The film festival German Cinema,  which is part of Jerin (Germany-Indonesia: a series of events to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between German and Indonesia) will present ten German movies from the five past years in 5 big cities in Indonesia: Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Makassar from January 14th – 25th, 2012.

In the presence of Oscar winning director Florian Gallenberger, the historical epic “John Rabe” will open a varied program. “Almanya”. a comedy on German-Turkish integration, the family drama “Die Fremde” (The stranger) or the romance ”Lila Lila” tell entertaining stories on a high cinematic level. The festival is a unique opportunity for cineastes and curious people to experience a cross section of current German cinema productions.

Die Welle (The Wave) 
Directed by Dennis Gansel. Starring Juergen Vogel, Frederick Lau and Max Riemelt.

Rainer Wenger (Juergen Vogel) is one of the most popular teachers at a German high school, and is anything but pleased when he is assigned a special project in which where he must teach his students about autocracy. And his class feels the same, having heard more than enough about Hitler, World War II and the Nazis.Wenger then decides to conduct an unorthodox experiment, in which he becomes the leader and the students his obedient followers, persecuting those who don’t want to conform to the new system.

His experiment, however, soon takes unexpected turns and seems to be unstoppable. Based on the best-selling novel by Todd Strasser, this compelling and eerie drama serves best as a cautionary tale, but was also based on real-life events in California in the late 1960s.

Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (The Baader Meinhof Complex) 
Directed by Uli Edel. Starring Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu and Johanna Wokalek.

Based on the 1985 bestselling book of the same name by Stefan Aust, “The Baader Meinhof Complex” follows the origins, development and downfall of the German terrorist group RAF (Red Army Fraction), which was responsible for bombings, kidnappings and assassinations in the late 1960s and ’70s.

Led by journalist Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck), Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu) and his girlfriend Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek), the members of the violent left-wing group engage in armed resistance to fight what they perceive as a fascist state. All of them are eventually captured and commit suicide in their prison cells.

The film, showing the dark days of terror, the imprisonment of the RAF leaders and the continued work of the so-called RAF second generation, was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category, but lost to the Japanese entry “Departures.”

A New York Times review said “[The film shows] from the inside out how a group of people graduated from theoretical debates to guns, from hanging up a photo of Che [Guevara] to embracing revolutionary martyrdom.”

Die Fremde (When We Leave)
Directed by Feo Aladag. Starring Sibel Kekilli, Nizam Schiller and Derya Alabora.

Umay (Sibel Kekilli) is a Berlin-born Turkish woman who is physically abused by her husband in Turkey. Fearing for her own safety and that of her son, Umay decides to escape and return to Germany, where her family still lives.

But her family is not as understanding as she had hoped. Both Umay’s father and brother regard her actions as shameful, and conspire to send her son back to Turkey. Umay eventually moves into a home for abused women, struggling between her hope for a better life and her wish to make amends with her family.

The drama was a favorite at festivals throughout Europe and received several awards.

Mark Jenkins of the Washington Post wrote in his review that the film was “credible and well-observed,” and Kekilli’s leading performance was “fully convincing.”

Goethe! (Young Goethe in Love) 
Directed by Philipp Stolzl. Starring Alexander Fehling, Miriam Stein and Moritz Bleibtreu.

This movie gives insight into the early life of intellectual Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, after whom the German cultural institute organizing the film festival takes its name.

In the 18th century, Goethe, an aspiring poet and law student, fails his exams. His outraged father sends him to a sleepy provincial court, hoping to reform his son. Instead, Goethe falls in love with Lotte Buff (Miriam Stein), a young woman who is already promised to another man. This tragic episode of his life inspires him to write the novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther,” which became his breakthrough into the literary world.

Vincent Will Meer (Vincent Wants To Sea) 
Directed by Ralf Huettner. Starring Florian David Fitz, Karoline Herfurth and Heino Ferch.

Vincent (Florian David Fitz) is 27 and suffers from Tourette’s syndrome, something his father (Heino Ferch), a politician, can’t handle. He sends his son to a psychiatric clinic.

Vincent soon breaks out of the institution, accompanied by Marie (Karoline Herfurth), a girl suffering from anorexia, and Alexander (Johannes Allmayer), an obsessive-compulsive, to fulfill his late mother’s last wish: having her ashes scattered over the Mediterranean Sea. Together, they embark on a road trip that takes them from Munich to the Mediterranean.

The film won best picture at the 2011 German Film Awards, while Fitz took home the prize for best actor.

Free admission 
For schedule and ticket info visit here or email cinema@jakarta.goethe.org