First Festival of German Cinema Opens in Beijing Saturday Night

This is a different kind of Oktoberfest. For the first time ever, German Films and the Goethe-Institut are presenting the Festival of German Films, a selection of 10 movies to be screened in four Chinese cities, with the gala opening ceremony Saturday night (tonight) in Beijing.

Over the next 16 days, 10 films, including tonight's opening night film Almanya, by Yasemin Samdereli, will be presented in Beijing, along with Chengdu, Shenyang and Shenzhen. In tow for some or all of those stops are director Samdereli, Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or winner Volker Schlöndorff, director Alex Schmidt, and actor Lars Eidinger. They will attend screenings and seminars to discuss German film and the state of other relevant topics including film funding.

Also participating is Chinese director Wang Quan'an, whose2006  film Tuya's Marriage won a Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Saturday night's opening ceremony is being held at Audi City at Oriental Plaza in Wangfujing, although the screening of Almanya is at Broadway Cinematheque at Modern Moma. Visit the festival's website for more information on location and ticketing.

Image: Festival of German Films