The Fall of the Wall - Film Series at the Goethe Institute: September 1 - December 21, 2009

The Fall of the Wall - Film series
Film + Exhibition

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall the Goethe-Institut is presenting a series of films, narrative and documentary features, as well as shorts that portray not only the historical events but also the conditions before and after November 9, 1989.

Films are shown at the Goethe-Institut Auditorium at 530 Bush Street. Upcoming dates are: 9/22, 9.29, 10/6, 10/20, 10/13 and 10/27.

Also check out the following exhibit if you're over in the East Bay:
Icons of a Border Installation
Exhibition November 9 – December 21, Doe Library, UC Berkeley
Opening reception November 9, 5-7pm, Morrison Library

In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall an exhibition of photographs and sounds will take us back to the visible and invisible remnants of the Berlin Wall. Students of the University of Paderborn tracked down with cameras and recording devices deserted watchtowers, barely visible border strips as well as mental traces of “walls in peoples’ minds”. On the other hand, the city has grown more and more together and traces of the wall are ever harder to find. Since 1989 Berlin has changed drastically.

Scandal, Survival in a Brutal Occupied Berlin!

"A Woman in Berlin" is a harrowing story about the will to survive amid the most brutal conditions imaginable.

It's set during a four-month period in 1945 when Russian soldiers finally occupied the German capital and considered the city's women to be spoils of war. From hospital records, it's been estimated that between 95,000 and 130,000 of Berlin's women were raped that year.

This film, directed by Max Färberböck ("Aimée & Jaguar"), is based on the diary kept by one of those women, who not only decided not to be a victim, but wrote about her experiences in a book that initially scandalized at least some of her countrymen. Starring Nina Hoss, Evgeny Sidikhin, Irm Hermann, Rüdiger Vogler. Directed by Max Färberböck. In German with English subtitles. (Not rated. 131 minutes. At the Presidio and Rialto Cinemas Elmwood.)
For more of this review click here, and watch a trailer for the movie:

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