News

German cinema looks set for a major boost this year from some of the country’s most commercially successful and critically acclaimed directors tackling such eclectic subject matter as U.S. torture in Guantánamo, the impact of bipolar disorder on family, and a folkloric love story about the Grim Reaper.

The pandemic postponed a number of scheduled 2020 productions, which will likely make 2021 a busy year as production companies make up lost time.

Andreas Dresen, Til Schweiger, Michael Bully Herbig, Hans-Christian Schmid, Sönke Wortmann and the late Joseph Vilsmaier all have high-profile projects in the works or set to hit theaters (when they reopen) this year.

Dresen explores the injustice of America’s war on terror in the tentatively titled “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush.” Dresen, who enjoyed a major hit with the award-winning 2018 biopic “Gundermann,” reteamed with writer Laila Stieler on the fact-based pic about Rabiye Kurnaz (Meltem Kaptan), a Turkish housewife in Bremen,...

“System Crasher,” Nora Fingscheidt’s social drama about a troubled young girl, swept the 70th German Film Awards on Friday, winning a total of eight Lolas, including best film, director, actress and actor.

Forced to revamp this year’s ceremony due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the German Film Academy did away with its traditional gala event and instead produced a stripped-down show tailor-made for television that proved uniquely spontaneous, innovative and entertaining.

Hosted by actor Edin Hasanovic (“Skylines”), the show, broadcast live from Berlin and airing on Ard’s Das Erste, featured guest entertainers, actors and presenters in the studio as well as filmmakers, award winners and musicians taking part via video feed from their homes, including a musical performance by Gregory Porter from Los Angeles.

In addition to best film and director awards, “System Crasher” won Fingscheidt the screenplay Lola, best actress for Helena Zengel, supporting actress for...

By Anjelica Oswald

Managing Editor

Bill Clinton likes a good movie.

A self-declared film buff, the former president has most recently endorsed the Netflix documentary Virunga and Ava DuVernay’s Selma.

According to a 2014 study by The Wall Street Journal, NBC News and the Annenberg Public Policy Center, an endorsement from Clinton makes political candidates appear to be 38 percent more favorable among voters. But does this effect carry over to his movie choices?

Some think yes and other think no, but regardless of the effects, Clinton has offered his praise for many films throughout the year.

Clinton made a surprise appearance at the New York Museum of Arts and Design’s Virunga screening on Jan. 31, along with his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The documentary, executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, follows a team of park rangers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Virunga National Park as...

Cologne, Germany -- Joseph Vilsmaier, the German director credited by many with reinvigorating the Heimatfilm genre, will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Bavarian Film Prize gala Jan. 15.

Vilsmaier was one of the most successful German filmmakers of the 1990s -- his period dramas "Autumn Milk," "Brother of Sleep" and "Comedian Harmonists" were local boxoffice hits.

The 70-year-old filmmaker returned to form with his last feature, the comedy "Brandner Kaspar" which featured local comedy star Michael Herbig as death incarnate. Vilsmaier's latest, the real-life mountain climbing drama "Nanga Parbat," bows Jan. 14 in Germany. It follows the story of brothers Reinhold and Gunther Messner who, in 1970, set off to scale the Nanga Parbat, the infamous "Killer Mountain" of the Himalayas.

Cologne, Germany -- German indie producer-distributor Senator Entertainment squeezed back into black ink in the first half of 2009, earning net profits of €900,000 ($1.3 million) on revenue of €15.9 million ($22.7 million).

It's a ray of sunshine for the Berlin-based group, which pushed through a radical restructuring plan last year to avoid collapse. The shake-up saw Senator hand its U.S. operation Senator Entertainment Inc. back to founder Marco Weber; spin off production, acquisition and marketing duties to new joint venture deutschfilm and sign co-acquisition/distribution deals with Universum Films and France's Wild Bunch to provide much-needed cash flow.

"We're on the right track, but we're not out of the woods yet," said Senator CEO Helge Sasse, noting the company was still drawing down on its assets in order to keep the lights on.

Senator has had a huge hit in Germany with Stephen Daldry's "The Reader," which earned more than $20 million at the local boxoffice,...

COLOGNE, Germany -- Reinhard Klooss has joined leading German indie production company Constantin Film, the company announced Tuesday. Klooss, whose producing credits include Asterix & Obelix vs. Caesar, Buffalo Soldiers and Comedian Harmonists, will focus on Constantin's family entertainment and animation division. Constantin is expanding into CGI animation production with the July 20 release of family-friendly comedy Hui Buh -- The Castle Ghost, featuring German comedian Michael "Bully" Herbig.