Fokus: Films from Germany Brochure

A very warm welcome to Fokus: Films from Germany – a veritable Wundertüte of German films past and present, served up as public screenings, special events and school screenings for the enjoyment, interest and pleasure of audiences across Scotland. Filmhouse is delighted to be working with the Goethe-Institut, and is hugely grateful for the support of Film Hub Scotland, in delivering this fantastic programme. I know that you will enjoy it.

Ken Hay CEO Filmhouse

Film is the contemporary expression of the arts that probably excites us most.

And film is much more than Hollywood!

With our new annual season “Fokus” we invite you to explore Germany as a multifaceted country with a distinct artistic language and place within European film. I am particularly delighted that this event has been realized in close collaboration with many partners, in Scotland and abroad, and I look forward to seeing you at the screenings!

Nikolai Petersen Director Goethe-Institut Glasgow

Supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network.

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Introduction Opening Film: Victoria Beloved Sisters

04 07 08

B-Movie: Lust & Sound in

08

West-Berlin 1979-1989 Finsterworld Inbetween Worlds Calendar My Friend Raffi Parents Under Snow Who Am I - No System Is Safe Fassbinder Baal Fox and His Friends The Marriage of Maria Braun Schools Screenings Ticket and Venue Info About the Organisers

09 09 10 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 17 19

Fokus: Films from Germany - Programme 2015 3

Programming a film season dedicated to a certain country is not an easy task.

Expectations quickly become to select and feature a “best of” recent releases or even to set out and “celebrate” a nation’s cinematic and cultural heritage.

From its very beginnings, Fokus: Films from Germany hasn’t been about this. We’re not interested in or able to show you “German cinema”, whatever that might be. Instead, we have made a choice of films, realised by directors from a distinct geographical and political area in Europe, which we hope might encourage audiences in Scotland to reflect on, sympathise with and differentiate themes that are of relevance to contemporary German society and a globalised world.

In our opening title, the masterful single-shot thriller Victoria, Berlin doesn’t appear as the usual hipster capital of arts, impregnated with Nazi and Cold War history, but as a new place of desire for a whole generation of Southern Europe’s highly-skilled and talented youth - those who, in their home countries, remain unemployed. Feo Aladag’s thoughtful Inbetween Worlds shows us the moral and political dilemma of the war in

Afghanistan, and Germany’s military entanglement in the region, as told through the eyes of an Afghan interpreter for the Bundeswehr ISAF-Force. And 2014 Edinburgh International Film Festival selection Finsterworld offers a biting Freudian parable on modern German guilt over the Holocaust and the wider state of 21st-century society.

Beyond these recent examples of how filmmakers engage with a changing global role and the self-image of their nation, we also look back to German New Cinema’s enfant terrible and cinematic prodigy, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, whose 70th birthday would have been this year. His highly political account of Germany’s postwar economic success and its challenges in coming to terms with its recent past are intimately interwoven in The Marriage of Maria Braun, which offers a still relevant approach to understanding contemporary Germany. Meanwhile, the recently rediscovered adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s Baal, directed by Volker Schlöndorff and with Fassbinder in the lead role, and the classic Fox and His Friends present an intimate and autobiographical portrait of Fassbinder.

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Finally, friends of documentary film should not miss visual delight Under Snow, by avant-garde filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger, the female counterpart to Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, et al; as well as the Scottish premiere of B-Movie: Lust & Sound in WestBerlin 1979-1989, a wild musical journey into Berlin’s post-punk underground scene, based on private videos and recordings.

The latter is narrated by Mancunian musician and new-Berliner Mark Reeder, and features, amongst others, Nick Cave, Gudrun Gut, Einstürzende Neubauten, Blixa Bargeld, Tilda Swinton and Muriel Gray.

These titles are just a selection from this year’s programme, and we encourage you to discover our full programme over the following pages. And we hope to see you at the screenings!

Konrad Siller (Project Director for GoetheInstitut Glasgow) Marjolein den Bakker (Programme Coordinator, Filmhouse)

Fokus: Films from Germany - Programme 2015 5

Sprache. Kultur. Deutschland.

