Films, exhibitions and festivals in 2018
From classical music concerts to contemporary art biennales, the events that will enrich people's lives in the year to come.
January: A Golden Globe for Germany?
The beginning of the year belongs to cinema, and the 2018 cultural agenda kicks off on January 7 with the 75th Golden Globes ceremony in Los Angeles. The German drama "In the Fade," directed by Fatih Akin and starring Diane Kruger, has been nominated in the Foreign Language category. Hopes are high, even though the film has received mixed to bad reviews in the international press.
February: All the world's a stage
Film fans will be busy all winter, as the Berlin Berlinale begins its 68th edition on February 15. The red carpet event, which has recently come under fire for its "lack of vision," launches with the screening of Wes Anderson's new flick "Isle of Dogs." For those who prefer art to movies, the Max Beckmann exhibition "The World as a Stage" opens on February 24 in the Museum Barberini in Potsdam.
March: Bees, Bauhaus and books
On March 1, "The Honey Games" premieres in Germany, a film featuring the popular cartoon character Maya the Bee. A week later, the first in a series of "Bauhaus Imaginista" exhibitions opens in China, showing the global impact of the art and design movement from the turn of the 20th century. The lit.COLOGNE book fair will present the latest in literature from March 6 to 17 in Cologne and Leipzig.
April: Where you haven't gone before
The spring brings several opportunities to "go beyond." The controversial Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović will push perceptions with her retrospective "The Cleaner," opening in Bonn on April 20. Then, the Destination Star Trek convention (April 27-29) will beam up visitors from Dortmund to the world of strange alien species and fantastic adventures.
May: Head south
The Portuguese singer Salvador Sobral won the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, so the next, 63rd edition will take place in Lisbon, the capital of the winner's homeland, with the finale on May 12. In Cannes, the most star-studded film festival opens on May 8, and the Architecture Biennale in Venice, titled "Unbuilding Walls" in its 2018 edition, opens on May 26.
June: Dive into modernity
Before the 100th anniversary of Bauhaus in 2019, the work of Anni Alber, probably the most recognized 20th century textile artist, goes on display on June 9 at the NRW Kunstsammlung (North Rhine-Westphalian Art Collection) in Dusseldorf. More contemporary art at the Berlin Biennale starting June 9 and at the European art biennial "Manifesta," this time in Palermo, Sicily, opening June 16.
July: The month of theater
Designated "festival of the year" by the Los Angeles Times in 2017, the Salzburg Festival gets off to a start on July 20 with a rich program of classical music. For those who can't get their fill of opera, the Bayreuth Festival - just four hours away by train - starts on July 25 with a new production of Richard Wagner's opera "Lohengrin."
August: The festival season has definitely arrived
More than 150 rock bands will storm the stage at the Wacken Open Air, while faithful fans brave the "monsoon season" that tends to hit northern Germany every August. Mud-proof boots are a must! Those looking for a more glamourous scene will attend the film festival in Locarno (August 1-11). And the Beethovenfest in Bonn, beginning August 31, is the best way to say farewell to summer.
September: Sipping champagne and drinking beer
In early fall, the Golden Lions film festival in Venice will take place for the 75th time. About 500 kilometers up north, Munich will host a large retrospective of the late German artist Jörg Immendorff from September 14. Eight days later, the annual Oktoberfest gets off to a start there.
October: A month dedicated to the book
The world's largest book fair held every year in Frankfurt dedicates its 2018 edition to Georgia, the country in the Caucasus. Parallel to the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the most important literary prizes will be awarded: the Nobel Prize for Literature, the German Book Prize and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
November: Tribute to the 'Smooth Criminal'
Hardly seems possible that it's been almost ten years since the "King of Pop" passed away in 2009. Michael Jackson retrospectives are beginning in 2018, including an exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris titled "The Birth of an Icon." With loans from leading artists, collectors and gallerists, the extensive showcase explores the artistic side of Jackson's output.
December: Films, art and a word
The European Film Prize will be awarded in 2018 in the Spanish city of Seville (above). The German Language Society will announce its "Word of the Year," and rich art collectors will go shopping for new pieces at Art Basel Miami Beach.