The yearly German-language film festival, Das Filmfest, will once again bring award-winning films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland to several cinemas across the Czech Republic in October and November. This 19th edition will feature over 30 critically and publicly acclaimed films by both leading directors and up-and-coming filmmakers. The Brno leg of the festival will take place in Kino Art from 20-26 October.
Among the highlights of this year’s edition are Fatih Akin’s new film ‘Amrum’, Oscar-nominated films ‘The Peacock’ and ‘Sound of Falling’, a docudrama about the life of Thomas Mann, and a documentary about the controversial cinema icon Leni Riefenstahl. The program brings together different stories and perspectives including historical films reflecting on lives marked by the turbulent 20th century, stories of ordinary people, themes of identity, migration, and the need to find oneself, as well as biographies of famous artists. Many of the films will be introduced in person by their creators or lead actors.
As well as Brno, Das Filmfest will also take place from 15-19 October at the Kino Lucerna and Edison Filmhub cinemas in Prague, from 1-5 November at the Central Hall of the Olomouc Museum of Art (MUO), and its final stop will be from 10-12 November at the Hraničář cinema in Ústí nad Labem. The festival is co-organized by the Goethe-Institut Czech Republic, the Austrian Cultural Forum in Prague, and the Swiss Embassy in the Czech Republic, and all films will be shown in their original language with Czech subtitles.
With much of the program focusing on the human consequences of the harsh political climate of the previous century, it should come as no surprise that many of these movies contain heavy themes, though the youngest viewers will also find something to enjoy. The festival program includes family-friendly movies such as ‘Greetings from Mars’ (Grüße vom Mars), ‘The Secret Floor’ (Das geheime Stockwerk) and the adventure film ‘Curious Tobi and the Treasure Hunt to the Flying Rivers’ (Checker Tobi und die Reise zu den fliegenden Flüssen) featuring one of Germany’s most popular YouTubers.The complete program will be published on the festival’s official website in mid-September.
