The Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival Offers 14 German Films in April

Minneapolis, MN (February 19, 2013) – The Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, presented by The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul, will return to five screens of the St. Anthony Main Theatre April 11 through 28. The Festival will screen some 200 international independent feature length and short films representing over 60 countries in an array of new and returning programs and will feature visits from prominent international filmmakers and celebrities and a host of galas, events, parties, and panel discussions.

  

Check out this website for show times and tickets for German films in April: http://www.mspfilmfest.org/MMXIII/countryregion/germany    

Germany

    Museum Hours

The New York–based artist Jem Cohen has created a distinctive yet diverse body of work and ranges from music videos for the bands Fugazi and R.E.M. to installations, narrative features, and documentaries. With his latest feature, Museum Hours, Cohen makes a major leap into what he calls the “in-between” film, a genre that straddles the modes of drama and personal essay.

   Lessons of Darkness

A haunting meditation on the aftermath of modern warfare, Lessons of Darkness is set amidst the blazing oil fields of Kuwait at the end of the first Gulf War. Herzog reimagines the scene using a science-fiction scenario crafted from a mix of his inimitable voiceover narrations, passages of classical music, and stunning aerial footage of this otherworldly setting.

  In the Fog

Up for the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and filled with twists and turns, In The Fog is at its core a tale of one honest man trapped in an unjust world. Sushenya, a tortured soul in occupied USSR, is accused of a crime he didn’t commit and a secret collaboration that never took place. An entire town becomes suspicious of Sushenya, after he is inexplicably spared from execution for sabotaging a rail line.

  Wickie and the Treasure of the Gods

It’s not easy being the son of a Viking chief. Gifted with brains but not brawn, Wickie’s not sure he’ll ever feel like a ‘real Viking’. But when his father is kidnapped by Sven the Terrible, Wickie gets his chance. Sailing his crew to the Cape of Fear, Wickie is determined to rescue his father and to follow the runes of a mysterious book leading to the Palace of Eternal Ice, and the Treasure of the Gods. The Mighty Vikings venture to the legendary locale where powerful riddles protect the treasure.

   Polluting Paradise (Der Müll Im Garten Eden)

German-Turkish director Fatih Akin returns to his grandparents’ hometown, Çamburnu, to find the Turkish government has turned the neighboring area into a giant provincial landfill. Akin interviews locals and collects hundreds of photos over five years, documenting the impact this ecological mess has had on a Black Sea community that depends so heavily on fishing and tea leaf harvests for its livelihood. Polluting Paradise is a heartbreaking documentary that perfectly illustrates globalization’s dangerous side effects.

  Crocodiles: All for One

They’re back! Catch up with the latest adventure of the coolest gang, the Crocodiles! The final film in the multi-award-winning trilogy (based on Max von der Grun’s popular 1977 book) ups the ante with awesome new headquarters, high speed go kart action, and an ingenious (and crazy) life-saving rescue. Fans of this series won’t be disappointed--adorable Hannes and his scruffy gang meet every challenge in the name of loyalty to each other and The Crocodiles!

  Weekend, The

Jens Kessler, an RAF fighter who recently was released from prison after serving an 18-year sentence, attempts to spend his first free weekend reconnecting with family and friends. But the homecoming celebration is abruptly cut short. Attending the party is Jens’ former lover, Inga and her husband, who together rekindle his earlier aggressive passions, and start him on a hunt for the person who first turned him in to the police. The Weekend is a tense, morally-complex thriller with a not-to be missed finale.

 

   Watchtower

After a tragic accident he’d just as soon forget, Nihat takes a post at a forest watchtower, where he meets a student who’s also on the run from a dark past. Over time the two become close, only to have their histories threaten to tear them apart. Through vivid character study, this slow burner from Pelin Esmer (10 to 11) observes the myriad challenges faced by a country unsure of its place in the world.

 

   Wall, The

This eerie, existential drama based on the German bestseller follows a middle-aged woman and her dog who, during a short mountain getaway, become trapped by an invisible force field and have to fend for themselves. Martina Gedeck (The Lives of Others) puts in a brilliant performance as the isolated protagonist struggling for both answers and survival. As months go by, she settles into her new life, until an unexpected visit turns her world upside down

   Hannah Arendt   Filmmaker Invited

An utterly relatable, yet complex story, Hannah Arendt is a fictionalized take on the life of the famous political theorist. Starting from her coverage of the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, we see the uphill battle Arendt faced from friends and foe alike. Director Margarethe von Trotta does the unimaginable in presenting Arendt’s story in a way that moves us all, without reducing the weight of her words.

 

  Deflowering of Eva Van End, The

Teenage Eva Van End is having a hard time fitting in both at school and with her family—who are all just struggling in general—when she agrees to let a German exchange student stay with her family. When the handsome, charming Veit arrives at the house, he does his best to turn things around for the Van Ends, much to their chagrin. Simultaneously funny and tear-jerking, the Van End’s are, at times, nearly impossible to stomach, but always easy to appreciate.

 

 Kuma

Fatma is a middle-aged housewife with six children.  She lives in Vienna but still practices all her Turkish homeland’s traditions. She has been diagnosed with cancer and fears for her family’s future if the treatment does work.

  Tutti Giù

Jullo, Edo and Chiara: three adolescents like thousands of others. Three teenagers whose lives are sport. Jullo “is” his skateboard; Chiara conquers the world on skis; Edo a sprayer. One day Jullo, Chiara and Edo suddenly discover their own lives, each in their own way. Fears, dreams, surprises, loneliness, uncertainty, expectations, impermanence, imbalance. Then one moment, one second, one “click.” A click, after which they rediscover themselves, which leads to adulthood – or unsparingly carries them away.