Press Release | Berlin, 06/30/2022

Destiny and Chastity at the UFA Film Nights – Live on Berlin’s Museum Island

• From August 24 to 26, 2022, outstanding silent films will be presented with exclusive musical accompaniment
• The program features three masterpieces from cinematic history: DER BERG DES SCHICKSALS, DR MABUSE, DER SPIELER I and DIE KEUSCHE SUSANNE
• World premiere of the digitally restored opening film DER BERG DES SCHICKSALS with newly composed film score
• All three films will also be available as livestreams and on demand
• Music by Florian C. Reithner and the Metropolis Orchestra Berlin, the Silent Light Ensemble, and internationally celebrated DJ Jeff Mills
• Tickets on sale now

Berlin, June 30, 2022 – It’s an even dozen: This year marks the 12th edition of the UFA Film Nights! The exclusive venue is once again Berlin’s Museum Island. From August 24 to 26, 2022, Bertelsmann and UFA will present cinematic masterpieces of Weimar cinema on three evenings in the open air, against a spectacular backdrop and accompanied by live music.

This year, the UFA Film Nights open with Arnold Fanck’s DER BERG DES SCHICKSALS (MOUNTAIN OF DESTINY) from 1924. It was the first full-length feature film in the mountain film genre pioneered by Fanck, and marked lead actor Luis Trenker’s on-screen debut. The film was shot on original locations in Trenker’s homeland, the Dolomites, and premiered in 1924 at the UFA Pavilion on Nollendorfplatz in Berlin. UFA Film Nights is screening the world premiere of the movie as restored by the F. W. Murnau Foundation, with a new composition by Florian C. Reithner. The Metropolis Orchestra Berlin will perform under the direction of Burkhard Götze, with composer Reithner himself playing the organ.

The second evening will feature Fritz Lang’s DR. MABUSE, DER SPIELER I (DR. MABUSE, THE GAMBLER I). The first film of his mammoth two-part work is subtitled The Great Gambler. A Picture of the Times, and presented the world of cinema with one of its first supervillains exactly 100 years ago. Lang placed his film on a socially critical plateau that held a mirror up to what he saw as the degenerate post-war society of the young Weimar Republic. In a world premiere, DJ legend Jeff Mills from Detroit will provide the score for DR. MABUSE, DER SPIELER I live at the mixer, with music he created especially for the film.

The third evening is devoted not only to Ruth Weyher, but also to Lilian Harvey and Willy Fritsch, the dream couple of the emerging talkie era, who first appeared together – still in silent mode – under director Richard Eichberg in DIE KEUSCHE SUSANNE (CHASTE SUSANNE). This screening also marks the premiere of the restored version. Under the direction of pianist, composer and arranger Ekkehard Wölk, the Silent Light Ensemble presents – in another first – a composition inspired by Jean Gilbert’s popular operetta of the same name, but also inspired by the dance music of the 1920s and incorporating modern jazz elements.

Before each screening, a celebrity presenter will provide some (cinematographic)-historical and societal background to put the films into context.

Tickets are available for €20 at www.ufa-filmnaechte.de/en/  and at all advance ticket offices in Berlin and Brandenburg.

All films start at 9 p.m. and will be simultaneously streamed on www.ufa-filmnaechte.de/en/  and Bertelsmann and UFA's social media channels. Following the livestream, the films will remain available for another 24 hours.

For many years, Bertelsmann has been engaged in a variety of cultural initiatives both in Germany and internationally. The Group’s “Culture@Bertelsmann” activities comprise exhibitions, readings and concerts, the “Blue Sofa” literary format, as well as a commitment to preserving Europe’s cultural heritage as in the case of the Ricordi Archiv in Milan, which houses original documents from 200 years of Italian opera history. As a company with a long cinematic tradition of its own, Bertelsmann is also committed to the restoration, digitization, and screening of significant silent films.

The Schedule at a Glance

Wednesday, August 24, 2022, film starts at 9:00 p.m.
DER BERG DES SCHICKSALS / MOUNTAIN OF DESTINY (1924), directed by Arnold Fanck
With Luis Trenker, Erna Morena, Hannes Schneider, Frida Richard Hertha von Walther, Gustav Oberg, Arnold Fanck jun.
Production: Arnold Fanck
Length: 92 min.
Music: New composition by Florian C. Reithner. Performed by the Metropolis Orchestra Berlin.

Thursday, August 25, 2022, film starts at 9:00 p.m.
DR. MABUSE, DER SPIELER I: Der Große Spieler. Ein Bild der Zeit
DR. MABUSE, THE GAMBLER I: The Great Player. A Picture of the Times (1921/22)
directed by Fritz Lang
With Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Aud Egede Nissen, Gertrude Welcker, Alfred Abel, Bernhard Goetzke, Paul Richter, Hans Adalbert von Schlettow
Production: Uco-Film Berlin, Producer: Erich Pommer
Length: 155 min.
Music: New composition by Jeff Mills

Friday, August 26, 2022, film starts at 9:00 p.m.
DIE KEUSCHE SUSANNE / CHASTE SUSANNE (1926), directed by Richard Eichberg
With Ruth Weyher, Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch, Werner Fuetterer, Wilhelm Bendow, Sascha Bragowa, Jean Gilbert, Ernst Hofmann, Hans Junkermann
Production: Richard Eichberg Film
Length: 121 min.
Music: New composition by the Silent Light Ensemble

Partners of the UFA Film Nights are the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation, the German Film Institute & Film Museum, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz and Gegenbauer. Ströer, radioeins and rbbKultur are media partners.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company that operates in about 50 countries around the world. It includes the entertainment company 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 around 145,000 employees and generated revenues of €18.7 billion in the 2021 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. Bertelsmann aspires to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.

About UFA
As one of Germany’s oldest and most distinguished entertainment brands, UFA today presents itself as a high-performance program creator that has continuously expanded its market leadership as a film and TV producer in Germany in recent years. In the process, the company has evolved from a program creator and TV producer into a content specialist, and produces innovative programs for German and international broadcasters, partners, and platforms. The production units UFA Fiction, UFA Serial Drama, UFA Show & Factual and UFA Documentary operate under the UFA umbrella. UFA is part of the international media and entertainment company Fremantle, the worldwide production arm of RTL Group, which is part of Bertelsmann. The managing directors of UFA are Nico Hofmann (CEO) and Joachim Kosack.