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Filmhouse Fri 20 Nov | 20:15 Belmont Filmhouse Mon 23 Nov | 20:25 Glasgow Film Theatre Tue 24 Nov | 20:00 Dundee Contemporary Arts Fri 27 Nov | 20:30 Sebastian Schipper / Germany 2015 / 2h18m / Digital / German, English and Spanish with English subtitles / 15 – Contains strong language, drug use Cast: Laia Costa, Frederick Lau, Franz Rogowski, Burak Yigit, Max Mauff, André M Hennicke

A young woman, Victoria, dances through the Berlin scene with abandon until she meets a group of four men. After slipping away with one of them, their tender flirting is rudely interrupted by the others: they’ve not come out to party, but to settle an old debt by pulling off a dodgy deal. And, with one of them now unable to drive, they hastily decide that Victoria should take his place....

Writer-director Sebastian Schipper tells his breathless story in a single bravura take.

And, as his camera glides seamlessly through numerous locations and the passing of time, the film’s apparently random events slowly coalesce in a powerful tour de force.

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(Die geliebten Schwestern) Filmhouse Sun 22 Nov | 14:00 Dundee Contemporary Arts Sat 28 Nov | 18:00 Glasgow Film Theatre Wed 2 Dec | 20:00 Heart of Hawick Arts Centre Thu 3 Dec | 18:00 Eden Court Theatre Thu 3 Dec | 20:15 Dominik Graf / Germany 2014 / 2h50m / Digital / German with English subtitles / 12A Cast: Hannah Herzsprung, Florian Stetter, Henriette Confurius

Set in the late 18th century, two beautiful, aristocratic sisters meet a young man who is infatuated by both of them. He is the writer, playwright and philosopher Friedrich Schiller.

Neither noble nor wealthy, and only at the start of his career, Schiller is deemed no match for Charlotte, while Caroline is already trapped in an unhappy marriage. Yet, in the wake of the social and political upheavals rocking France on the eve of the Revolution, Caroline suggests they form a ménage à trois – but, even as Schiller delicately tends to the needs and wishes of his two mistresses, the sisters’ own pact seems increasingly like an elusive dream...

Glasgow Film Theatre Wed 25 Nov | 20:30 Followed by a Q&A with Scottish author, broadcaster and journalist, Muriel Gray.

Presented in association with Monorail Film Club.

Filmhouse Thu 26 Nov | 18:15 Belmont Filmhouse Mon 30 Nov | 20:45 Eden Court Theatre Mon 7 Dec | 20:45 Jörg A Hoppe, Klaus Maeck & Heiko Lange / Germany 2015 / 1h32m / Digital / English and German with English subtitles / 15 Documentary featuring Nick Cave, Blixa Bargeld, Gudrun Gut, Die Tödliche Doris, Muriel Gray; narrated

by Mark Reeder.

Before the Iron Curtain fell, everything seemed possible in walled-in West Berlin, which became a creative melting pot for subculture and pop culture alike. Right in the midst of it all was Mancunian musician Mark Reeder. Drawn by his love of off-the-wall urban electronic music, this label-maker and military fetishist came to Berlin at the end of seventies.

Now, through a lovingly compiled collection of visual and audio material – with a soundtrack featuring the likes of legendary bands Westbam, Malaria!, Einstürzende Neubauten and more – he returns to that frenzied but creative decade in a city where the days were short and the nights were endless.

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Filmhouse Mon 23 Nov | 18:15 Glasgow Film Theatre SAT 28 Nov | 14:45 Ayr Film Society Fri 4 Dec | 17:30 Eden Court Theatre Sun 6 Dec | 17:15 Frauke Finsterwalder / Germany 2013 / 1h31m / Digital / German with English subtitles / 15 Cast: Corinna Harfouch, Bernhard Schütz, Sandra Hüller, Ronald Zehrfeld, Michael Maertens, Margit Carstensen

Appearances can be deceiving: presented in the whimsically inviting guise of a light-hearted character comedy, the five interwoven strands of Finsterworld in fact explore uncharted territory amidst innocence and perversion, and the fine line between kindness and barbarity. Depicting a school trip to a former concentration camp, the relationship between a policeman and a documentary filmmaker, the strange rituals of a retirement home pedicurist, the tale of a forest hermit raising a baby raven, and a rather snobby couple on a road-trip, the film opens up a series of little abysses which lead to a cumulative dramatic impact.

