New Releases: SEPTEMBER 2011
January 30, 2009
BAIKONUR
Directed by: Veit Helmer, opens: 01. September 2011
The inhabitants of a small village in Kazakhstan make a living by salvaging and swapping the scrap parts and junk found after every rocket launch from the nearby Baikonur space port. Young Iskander, called "Gagarin", dreams about taking off into space one day and listens to the radio traffic of the space centre. He is also the one locating the metal parts, making sure to get there before the competing collectors. Nazira, who is secretly in love with Iskander, hates rockets and their technology since her parents died in an accident related to the space programme. But Iskander only has eyes for French space tourist Julie Mahé, whom he only knows from television. When her space capsule crashes on Earth, Iksander saves her. Realizing that Julie is suffering from amnesia, he introduces her as his fiancée.
Source: filmportal.de
MEIN BESTER FEIND
Vienna in the 1930s. Victor Kaufmann, the son of a wealthy cosmopolitan Jewish couple, works in his father’s art gallery. His best friend whom he has known since childhood and from whom he is inseparable, is Rudi Smekal. Victor’s girlfriend, the attractive and vibrant Lena, is also a friend of Rudi’s. In a moment of exuberance Victor shows his friend a well-kept family secret: a drawing by Michelangelo that was believed lost. It comes as a terrible shock to Victor to learn that Rudi has long been a member of the Nazi party and is hoping that Austria’s annexation to Germany will improve his career chances with the Nazis. Having missed the right moment to flee Austria, the Kaufmanns are now stuck in Vienna. They transfer their estate to Lena in an attempt to protect it from being confiscated. Having bragged about the Michelangelo drawing, Rudi receives an order from Berlin to seize the art work. In order to save his old friends, Rudi suggests a deal: the drawing in exchange for the Kaufmanns’ freedom. But he has overestimated his influence. No sooner does the drawing fall into the hands of the Nazis than the Kaufmann family is sent to a concentration camp...
Source: 61. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)
HELL
Directed by: Tim Fehlbaum, opens: 22. September 2011
It was once the source of life, light and warmth. But now the sun has turned the entire world into baked and barren wasteland. Forests are scorched. Animal carcasses line the roads. Even the nights are dazzling bright. Marie, her little sister Leonie and Phillip are heading for the mountains in a car with covered windows. Rumor has it there is still water there. Along the way they run into Tom, a first-rate mechanic who becomes indispensible. But can they trust him? Tension grows in the small group. As if things weren´t bad enough, they are lured into an ambush. Their real battle for survival begins…
Source: German Films Service & Marketing GmbH
VIER TAGE IM MAI
Directed by: Achim von Borries, opens: 29. September 2011
These four days in May, during which time the world holds its breath; four days, which will change the 13-year-old forever. The boy wants to be a soldier and prove himself a hero, but instead, he ends up in the captivity of the captain and his 7-man reconnaissance patrol. They take up their observation post in the orphanage on the coast where the young boy lives. Weary from fighting and in an attempt to avoid any further conflict with German troops on a nearby beach, the captain and his men are all waiting for an end of the war – and start dreaming of life again. But the boy tries to instigate the hostile troops against each other. What he doesn’t suspect, however, is that the real enemy comes from an unexpected side: a Russian major, who has long had it in for the captain. Now the war, which almost seemed to finally be over, moves into the orphanage for one last battle; one which turns brothers into enemies and enemies into brothers. The end of the war is the end of childhood. A film by Achim von Borries, based on a true story.
Source: German Films Service & Marketing GmbH