KINO/21 German Film Festival
Venue: Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre
Date: 2021.10.15 - 2021.10.17
Price: Standard ticket: $85. Tickets are now available at URBTIX.
KINO is back, in the theatre and on the big screen! We show a selection of the best and most successful German films of 2020/21.
Our opening film KISS ME BEFORE IT BLOWS UP tells a love story against all odds, funny, heart-warming and thoughtful. HELLO AGAIN – A WEDDING A DAY is also about love with obstacles, our favorite romantic comedy of the year. Fans of suspense and action will get their thrills with FREE COUNTRY or TIDES, while cineastes should not miss BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ, THE GERMAN LESSON or the biopic about Germany's most controversial filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, ENFANT TERRIBLE. If you happen to meet a talking kangaroo in your neighborhood who has just arrived from Berlin-Kreuzberg, you know: now you will be part of the KANGAROO CHRONICLES and experience lots of excitement.
Our opening film KISS ME BEFORE IT BLOWS UP tells a love story against all odds, funny, heart-warming and thoughtful. HELLO AGAIN – A WEDDING A DAY is also about love with obstacles, our favorite romantic comedy of the year. Fans of suspense and action will get their thrills with FREE COUNTRY or TIDES, while cineastes should not miss BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ, THE GERMAN LESSON or the biopic about Germany's most controversial filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, ENFANT TERRIBLE. If you happen to meet a talking kangaroo in your neighborhood who has just arrived from Berlin-Kreuzberg, you know: now you will be part of the KANGAROO CHRONICLES and experience lots of excitement.
Screenings schedule
15/10 (Fri) 7:30pm Kiss Me Before It Blows Up!
16/10 (Sat) 2:30pm Berlin Alexanderplatz
16/10 (Sat) 8pm Free Country
17/10 (Sun) 3pm The German Lesson
17/10 (Sun) 7:45pm Hello Again - A Wedding A Day
15/10 (Fri) 7:30pm Kiss Me Before It Blows Up!
16/10 (Sat) 2:30pm Berlin Alexanderplatz
16/10 (Sat) 8pm Free Country
17/10 (Sun) 3pm The German Lesson
17/10 (Sun) 7:45pm Hello Again - A Wedding A Day
Kiss Me Before It Blows Up!
Germany | 2020 | 105’ | In English, German, Hebrew, Arabic with English subtitles | DCP | Colour
15/10 (Fri) 7:30pm
- WINNER Berlin Jewish Film Festival 2020 – Gershon Klein Award, Special Prize for Best German Film on a Jewish Theme
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2020
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Filmschau Baden-Württemberg 2020
Director: Shirel Peleg
Screenplay: Shirel Peleg
Cast: Moran Rosenblatt, Luise Wolfram, Rivka Michaeli
A subversive love story between clashing cultures and families, KISS ME BEFORE IT BLOWS UP is a romantic misadventure crossing all borders. When two generations of Israeli women fall for a German woman and a Palestinian man, chaos follows. What happens with lovers who don't fit but do belong together? When Maria lands in Tel Aviv from Germany and arrives at her lover Shira's apartment, one small misstep starts a romantic journey of mythic proportions as Shira accepts a non-proposal of marriage. Upon meeting, their two families immediately collide over a shared historical past and the prospect of a combined future, while the second pair of lovers unexpectedly reflect yet another wide gap romance must bridge. Now it's Shira's fiercely independent, sardonic grandmother Berta's turn to test the very limits of love, conflict and circumstances.
Berlin Alexanderplatz
Germany, Netherlands | 2020 | 185’ | In German with Chinese and English subtitles | DCP | Colour
16/10 (Sat) 2:30pm
- WINNER European Film Awards 2020 – European Composer
- WINNER German Film Awards 2020 – Best Feature Film (Silver), Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Score, Best Production Design
- WINNER German Film Critics Association Awards 2021 – Best Film Score, Best Editing
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Berlinale 2020 – In Competition
- OFFICIAL SELECTION International Istanbul Film Festival 2020
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Busan International Film Festival 2020
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Cleveland International Film Festival 2021
Director: Burhan Qurbani
Screenplay: Burhan Qurbani, Martin Behnke
Cast: Welket Bungué, Albrecht Schuch, Jella Haase, Joachim Król
When Francis, 30, the only survivor of an illegal crossing from Africa, awakes at a beach in Southern Europe, he swears an oath to God: From now on he wants to be a new, a better, and a decent man. Soon after, Francis finds himself in Berlin, where he realizes how hard it is to be righteous when you are an illegal refugee in Germany – without papers, without a nation and without a work permit. When he receives an enticing offer from the charismatic German Reinhold, 31, to earn easy money, Francis initially resists the temptation, maintains his oath and stays away from Reinhold's shady dealings. But eventually he is sucked into Berlin's underworld and his life spirals out of control. Award winning film director Burhan Qurbani transposes the plot from Alfred Döblin’s famous 1920s novel to contemporary Berlin.