(Zwischen Welten) Filmhouse Wed 25 Nov | 18:15 Belmont Filmhouse Wed 2 Dec | 18:15 Ayr Film Society Sat 5 Dec | 17:30 Dundee Contemporary Arts Sat 5 Dec | 18:00 Feo Aladag / Germany 2014 / 1h43m / Digital / German, English, Pashtu and Dari with English subtitles / 15 Cast: Ronald Zehrfeld, Mohsin Ahmady, Saida Barmaki, Abdul Salam Yosofzai, Felix Kramer, Burghart Klaußne

Jesper is a German soldier who, despite the death of his brother whilst serving in Afghanistan, signs up for another call of duty in the country. His unit is tasked with protecting an isolated village from the Taliban, with the aid of young Afghan interpreter Tarik, who must facilitate communication between the soldiers and the community. Both sides find it hard to bridge the differences in their way of life, and the conflicts of Jesper’s conscience soon leave him feeling at his wit’s end. But when the lives of Tarik’s family are threatened because of Tarik’s proximity to the Germans, Jesper finds himself forced to take unexpected action.

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Fri 20 Nov

Victoria

Sat 21 Nov

My Friend Raffi DCA Parents FH Who Am I - No System Is Safe FH

13:00 18:15 20:45

Beloved Sisters FH Under Snow FH Who Am I - No System Is Safe BEL

14:00 18:15 20:45

Sun 22 Nov

FH

Mon 23 Nov Finsterworld

Victoria

Tue 24 Nov Victoria

Baal

Wed 25 Nov Inbetween Worlds

20:15

FH BEL

18:15 20:25

GFT FH

20:00 20:30

FH GFT

18:15 20:30

B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West Berlin 1979 - 1989 Fox and His Friends

FH

20:40

Thu 26 Nov

B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989 FH The Marriage of Maria Braun FH

18:15 20:40

Fri 27 Nov

Victoria

DCA

20:30

Sat 28 Nov Finsterworld

Beloved Sisters

GFT DCA

14:45 18:00

Sun 29 Nov

Baal DCA Who Am I - No System Is Safe DCA

15:00 20:30

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AFS AYR Film Society BEL Belmont Filmhouse DCA Dundee Contemporary Arts EC Eden Court FH Filmhouse GFT Glasgow Film Theatre HH Heart of Hawick

Mon 30 Nov B-Movie: Lust & Sound in

West-Berlin 1979-1989

BEL

20:45

Tue 1 Dec

Fox and His Friends

GFT

20:15

Wed 2 Dec

Inbetween Worlds BEL Beloved Sisters GFT The Marriage of Maria Braun DCA

18:15 20:00 20:30

Beloved Sisters Beloved Sisters

HH EC

18:00 20:15

Finsterworld AFS The Marriage of Maria Braun AFS

17:30 19:45

Baal Inbetween Worlds Inbetween Worlds Parents

AFS AFS DCA AFS

15:00 17:30 18:00 20:00

Fox and His Friends Finsterworld

DCA EC

15:30 17:15

B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989

EC

20:45

Sat 12 Dec

Baal

EC

18:00

Sun 13 Dec

Fox and His Friends

EC

17:15

EC

18:00

Thu 3 Dec

Fri 4 Dec

Sat 5 Dec

Sun 6 Dec

Mon 7 Dec

Mon 14 Dec The Marriage of Maria Braun

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(Rettet Raffi!)

