ISSUE 4 | 2018

CINEMA
 b a s s,a d o r ?
A m
What s Up,
Cinema is magical. It is the great escape that takes us on adventures
we have never experienced before. It gives us a peek into people’s
lives, loves and dreams, providing a deeper insight into emotions
and relationships. Cinema is also the anchor that grounds us and
brings us face to face with realities, enabling us to better understand
the world around us and usher in change. It is a remarkable art form
that brings together theatre, dance, music, photography and art to
create stories that entertain and educate. It has the ability to touch
hearts and open minds.
What makes cinema such a compelling medium of mass
communication is its lifelike quality. Sitting in a dark hall, we let our
guard down and become receptive to the seemingly real world
unfolding before us. The spell is cast! We are no longer observers;
we enter that world and engage with it. We get to experience other
cultures and faraway lands. One can almost smell that loaf of bread
baking in a wood-fired oven in Bavaria! That’s the beauty of cinema:
It knows no borders. It speaks a universal language.
German cinema has a very long and proud tradition. Babelsberg
Studio, located just outside Berlin, is the oldest large-scale film
studio in the world. Several legendary figures like director Fritz
Lang, actress Marlene Dietrich and screenwriter Billy Wilder are
products of Babelsberg. Even today, major national and international
blockbusters are made there. German film-makers like Rainer Werner
Fassbinder, Werner Herzog, Ernst Lubitsch, Wolfgang Petersen
and Wim Wenders are known the world over for their invaluable
contribution.
Film festivals dedicated to almost all genres and regions of the world
take place in Germany as a celebration of cinema. Bollywood is
so popular, it has its very own festival in Stuttgart! And, of course,
there’s the Berlinale, the world’s second-largest international film
festival. In 2019, it will take place from 7–17 February. So come on
over and let cinema and Germany work their magic on you!
 DID YOU KNOW?
1. Prem Sanyas (The Light of Asia,1925) was the first
Indo-German collaboration in cinema.
(Cinestaan)
2. The earliest surviving film was shot in 1888 by the
French inventor Louis Le Prince. He filmed his father-
in-law’s garden at 10–12 frames per second.
(Guinness World Records)
3. The Universum Film Aktiengesellschaft (Ufa) in
Babelsberg, Germany, had a significant impact on
film history dating back to 1917. It also had one of
the best-equipped studios in Europe.
(The Indian Quarterly)
4. Set up by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani in 1934,
Bombay Talkies was the first corporatised film studio
in the city.
(Live History India)
5. There are more than 90 film festivals in Germany!
(InterNations)
6. In 1933, film-maker V Shantaram printed India’s first
colour film, Sairandhri, in Germany.
(The Hindu)
7. The German composer Hans Zimmer has written the
scores to more than 150 box-office hits, including The
Lion King, the Dark Knight trilogy and 12 Years a Slave.
(Independent)
8. Franz Osten had a very fruitful collaboration with
Bombay Talkies. Between 1935 and 1939, he directed
16 feature films without knowing a word of Hindi!
(The Indian Quarterly)
9. Germany’s visual effects industry is worth an estimated
€25 million annually. It has major Hollywood blockbusters
to its credit, including Game of Thrones, Scorsese’s Hugo
and the Avengers series.
(Handelsblatt Global)
10. India is the largest producer of feature films in the
world. More than 1,724 movies were made in 2013!
(United Institute for Statistics)
 The history
of cinema
1888 The industrialist George Eastman
began manufacturing celluloid roll film. The
French inventor Louis Le Prince developed
a single-lens camera, which he used to film
his father-in-law’s garden. Roundhay Garden
Scene is considered the earliest surviving
film. 1889 American inventor Thomas Alva
Edison commissioned his employee William
Kennedy Dickson to develop a motion-
picture camera. The result? The kinetograph.
1891 Dickson developed the kinetoscope,
the first device to show moving pictures.
1895 The Skladanowsky brothers were the
first to show a film to a paying audience
The Kinetograph
on 1 st November in Berlin. A month later,
the Lumière brothers screened their first
commercial film on their cinematograph
in Paris. 1896 The French film-maker and
