12th Audi Festival of German Films in Australia 2013

The French Film Festival is out of the way and hot on it's heels is the 12th Audi Festival of German Films. Peugeot didn't get in touch to offer me a free car after all of my kind words about their product so this time there will be no praise of Audi from me. Although that car they built for I, Robot was pretty cool product placement.

Showcasing Germany's thriving creative industry, the festival brings a fine selection of contemporary, award-winning, internationally acclaimed German-language movies with English subtitles to Australian cities, towns and their communities.

The festival will visit the following cities:
Sydney 30 April - 14 May
Melbourne 1 - 15 May
Brisbane 3 - 9 May
Canberra 7 - 12 May
Adelaide 8 - 13 May
Perth 9 - 13 May

AND almost as if they'd paid attention to my previous rant about visiting only the major cities the good people of two smaller locations will get a condensed version of the festival:

Byron Bay 10 - 12 May
Newcastle 4 - 5 May

This one is a little on the short side here in Perth, quite scandalously Sydney and Melbourne get a full two weeks of interesting German cinema programming whereas Perth get a measly four days. It's going to be busy but this post will focus on what I hope to see at Luna Paradiso and what I recommend you fellow European film fans get out an experience whilst the opportunity is available.

Hotel Lux 
Dir. Leander Haußmann

1938, a comedian in trouble for impersonating Hitler in Berlin flees the country only to pose as Hitler's astrologer at the Moscow hotel, Hotel Lux. A comic drama, a series of unfortunate events,
an adventure between love and death.

Summer Window (Fenster zum Sommer) 
Dir. Hendrik Handloegten 

Starring Nina Hoss (Barbara,) Summer Window is a play on an science fiction old plot, what if you could relive part of your life over again? Would you change things? Would you be able to? Nina Hoss is transported back six months to before she met her current lover and experiences again the events leading up to a tragic situation and a major change in her life. A movie that manages to be interesting and intelligent while also working as a serious, adult character drama.

Two Lives (Zwei Leben/To Liv) 
Dir. Georg Maas 

A compelling meditation on identity, morality and family, set in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Katrine was born to a Norwegian mother and shipped to East Germany to be raised as a member of the super race, for the past 20 years she has been living in Norway having been returned to her family by the Germans. Now her entire identity is under question in the face of a criminal trial against the Norwegian government.

Breathing (Atmen) 
Dir. Karl Markovics

The directorial debut from Austrian actor Karl Markovics, tells the story of a teenage ex-con trying to build a life for himself whilst dealing with the guilt of his crimes. It premiered at Cannes in 2011, and was Austria's official submission to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

More Than Honey 
Dir. Markus Imhoof

The world’s bee population is diminishing by billions every year and with it the world moves closer to an environmental catastrophe. This is a new documentary that investigates this critical issue using state-of-the-art photographic equipment, bringing us up close and personal to the flying insects on whose wings so much of human life depends, Imhoof travels to three continents searching for answers to a mystery that has so far defied any easy explanation