A series of films being shown this week at the Goethe-Institut Cyprus brings thought-provoking German works to Nicosia. From Thursday to Sunday, the German institution will offer a snippet into German cinema as part of the 5th edition of the Berlinale Selection 2024. This year’s programme includes five films that were shown at the Berlinale 2023 and 2022 and will be screened at Pantheon Theatre with English subtitles.
The five selected films in this year’s programme are relevant both in terms of content and artistry. Current and persistent issues, such as human rights, gender equality, activism, the climate crisis, migration, and integration, are among the subjects dealt with in the films. Three documentaries and two feature films will take audiences on a journey through different eras, cultures, cities, or even countries, sharing different perspectives, stories and experiences.
The cinema evenings will begin and conclude with the coming-of-age film Sun and Concrete. Based on the autobiographical first novel of Felix Lobrecht, the film paints a realistic picture of teenage kids in a socially deprived area of Berlin. It will be screened first on Thursday at 8pm and again on Sunday.
Next up on Friday is Lonely Oaks, which touches on climate crisis and environmental issues. In this documentary and the discussion that will follow with environmentalist and environmental activist Klitos Papastylianou, pressing questions around activism, such as why people engage in activism, or how far activism should or even must go, are addressed.
Two films will be screened on Saturday. The first one at 6pm will be Talking About the Weather, a film about PhD student Clara, whose personal and professional life seems to be little understood by her family living in rural Germany. The feature addresses female bonds, the need for meaningful communication and the challenges of finding true self-determination.
At 8pm, the documentary Seven Winters in Tehran looks at a young woman sentenced to death and executed by hanging, after being held in prison for seven years, for having defended herself by stabbing a man who tried to rape her. The film resonates with the story of imprisoned Iranian human rights advocate Narges Mohammadi, who received the latest Nobel Peace Prize after having fought for decades for women’s rights. Currently held in Evin prison, her sentence has been extended by an additional 15 months.
Integration and its challenges are illustrated in almost all of the selected films, with each of them in a different context and environment. In Love, Deutschmarks and Death, screened on Sunday at 6pm, viewers will witness the story of guest workers who migrated from Turkey to Germany in the early 1960s and learn about both their celebrations and hardships through their music and their evolution over six decades. The Berlinale 2024 edition will conclude with Sun and Concrete at 8pm.
Berlinale Selection 2024
German film screenings by the Goethe-Institut Cyprus. February 1-4. Pantheon Theatre, Nicosia. 6pm or 8pm. In German with English subtitles. Free. Tel: 22 674606, kultur-nikosia@goethe.de, www.goethe.de/cyprus/berlinaleselection