Bertelsmann and UFA will present the UFA Film Nights in Berlin for the seventh time from August 22 to 25, 2017. This year, there will be four evenings featuring early masterpieces of cinema history as well as a contemporary box office hit from UFA – to mark the centenary of Germany’s leading film production company – screened in the open air against a spectacular backdrop and accompanied by live music on four evenings.
The UFA Film Nights have become a cinematic-musical highlight of Berlin’s cultural summer with a dedicated stage orchestra and big screen erected for the occasion in the Kolonnadenhof on Museum Island, a World Cultural Heritage site. Bertelsmann and UFA thus continue their tradition of presenting outstanding feats of cinematography in a historic architectural setting. As in previous years, more than 800 guests are expected on each of the evenings.
Following a reception at Bertelsmann Unter den Linden 1, Berlin, the UFA Film Nights open on Tuesday, Aug 22 with Georg Wilhelm Pabst's "Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney" ("The Love of Jeanne Ney"). Based on the novel by Ilya Ehrenburg, the movie recounts the odyssey of a young woman in the aftermath of Russia’s October Revolution of 1917. A combination of political thriller and melodrama, "The Love of Jeanne Ney" explores the dramatic effects of the October Revolution all across Europe. The premiere of the digitally restored movie will be accompanied by the WDR Radio Orchestra, conducted by Frank Strobel. The ZDF/ARTE film editorial department commissioned the reconstruction of the music. The opening night will be streamed live on www.arte.tv/ufa.
On Wednesday, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's 1924 masterpiece "Der letzte Mann" ("The Last Laugh") will be screened, with Emil Jannings in one of his best-known roles. In "The Last Laugh," Murnau delivers a timeless parable on the ups and downs of life and the importance of status symbols. Emil Jannings, one of the greatest actors of his time, gives a brilliant portrayal of a man who loses his reputation and dignity with the loss of his porter’s uniform – symbolizing the social decline of millions of people during the economic crisis. "The Last Laugh" also went down in cinematic history for its use of a new camera technique, the "unfettered" camera Karl Freund used here for the first time. Deutsche Oper Berlin’s UFA Brass, conducted by Manfred Honetschläger, will play the musical accompaniment based on Honetschläger’s new original composition.
On Thursday evening, Fritz Lang's "Metropolis," a cinematic landmark of the 20th century, is on the program. With a budget exceeding five million Reichsmarks, this movie was UFA’s most expensive production to date, and became its biggest flop in 1927. Today the movie is touted as the "mother of all sci-fi flicks" with impressive, monumental scenery and astonishing special effects. With its mix of urban utopia, social romanticism, medieval alchemy, and trivial mysticism, it offers a kaleidoscope of virulent ideologies of the Weimar Republic. In 2001, it became the first documentary film ever to be included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World program, and ten years later, "Metropolis" was given an additional popularity boost by the discovery of 30 minutes of the film that had been thought lost. For U.S. DJ Jeff Mills, it is the first time that he will set the complete, restored version of "Metropolis" from 2010 to music, live on the mixing desk.
This year's UFA Film Nights will close on Aug 25 with "Der Medicus" ("The Physician") from 2013. Philipp Stölzl's movie adaptation of Noah Gordon's international bestseller will be screened with live music for the first time. The ambiance and dialog remain on the soundtrack, while the music will be played by the Neues Kammerorchester Potsdam. "The Physician" tells the story of the orphan Rob Cole (Tom Payne), who travels from medieval England to Isfahan in Persia to study medicine with Ibn Sina (Ben Kingsley), the "greatest of all physicians." Along the way, Rob encounters countless dangers and challenges, is forced to make sacrifices, and has to fight every step of the way.
The UFA Film Nights hosted by Bertelsmann and UFA are now popular internationally as well. Cineastes have already flocked to several Film Night events in Brussels, Madrid, Paris and New York.
Tickets for the 7th UFA Film Nights are now on sale for 15 EUR including ticketing charges:
Online: www.ufa-filmnaechte.de oder www.gegenbauer-ticketservice.de
Hotline: +49 30 4430 4430
Email: tickets@gegenbauer-ticketservice.de
…and at all the usual ticket agencies
