The 2024 HSBC German Film Festival will feature a superb selection of contemporary German cinema from 16 May – 5 June at Luna Leederville, Luna on SX & Palace Raine Square.
First highlights include the acclaimed new drama from Camera d’Or winning writer/director Claire Burger, Foreign Language (Langue Étrangère), pictured above, which arrives direct from the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).
Two teenage pen pals in Leipzig and Strasbourg forge a friendship through letters and language exchange in this cross cultural coming-of-age drama, starring Nina Hoss as one of their mothers. Their bittersweet and boundary-testing friendship is strained as they grapple with how to understand themselves and others around them.
Set in contemporary Berlin, comedy/drama One For The Road stars festival favourite Frederick Lau alongside Nora Tschirner. A deeply touching and distinctly authentic story from director Markus Goller (25km/h), the film alternates between Berlin’s famous bars and sober therapy rooms.
Dark Satellites (Die stillen Trabanten), pictured above, is a moving ensemble drama set in night-time Leipzig that tells three stories about the impossibility of love. Set amongst the everyday lives of its characters, these beautifully poetic vignettes feature an all-star cast including Nastassja Kinski and Albrecht Schuch.
Set in Switzerland on the cusp of WWII, historical drama Lubo centres around the superb performance of German star Franz Rogowski as a Swiss street performer. Featuring in the ‘Beyond the Borders’ sidebar, which profiles German language films from other countries, Rogowski’s character seeks justice upon losing his family due to a national campaign to re-educate Yenish (a minority nomadic community) children in Switzerland.
From the popular ‘Kino for Kids’ sidebar, presented by the Goethe-Institut Australia, comes Mission: School of Fun (Die unlangweiligste Schule der Welt – Auf Klassenfahrt). There is no such thing as boredom at school as the school day becomes a cinematic adventure in this imaginative tale following nine-year-old action fan Max, adapted from Sabrina J. Kirschner’s bestselling children’s book series.
Family friendly film The Flying Classroom (Das fliegende Klassenzimmer) is a big-screen adaptation of Erich Kästner’s best-selling children’s and young adult’s book of the same name. This thrilling and entertaining adventure features an outstanding cast of up-and-coming talent and will entertain film goers of all ages.
The 2024 HSBC German Film Festival returns to Perth 16 May – 5 June. The full programme will be announced and tickets will be on sale Wednesday 10 April.
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