Remake Festival Highlights

Lissy's Picks

• Licht / Mademoiselle Paradis (AT, DE 2015–17, directed by Barbara Albert, screenplay by Kathrin Resetarits based on Alissa Walser's novel Am Anfang war die Nacht Musik, 97 minutes)

Since so many films based on true stories tend to pay tribute to the "male genius," I'm always interested to to learn more about impressive and talented women who have persevered in a sexist and patriarchal society. The majority of their stories remain unknown and I appreciate the effort of filmmakers to bring the fascinating lives of historical women to light, so they can inspire future generations.

Tuesday, November 26 at Pupille - Kino in der Uni
More info here --> https://www.remake-festival.de/en/licht-mademoiselle-paradis/

• Daughters of the Dust  (US, GB 1991, directed and written by Julie Dash, 112 minutes)

Another film that depicts the stories of the forgotten. I am curious to see how this film with the backdrop of the repercussions American slavery enables the viewer to find connections to the present through the themes of migration, identity and belonging.
 
Wednesday, November 27 at Pupille - Kino in der Uni
More info here --> https://www.remake-festival.de/en/daughters-of-the-dust/

Marina's Picks

• Orlando (GB, RU, IT, FR, NL 1992, directed and written by Sally Potter based on the novel by Virginia Woolf, 94 minutes)

I love the works of Virginia Woolf, especially her 1928 novel Orlando, a fictional account of gender fluidity avant la lettre. Of course, she was totally ahead  - even out - of her time and today one is still impressed by her thoughts. Female filmmaker Sally Potter's film version featuring Tilda Swinton as Orlando has become iconic in both the Lesbian and feminist communities. Remake screens the period piece in its focus on »Fixed stars of queer cinema«. Sure, you might find the movie online but take the chance to see it on the big screen with your peers!

November 29, 2019 at Pupille - Kino in der Uni
More info here --> https://www.remake-festival.de/en/orlando/


»Denken Sie bitte im Film und dann wird es ganz klar« / »Please think within the film, and it will become very clear«

• Ella Bergmann-Michel film lectures

Note the special date: February 1, 2020 at Pupille - Kino in der Uni

To play with a German phrase: »Nach dem Festival ist vor dem Festival« / »After the festival is before the festival«

This lecture performance is dedicated to Frankfurt-based film activist Ella Bergmann-Michel and performed by Bettina Schulte Strathaus. “Please think within the film, and it will become very clear” is the title of the performance that mixes film and texts. Bergmann-Michel was a a traveling agent of the moving picture from its beginnings - and she piled up papers, lists, receipts. I think this evening will be interesting because it emphasizes that film history is not only about the picture(s) but about archive work too. In this collage, even turned into a new form of art - inspiring!

More info here: --> https://www.remake-festival.de/en/on-location/please-think-within-the-film-and-it-will-become-very-clear-ella-bergmann-michels-film-lectures/

Christina's Picks

• All films by Ella Bergmann-Michel and the portrait Mein Herz schlägt blau – Ella Bergmann-Michel

So I feel like I'm cheating with this one because there are six films in one fascinating program. But first a bit more background about Ella Bergmann-Michel.

“In the early 1930s, Ella Bergmann-Michel, who was known as more of a painter, made a number of documentary films that found some recognition at the time, but are hardly known even to specialists today,” wrote Jutta Hercher in Frauen und Film in 1990. Since then the artist has gradually moved into public view, though Bergmann-Michel the filmmaker, and particularly the cinema activist, still remains wrongfully in the background.

This is why Kinothek Asta Nielsen and the Remake Festival are so critical. By showing Bergmann-Michel's films - Wo wohnen alte Leute? (1931, silent, 13 min); Erwerblose kochen für Erwerblose (1932, silent, 9 min); Fliegende Händler in Frankfurt am Main (1932, silent, 37 min); Fischfang in der Rhön (an der Sinn) (1932, silent, 11 min); Wahlkampf 1932 (Letzte Wahl) (1932/33, silent, 13 min) - and the collage of Bergmann-Michel's painted and documentary work Mein Herz schlägt blau – Ella Bergmann-Michel (1989, 30 min), we become intimately familiar with her work, thus preserving her legacy. Do not miss the chance to see the sharpness, complexity and appeal for social reform by such a skilled hand and keen eye.

Saturday, November 29 at Pupille - Kino in der Uni

• CineConcert – Silent film and world premiere of new music for Hindle Wakes (GB 1927, directed by Maurice Elvey, starring Estelle Brody and John Stuart, silent, 116 min)

Kinothek Asta Nielsen has commissioned internationally renowned composer-pianist Maud Nelissen to compose music for one of the most spectacular British films of the 1920s (based on an earlier play of the same name by Stanley Houghton): Hindle Wakes. It will be performed by an ensemble of five musicians.

About the film itself: Young Fanny Hawthorn works in a cotton mill in Hindle, Lancashire, England. During the yearly company outing, she enjoys an affair with the son of the factory owner. From her family’s point of view, the only thing that can restore her honour is a wedding. But Fanny won’t give up her freedom just because of her “little fancy”. Sexual self-determination is – in the spirit of Emma Goldman – part of the pride of the working woman.

Not only do we have this cinematic story of emancipation, a true sensation at the time, the film also  gives us a look at the cotton industry - the first global capitalist economy. The film is thus a twofold documentation, of the early 20th century women’s movement and the situation of workers in the English cotton industry. Combine that with a world premiere of a film score by one of the most important silent film pianists and composers and you're in for a night of culture you don't want to miss!

Thursday, November 28 at Schauspiel Frankfurt

Get tickets here --> Schauspiel Frankfurt Eventim

View the full Remake program here --> Festival Program Booklet (German)

We hope to see you there!