magician Georges Méliès constructed a
studio at home, where he made more than
500 films, including Le Voyage dans la Lune
(1902). It was the first film that had narrative
accompanying moving images. It showed a
rocket landing in the moon's eye! 1897 The
first film studios were built. 1900 The Lumière
brothers projected cinematograph films onto
a giant screen for a 25,000-strong audience at
the Paris Universal Exhibition. 1903 The Great
Train Robbery was the industry’s first Western
movie and its first box-office hit. 1905 The
first indoor space dedicated to showing films
was opened in Pittsburgh. It was given the
name Nickelodeon, since entry cost a nickel.
Within a few years, thousands of nickelodeons
opened in the US. 1907 Film-maker George
Albert Smith developed Kinemacolor, the
first successful colour motion picture process.
1910 Newsreels were shown in theatres
and became a popular way to find out the
news. 1913 Exclusive cinema houses were
replacing nickelodeons. Movies became
longer and more expensive. By 1914 Several
film industries were established across the
Cinema is one of the most important
inventions of the 19th century. The
earliest films were in black and white,
less than a minute long and without
sound. Since its inception, this unique
medium of storytelling has continued
to fascinate. What’s Up, Germany?
presents some of the most important
milestones in the history of cinema.
We sure have come a long way!
cassette recorder) and cable TV experienced
1888 a boom. 1990s This decade saw the rise
of indie films. 1995 Pixar and Disney co-
produced Toy Story, the first fully computer-
animated feature film. Late 1996 The first
DVD players went on sale and quickly
became mainstream. 2000 onwards Things
rapidly changed: digital began replacing
celluloid film and analog TV; traditional cable
TV declined as VOD (video on demand) and
online streaming services became popular;
home entertainment revenues exceeded the
box office; and 3D and IMAX films gained
Roundhay Garden Scene popularity.
1889 1895 1902
An early Lumière Poster Le Voyage dans la Lune
world. However, European cinema was badly
hit by World War I. The American film industry
gained dominance. 1915 The Technicolor
Motion Picture Corporation, which pioneered
the development of colour film processes,
was founded in the US. The first screening of
a 3D film took place at the Astor Theatre in
New York. 1927 Warner Brothers released
The Jazz Singer, the first feature film with
synchronised dialogue and singing, marking
the end of the silent era. 1928 Disney ’s
Steamboat Willie, the first Mickey Mouse
film and the first cartoon with synchronised
sound, was released. By 1929 Hollywood
was almost all-talkie, with several competing
sound systems. Early 1950s Cinema faced
a tough competitor: television. Film theatre
attendance declined. Hollywood responded
by introducing 3D films and the wide-screen
experience (Cinerama and CinemaScope).
Major film studios got involved in the
television industry. 1960s Many studios
were taken over by multinational companies.
Widescreen films began to be broadcast on The Jazz Singer
TV. 1971 The world’s first IMAX movie theatre
opened in Toronto, Canada. 1975 Home Box
Office (HBO) launched its satellite-delivered All images via Wikimedia Commons
Roundhay Garden Scene: NMFT, Yannick@FR
cable service in the US. Dolby Stereo was Lumière poster: Marcellin Auzolle (CC BY-SA 3.0)
introduced for films. 1980s The VCR (video Le Voyage dans la Lune: Georges Méliès
German cinema has a long and colourful history. Right
from the early days of motion pictures, Germany has
been at the forefront of the medium. It has greatly
contributed to its development, both technically and
artistically. In fact, the first film shown to a paying
audience in the history of cinema was in Berlin. What’s
Up, Germany? looks at German cinema through the
decades.
The Formative Years
Back in 1895, German film-makers Max and Emil Skladanowsky
invented the Bioscop, an early form of cinema projection. In
November that year, the brothers demonstrated their invention
before a paying audience at the Berlin Wintergarten theatre,
predating the first public screening by the Lumière brothers
by over a month. Early films were usually shown in Kintopps
or converted storefronts. The first dedicated cinema opened
in Mannheim in 1906. The next year, the weekly journal Der
Kinematograph was launched.
