Press Release | Berlin, 08/24/2016

UFA Film Nights 2016 Captivate Celebrities and Other Silent Movie Fans

• Three-day festival once again an audience magnet
• Launch on Wednesday with VIP reception at Bertelsmann Unter den Linden 1
• Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe: providing access to creative achievements of the silent era and keeping them alive
• UFA Co-CEOs Wolf Bauer and Nico Hofmann: UFA Film Nights are highlight of Berlin’scultural summer
• Actress Caroline Peters introduces movies; music by performers including actor Jonas Nay and his band

In their sixth year, the UFA Film Nights in Berlin once again prove their power to attract a crowd: All three evenings of the silent movie festival, which starts on Wednesday, are already largely sold out. To kick off the festival, its two organizers – the international media company Bertelsmann and the leading German film production company UFA – are screening Ernst Lubitsch’s masterpiece “The Wildcat” (Die Bergkatze, 1921) against the spectacular backdrop of the Museum Island’s Kolonnadenhof, with musical accompaniment provided by the group Trioglyzerin and the JazzCombo of the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Before the screening starts, Bertelsmann and UFA are hosting a reception for around 350 guests at Bertelsmann Unter den Linden 1, Berlin. Prominent actors, cultural leaders and personalities from politics and society are expected, including the actors Caroline Peters, Jonas Nay, Daniel Brühl, Bibiana Beglau and Ulrich Matthes, the writers Felicitas Hoppe and Andreas Kossert, photographer Jim Rakete, and the President of the Berlin House of Representatives, Ralf Wieland.

Thomas Rabe, Bertelsmann Chairman and CEO, said: “As a creative company, it is particularly important to us to make the visionary achievements of the silent movie era accessible to an interested audience. The works of Fritz Lang, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau and Ernst Lubitsch are still as impressive today as they were almost 100 years ago. By organizing the UFA Film Nights, we help to keep this movie heritage alive.”

Wolf Bauer and Nico Hofmann, Co-CEOs of UFA, said: “Silent movie classics such as ‘The Wildcat’ and ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’ had a decisive influence on cinematic culture in Germany and beyond. Nowhere in Berlin do these movies have such a powerful effect as at the UFA Film Nights in the unique atmosphere of the Museum Island. Without doubt, the event will be a cultural highlight of Berlin’s summer again in its sixth year.”

The UFA Film Nights continue on Thursday with the horror film “Uncanny Stories” (Unheimliche Geschichten). Director Richard Oswald based his episodic 1919 movie on short stories by Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Louis Stevenson among others. Actor Jonas Nay (“Deutschland 83”) and his band Northern Lights provide the musical accompaniment.

To conclude the festival, on Friday night, Bertelsmann and UFA are screening an early masterpiece by “Metropolis” director Fritz Lang: A digitally restored version of the 1921 silent movie classic “Destiny” (Der müde Tod). Bertelsmann was the main sponsor of the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation’s restoration, which celebrated its premiere at this year's Berlinale. DJ Raphaël Marionneau contributes a new musical accompaniment for the UFA Film Nights. Actress Caroline Peters (“Mord mit Aussicht”) will give an introduction to the films on all three evenings.

Afterwards, the UFA Film Nights will once again take to the European stage: in Fall, they will be held in the European capital Brussels for the fourth time.

The Program at a Glance:

• Wednesday, August 24, 2016: Doors open at 8:30 p.m., movie starts at 9:00 p.m.
  The Mountain Cat (Die Bergkatze) (1921) by Ernst Lubitsch,
  Music: Trioglyzerin and the JazzCombo of the Deutsche Oper Berlin
• Thursday, August 25, 2016: Doors open at 8:30 p.m., movie starts at 9:00 p.m.
  Uncanny stories (Unheimliche Geschichten) (1919) by Richard Oswald,
  Music: Northern Lights led by frontman actor Jonas Nay
• Friday, August 26, 2016: Doors open at 8:30 p.m., movie starts at 9:00 p.m.
  Destiny (Der müde Tod) (1921) by Fritz Lang,
  Music: DJ Raphaël Marionneau

All films will be introduced by Caroline Peters.

A few remaining tickets for the second and third evening of the UFA Film Nights are available for €15 by contacting:

Online:            www.ufa-filmnaechte.de  or www.gegenbauer-ticketservice.de 
Phone:            +49 30 - 4430 4430
Email:             Send email

and from the usual ticket outlets.

The UFA Film Nights are hosted by UFA and Bertelsmann, with the kind support of the Berlin State Museums, the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation, Deutsches Filminstitut, Maz & Movie, Gegenbauer Facility Management, Humboldt Box and Securitas. Yorck Kinogruppe, Stroer, radio eins, RBB Kulturradio, and Mit Vergnügen are the event’s media partners.

More at www.ufa-filmnaechte.de  and http://www.bertelsmann.de/news-und-media/specials/ufa-filmnaechte-2016/#st-1 

Twitter: #UFAFilmNights

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company that operates in about 50 countries around the world. It includes the broadcaster RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato, the Bertelsmann Printing Group, the Bertelsmann Education Group, and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company has 117,000 employees and generated revenues of €17.1 billion in the 2015 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world.

About UFA

UFA is one of Germany’s oldest and most distinguished entertainment brands. Today, UFA is a highly efficient creator of entertainment content, which has continuously extended its market leadership as a film and television producer in Germany over the past few years. UFA has evolved from a creator of programs and TV producer into a content specialist, offering a range of solutions for multimedia technologies – and for an extremely varied set of partners. Under the UFA umbrella, three units operate: UFA FICTION, UFA SERIAL DRAMA and UFA SHOW & FACTUAL. UFA is the umbrella company for all of the German production activities of Fremantle Media which manages the global production of Bertelsmann’s RTL Group.