When Iranian/German filmmaker Faraz Shariat was 19 years old he imported a security detacher from China and used it to take off the security tags from clothes in department stores. In time he got caught shoplifting and was sentenced to community service which he did by becoming a translator in a refugee shelter. That was … Continue reading
Hollywood has always had the habit of taking a successful European movie and ‘Americanizing’ them, often with very questionable results. In this movie’s case they were last in line as at the same time Reinhold Schünzel was directing Viktor und Viktoria in Germany in 1933, he was also shot a French-language version of the … Continue reading
Garden of the Stars is a beautiful lyrical film and is the story of the old St. Matthäus churchyard in Berlin-Schöneberg.. Well, more importantly it is the story of one rather extraordinary man who has made the place his home since he opened his Cemetary Cafe in 2006. Bernd Boßmann is a psychiatric nurse … Continue reading
Orpheus’ Song is a deceptive movie. It borrows from buddy movies, porn scenarios and classical myth to create a movie that gently simmers in a touch of magic. Philipp (Sascha Weingarten) and Enis (Julien Lickert) are work out buddies in Berlin. That oddly fraternal situation where it’s OK to focus on each other’s narcissism and … Continue reading
The veteran filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim who is also Germany’s most famous gay activist and has made over 150 short and feature films to date. His latest movie, currently playing the Film Festival circuit, is a thriller loosely adapted on one of the most notorious gay serial killers whose story played out in the … Continue reading