2023年德国电影展在北京开幕，12部影片将亮相

On November 17th, the 2023 Festival of German Cinema, presented by German Films and the Goethe-Institut China opened at Goethe-Institut China. At the opening ceremony, Ms. Simone Baumann, Managing of Director German Films, Ms. Anke Redl, China Representative of Director German Films, Mr. Robin Mallick, Director of Goethe-Institut China, and Mr. Stephan Grabherr, Deputy Head of Mission at the Germany Embassy in Beijing, expressed their best wishes for the festival.

Mr. Stephan Grabherr, Ms. Anke Redl, Mr. Robin Mallick

Host of the evening, Anke Redl welcomed everyone to the opening ceremony of the 2023 and thanked everyone for coming. Due to the pandemic, the and postponements, this is already the second edition of the Festivals of German Cinema this year, as the 2022 edition and has been moved to March of this year.  Anke is very happy that the 11th German Film Festival has now returned to its original schedule. She also thanked Goethe-Institut's Robin Mallick and his team for their unwavering support as well as the German Embassy in Beijing, the German Center, DAAD , the media partners, the consultants Li Xun and Che Lin as well as her own German Films team.

Robin Mallick said that it is a great pleasure to bring German artists back to Beijing after a long four year period. In the future, more artists will come to China for exchange.He believes that the path of communication between China and Germany will become wider and wider.

Simone Baumann regretted for not being in Beijing, but sent her greetings through a video and explained that the festival will present 12 new German films, all interesting projects with different themes. She hopes that everyone will enjoy the screenings. 

Ms. Baumann

Dr. Stephan Grabherr, Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Beijing, expressed his gratitude to German Films and Goethe-Institut for hosting this film festival and for selecting all the excellent films. He was glad to see so many friends at the opening to share this wonderful evening. He said that many people want to watch movies because they are full of surprises. 

In the future, he hopes the festival will expand its scope and the number of cities it will travel to, allowing more people to see German films. Regarding the opening movie, Dr. Stephan Grabherr jokingly said that he hopes this movie can help everyone understand that Germans are not only good at thinking, but also have a sense of humor. 

The opening film of the Festival of German Cinema 2023 is the film WHEN WILL IT BE AGAIN LIKE IT NEVER WAS BEFORE. The film was selected for the Generation 14plus of the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival. Sonia Hayes, director of this film, participated in a post-screening online Q&A online session.

online Q&A session

This film festival will showcase 12 new films, all completed between 2022 and 2023, which touch on different themes and have achieved success at various film festivals. 

Films include MUSIC, which was the winner of the Silver Bear at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival. THE FOREST MAKER, the latest documentary by Volker Schlöndorff, who is considered one of the "Four Masters of the New German Cinema". THE ORDINARIES and SEVEN WINTERS IN TEHRAN both festival favorites are other highlights.  In addition, several special events will take place simultaneously. Special guest Aelrun Goette, director of the film IN A LAND THAT NO LONGER EXISTS will be coming to Beijing to present her film to the Chinese audience as part of the Festival of German Cinema. She will be presenting her film twice, once at the German Embassy School and once at Goethe-Institut. 

The documentary Bad Women of China directed by He Xiaopei will screen at Goethe-Institut China. The festival is also organizing a special event. Aelrun Goette and He Xiaopei together with FGC jury member.  FGC jury member, Che Lin will moderate a panel discussion:  "A Dialogue between German and Chinese Female Filmmakers". 

Special screenings will also take place on December 10. Consecutive screening of IN THE BLIND SPOT , ONE LAST EVENING, and MITTAGSSTUNDE will screen at the DDC Dusk Dawn Club.

As in previous years, we are honored to have invited veteran filmmakers from China - Li Xun and Che Lin - to serve as film selection advisors for this year's festival, who will provide professional and unique insights into the German films to be screened based on cultural exchange between China and Germany, connecting history and the present.

Since its inception, German Cinema in China has screened many films (in the Cinema Section and the Special Screening Section) in a wide range of genres, including drama, documentary, comedy, thriller, experimental video and interactive film. German Cinema in China aims to continuously bring the latest German-language releases to Chinese audiences and to build a platform for exchange between movie fans and creators in both countries. Let's experience the fascination of German cinema on the big screen for the next two weeks.