12th Audi Festival of German Films (30 April – 15 May, 2013)
This year will again see the Goethe-Institut and German Films continuing a long-lasting tradition and are hosting the 12th Audi Festival of German Films in Australia. From 30 April to 15 May, new German films will be shown in eight Australian cities with an accompanying programme such as introductions to the presented films, Q&As with directors, a poster exhibition, panel discussions and much more. Over 20,000 people came to the festival last year.
A total of 45 German film productions can be seen in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle and Byron Bay. The directors Georg Maas of TWO LIVES (DE/NO, Zinnober Film, B&T Film), Jan Tegeler of SOUND OF HEIMAT – DEUTSCHLAND SINGT (Fruitmarket Kultur und Medien, Tradewind Pictures), Marten Persiel of THIS AIN’T CALIFORNIA (wildfremd production) as well as Philippe Mora and screenwriter Harald Grosskopf of GERMAN SONS will be in town to introduce their films in Q&As to the Australian audiences. The German film journalist Christian Buß (SPIEGEL Online) will give an insight into the current developments in the German film landscape. German Films will host a dinner in Sydney and Melbourne for Australian distributors to give them a more detailed picture of the films in the festival.
In 2012, a total of 21 German films and co-productions were released in the cinemas in Australia – that is just as many as in 2011. The most successful German co-production at the box office here was RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION by Paul W.S. Anderson (DE/CA/US, Constantin Film International) with around
€ 3.2m box-office takings. The Audi Festival of German Films is a good springboard for this. WUNDERKINDER by Markus O. Rosenmüller (CCC-Filmkunst) - seen at the festival last year – and VINCENT WANTS TO SEA by Ralf Huettner (Olga Film), which screened in 2011, were both sold to Australian distributors afterwards. KADDISH FOR A FRIEND by Leo Khasin (SiMa Film) also screened at the Audi Festival of German Films and was subsequently shown at the Jewish Film Festival in Australia.
2013 has already seen German films having a presence in Australian cinemas with some productions. The most recent releases have included the launch on 28 February, 2013 of CLOUD ATLAS by Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer and Andy Wachowski (Cloud Atlas Production GmbH), which has since taken around €991,000, AMOUR by Michael Haneke (FR/DE/AT, X Filme Creative Pool) opened on 21 February, 2013 with around €922,.000 box office and BARBARA by Christian Petzold (Schramm Film Koerner & Weber), which has now taken about €227,000 since its release on 7 March, 2013.
The festival's main sponsor is Audi Australia. Other festival partners are Lufthansa, Adina Apartment Hotels, DB Schenker and Palace Cinemas. The local partners are German Australian Association Inc., Schwarzkopf, Schweizer Kobras Lawyers & Notaries, Yarra Trams and Tower Cinemas Newcastle. The media partners are Swinburn School of Film and Television, FilmInk and TimeOut. Other partners are German International School Sydney, Uvex, Germany Simply Inspiring and AvantCard Freecard Media. Support for the opening evenings comes from Löwenbräu, Amadeus Catering, Mámor Chocolates, Catherine Vale, Hofbräuhaus Melbourne, Henkell Vineyards, The Bakery and King of Cakes. Moreover, the festival is supported by the German Embassy in Canberra, the Austrian Embassy in Canberra, the Swiss Consul-General, the Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media, the German Federal Film Board, and the City of Sydney.
Further information on the Audi Festival of German Films can be found here.
Further information on German cinema in Australia can be found at German Films Market Study Australia.