(Eltern)

Dundee Contemporary Arts Sat 21 Nov at 13:00

Filmhouse Sat 21 Nov | 18:15 Ayr Film Society Sat 5 Dec | 20:00

Arend Agthe / Germany 2015 / 1h37m / Digital / German with English subtitles / PG Cast: Nicolaus von der Recke, Sophie Lindenberg, Henriette Heinze, Claes Bang, Albert Kitzl, Bettina Kupfer

Eight-year-old Sammy is the proud owner of a very special hamster, Raffi. Not only can the little rodent score goals with a football, but he’s also able to outdo tracker dogs at sniffing out smuggled goods. But, when Raffi mysteriously disappears, neither Sammy’s mother nor his sister have the time to help in the search. With his father – a soldier serving in Afghanistan – also absent, Sammy is left to find his beloved pet all by himself. And, as he discovers the true identity of Raffi’s ruthless kidnapper, a tremendous adventure through the city of Hamburg ensues in this delightful family tale.

This film has additional school screenings, see page 16.

Robert Thalheim / Germany 2013 / 1h39m / Digital / German with English subtitles / PG Cast: Charly Hübner, Christiane Paul, Paraschiva Dragus, Emilia Pieske, Clara Lago

The troubles faced by one couple as they try to juggle their careers whilst raising kids and keeping their own relationship afloat may seem all too real to some parents. After a long break, Konrad finds himself with the chance to return to his career as a theatre director.

But, with his wife Christine – a successful and busy doctor – unable to spare the time to take over as childminder, his transition back to working life proves more difficult than expected. With touching performances and especially good turns from the child actors, Parents is a moving and compelling family drama highlighting our compulsion to fulfil the promise of modern life.

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(Unter Schnee) Filmhouse Sun 22 Nov | 18:15 Ulrike Ottinger / Germany 2011 / 1h48m / Digital / German and Japanese with English subtitles / PG Documentary

In Echigo, the snow often lies several feet deep, covering landscape and villages well into May. Over the centuries, the Japanese town’s inhabitants have learned to organise their lives accordingly. Veteran director Ulrike Ottinger journeys to this mythical snow country – accompanied by two kabuki performers – to record their very distinctive forms of everyday life, along with festivals and religious rituals. Her resulting documentary combines the influences of kabuki, the remarkable Snow Country Tales of the 19th-century writer Bokushi Suzuki, the music of Yumiko Tanaka and the realities of life in Echigo to create a visually striking and moving work.

(Who Am I - Kein System ist sicher) Filmhouse Sat 21 Nov | 20:45 Belmont Filmhouse Sun 22 Nov | 20:45 Dundee Contemporary Arts Sun 29 Nov | 20:30 Baran bo Odar / Germany 2014 / 1h47m / Digital / German, English and Russian with English subtitles / 15 – Contains strong language, drug use Cast: Tom Schilling, Elyas M’Barek, Wotan Wilke Möhring, Antoine Monot Jr, Hannah Herzsprung

A group of four computer hackers – the charismatic Max, impulsive Stephan, paranoid Paul and insecure, boyish Benjamin – come together through a single shared interest: cybercrime. Forming the subversive group CLAY, they quickly make a name for themselves through their audacious cyber attacks on right-wing groups and big companies. But, as they dive into the dark, high-octane world of online espionage, they quickly find themselves hunted on three sides: by a dogged investigator, the policing agency Europol, and a rival hacker troop enmeshed in organised crime. Suddenly, the four nobodies of CLAY have become the most wanted hackers in the world....

This film has additional school screenings, see page 16.

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Beyond recent examples of German cinema, this year’s edition pays homage to an outstanding protagonist of the New German Cinema movement: Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945 – 1982), whose 70th birthday would have been this year.

