The 25th German Film Festival (GFF) is back with a diverse range of films on contemporary encounters, with poignant narratives and characters, finding their ways through this complex world. Presented by the Goethe-Institut Singapore jointly with The Projector and the Projector Plus, 12 films – ranging from drama to comedy and romance – will be screened from 21st October to 7th November 2021.
Film aficionados in Singapore will be able to choose between nine theatrical screenings at The Projector’s Golden Mile venue, while three films will be available exclusively on The Projector Plus. Since the first film week in 1978, the GFF has reached out to a growing and diverse audience in Singapore. The 25th edition of the Festival is co-presented with The Projector and The Projector Plus, in partnerships with the Embassies of Austria and Switzerland in Singapore.
The festival highlights Undine, the latest stunning work from renowned director Christian Petzold, about a young woman’s fateful experiences with love, and beautiful reimagining of the famed aquatic myth. Among its many achievements, Undine was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize, and longtime Petzold collaborator Paula Beer, the Silver Berlin Bear at 2020’s Berlinale.
This year’s films are a diverse selection of stories: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and Berlin Alexanderplatz are epic and award-winning journeys of self-discovery and determination in the face of harrowing circumstances – the former about a Jewish family’s escape from 1933 Berlin to Europe, and the latter about an undocumented African immigrant struggling to make a new life for himself in Germany.
Germans aren’t known for their humour, but the lighthearted offerings of The Goldfish and Hello Again – A Wedding Day may prove otherwise, as they show how twisted and hare-brained ideas can bring us not merely some much needed levity, but also meaningful messages; The Goldfish follows the shenanigans of a high-rolling fund manager when he ends up in a rehabilitation facility, and Hello Again sees a woman trying to prevent her best friend getting married.
In I Was, I Am, I Will Be, worlds collide when a Turkish gigolo meets a German pilot on the beaches of Marmaris, while The Fam explores the relationships and tensions between a group of teenage girls placed in a residential care home with social workers. These films bring unexpected encounters—between cultures and classes, troubled personal narratives, and past loves—that may question and shake up our pre-conceived world views. Similarly, Free Country throws us back to post-Soviet rural Germany, where two investigators must negotiate the tension between eras and socio-political gaps in order to solve the mystery.
Meanwhile, My Little Sister and Neubau are stories of love—between family, partners, and the self, and how each must negotiate these relationships, and sometimes, navigate their loss. Finally, the sole documentary, The Green Lie, reveals some hard ‘truths’ about sustainably consumption, and perhaps the lies that we tell ourselves.
“We’re happy to present the festival despite Covid restrictions in partnership with The Projector,” says Dr. Martin Wälde, the newly-appointed Director of Goethe-Institut Singapore. “This year marks our 25th edition of the festival and we’re sure the selection of films will find a good audience, in presenting diverse contemporary cinematic voices from Germany.”
The 25th German Film Festival runs from 21st October to 7th November 2021, presented on The Projector Plus and The Projector. Tickets available here, with more information about the upcoming films here
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