cineuropa.org

03 October, 2008

Germany: finally a guest honor at Colombia’s main film festival


In 24 years of existence, the Bogotá International Film Festival, in Colombia, had never had Germany as its honor guest. But that has been corrected this year, for the 25th edition of the event, where Germany appears in many of its 20 different sections, and is also represented by Bogocine’s (as the festival is also called) poster, created by the German designer Uwe Loesch (see picture).

Around 52 German movies, including classics as Metropolis (1927), from Fritz Lang, and “hits” such as The lives of others (Das Leben der Anderen, 2006) – the winner of last year’s international Oscar – and The edukators (Die Fetten Jarhre sind vorbei, 2004) – are part of the program, which was curated by Klaus Eder, general secretary of FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique), the international organization that gathers journalists and movie critics from 46 countries, founded in 1930.

The theme determined by Eder for the main German exhibition was, specifically, the image of the tropics inside the German cinema. Werner Herzog’s Aguirre der Zorn Gottes (1972) and Fitzcarraldo (1982), as well as Detlef Sierk’s La Habanera (1937) and Murnau’s Tabu (1931) are some of the titles chosen according to his criteria. Nevertheless, Germany is also represented in the children’s, shorts and documentaries exhibitions.

The 25th edition of Bogota International Film Festival, probably the most important film festival in Colombia, runs from the 1st until the 9th of October. Sponsored by local companies and national organizations, such as the Ministry of Culture and Bogotá’s City Hall, the event’s organization had the collaboration from Goethe Institut, present in Colombia for over 50 years now.

Get to know more about the program on Bogocine’s website.