Berlin was the centre of German film production. Founded in
1912, the Babelsberg Studio, located just outside Berlin, was the
first large-scale studio in the world. It was Hollywood’s biggest
competitor at the time. Several legendary figures like the director
Fritz Lang, the actress Marlene Dietrich and the screenwriter Billy
Wilder were products of Babelsberg. Another legendary institution
was the Universum Film Aktiengesellschaft (Ufa). Also located in
Babelsberg, it flourished under producer Erich Pommer’s able
leadership. It produced most of the films in Germany in the
1920s, including Ernst Lubitsch’s Madame DuBarry (1919), the
first German film to make a mark in the international market.
The Golden Age
The movies that came out between 1920 and 1932, also known as
Weimar films, dealt largely with underworld crime, vampires and
seductive sirens. They shaped future film genres, especially horror
and film noir. The 1920s saw the release of groundbreaking silent
Expressionist films like Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr Caligari
(1920), FW Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis
(1927). Hollywood borrowed lighting and set design techniques
from these German movies.
With the advent of sound post 1929, came Josef von Sternberg’s
seminal talkie, The Blue Angel (1930). Starring Marlene Dietrich and
Emil Jannings, this film gave Dietrich her big break in Hollywood.
She became a superstar in the US after a few weeks of its release!
The Blue Angel, like many films of this period, was shot in both
German and English. Other notable talkies were Lang’s M and GW
Pabst’s The Threepenny Opera, both released in 1931.
Creative Drain
With Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, film-makers found their artistic
freedom and funding curtailed. The result was an exodus to
Hollywood. By 1939, nearly the entire film industry had left the country,
delivering a major blow to German cinema and an advantage for
American cinema. The only name of significance in this period was
Leni Riefenstahl, a film-maker who made documentaries praising
the Third Reich.
New German Cinema
The drought finally ended in the 1960s and 1970s. World war
realities and politics gave birth to radical films. Rainer Werner
Fassbinder, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders
and Margarethe von Trotta took centre stage and established New
German Cinema, earning themselves an international reputation.
It is difficult to define this cinematic movement, since these
directors had their own individual style, but a common feature
was their cinematic maturity. Alexander Kluge’s Yesterday Girl
(1966), Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), Fassbinder’s
Ali: Fear Eats Soul (1974) and Schlöndorff’s The Tin Drum (1979)
found critical acclaim. The Tin Drum won the Palme d’Or and
Germany’s first Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. Later in the
1980s, Wolfgang Petersen’s The Boat (1981) was nominated for six
Oscars. Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas (1984) also earned a Palme d’Or.
Diverse Output
Recent German films reflect the country’s diverse society. The
cinema landscape, which includes indie films, sophisticated
mainstream productions and box-office hits, is truly multicultural.
Productions from contemporary German film-makers are being
celebrated by international critics and have enjoyed worldwide
success: Tom Tykwer’s Run Lola Run (1998), Caroline Link’s
Nowhere in Africa (2001), Wolfgang Becker’s Good Bye, Lenin!
(2003), Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Downfall (2004), Fatih Akin’s Head-
On (2004), Henckel von Donnersmarck’s The Lives of Others
(2006), Til Schweiger’s Head Full of Honey (2014), Sebastian
Schipper’s Victoria (2015), Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann (2016) and
Akin’s In the Fade (2017).
All images via Wikimedia Commons
Metropolis ad: Archives New Zealand (CC BY-SA 2.0)
 India and Germany have been collaborating in multiple fields. Cinema is
no different. We share a strong cinematic connection since the early
20th century. The Bombay film industry had German directors and
cinematographers back in 1925! A strong team spirit and creative
camaraderie enhanced their collaborations. What’s Up, Germany? examines
how German Expressionism deeply influenced Indian film-makers like
Himanshu Rai, Kamal Amrohi and V Shantaram.

