Opening Film | Thursday, November 14, 7:00 pm

Opening Film: All About Me (Der Junge muss an die frische Luft) with Special Guest Ruth Toma

A touching, funny, and uplifting glimpse into the childhood of Hape Kerkeling, one of Germany’s most treasured comedians. Raised in West Germany’s Ruhr region in the early 1970s, young Hans-Peter is the light of his large family, helping them through tough times with his abiding determination to make everybody smile and laugh. But when tragedy casts a shadow over the close-knit family, Hans-Peter only sharpens his talent for comedy – something that will one day make him the star he was meant to be. A discussion with the film's screenwriter Ruth Toma follows the film, along with a reception at the end.

Swiss Contribution | Friday, November 15, 7:00 pm

Swiss Contribution: The Reformer. Zwingli: A Life's Portrait

After a long period of war, Switzerland in 1519 is finally at peace - or so it seems. The Catholic Church reigns supreme with corruption, excess, and hypocrisy. When young priest Huldrych Zwingli leaves the countryside for Zurich, he realizes just how unhappy the Swiss people truly are. His resulting sermons disturb and fascinate the populace, delivering a shockwave that rocks the foundations of the Church and puts many lives in danger. The film will be preceded by a small Swiss reception.

Film | Friday, November 15, 9:30 pm

Friday Night Film: 25 km/h

Although they are brothers, Georg and Christian could not be more different. Christian left home early to become a successful businessman. Georg, a carpenter and sentimental homebody, remained in their Black Forest hometown to take care of their ailing father. Following their father's death, the brothers are determined to make their shared teenage dream come true: a cross-country road trip on mopeds.

Short Film Showcase | Saturday, November 16, 12:00 pm

Short Film Showcase: New Short Films from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Three generations come together under one roof and develop a new understanding of one another in Josef Markus Julian; young dreamer Luna acts out her fantasy of launching into space in the pool of her school gymnasium in Moonjump; the absurdity of entertainment cruises on the open ocean is examined in All Inclusive. This year, we present seven remarkable short films from German, Austrian, and Swiss filmmakers – both breakout works of ambitious university students still in film school and multiple-award-winning pieces – in cooperation with DC Shorts International Film Festival. Following the film program will be a panel discussion on the medium of the short film, the role of short films in festivals, and the short film as an art form specifically in German-language cinema.

Film | Saturday, November 16, 2:15 pm

Saturday Afternoon Tragicomedy: Happiness Sucks (Glück ist was für Weicheier)

As if all the usual difficulties of being 12 weren’t already enough, superstitious and stubborn Jessica is convinced that only she can save her older sister Sabrina from her terminal illness. Still reeling from the death of their mother, Jessica grapples with the awkwardness of early adolescence while attempting to treat Sabrina using her own methods. Meanwhile, the girls’ father faces the grief of his own while holding down a job and caring for his two daughters.

Panel Discussion | Saturday, November 16, 4:15 pm

Special Event: "Film Noise" - On Film with Ruth Toma, Frank Künster, and Andreas Höfer

For the first time in its 27 years, we are introducing a roundtable discussion featuring all three special guests at Film|Neu, our annual film festival celebrating contemporary German-language cinema. Film Noise, a conversation about filmmaking, film festivals, and the film industry, places distinguished figures from the world of German-language film in dialogue.

Moderated by Sky Sitney, co-director of Double Exposure Film Festival, Film Noise will spotlight this year’s special guests: Ruth Toma, screenwriter of opening film All About Me (Der Junge muss an die frische Luft); Frank Künster, documentary subject of Saturday night’s film Berlin Bouncer; and Andreas Höfer, cinematographer of closing film Gundermann.

The dialogue will open up to a Q&A with the panel.

Austrian Contribution | Saturday, November 16, 6:00 pm

Austrian Contribution: The Miracle Method (Die Wunderübung)

It was love at first sight when they first dove into the warm, clear waters of the Red Sea - perfect harmony, complete trust in one another, everything calm below the crystalline surface. Perhaps they never should have come back up. Now, many years of marriage later, Joana and Valentin exist miserably in a toxic relationship. A couples therapist is their last resort. Unsurprisingly, the session is no walk in the park. But the therapist is no ordinary therapist, either...

