Friday, October 23
12:30 p.m. Film: The
Tunnel (Der Tunnel) (Roland Suso Richter, 2005)
The Berlin Wall inspired some of the most daring escape attempts.
This is the true story of one of them. It is 1961, the same year that Communist
East Germany begins construction on the Berlin Wall. East German Harry Melchior
wants out of East Berlin, but his sister doesn’t dare to flee out of
fear for her baby. Harry reluctantly leaves Lotte behind, but swears that he
will return to rescue her. Nine harrowing months and 145 meters later, despite
cave-ins, flooding and Stasi spies, the team breaks through the cellar of a
building in East Berlin. As technical problems beset the operation, an American
film crew from NBC arrives and offers to fund the rescue effort; a dramatization
of this particular event was filmed in 1962, and named Escape from East
Berlin. 160 min
5:00 p.m. Presentation: Max Penzel--German Cinematography
Born in 1977, Max Penzel represents the new generation of Germans
that came of age after the fall of the Wall. From 1999 to 2005, he
studied cinematography at the DFFB (Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie
Berlin), during which time he also worked briefly at the film academy
of Lodz, Poland. Penzel participated in three motion pictures of Volker
Schlöndorf and recently worked on Berlin Calling (2008)
by Hannes Stöhr. He frequently operates as second cinematographer
in projects of Andreas Höfer. In 2005, Max was honored with the Ballhaus
Förderpreis and, in 2007, with the Bayrischer Filmpreis for
best second cinematographer. Max Penzel is currently a fellow at the
Villa Aurora in Pacific Palisades, CA. He will show selected segments
from his recent films he has worked on.
6:30 p.m. "Wall
Ball" in Foyer of Babbitt Academic Annex
Meet
Max Penzel and toast NAU's own piece of the Wall! Free Admission.
Saturday, October 24
1:30 p.m. Film: The German Gambit (Deutschlandspiel) (Hans-Christoph Blumenberg, 2000)
Thrilling account of the dramatic events behind Germany's re-unification.
I: AUF DIE STRASSE (Into the Streets) begins with the 40th anniversary celebrations
of East Germany and culminates in the final agreement of the Kremlin to a united
Germany within NATO. It covers the mass demonstrations for freedom, the transforming
of the East German government, and the day the Berlin Wall was opened for all
citizens of East Germany.
II: EILIG VATERLAND (Hurried Fatherland), discloses the capricious diplomatic moves behind the scenes, the international pressures and intrigues which finally led to a new, re-unified Germany. 180 min
Sponsored by the German Consulate L. A., Goethe Institut L. A., Cinema and Visual Culture Studies, Department of Modern Languages, College of Arts and Letters. Co-hosted by the Rocky Mountain European Scholars Consortium (RMESC).