Marlene Dietrich in Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel, 1930)

German collaborations. Wirsching, with his

meticulous lighting and eccentric camera
angles, played a major role in spreading
this movement in India.
Madhubala in Mahal (1949)

Kamal Amrohi The 1949 classic Mahal was

Cabinet of Dr Caligari, lights and shadows
were so essential to the movie, they were
actually painted on the sets!
It’s no surprise that German Expressionism
gave birth to horror films and film noir
(crime thrillers that explore the darker side
produced by Himanshu Rai and Devika
Rani’s Bombay Talkies studio and was shot
by Josef Wirsching. Director Kamal Amrohi’s
black-and-white love story, starring Ashok
Kumar and Madhubala, was influenced by
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. This is clearly
evident in Wirsching’s play of light and

I
Seeta Devi in Prem Sanyas (The Light of Asia, 1925)
n Germany, the Weimar years (1918–
1933) were marked by artistic freedom.
Art and architecture were dominated
by the Bauhaus School. Likewise, German
cinema developed under the Universum
Film Aktiengesellschaft (Ufa) and gave
Hollywood stiff competition. So even
though the country faced political isolation
post World War I and lacked funds, the
creative scene was thriving. It was during
this period that the German Expressionism
movement was born. It emphasised the
exaggeration of film sets, lighting, costumes
and performances. This exaggeration or
distortion was a reflection of inner
realities. Dark themes like insanity and
betrayal were explored. Robert Wiene’s
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920), FW
Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) and Fritz Lang’s
Metropolis (1927) are great examples of
German Expressionism. These films were
characterised by unsettling camera angles,
ominous shadows and surreal sets. In The
of human nature). It had a huge influence
on film directors across the world—then
and now—from Alfred Hitchcock, Guillermo
del Toro and Ridley Scott, to our very
own Himanshu Rai, Kamal Amrohi and V
Shantaram. Both Rai and Shantaram visited
the Ufa studios in Germany.
Himanshu Rai Producer and actor Himanshu
Rai’s Prem Sanyas (The Light of Asia, 1925)
marked the beginning of Indo-German
collaboration in cinema. This silent film tells
the story of Prince Siddhartha Gautama,
who went on to become the Buddha.
Directed by the German director Franz
Osten and shot by another German,
cinematographer Josef Wirsching, it was
the first Indian film to be distributed
internationally.
Rai had studied in Germany and was deeply
influenced by its cinema. His involving
Germans in this film led to the introduction
of German Expressionism in the Bombay
film industry, as well as continued Indo-
shadow. Laden with metaphors, opulent
sets and scary apparitions, Mahal dealt
with reincarnation and unfulfilled love.
Here, the physical became an exploration
of the psychological. Interestingly, this film
launched the career of Lata Mangeshkar
with the haunting song “Aayega Aanewala”.
V Shantaram Shantaram’s Pinjra (1972) was
based on the German tragicomedy Der
blaue Engel (1930) by Josef von Sternberg.
He indianised the story, turning it into a
Marathi tamasha dance version. In the film,
a school teacher falls in love with a sensuous
lavani dancer. Produced in colour and later
remade in Hindi, it won the National Film
Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi.
Shantaram’s earlier movie, Do Aankhen
Barah Haath (1957), won the Silver Bear at
the 1958 Berlin International Film Festival.
Incidentally, the film-maker went to Germany
to print India’s first colour film, Sairandhri
(1933).
All images via Wikimedia Commons
Indian and German films couldn't be more
different! They are at opposite ends of the
spectrum, with the former leaning towards Germans in
emotion, song and dance. But did you
know German cinematographers, directors
the Bombay
and production designers contributed a
great deal to Indian cinema? What’s Up,
Film Industry
Germany? dips into film archives and traces
fascinating stories of Germans working in
the Bombay film industry before and after
World War II.
In the 1920s, Himanshu Rai, a bright young Indian lawyer based in London, became very interested in film-making. He approached Emelka
Studios in Munich for a collaboration. This culminated in Prem Sanyas (The Light of Asia, 1925), the first ever Indo-German co-production.
Emelka Studios provided the technical crew and equipment, while the script, location scouting, casting and capital were Rai's responsibility.
In February 1925, Rai boarded a ship to Bombay, along with director Franz Osten, cinematographers Josef Wirsching and Willi Kiermeier,
production designer Karl von Spreti and assistant director and interpreter Bertl Schultes. Having made pre-production arrangements, the
German crew went back home and returned three months later to shoot the film in actual Indian locations. Prem Sanyas, which tells the story of
the Buddha, met with an enthusiastic response in Munich in 1925.

