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Beerland - Part 1- 2

September 12, 2014

Punctual, neat, dour - like beer: the Germans. But isn’t the German mentality really a bit more complex than that? Our two-part documentary turns up some really surprising insights.

https://p.dw.com/p/1CpFu

Filmmaker Matt Sweetwood has lived in Germany for over 15 years but still finds his German neighbors a bit alien. So he sets off on an ethnographic journey through the Federal Republic to confirm his hypothesis that the key to the Germans is their beer.

As a participating observer, he dives into the beer and drinking culture of the Germans. Of course, the Oktoberfest in Munich is an integral part of his itinerary, but so are a beer crate race and a Beer Queen election. Corner pubs and microbreweries turn out to be welcome resting places on his journey.

10.09.2014 DW Feature Foto Dokumentation Doku Bierkastenrennen2
Beer crate racing in Bavaria quickly shows that drinking rituals have taken on a somewhat contemporary sheen.

During it all, Sweetwood was surprised to find that Germans are really quite creative, humorous, chaotic, generous and open-minded. And there's more: the special characteristics of Germany’s different regions aren’t confined to their drinking culture. Maybe the idea of “typically German” is also all in the mind.

10.09.2014 DW Feature Foto Dokumentation Doku sweetwood
Matt Sweetwood has to get to grips with various beer-drinking rituals during his trip.

The result is a road movie that isn’t just entertaining but also instructive as well.



Broadcasting Hours:

Part 1:

DW

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DW (Europe)

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DW (Arabia)

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DW (Amerika)

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Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3

Part 2:

DW

SAT 27.09.2014 – 22:15 UTC
SUN 28.09.2014 – 06:15 UTC
SUN 28.09.2014 – 13:15 UTC
SUN 28.09.2014 – 17:15 UTC
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MON 29.09.2014 – 10:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4

DW (Europe)

SUN 28.09.2014 – 04:15 UTC
SUN 28.09.2014 – 17:15 UTC
MON 29.09.2014 – 06:15 UTC
MON 29.09.2014 – 13:15 UTC

London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +4

DW (Arabia)

SUN 28.09.2014 – 04:15 UTC

Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 3 | Dubai UTC +4

DW (Amerika)

SUN 28.09.2014 – 06:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3