German Films goes to Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Diyarbakir
by German Films
- After the 34th Istanbul FF and the 26th Ankara IFF in April, German Films organises its first German festival in Izmir in May, and Diyarbakir in the autumn
![German Films goes to Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Diyarbakir](imgCache/2015/03/31/1427811088964_0620x0413_0x10x700x466_1679407349653.jpg)
2015 will see German Films putting a new focus on its presentation of German cinema abroad: a German Film Festival is being held in Turkey for the first time. Not only will the latest productions from Germany be shown at Istanbul (4-19 April) and Ankara (23 April-3 May), but they will also travel to brand-new German events in Izmir and Diyarbakir, which numerous filmmakers and actors will attend.
“It's not only the expanding economy and the rapidly increasing cinema admissions which make Turkey such an extremely interesting market for German cinema. The recent shared German-Turkish history is also an important basis for the reception of German films in Turkey," says German Films' managing director, Mariette Rissenbeek.
Istanbul will screen a large number of German films, including Christian Petzold's Phoenix [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Christian Petzold
film profile], selected in the international competition, as well as Sigrid Hoerner's comedy Miss Sixty [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the documentaries From Caligari to Hitler by Rüdiger Suchsland and B-Movie: Lust and Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989 [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Jörg A. Hoppe, Klaus Maeck and Heiko Lange, Veit Helmer's children's film Fiddlesticks [+see also:
trailer
film profile], and Ajat Nasafi's German/French/Irish co-production No Land's Song. German Films and the Goethe-Institut are organising a brunch during the festival to provide a networking possibility for Turkish and German filmmakers to learn about new and upcoming German productions.
A German focus of seven films entitled Kino 2015 will be organised in Ankara. Amongst its titles are Sebastian Schipper's Berlinale success Victoria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sebastian Schipper
film profile], and Burhan Qurbani's striking We Are Young, We Are Strong [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile].
The resort of Izmir's Karaca Sinemas Cinema will show, from 5-10 May, some of the above-mentioned titles as well as Maximilian Erlenwein's Stereo [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Oliver Hirschbiegel's 13 Minutes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Dominik Graf's Beloved Sisters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dominik Graf
film profile], and Dietrich Brüggemann's Stations of the Cross [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Dietrich Brüggemann
film profile].
The same line-up will be shown in Diyarbakir in the autumn, in collaboration with the Diyarbakir Sanat Merkezi Arts Centre. Further information on the Festival of German Films in Turkey is available on the website and on Facebook or Twitter.
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