Goethe-Institut is organising its third edition of the annual German film festival, KinoFest, scheduled to run throughout September to November 2024. KinoFest 2024 will take place in various cities across Southeast Asia and the Pacific region, showcasing the most recent films with a variety of genres ranging from documentary, adventure, drama, comedy, animation, to thriller.
In Manila, the KinoFest 2024 can be enjoyed free of charge from September 26 to 28, 2024 at the Shangri-La Plaza, Red Carpet Cinemas, Cinema 3. The festival will feature seven (7) new German films alongside a special curated program, KinoFest Special, which honors Germany’s cinematic connections with the Philippines and includes four (4) short films and one (1) feature length film.
Under the theme of Global Ties, Personal Journeys, Kinofest 2024 takes youth as a focal point to experience society, both through fictional and documentary characters. Through their eyes, the audience is invited to learn about the journey of self-discovery, navigating changes in countries and cultures, as young people shape their identities and become more independent.
"KinoFest features films documenting real stories of collective loss, pain, growth, purpose, and community formation. This cinema reflects the challenges of contemporary German society, grappling with its traumatic past and the history of violent reactions to migrants. The program includes films that connect globally, with each personal journey offering insights into migration, disability, and gender challenges," said Dr Ingo Schöningh, Regional Head of Cultural Programmes at Goethe-Institut Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Lisabona Rahman, the curator of KinoFest 2024, added, “The world continues to develop different ties that bind it together, yet each journey is personal, situated within starkly contrasting realities that grow stronger each day. Cinema proposes ways to connect and to take notice of voices from different positions, and this is precisely the space we want to offer through this festival.
KinoFest 2024 is a joint production involving eight Goethe-Instituts in Southeast Asia and New Zealand, showcasing the latest German films released from 2021 to 2024. This year, the festival will be held in cities in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.
In Manila, the KinoFest kicks off on September 26 at 6pm at the Shangri-La Plaza, Red Carpet Cinemas, Cinema 3 with the 2023 release The Zone of Interest, followed by a reception which is open to the public. The film, which won the Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards, tells the story of the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife, Hedwig, as they strive to build a dream life for their family in a house right next to the concentration and extermination camp he helped create.
Aside from the screenings, KinoFest in Manila also presents the KinoFest Special: Cinematic Connection with the Philippines on September 28, 2024, at Shangri-La Plaza Red Carpet Cinemas. This special program celebrates the rich collaborations between the Philippines and Germany, showcasing their shared cinematic history and creative partnerships. The event begins with a panel discussion featuring Filipino filmmakers Cris Bringas, Moira Lang, and Alex Poblete, moderated by Mariah Reodica. This will be followed by screenings of five curated films, and an after-party with DJane and sound artist T33G33.
Here is the film lineup for KinoFest 2024.
The Amazing Maurice | Maurice der Kater (2023)
Director: Toby Genkel
Every town on Discworld knows the tales of rats and pipers. Maurice, a streetwise tomcat, leads a clever group of rats and a simple kid in a moneymaking scheme: piper plus rats equals profit. But when they encounter someone playing a different tune, Maurice and his rats must face a new concept: evil.
Franky Five Star (2023)
Director: Birgit Möller
Cast: Lena Urzendowsky, Sarah Hannemann, Jarkko Lahti, Gerti Drassl, Sophie Killer, Meryem Öz, Sven Hönig, Paul Pötsch, Christian Maximilian Neuhof, Alexander Swoboda
Franky avoids love, overwhelmed by her inner chaos. Only her best friend Katja knows her mood swings, but Franky has a deeper secret—an old hotel in her mind, inhabited by four quirky characters who can take over her body. When Franky falls for Katja’s new boyfriend, everything spirals out of control.
Life is Not a Competition... But I'm Winning (2022)
Director: Julia Fuhr Mann
With the Olympics underway, this hybrid documentary from filmmaker Julia Fuhr Mann takes aim at the rigid gender boundaries of competitive sports. Weaving a dynamic tapestry of archival footage and personal testimony, Life Is Not a Competition is a rallying cri de coeur for inclusivity and progress.
No Hard Feelings | Futur Drei (2021)
Director: Faraz Shariat
Cast: Benjamin Radjaipour, Banafshe Hourmazdi, Eidin Jalali
Parvis, the son of exiled Iranians, was caught shoplifting. He is sentenced to community service at a refugee shelter where he meets the siblings Banafshe and Amon, who have fled Iran. As a romantic attraction between Parvis and Amon grows, the fragile relationship between the three is put to the test.
The Teachers' Lounge | Das Lehrerzimmer (2023)
Director: lker Çatak
Cast: Leonie Benesch, Leonard Stettnisch, Eva Löbau, Michael Klammer, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Kathrin Wehlisch, Sarah Bauerett, Rafael Stachowiak, Uygar Tamer, Özgür Karadeniz
The Theory of Everything | Die Theorie von Allem (2023)
Cast: Leonie Benesch, Leonard Stettnisch, Eva Löbau, Michael Klammer, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Kathrin Wehlisch, Sarah Bauerett, Rafael Stachowiak, Uygar Tamer, Özgür Karadeniz
When one of her students is suspected of theft, teacher Carla Nowak decides to get to the bottom of the matter. Caught between her ideals and the school system, the consequences of her actions threaten to break her.
The Theory of Everything | Die Theorie von Allem (2023)
Director: Tim Kröger
Cast: Jan Bülow, Olivia Ross, Hanns Zischler, Gottfried Breitfuß, David Bennent, Philippe Graber
1962. A physics congress in Switzerland. An Iranian guest. A mysterious pianist. A bizarre cloud formation in the sky and a booming secret under the mountain. The theory of everything. A quantum mechanical thriller in black and white.