Filmhouse Tue 24 Nov | 20:30 Dundee Contemporary Arts Sun 29 Nov | 15:00 Ayr Film Society Sat 5 Dec | 15:00 Eden Court Theatre Sat 12 Dec | 18:00 Volker Schlöndorff / West Germany 1970 / 1h25m / Digital / German with English subtitles / 15 Cast: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Sigi Graue, Margarethe von Trotta, Hanna Schygulla, Marian Seidowsky

The first full-length work of iconic playwright Bertolt Brecht, this television production of Baal (by The Tin Drum director Volker Schlöndorff) transposes the action from the Weimar Republic to contemporary West Germany. Here, the eponymous anarchic poet (a bravura performance by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, who also appears as himself) lives in abject squalor and finds himself alternately feted and rejected by bourgeois society. The ultimate hedonist, Baal roams through forests and along motorways, greedy for schnapps, cigarettes, women and men.

After the film’s initial broadcast, Brecht’s widow prohibited any further screenings, and it was only in 2011 that Brecht’s granddaughter reversed the decision, leading to the glorious 2014 restoration shown here.

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(Faustrecht der Freiheit) Filmhouse Wed 25 Nov | 20:40 - Introduction with Marc David Jacobs, SQIFF committee member Glasgow Film Theatre Tue 1 Dec | 20:15 Post-screening discussion with Helen Wright, SQIFF committee member Dundee Contemporary Arts Sun 6 Dec | 15:30 Eden Court Theatre Sun 13 Dec | 17:15 Rainer Werner Fassbinder / West Germany 1975 / 2h3m / 35mm / German, English and French with English subtitles / 15 – Contains nudity, sex references and strong language Cast: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Peter Chatel, Karlheinz Böhm, Rudolf Lenz, Harry Baer

In one of Fassbinder’s most highly-regarded and accessible films, he takes the lead role as Franz, an unemployed showman and prostitute whose fortunes change after he wins the lottery. Swapping his working-class roots for a new milieu, he falls in with an antiques dealer who introduces him to his elegant circle of gay friends – including the manipulative Eugen, the scion of a onceprominent family fallen on financial hard times. As the two move in together, Eugen’s exploitation of Franz (both emotionally and financially) becomes ever more apparent.

And, as Franz strives hopelessly to improve himself to win Eugen’s approval, his desperation grows increasingly stronger...

(Die Ehe der Maria Braun) Filmhouse Thu 26 Nov | 20:40 Dundee Contemporary Arts Wed 2 Dec | 20:30 Ayr Film Society Fri 4 Dec | 19:45 Eden Court Theatre Mon 14 Dec | 18:00 Rainer Werner Fassbinder / West Germany 1979 / 2h / 35mm / German and English with English subtitles / 15 – Contains strong language and moderate sex Cast: Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Löwitsch, Ivan Desny, Hark Bohm, Gisela Uhlen

Along with Veronika Voss and Lola, The Marriage of Maria Braun forms the first part of Fassbinder’s ‘BRD Trilogy’, about three emblematic women and the means they employ to survive in post-war West Germany.

During the last days of the Second World War, Maria (Hanna Schygulla) marries Hermann Braun – but their marriage lasts only one night before he is called back to the front and reported missing. In his absence, Maria’s belief that her husband is alive and will return to her leads to inevitable tragedy. But her life also becomes inextricably linked with the fortunes of her country as she takes on the world of business during the great German economic boom of the 1950s.

Presented in association with Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF), promoting queer cinema and LGBTI viewing in Scotland and beyond.

Fokus: Films from Germany - Programme 2015 15

We’re delighted to be screening two films to schools as part of Fokus: Films from Germany.

Film is increasingly being recognised by teachers as a valuable tool that can be used to motivate and engage pupils in the classroom, and is particularly useful for modern language teaching.

Showing children films from the world beyond Hollywood also helps to broaden pupils’ minds, and encourages a love of international cinema.

The two films we have chosen for schools are My Friend Raffi, an entertaining comedy about the adventures of a boy and his pet hamster, suitable for P4-S3; and Who Am I – No System Is Safe, a gripping thriller set in the world of underground computer hackers, suitable for S4-S6. A teaching resource for My Friend Raffi has been prepared by the Goethe-Institut Glasgow and is available at www.filmsfromgermany.co.uk/schools Please note, these screenings are for school groups and home-schooled children with accompanying adults only. Pre-booking required!