Film | Saturday, November 16, 7:45 pm

Saturday Night Film: Berlin Bouncer with Special Guest Frank Künster

The Berlin nightclub scene is perhaps the most famous in Europe. Intriguing for the transience of its institutions and their denizens, notorious for its selective door policies, and legendary for its contributions to electronic music, Berlin nightlife does not follow trends – it sets standards. David Dietl offers a glimpse behind the hard outer shell of three Berlin bouncers, giving us an idea what it is really like to be the guardians of the biggest parties in the world. A discussion with documentary subject, artist, and long-time figure of the Berlin club scene Frank Künster follows the film.

Film | Sunday, November 17, 12:00 pm

Sunday Satire: All I Never Wanted

When aspiring documentarians Leonie and Annika are financed with 100 thousand Euro, they are determined to make a film that chronicles the success stories of two different women: a young model beginning her career in Milan, and a middle-aged television actress hoping to take her work in a new direction. When the cameras start rolling, however, all four women learn that success stories don’t come as easily as they thought.

Film | Sunday, November 17, 2:00 pm

Sunday Afternoon Slapstick: The Goldfish (Die Goldfische)

Cutthroat banker Oliver (played by Tom Schilling of Oscar-nominated drama Never Look Away (Werk ohne Autor)) becomes paralyzed from the waist down when he crashes his car. Now living in a facility for disabled people, he must learn to adapt to his new circumstances. “The Goldfish,” a group apartment comprised of four fellow patients and their two caregivers, form an unlikely bond with Oliver – who, determined to retrieve a stash of money from Switzerland and smuggle it back over the border, makes them his partners in crime on a wild road trip.

Film | Sunday, November 17, 4:15 pm

In the Oscar Race: System Crasher (Systemsprenger)

Nine-year-old Benni is full of rage. Nobody – not her mother, her case workers, her doctors, or her teachers – is sure exactly why, or why or her resulting behavior is so violent. One thing is certain, however: Benni cannot continue to grow up in society the way she is. Determined not to give up on her, a community forms around the young girl, intent on working together to ensure that she has a future before it’s too late. System Crasher was chosen in August 2019 as Germany's submission for "Best International Film" in the 2020 Oscar selection.

Closing Film | Sunday, November 17, 6:15 pm

Closing Film: Gundermann with Special Guest Andreas Höfer

Gerhard Gundermann may not look like a star – he drives a coal-digger, wears a hardhat and suspenders, and is a humble and loyal family man. But, to his fellow East Germans, he is also a folk hero, a brilliant lyricist, and a talented musician. Andreas Dresen’s sensitive biopic, following a passionate and clever everyman who enchanted his country and threatened his regime through song, presents us with a remarkable multifaceted hero: idealistic and rebellious, melancholy and defiant. A reception precedes the film, and a discussion with cinematographer Andreas Höfer follows the film.

Author Talk & Book Reading | Monday, November 18, 6:30 pm

BOOKS FIRST: Blueprint (2017/2019) by Theresia Enzensberger - Author Talk

As part of the 2018-2019 initiative "Year of German-American Friendship (Deutschlandjahr)," encompassed by the motto #WunderbarTogether, the Goethe-Institut Washington, the Goethe-Institut Washington invites you to an author talk and reading with Theresia Enzensberger. This engagement is part of the BOOKS FIRST program, which seeks to bring awareness of German-language literature to the English-speaking world. It also is part of our celebration of the 100-year birthday of Bauhaus.

Blueprint (Blaupause) is Enzensberger's debut novel. It follows the young and inquisitive Luise Schilling, who arrives at Weimar's Bauhaus University at the beginning of the turbulent twenties. She takes classes with professors such as Gropius and Kandinsky and throws herself into the dreams and ideas of her epoch. From technology to art, communism to the avant-garde, populism to the youth movement, Luise encounters the social utopias that still shape us to the present day. She has ambitions of achieving a great deal in life - but little of it has to do with paying homage to great men.

Documentary Theater | Friday, November 22, 6:30 pm

Mediterranean Migration Monologues

The Mediterranean Migration Monologues (“Mittelmeer-Monologe”) tell the stories of Naomie from Cameroon and Yassin from Libya, who find themselves on a boat to Europe. It also tells of brutal coast guards, dubious sea rescue centers, and activists who fight against migrant deaths in the Mediterranean Sea.

The activists are part of the project AlarmPhone as well as the German non-governmental organization Seawatch. They convince coast guards to search after people in distress at sea and train volunteers to rescue people from drowning. In short, they do what can no longer be taken for granted in 2019: They save human lives.

The Mediterranean Migration Monologues are documentary, verbatim theater based on many hours of interviews, which reconstruct real cases of sea rescues in order to narrate from the perspective of those affected—both refugees and activists.