The Zone of Interest (2023)
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Cast: Sandra Hüller, Christian Friedel, Ralph Herforth, Max Beck, Stephanie Petrowitz, Marie Rosa Tietjen, Sascha Maaz
In 1943, the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife, Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house right next to the concentration and extermination camp he helped create.
Here are the films included in the KinoFest Special: Cinematic Connections with the Philippines section of the festival.
City Flowers (2022)
Director: Xeph Suarez
Cast: Czarina Yecla, Ramli T. Abdurahim
As Zamboanga City celebrates the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, couple Elena and Nasser try to survive the devastatingly low yield of their flower farm and raise money for the birth of their first child. As luck would have it, Nasser gets invited to join a peace rally in exchange for some money – a solution to their problems that is too good to pass up.
Filipiñana (2020)
Director: Rafael Mendoza
Cast: Jorybel Agotto, Sunshine Teodoro, Micah Musah, Jeremy Mendoza
The “tee-girls” fulfil their duties stoically, squatting in the dust as they sort golf balls. They fish them out of the water-lily-covered ponds and place them for the golfers as they swing their clubs narrowly past the girls’ faces. Their boss surveys the scene sternly, watching everything and everyone. Isabel still has to learn the ropes but is already looking for shortcuts. The golf course as a self-contained cosmos that reflects social conditions.
Hito (2023)
Director: Stephen Lopez
Cast: Kyrie Allison Samodio, JunJun Quintana, Bor Ocampo, Edwin Barrios Serrano, Ina Azarcon-Bolivar, Ben Alias, Maricel Sombrio
Jani lives in a dystopian world of nuclear reactors and military curfews. After getting beaten up in a fight, she is telepathically contacted by a hovering lapdog whose people entrust her with a talking catfish rescued from a research laboratory. A turbulent fever dream of surreal phantasms which sees the 14-year-old getting ready to fight back and break free of her oppressively indifferent surroundings.
Cast: Kyrie Allison Samodio, JunJun Quintana, Bor Ocampo, Edwin Barrios Serrano, Ina Azarcon-Bolivar, Ben Alias, Maricel Sombrio
Jani lives in a dystopian world of nuclear reactors and military curfews. After getting beaten up in a fight, she is telepathically contacted by a hovering lapdog whose people entrust her with a talking catfish rescued from a research laboratory. A turbulent fever dream of surreal phantasms which sees the 14-year-old getting ready to fight back and break free of her oppressively indifferent surroundings.
Huling Palabas (2023)
Director: Ryan Espinosa Machado
Cast: Shun Mark Gomez, Bon Andrew Lentejas, Cedrick Juan, Serena Magiliw, Jay Gonzaga, Senanda, Adelyn Fabon, Glenn Mas
In every movie he watches, 16-year-old Andoy creates narratives to answer the questions haunting him: Who is he, and who is his father? His imagined stories never materialize, leaving the truth elusive. Then two enigmatic figures appear in his town: Ariel, a charming hairdresser, and Isidro, a mysterious man with a VCD player. As Andoy becomes entangled in their lives, his grip on reality falters, forcing him to confront his quest for his father in a climactic decision.
Cast: Shun Mark Gomez, Bon Andrew Lentejas, Cedrick Juan, Serena Magiliw, Jay Gonzaga, Senanda, Adelyn Fabon, Glenn Mas
In every movie he watches, 16-year-old Andoy creates narratives to answer the questions haunting him: Who is he, and who is his father? His imagined stories never materialize, leaving the truth elusive. Then two enigmatic figures appear in his town: Ariel, a charming hairdresser, and Isidro, a mysterious man with a VCD player. As Andoy becomes entangled in their lives, his grip on reality falters, forcing him to confront his quest for his father in a climactic decision.
I Don't Want to be Just a Memory | Ich will nicht nur eine Erinnerung sein (2024)
Director: Sarnt Utamachote
Cast: marum, René Bertune, Andre Fau, Katharina „Tinka“ Frommann, RTALIN, Andrei Mihu, Diana Kleimenova, Bráulio Bandeira
Fellow members of the Berlin queer community mourn together the loss of their dead friends due to substance abuse and the mental health crisis as well as the loss of urban safe spaces in general. By sharing personal materials, stories, and honest criticism about the club scene, working on this film becomes a means of healing for this group of friends. Resembling glow-in-the-dark fungi, they radiate light together as a network of support and care, they transform dead bodies and memories into a collective structure that sustains future living.
Here is the schedule of screenings for KinoFest 2024.
September 26, 2024
6:00 PM The Zone of Interest
September 27, 2024
1:00 PM Franky Five Star
3:00 PM The Theory of Everything
5:30 PM No Hard Feelings
7:30 PM The Teachers' Lounge
September 28, 2024
1:00 PM Life is Not a Competition... But I'm Winning
2:30 PM The Amazing Maurice
4:30 PM KinoFest Special: Cinematic Connections with the Philippines
Hito
I Don't Want to be Just a Memory
City of Flowers
Filipiñana
Huling Palabas
September 29, 2024
1:00 PM The Teachers' Lounge
3:00 PM The Amazing Maurice
5:00 PM Franky Five Star
7:00 PM The Theory of Everything
The KinoFest in Manila is made possible through the partnership with the Shangri-La Plaza Red Carpet Cinemas and the support of the Film Development Council of the Philippines. Detailed information about KinoFest 2024 can be accessed at www.goethe.de/manila/kinofest.
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