See page 12 Filmhouse WED 25 Nov | 10:00 Glasgow Film Theatre mon 30 Nov | 10:00 Belmont Filmhouse tue 1 dec | 10:00 Eden Court thu 3 dec | 10:00

See page 13 Filmhouse THU 26 Nov | 10:00 Glasgow Film Theatre tue 1 dec | 10:00 Belmont Filmhouse wed 2 dec | 10:00 Eden Court thu 10 dec | 10:00

To book Filmhouse screenings 0131 228 2688 and ask for the Duty Manager or email education@cmi-scotland.co.uk To book Glasgow Film Theatre screenings www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/schools/ booking or email annie.mccourt@glasgowfilm.org To book Belmont Filmhouse screenings 01224 343 500 and ask for the Duty Manager or email admin@belmontfilmhouse.com To book Eden Court screenings 01463 234 234 Please see pages 17 - 18 for further venue details.

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street

Please contact participating venues for ticket bookings and access information.

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new

street

bridge

Ayr Film Society 5-9 High Street, Ayr KA7 1LU Screenings take place at Ayr Town Hall, tickets available at the door, by phone or through the enquiry form on the Ayr Film Society website. w: ayrfilmsociety.co.uk t: 01292 281 085 or 283 435

academ

high

y st

street

st

A7 19

cathcart

newmarket street

schoolhill

back wynd

street

denburn

belmont

nethergate

road

3 01 a9

Belmont Filmhouse 49 Belmont Street, Aberdeen AB10 1JS w: belmontfilmhouse.com t: 01224 343 500

greenmarket

DCA 152 Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4DY w: dca.org.uk t: 01382 909900

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N ROAD LOTHIA

bishops road

MORRISON STREET

bishops

BREAD ST

road GE RID INB NTA U FO

Filmhouse 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9BZ w: filmhousecinema.com t: 0131 228 2688

B6 39 9 street

howga te

street

cambridge

renfrew

hill street

blythwood

dalhousie

street

street

Eden Court Bishops Rd, Inverness IV3 5SA w: eden-court.co.uk t: 01463 732732

B639 9 kirkstile

sauchiehall street

GFT 12 Rose St, Glasgow G3 6RB w: glasgowfilm.org/theatre t: 0141 332 6535

Heart of Hawick Heritage Hub, Kirkstile, Hawick TD9 0AE w: heartofhawick.co.uk t: 01450 360680

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Filmhouse is Scotland’s foremost independent cinema, the programme of which includes over 700 films and events annually.

In recent years, Filmhouse has led several touring programmes of films, of which Fokus: Films from Germany is the latest.

Others have included Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema and The Cinema of Childhood. Since 2013, Filmhouse has been an independent film distributor, with releases including Alexey Balabanov’s The Stoker and Farida Pacha’s My Name Is Salt; and it also provides DCP encoding as part of CMI Digital Cinema Services.

Filmhouse is part of the Centre for the Moving Image, which also incorporates the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Aberdeen’s Belmont Filmhouse.

Filmhouse Cinema 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9BZ t: 0131 228 6382 e: info@cmi-scotland.co.uk w: filmhousecinema.com

Goethe-Institut is the Federal Republic of Germany’s cultural institute, active worldwide. We promote the study of German abroad and encourage international cultural exchange.

As one of the few cultural institutes with a permanent presence in Scotland, the institute in Glasgow has conveyed comprehensive information about the cultural, social and political life in Germany for more than 40 years. Our cultural and educational programmes, realized in close collaboration with Scottish partner institutions, encourage intercultural dialogue and involvement.

Fokus: Films from Germany is just one of the institute’s cultural events in Scotland.

For more info about our activities get in touch with us: Goethe-Institut Glasgow 3 Park Circus, Glasgow G3 6AX t: 0141 332 2555 e: info@glasgow.goethe.org w: goethe.de/glasgow

goetheinstitutglasgow

FilmhouseCinema

GI_Glasgow

Filmhouse

goetheinstitut

Fokus: Films from Germany - Programme 2015 19

Venue partners

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