepuce, the two episodes will be accompanied by an audio description, in cooperation with the non-profit Andersicht e.V.
In keeping with the polarity of the Filmforum motto, the documentaries in this year’s programme present a variety of points of view, such as THE CITY, which combines impressions of a large metropolis into an integrated artwork, or Jonas Rothlaender’s FAMILIAR CIRCLES, which follows a family conflict back through the generations. The Filmforum’s expanded short film programme also offers a range of gems from among the many interesting submissions, including Hamburg director Ilker Çatak’s FIDELITY the winner of this year’s “student Oscar”. And for every genre from narrative to documentary, experimental to student film, there will be thematic programmes, with the titles “Best of Film Schools”, “Dramatic, in Short" "Freestyle“ and “Life Stories“.
In support of the special importance of documentary films to the festival, this year, in a cooperative venture with the Filmwerkstatt Kiel, the FFHSH Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein film subsidy organisation and the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB, southeast Schleswig-Holstein regional arm), the NFL will present a MASTER CLASS with Danish director Camilla Nielsson (“Democrats”) titled “Compelling Documentation”, to be held on November 6th in Lübeck.
The screening schedule and additional details on the films and the side-bar programme will be available starting October 24, 2015 on the festival homepage. Advance ticket sales begin on October 31 at 3:00 pm at the CineStar Filmpalast Stadthalle cinema, online at the festival website and at www.cinestar.de.
In addition to the complete screening schedule, special events are regularly posted at www.filmtage.luebeck.de, and the newest highlights and news can be found on Facebook and twitter.com/nordicfilmdays.
Press contact:
Silke Lehmann
Niko Körner
Antonia Huckle
Press and publicity department
Nordic Film Days Lübeck
Schildstr. 12, 23539 Lübeck, Germany
Tel: +49 451 122 1455
presse@filmtage.luebeck.de
www.filmtage.luebeck.de
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