Big names and big films at the Lola Festival
The statuette handed out at the German Film Prize each year, the Lola, is named after Marlene Dietrich’s infamous nightclub singer in the classic 1931 film The Blue Angel; and the Lola Festival – taking place this week from April 11th to 16th – is being held in similarly salubrious surroundings to that club – the Astor Film Lounge on the Kurfürstendamm, one of Berlin’s most luxurious cinemas and just a stone’s throw away from the Hotel Concorde Berlin. From Thursday until Sunday, the Astor will be showing a selection of films that have been nominated for the Lola, as well as interviewing the stars and directors of the films ahead of the ceremony later this month in their LOLA Visionen podium discussions, which are free and open to the public. This is a unique opportunity for fans of German cinema.
The Astor Film Lounge Berlin
Among the films you have a chance of catching again on the big screen are the big-budget, star-studded sci-fi drama Cloud Atlas, which was filmed at the Babelsberg studios in Potsdam (where George Clooney is currently filming his upcoming film Monuments Men with a predictably star-studded cast) and features the likes of Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant and Halle Berry in various guises; the acclaimed second world war film Lore, starring upcoming German actress Saskia Rosendahl, one of the Shooting Stars at this year’s Berlinale; and Hannah Arendt, a gripping biopic about the titular political theorist, who stirred controversy when she reported on the trial of the Nazi Adolf Eichmann.
On Thursday, various film makers will be interviewed onstage – including one of the three directors of Cloud Atlas – the German director Tom Tykwer, who co-directed the film with American siblings Andy and Lana Wachowski; Karsten Stöter, the producer of Lore; and Bettina Brokemper, the producer of Hannah Arendt. It will no doubt be an interesting discussion – after all, at stake is not just a golden statuette, which in Germany, is as sought-after as the Oscar – but nearly 3 million euros in prize money. You read that right – it’s the biggest cultural prize in the country. So, fingers crossed the right person wins, because with that sort of cash the recipient could well fund their entire next film.
LOLA Festival
by German Film Prize (Deutscher Filmpreis)
Astor Film Lounge
Kurfürstendamm 225, Charlottenburg
April 11-14
Admission: 6.50 €
Festival pass: 16 €
Children’s films und LOLA Visionen: free admission
Thanks to our friends at the Deutsche Filmakademie, we’ve got a pair of festival passes to give away; simply leave a comment below or on Facebook to be in with a chance to win!
Viel Glück für die Events!!!
10. April 2013 at 20:44 | Reply