B OM B AY TALK IE S
Later, when Rai and the actress Devika Rani
opened the Bombay Talkies studio in 1934,
they invited their German colleagues
to work with them in India. The result?
Between 1935 and 1939, Osten directed
16 feature films for Bombay Talkies without
knowing a word of Hindi! He, along with
other Germans, were jailed by the British
government in India when World War II
broke out. Osten was later released and
sent to Germany due to ill health.
J OS EF W I R S C HING
German cinematographer and photographer
Josef Wirsching, who had worked on Prem
Sanyas, also joined Bombay Talkies. He
shot some of the most seminal movies
of the time: Janmabhoomi (1936), Achhut
Kanya (1936), Izzat (1937) and Prem Kahani
(1937). Wirsching introduced elements of
German Expressionism to Indian cinema
through his groundbreaking camerawork:
unconventional angles, ethereal lighting and
atmospheric compositions. Toting a Leica
camera with the revolutionary 35mm film, WALTER KAU F M ANN
he was a permanent figure at Bombay This German composer and musicologist
Talkies. His still photos were the subject of migrated to India in 1934 along with Franz
much excitement and discussion. Between Osten. He was the director of European
1925 and 1967, he took many iconic photos music at All India Radio and composed its
of India and its people, film locations, signature tune, which is still played today!
legendary actors and behind-the-scene He also founded the Bombay Chamber
activities—nearly 6,000 to be precise! Music Society and composed background
scores for Hindi films like Toofani Tarzan
Like Osten, he too was jailed during World (1937), Prem Nagar (1940) and Ek Din Ka
War II. Between 1939 and 1947, he was in an Sultan (1945). After having lived in Bombay
internment camp, after which he went back for more than a decade, Kaufmann moved
to Bombay Talkies. This was when he shot to England in 1946.
Kamal Amrohi’s unforgettable Mahal (1949),
starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubala.
Ten years later, Wirsching joined Amrohi's
production company, Kamal Pictures (Mahal
Films), as director of photography. He
filmed most of Pakeezah—for the first
time in colour and in CinemaScope—but BOMBAY
could not complete it. He passed away in
Bombay on 11th June 1967. Wirsching is
remembered for his everlasting work that
set the standard for Indian cinema in the
decades to come.
All images: Bombay Talkies, via Wikimedia Commons
Believe it or not, Bollywood is really popular in Germany, especially among women! It has a presence at the
Berlinale and at dedicated film festivals. Today, Germany is the second-largest Bollywood market in Europe,
trailing only behind the UK. What’s Up, Germany? explores Deutschland's love for all things Bollywood.
So what's the secret behind Hindi films' popularity in Germany? Well, they're high on emotion. They make you laugh. They make you cry.
And that seems to have gone down well with Germans! They thoroughly enjoy the romance, happy endings, colourful extravaganzas
and dance sequences. And it all started with King Khan's Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. When Shah Rukh attends the Berlin International
Film Festival—also known as the Berlinale—fans pour in from all over Germany and Europe. During the shooting of Don2, women
waited in the freezing cold just to get a glimpse of him! And if that's not enough, My Name is Khan got a five-minute standing ovation
when it was screened at the Berlinale!

