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
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
Evil Does Not Exist
After the international success of Drive My Car, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi quietly made this small-scale independent film, a work of simplicity and grace about a rural community and the developers who want to built a "glamping" retreat in the woods.
Raagaverse Plays Bollywood
Melding ancient and rich Hindustani melodies with dense and dynamic Jazz harmonies, Raagaverse is an exciting Indo-Jazz fusion project spearheaded by Shruti Ramani. For this special show, Shruti will share clips from the legendary Bollywood musicals which inspire her, complemented by the band's unique take on these songs.
Sweetland
The government is ready to resettle the far-flung fishing community of Sweetland, Newfoundland with a healthy pay-out -- but only if the entire community signs up for the move. Retired fisherman Moses is one of the last hold-outs. He's lived here his entire life, and he's not ready to put his ghosts behind him.
