International Premiere
Lars Kraume reaches into Germany’s past in this compelling historical drama. Long before Naziism, racist pseudoscience held sway in the nation: Kraume uses the fictional story of Alexander Hoffmann (Leonard Scheicher) to shine a light on German bigotry against Africans, and the way it served to legitimize mass slaughter. The film begins in Berlin, near the turn of the century; Hoffmann is an idealistic young ethnologist who questions the racism of his discipline. When members of the Herero and Nama peoples are brought to his city for study, Hoffmann bonds with Kezia (Girley Charlene Jazama), a proud woman whose intelligence puts the lie to the racist orthodoxies of the time. Soon, Hoffmann will have his courage tested when he travels to Africa and is witness to what has been called the 20th century’s first genocide: the German violence against the Herero and Nama. Throughout the film, Kraume’s focus remains unwavering, and his portrayal of racial oppression is piercing and all too convincing.
Special Screening, Berlin 2023
Leonard Scheicher, Girley Charlene Jazama, Peter Simonischek, Corinna Kirchhoff, Anton Paulus
Germany
2022
Panorama
In German and Otjiherero with English subtitles
Depictions of Racism
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Thomas Kufus
Producer
Thomas Kufus
Screenwriter
Lars Kraume
Cinematography
Jens Harant
Editor
Peter R. Adam
Production Design
Sebastian Soukup
Original Music
Christoph M. Kaiser, Julian Maas
Director
Lars Kraume
Lars Kraume graduated from the DFFB film school in 1997 and went on to work as a director, producer and screenwriter on more than 30 feature films and television productions. Lars had his international breakthrough with The People Vs. Fritz Bauer (2015), which received seven German Film Awards. His television series Bauhaus – A New Era (2019) had its world premiere at the Cannes International Series Festival. He returned to feature film directing with The Silent Revolution (2018), which premiered as a Berlinale Special Gala and achieved success beyond Germany.
Filmography: The People Vs. Fritz Bauer (2015); The Silent Revolution (2018)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Paprika
A device capable of transmitting dreams falls into the wrong hands in this dazzling anime meta-movie from visionary filmmaker Satoshi Kon. The imagery here is never less than overwhelming; it's probably the greatest scifi movie of our times.
It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley
Oscar-nominated documentarian Amy Berg resurrects the tragic story of the sublime singer Jeff Buckley, whose 1994 record Grace is one of the greatest albums of the modern era.
Melancholia
Lars von Trier squares up to the end times with this grandly luxuriant but surprisingly punky sci-fi, set in an imposing country mansion house, where Justine (Kirsten Dunst) blows up what's supposed to be the happiest day of her life.