JHATKAS & MATKAS

Another major attraction in Hindi films are the choreographed song and dance sequences. This is what makes Bollywood unique
in the international film circuit. There are even dance schools teaching sensuous and sizzling Bollywood moves in a number of
German cities! The Bollywood Dance Ensemble from Hannover is made up of German women who are happy to show off their
newly learnt dance steps at programmes and film festivals in the country and abroad. Bollywood is literally everywhere! Chaa gaya!

Indian Film Festival Stuttgart

The city of Stuttgart hosts the largest Indian film festival in Europe. More than 5,000 people attended the festival in 2018! This five-
day-long festival, organised by the Filmbüro Baden-Württemberg, shows a great variety, from blockbusters to indie films, regional
language movies to documentaries and shorts. In 2018, director Rahul Nair's Ottamuri Velicham (Light in the Room) won the German
Star of India award. Along with film screenings, there are panel discussions, music and dance programmes, and Indian food and drinks.

Bollywood at Home
In 2016, the free-to-air channel ZeeOne was launched for the German market with the tagline “I feel Bolly good”. Broadcasting
movies, TV series and music videos, this dedicated Bollywood channel caters largely to women in the age group of 19–59. Guess
who was there for the launch? Who else? Shah Rukh Khan!

Priyanka Chopra's
Pahuna Wins Big!
Priyanka Chopra's production company, Purple Pebble
Pictures, recently won two awards for Pahuna: The Little
Visitors at the SCHLINGEL International Film Festival for
Children and Young Audience in Germany. This Sikkimese
film, directed by Paakhi A Tyrewala, won the European
Children's Film Award and got a special mention in the
awards of the professional jury feature film international
category. The movie tells the story of three Nepalese
children who get separated from their parents while
fleeing to Sikkim to escape Maoists in their village in Nepal.
Pahuna was released in India on 7th December 2018.
Image: © Purple Productions
 There have been some interesting Indo-German collaborations in the field of cinema in recent years.
Considering India and Germany have impeccable cinema pedigree, any partnership adds great value and
enhances the already strong ties between both countries. What’s Up, Germany? looks at select Indo-German
affiliations in film.
To commemorate 60 years of Indo-German diplomatic relations, the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg paid tribute to the Oscar-
winning music composer AR Rahman. Held in 2012, the five-city concert tour, Classic Incantations, was part of the collaborative
celebration “Germany and India 2011–2012: Infinite Opportunities”. The audience was in for a rare treat as musicians performed Rahman's
film scores. Just imagine more than a hundred orchestral musicians playing songs from Swades, Bombay, Roja, Slumdog Millionaire and
127 Hours live in an auditorium! How special is that?! Though the orchestra performed back in 2012, the memories of the performance
are still fresh in the minds of those who were lucky enough to be there.

India at the Berlinale Live Act!

The Berlin International Film Festival—or the For more than 20 years, the orchestra Tuten und
Berlinale—has been showcasing Indian Blasen has been playing live music in cinemas.
cinema for years, be it art-house films, regular In 2012, at the invitation of Max Mueller
Bollywood fare, regional language offerings Bhavan and the Mumbai Film Festival,
or documentaries and shorts. In 1964, the band visited India to celebrate 100
Satyajit Ray's Mahanagar was shown at the years of Bollywood. It played live music
Berlinale, where it won the Silver Bear for to accompany the silent film A Throw of
best director. Since then, Mani Ratnam's Dice (Prapancha Pash). Made in 1929 by
Dil Se (1998), Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum the prolific German director Franz Osten,
Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Abhishek this film was the third Indo-German co-
Kapoor's Kai Po Che! (2013), Avinash Arun's production. Based on an episode from the
Killa (2014), Nagraj Manjule's Sairat (2016), Mahabharata, it tells the tale of two kings
Amit Masurkar's Newton (2017) and many competing for the love of a woman. It was
more, have struck a chord with international a hit in Germany back in the day, especially
audiences. because it was shot on location in faraway
India. Osten used more than 10,000 extras, 1,000
horses and 50 elephants in the film!

