Berlin's Fistful of Film Festivals

The House of World Cultures finds it once again necessary to indulge in Re-Imagining Asia -- a program examining "the economic and cultural explosion in Asia . . . … increasingly challenging the dominance of Eurocentric perspectives." Sounds like shameless defeatism! An art exhibit (featuring an installation by acclaimed Chinese artist Song Dong), a conference, and a film series featuring works from China, Japan, South Korea, and beyond provide an overview into this world beyond the Bosporus. Let me be among the first welcome our new Asian overlords! [link]

Tiny Lichtblick Kino risks sold out crowds at this month's festival of films on musicians from Germany and beyond. Unappetizing facial jewelry and faded black clothes are … the uniform of choice as visual examinations of the work of Nick Cave, Joe Strummer, Nina Hagen, and hometown heroes Einsturzende Neubauten are screened alongside films on Peter Tosh, Dean Reed, and Lemmy. This one goes to 11! [link]

One of the most accomplished German directors of his time, Käutner is being rediscovered by a new generation of filmgoers. His debut, Kitty and the World Conference, a … light, diplomatic comedy made in 1939, was censored by the Nazis for its "pro-English tendencies." but Käutner continued making films until the sixties. Coming of age during the years of dictatorship, war, and its aftermath, Käutner's work avoided politics and concentrated on the struggles of the average man. The Zeughauskino in the German Historical Museum is the perfect venue for this cinematic journey down memory lane. [link]

Babylon gets back to basics with its program of films from the Golden Age of German Expressionism. Many of these films were made in and around Berlin as the new medium … was pioneered by the dozens of film studios scattered throughout the city, and it's a special treat to enjoy them here in the Babylon, built during the cinema craze of twenties Berlin. Films by legendary directors such as Lang, Murnau, Pabst, and Wiene will be screened with musical accompaniment from Stephan von Bothmer and others. If you're only in Berlin for the weekend, consider subjecting yourself to the thirteen-hour silent film marathons on Saturday and Sunday! [link]

Pity the poor Icelandic Embassy's cultural liaisons, whose workdays mainly consist of answering queries regarding what Björk is up to lately. One can almost sense … their primitive Icelandic rage as they prepared this retrospective of Icelandic film from the past thirty years. What's that? You've never seen a film from Iceland? Now you've made them even angrier! Push them over the edge by showing up at the festival's music day (17 March) and asking what Sigur Rós has been up to lately. [link]

Kino Krokodil takes a break from its usual fare of Russian film to offer a program which shows Berlin Nord (read P-berg, Mitte, and Wedding) as it was before the city's … reunification. Documentaries detailing the everyday lives of workers and residents in Auguststrasse and Kollwitzplatz (before being morphed into today's oh-so-stylish real estate investments) will be screened, along with pieces examining the underground youth scene in East Berlin and the State-tolerated rock groups such as City and Pankow. Dust off your copy of Das Kapital and come on down! [link]

Kino Arsenal offers a six-week retrospective of this most fascinating of film femmes. A midwife at the birth of the European film industry, Asta Nielsen trained at the … Royal Theatre School in Copenhagen and was already a celebrated Scandinavian starlet when she made the move to celluloid, a pioneer in the new medium. Before long she was the highest paid actress in the world, and Greta Garbo, that other famous Swedish diva, said of Nielsen, "In terms of expression and versatility I am nothing compared to her." [link]