Press Release

Press Release | Berlin, 07/05/2016

Bertelsmann and UFA host 6th UFA Film Nights on Berlin’s Museum Island

  • From August 24 to 26: open-air screenings of early masterpieces of cinematic history, accompanied by live music
  • In the lineup: silent movie classics “The Wild Cat,” “Unheimliche Geschichten” (Uncanny Destiny) and “Destiny”
  • Musical accompaniment provided by Trioglyzerin and the Deutsche Oper JazzCombo, Jonas Nay with Northern Lights, and DJ Raphaël Marionneau

Bertelsmann and the UFA are presenting the sixth UFA Film Nights in Berlin from August 24 to 26: three evenings of open-air screening of early cinematic masterpieces, against a spectacular backdrop, and accompanied by live music.

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 of Museum Island, a World Cultural Heritage site. The international media company Bertelsmann and UFA, the leading German film production company, thus continue their tradition of presenting silent movie classics in an historic architectural setting: outside the orangery in the park of Sanssouci Castle in 2011, on Schinkelplatz in Berlin-Mitte in 2012 and 2013, and since 2014 on Museum Island outside the Old National Gallery.

The first evening, Wednesday, August 24, will feature a screening of Ernst Lubitsch’s “The Mountain Cat” (1921), with musical accompaniment provided by the group Trioglyzerin and the JazzCombo of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. This is followed on Thursday, August 25 by 1919’s “Unheimliche Geschichten” (Uncanny Stories). Richard Oswald’s horror movie in five episodes was based on European gothic fiction by authors including Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Louis Stevenson. The music is performed by the band Northern Lights led by its frontman actor Jonas Nay (“Deutschland ‘83”). This year's UFA Film Nights conclude with a screening of 1921’s “Destiny” (Der müde Tod), an early masterpiece by “Metropolis” director Fritz Lang  . The silent movie was digitally restored by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation with Bertelsmann’s support, and celebrated the world premiere of its newly revamped incarnation at the Berlinale 2016. DJ Raphaël Marionneau compiled a new musical accompaniment for the movie.

Actress Caroline Peters (“Mord mit Aussicht”) will give an introduction to the films on all three evenings.

The UFA Film Nights honor the former avant-garde of cinematography, whose clients at the time included the historic Ufa. They also provide access to the unique global cinematic legacy of the 1920s left by directors like Fritz Lang, Joe May, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, and Ernst Lubitsch, and visionary producers like Erich Pommer.

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 (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.
    Unheimliche Geschichten (Uncanny stories) (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 (1921) by Fritz Lang,
    Music: DJ Raphaël Marionneau

All films will be introduced by Caroline Peters.

UFA Film Nights tickets are now available for €15 including booking fee by contacting

Online: www.ufa-filmnaechte.de  or www.gegenbauer-ticketservice.de  
Phone: +49 30 - 4430 4430
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, the RBB Fernsehen, radio eins, RBB Kulturradio, and Mit Vergnügen are the event’s media partners.

More at www.ufa-filmnaechte.de 

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 programmes 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 FremantleMedia which manages the global production of Bertelsmann’s RTL Group.