Prapancha Pash (A Throw of Dice, 1929)

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Ishq Kiya
Bollywood is so popular in Germany, there's a German-
language glossy dedicated to it! Launched in 2006 by Naseem
Shah Rukh Khan Bergau-Khan, a publisher of Indo-German parentage
at the Berlinale based in Cologne, the magazine Ishq has its fair
share of loyal readers—Germans included.
Image: Thore Siebrands Around the same time, a dubbed version of
(CC BY 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
the Bollywood blockbuster Kabhi Khushi
Kabhie Gham was aired by a German TV
channel and turned out to be a huge
German Beginnings hit. More than two million people
Born in Germany to a Bengali father and a French watched it, most of whom were young
mother, director Romuald Karmakar discovered German women, and with that the
film in an underground cinema theatre in Bollywood—and Shah Rukh Khan—
Munich. Inspired by the motion picture, he went magic spell was cast in Germany!
on to direct feature films and documentaries.
Karmakar's work has been honoured at many
international film festivals. The Museum of Modern Director Romuald Karmakar
Art (MoMA) counts his documentary, The Himmler
Project, as one of the 250 most important works of
art it has acquired since 1980. In 2013, Karmakar was
selected to represent Germany at the Venice Biennale.
The following year he won the DEFA-Foundation Award for
outstanding achievement in German cinema. Image: Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
(CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
The Berlin International Film Festival—or the Berlinale as it is popularly called—is the largest film festival in the
world after Cannes. Over 400 diverse and carefully selected films are screened at this carnival of world cinema
over ten days. It's a heady mix of binge-watching, business, glamour and parties. You can be sure it's an experience
you'll never forget! What’s Up, Germany? takes a look at this fascinating event.

Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the Berlinale was the brainchild of Oscar Martay, a film officer
with the US Army. It was through his initiative that a committee met in October 1950 to set up the
international film festival. Recognising Martay's contribution, the Golden Bear was awarded to
him at the 1st Berlinale in 1951. Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca was the first film to be shown.

The Berlinale
A CELEBRATION OF CINEMA

Film Fiesta
Initially, the Berlinale was a summer event, but it has been held in February
since 1978. It has grown to become the second-largest film festival in the
world. More than 400 films are screened over ten days—an unforgettable
treat for film buffs, who get to watch the best of world cinema. With

Image : Wikimedia Commons

more than 300,000 tickets sold, the Berlinale has the largest public
attendance than any other film festival. Over 20,000 professionals
visit from 127 countries every year! The good thing is, unlike Cannes,
which is by invitation only, the Berlinale is open to the public. In
2000, the festival's main venue changed to the Berlinale Palast at
Potsdamer Platz. The Boulevard of Stars, a tribute to German film
and television personalities, was unveiled during the 60th Berlinale in
2010. The German film actress Marlene Dietrich was the first star to
be honoured. The 62nd Berlinale celebrated 100 years of Berlinale Palast
Babelsberg Studio, the world's first major film studio.

