We are happy to invite you to the next installment of the ArtHouse Cinema programme on Tuesday, the 24th of February. This time we will be screening Trace of the Bears directed by Hans-Christoph Blumenberg.

To honour the 60th anniversary of the Berlinale, Hans-Christoph Blumenberg and Alfred Holighaus trace the history of the film festival. They also chronicle Berlin’s history over six decades of transformation, from frontline town to famous walled city to the united German capital.

Each festival has its scandals. But two Berlinale scandals have gone down in history ― and are not only interesting in and of themselves, but for their context. These scandals have remarkable points in common: both blew up around films dealing with the Vietnam War, and both films premiered in the turbulent 1970s. But just as interesting are their differences: one offended the West, and one the East. O.K. (1970) by Michael Verhoeven, an anti-war film about Vietnam, led to the festival being cancelled at the instigation of the US delegation and jury president George Stevens. THE DEER HUNTER (1978) by Michael Cimino ultimately resulted in all representatives of the Warsaw Pact countries leaving the festival prematurely ― a protest against the way in which the film portrayed the methods of the Vietcong. The O.K. scandal had yet another effect on the festival: it led to the establishment of the “International Forum of New Cinema”, under the direction of Ulrich Gregor.

Hans-Christoph Blumenberg and Alfred Holighaus were inspired by these two scandals to make a film about Germany’s most important film festival. Based on archival footage and interviews with 28 figures from the world of international cinema, the filmmakers also trace Berlin’s path over the last six decades. The film showcases the minor stories that sometimes lurk behind the major ones, and how personal memories align with historical moments.

ARTHOUSE CINEMA

is the regular film program of the Goethe-Institut. Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month we screen independent movies, avant-garde movies, retrospectives, experimental films or documentary films from Europe and Indonesia – anything but the mainstream.