Film Festival | Thursday, November 14, 2019 - Sunday, November 17, 2019

Save the Date: Film|Neu 2019

We are very excited to announce the 27th edition of Film|Neu, Washington’s annual festival of new films from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. This year’s films explore the challenges that come with pursuing ambitious dreams, remaining true to oneself in the face of great change, and being an outsider determined to find belonging somewhere – or to remain a misfit. Soon we will announce our complete feature film schedule, trailers, special guests, short film program, receptions, and other special events taking place throughout the festival. In the meantime, save the date, and stay tuned for more updates from us. We look forward to welcoming you to Film|Neu 2019 at Landmark’s E Street Cinema!

Exhibition | Saturday, September 7, 2019 - Saturday, November 23, 2019

NORMCORE

Transformer DC, the Goethe-Institut Washington, the German Embassy, and the Year of German-American Friendship are proud to present NORMCORE: an immersive, site-specific exhibition, by contemporary Berlin-based artists Sascha Appelhoff and Lena von Goedeke. Playing with the recently coined "normcore" trend - a portmanteau of normal and hardcore - this exhibition and storefront installation confront this trend’s underlying concept of strictly adhering to rules and standards as a way of rebelling and standing out, by reflecting on the way in which "norms" are commonly perceived in Europe as a stand-in for bureaucracy. Appelhoff and von Goedeke challenge this concept, and the cliché of the uptight rule-following German, through their own perception of the "norm" - in signs, sizes, and symbols - and by playing with the metric system in the USA, where none of these rules apply.

Film & Discussion | Wednesday, September 11, 6:30 pm

“Serious Games”: Harun Farocki’s War at a Distance (Erkennen und Verfolgen) (2003) and Serious Games

In 1991, when images of the Gulf War flooded the international media, it was virtually impossible to distinguish between real pictures and those generated on computer. This loss of bearings was to change forever our way of deciphering what we see. The image is no longer used only as testimony, but also as an indispensable link in a process of production and destruction. This is the central premise of War at a Distance, which continues the deconstruction of claims to visual objectivity Harun Farocki developed in his earlier work.

Serious Games I – IV, Harun Farocki’s four-part multichannel installation, begins with a computer-generated video game used to train soldiers for armed conflict and concludes with a virtual reality therapy session. Usually displayed as a gallery installation, the films screened here in a theatrical setting demonstrate how instructional videos and games are utilized for the human conditioning required in fighting wars. Farocki invites viewers to consider how the same images are used as didactic tools for both military training and psychological counseling.

Film & Discussion | Monday, September 16, 6:30 pm

Art & Power: Lutz Dammbeck – The Experimental Short Films & Documentaries of Lutz Dammbeck

Starting in the 1970s, filmmaker Lutz Dammbeck worked on his own Super-8, 35mm, and video projects, including Metamorphoses I (Metamorphosen I) - one of the first experimental films to be shown publicly in the GDR - and Homage to La Sarraz (Hommage à La Sarraz), both of which make use of non-camera animation. These two films were the beginning of Dammbeck’s long-term art project the Hercules Concept (Herakles-Konzept), which the artist sees as a total artwork (Gesamtkunstwerk), including research materials, media collages, photographs, texts, painting, dance, film, and music. Dammbeck has continued to work on various sequences for and variations on his Hercules project ever since. Followed by a Q&A and discussion with Lutz Dammbeck in person.

Lecture & Exhibit | Wednesday, September 18, 2019, 6:30 pm

"The Power of Emotions" Lecture and Exhibit with Dr. Ute Frevert

Our politics are increasingly driven by emotions, so it would seem. We are living in an age of permanent agitation. Facts are being called into question by perceived truths. Radicals of every description are attracting more and more attention with simple answers to complex questions. The political center often does not know how to deal with heated emotions. It is characterized by the political culture of the old Federal Republic, where the need for sobriety prevailed. The Power of Emotions: Germany 19 | 19 takes present-day manifestations of 20 emotions as a starting point, and shows how these have developed during the 20th century: conjunctures, change, and continuities. In the 2019 year of remembrance, the exhibition and talk will address continuities and gaps in the emotions that have shaped the last 100 years, the intensity of which is now presenting a challenge for politics and society. The lecture will be followed by a discussion with Dr. Frevert.

Five-Week Intensive Courses, 10-Week Standard Courses and More

Registration is now in progress for fall courses at all levels for adults and teenagers! Enter promo-code September2019 at checkout and save 10% on all courses beginning in September only (case-sensitive; code valid thru 9/6/2019 for courses for adults only; offers may not be combined).
 

German for Teens

Online registration is currently ongoing for Blended Learning (75%/25%) German courses for teens at the A1, A2 and B1 level. Classes meet Saturday mornings from 9:30-am-12:00pm with 45-minutes of online work per week. All books included in course fee. Ask us about scholarship opportunities.

Scholarships for Professional Development in Germany Next Summer

Calling all German teachers! Scholarship applications for professional development in Germany next summer are now online! Spend two weeks in the city and course of your choice, brainstorming and exchanging ideas on various topics related to teaching German as a Foreign Language with German teaching colleagues from around the world! Whether it is a seminar in cultural studies, German as a foreign language theory and practice or media studies – there are seminars available at all 16 Goethe-Institut locations in Germany. Application Deadline: October 15th 2019. 

Teacher Service Facebook Group

Are you a German teacher? Stay up to date with us in our Teacher Service Facebook Group! This group is a platform to share information & resources, to discuss ideas and trends in teaching, to voice concerns & offer suggestions, to strengthen our network and facilitate personal connections for German teachers. We love seeing and hearing about what you are doing in your classroom, school and community and most of all - how we can best support you!

The Big Pond #44: Germans in New Orleans

Historically, New Orleans is a cultural, spiritual and ethnic melting pot. In the streets, you immediately come across signs of French, Caribbean, Native American and Spanish influence. Hard to imagine that there were German immigrants here at one time! But once you know how to read the clues, the picture changes – producer Martina Groß explores Germans’ long history in New Orleans.