Free Country
Germany | 2019 | 125’ | In German with English subtitles | DCP | Colour
16/10 (Sat) 8pm
- NOMINATED German Film Awards 2020 – Best Production Design, Best Costume Design
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Cleveland International Film Festival 2020
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Arras Film Festival 2019
Director: Christian Alvart
Screenplay: Christian Alvart, Siegfried Kamml
Cast: Nora Von Waldstätten, Felix Kramer, Trystan Pütter
1992, two years after German reunification: In the East, most of the old state-owned enterprises are closed down. Those who can, have gone to the West or dream of going there. What remains are the shadows of the past under the East German regime and a deep mistrust against anyone who comes from outside. Just like police inspectors Patrick and Markus, who are supposed to clear up the disappearance of two teenagers. The terrible suspicion of a sex crime is tragically confirmed when the girls’ dead bodies are found, raped and brutally murdered. While the relatives of other young women who have been missing for years come forward, the iron silence toward the cops turns into open hostility. The fact that one is from the West and the other from the East doesn't make things any easier. Who has what to hide and why? When the detectives start to unravel the mystery, they soon wind up in danger themselves...
The German Lesson
Germany | 2019 | 125’ | In German with Chinese and English subtitles | DCP | Colour
17/10 (Sun) 3pm
- WINNER Bavarian Film Award 2020 – Best Cinematography
- WINNER Günter Rohrbach Filmpreis 2019 – Preis der Saarland Media GmbH
- NOMINATED German Film Awards 2020 – Best Cinematography, Best Film Score
- NOMINATED Günter Rohrbach Filmpreis 2019 – Best Film
- NOMINATED Hamburg Film Festival 2019 – Best Feature
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Zurich Film Festival 2019
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2019
Director: Christian Schwochow
Screenplay: Heide Schwochow
Cast: Levi Eisenblätter, Ulrich Noethen, Tobias Moretti
Germany, just after the Second World War. Siggi Jepsen, a young man in juvenile detention, has to write an essay on “The Joys of Duty”. Only when he is locked up in a cell for punishment, his blockade is released and he writes like a man possessed. Memories of his father Jens Ole Jepsen, who was a police officer in a small, north German village and dedicated himself totally to the duties of office. Under the National Socialist regime he had to issue a ban on painting to the Expressionist artist Max Ludwig Nansen. He oversees it meticulously and Siggi, 11-years-old at the time, is told to help him. But Nansen resists – and likewise builds on Siggi's help, who is like a son for him. The two men's conflict continually escalates – and Siggi stands between them. Fitting in or resistance? This becomes the decisive question for Siggi... The film is based on one of the most famous novels of German post-war literature.
Hello Again - A Wedding A Day
Germany | 2020 | 95’ | In German with English subtitles | DCP | Colour
17/10 (Sun) 7:45pm
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Filmschau Baden-Württemberg 2020
- OFFICIAL SELECTION Filmfest München Pop-Up 2020
Director: Maggie Peren
Screenplay: Maggie Peren
Cast: Alicia von Rittberg, Edin Hasanovic, Emilia Schüle, Samuel Schneider, Tim Oliver Schultz
GROUNDHOG DAY meets MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING in this topsy-turvy romantic comedy that turns the fairy-tale of finding the one great love upside down. Zazie lives with her buddies, womanizer Patrick and sweetheart Anton, in a flat share. All three are completely incapable of being in a relationship. Finding the great love? No need. Zazie is sure of that. When Philipp, Zazie’s best friend from childhood, sends an invitation to his wedding, Zazie is shocked to find out that he wants to marry stuck up and vicious Franziska. She is definitely the wrong girl for Philipp! Zazie decides to do everything she can to save him from making the biggest mistake of his life. But will this turn out to be her own path to happiness?
Tickets are now available at URBTIX.
Ticket Price: $85/ $68*
*20% discount for full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and the minder. Concessionary ticket holders must produce evidence of their identity or age upon admission.
*20% discount to Goethe-Institut Hongkong’s students. Discount is only available at the URBTIX Sales Counters, Goethe-Institut Hongkong’s students must present a valid discount letter upon purchase.
*20% off for HKAC Individual members & HKAC BEE. Discount is only available at the URBTIX Sales Counters, members must present a valid membership card upon purchase.
*20% off for each purchase of 4 or more standard tickets.
Internet booking: www.urbtix.hk
Credit card telephone booking: 2111 5999
Mobile ticketing app: My URBTIX (Android & iPhone versions)
Ticketing enquiries: 3761 6661 (10:00-20:00 Daily)
Programme enquiries: 2582 0248
*20% off for each purchase of 4 or more standard tickets.
Internet booking: www.urbtix.hk
Credit card telephone booking: 2111 5999
Mobile ticketing app: My URBTIX (Android & iPhone versions)
Ticketing enquiries: 3761 6661 (10:00-20:00 Daily)
Programme enquiries: 2582 0248
Presenter: Goethe-Institut Hongkong
In collaboration with: Hong Kong Arts Centre
The following measures will be implemented for screenings, to combat the prevailing threat of Novel Coronavirus:
- All audience must wear face masks
- No smoking, eating and drinking. Unauthorised photo-taking, audio and/or video recording is strictly forbidden
- Staff have the right to deny the admission of any person with temperature higher than 37.5°C
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