In turn, the 17th edition of the German-language film festival Das Filmfest has published its full program. This year, it again offers a selection of award-winning and successful films watched by well-known filmmakers and debutants. Film fans can look forward to the latest films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland from October 19 to 24 at the Lucerna and Atlas cinemas in Prague, from October 30 to November 5 at the Seni cinema in Brno, and from November 1 to 9 at Olomouc the Mozarteum hall of the Archdiocesan Museum.

The varied programming offers comedies, dramas and documentaries providing an original look at the past and present. Viewers can look forward to stories based on true events that depict the fates of famous figures and ordinary people, films adapted from award-winning literary works, films that reveal complex interpersonal relationships, and films that prove that it is never too late to make your dreams or battles come true. for your rights.

Several films will premiere or pre-premiere in Czech distribution at this year’s festival. For example, audiences can look forward to the films Alma and Oskar and Whole Life from distribution company Cinemart, family film Weekend Rebels from company Biscop, and The Fiery Red Sky from international distributor Vertigo International. Festival screenings will be complemented by personal participation from filmmakers and other guests.

This year, visitors can also use affordable festival season tickets for the first time. Advance ticket sales for the Prague portion of the show have begun. A detailed program is available at www.dasfilmfest.cz. The show is usually jointly organized by the Goethe-Institut of the Czech Republic, the Austrian Cultural Forum in Prague, and the Swiss Embassy in the Czech Republic.

Viewers can choose from just under three dozen films, which are dramaturgically divided into several parts. Under the title DAS FILMFEST SPECIAL, they will find historical blockbusters, literary adaptations, films based on true events, and independent films.

For example, director David Wnendt’s uncompromising film Sonne und Beton (Sonne und Beton) falls into this category, taking viewers to the sun-kissed residential area of ​​Gropiusstadt in Berlin, to the city’s outskirts and society. It follows four friends who become increasingly entangled in the snares of a local gang. Among other things, the film won the Bavarian Film Award for best screenplay and cinematography as well as the audience award.

In addition, a charming and funny drama based on real events entitled Rabyie Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush (Rabiye Kurnaz gegen George W. Bush) by Andreas Dresen (Seventh Heaven, Love on the Grill), in which a mother fights for her son’s release from the Guantánamo prison camp and immediately files a lawsuit against the American President.

The winning film of Venice’s International Critics’ Week in Venice, David Wagner’s Eismeyer provides a sensitive look at queer themes in the Austrian army. This film won four awards at the 2023 Austrian Film Awards. The film The Fox (Der Fuchs) by Adrian Goiginger will take audiences to the time of World War II. A fox cub will help an Austrian Wehrmacht soldier find the key to his past and his connection with people. Christopher Roth’s Servus Papa, See you in Hell provides a glimpse into the life of Otto Muehl’s cult and its disintegration.

Another part is called THE GOLDEN YEARS (DIE GOLDENEN JAHRE) and their heroes are united by the desire to find the courage to start realizing their dreams or break away from the social conventions of the time. Dieter Berner’s film Alma & Oskar (Alma & Oskar) gives a picture of the love affair between Alma Mahler, who was liberated at the time, and the art world big bad, Oskar Kokoschka.

He will also offer the story of the Austrian empress Sisi in the new film Sisi & Ich. Director Frauke Finsterwalder won the Bavarian Award for Best Director for the film, and presents the personality of the Austrian empress from an unusual fictional perspective and reveals her dark side.

The protagonists and recent retirees also decide to make their dreams come true in the comedy Die goldenen Jahre by director Barbara Kulcsar, so that a marital crisis arises instead of a well-deserved rest.

The stunning and wild nature of Europe’s highest mountains plays an important role in feature films and documentaries in the ALPENLIEBE section. The festival will feature, among other things, Leon Schwitter’s minimalist, compelling camera story about freedom, defiance and acceptance called Réduit, in which a father tries to find a way for his young son.

Bernhard Braunstein’s documentary STAMS – Skis, Sweat and Tears (STAMS) will provide an insight into daily life in Austrian sports gyms, which offered future ski stars nothing but hard work, sweat and tears. Another documentary ALPY (Alpenland) by Robert Schabus focuses on the future of the mountains of central Europe.

In the DIE DOKU section, Das Filmfest also displays the latest works in the field of documentary films every year. For example, he will offer Claudia Müller’s film Elfriede Jelinek – Die Sprache von der Leine lassen (Elfriede Jelinek – Die Sprache von der Leine lassen), which is an authentic portrait of one of the most talked about figures in contemporary Austrian literature, a controversial writer, feminist and Nobel Prize winner. The film won awards for best documentary at the German Film Awards and the Austrian Film Awards.

In the film, documentarians Simon Guy Fässler and Andreas Müller then invite Ruäch on a journey following in the footsteps of present-day Jeniš, a historically marginalized nomadic group that moved to Switzerland and neighboring countries.

Turkish-German director Cem Kay’s film Liebe, D-Mark und Tod (Liebe, D-Mark und Tod) documents Turkish music in Germany – from folk ballads to rock protest songs – with clips from concerts, interviews and archival footage Good. Music will also feature prominently in the film Vienna Calling, which will take you into the depths of Vienna’s contemporary music scene.

Families with children will also have fun: as part of BIO JUNIOR, the festival invites you to a refreshing holiday adventure Where are the llamas, there are plays (Mein Lotta-Leben: Alles Tschaka mit Alpaka!) by director Martin Plur or Weekend Rebels (Wochenendrebellen) by renowned director Marc Rothemund. Finding the right football club can be a challenge. Viewers young and old can see for themselves over the festival weekend.