Picture This! The India Factor

The much-coveted Golden Bear is the festival's Shah Rukh Khan rocks the Berlinale! Aamir Khan
highest award, which is reserved for the was part of the international jury in 2010. Through
Image: © picture alliance /dpa

best feature film and best short film. The the years, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Mani Kaul,
Silver Bear is given to the best director, Ritwik Ghatak, Shyam Benegal, Mani Ratnam,
actress and actor. As you can imagine, Rakesh Sharma, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Imtiaz
celebrities and movie stars make it a point Ali and many more have made their presence
to attend. Isabelle Huppert, Tilda Swinton, felt at the festival. The year 2018 saw Qaushiq
Joaquin Phoenix, Robert Pattinson and Mukherjee's Garbage, India's only official entry, in
Willem Dafoe walked the red carpet at the the spotlight.
Berlinale Palast in 2018. A recent poll revealed
that only one percent of the audience was
Manish Dayal, Huma Qureshi, Gillian
there for the movie stars; 99 percent came Anderson, Gurinder Chadha, Hugh The 68th Berlinale
for the eclectic offerings of international films Bonneville at the Berlinale 2017
Some movies to watch out for from the 2018
and the vibrant atmosphere.
Berlinale are Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane (shot
entirely on an iPhone); the Golden Bear-winning
Touch Me Not; the Zellner brothers' Western
Movie Matters comedy Damsel; Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs;
Another factor that makes the Berlin International Film Festival unique is the close link the single-take Utøya: July 22; and the Polish
between the festival and the market. The European Film Market (EFM) is among the drama Mug. If you're in Berlin in February 2019,
largest film trade fairs in the world. Held alongside the Berlinale, it attracts more than 500 don't miss the Berlinale. Chances are you'll make
companies and 9,000 professionals from 110 countries! Distributors, producers, buyers it an annual affair, because everyone falls in love
and financiers come to the all-important EFM to network and strike deals. Another event with the Berlinale—and Berlin!
that takes place during the film festival is Berlinale Talents, a series of workshops and
lectures attended by 250 young film-makers. How cool is that?!
 WHAT'S UP,
GERMANY?'S
EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW
As a film critic, what is your approach to movie-watching?
To be as open-minded, fair and impartial as I possibly
can. Also, to have zero expectations from what I am
about to watch.
What is your impression of German cinema? How has
the German film industry evolved over time?
That's a question I'm not fully qualified to answer. But
there is no doubt that German Expressionist cinema
from the 1920s made an indelible impact on both
movie-goers and film-makers.
My introduction to German cinema began with the
works of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders and
Werner Herzog. Some of their films are part of my very
precious movie memories. Contemporary German
cinema is in an interesting phase right now: from Good
Bye, Lenin! to Run Lola Run, Head-On to The Lives Of
Others and Victoria, it's all grist to a film critic's mill!
What are your favourite German movies and why?
There are too many to count! But I have a special liking
for the early Expressionist silent films (The Cabinet of
Dr Caligari, Nosferatu, The Last Laugh, M, Metropolis),
because they were like nothing I'd ever seen before!
Their style was bold, innovative and way ahead of its
time. If you haven't seen these films, then your cinema
education is incomplete.
You are a regular at the Berlinale, the Berlin International
Film Festival. How significant is the Berlinale for the film
industry?
It is the first big international film festival in the calendar,
and it's where all the big film-makers come to unveil
their films. I love the festival, more so because Berlin is
such a wonderful, welcoming city.
What's Up, Germany? caught up
with Shubhra Gupta, film critic
and senior columnist with The
Indian Express, to talk about the
fascinating world of cinema. This
is what she had to say.
What makes the Berlinale special for you?
Berlin is both historical and contemporary. It is so
different from other German cities. The Berlinale is the
city's own festival, in which all film-loving Berliners are
involved and engaged in, just like in Toronto. It's great
to see lines of enthusiastic movie-goers queing up for
the same films as us, and the press from all over the
world! I love the ease with which I can get all kinds of
cuisines in and around the venue! I just wish it were not
quite so cold though, but that's something I've learnt
to live with.
You say that you have “a huge capacity to sit through
terrible Bollywood movies, but no patience at all with
bad Hollywood”? Why is that so?
That's because Bolly wood is mine. Even from the
worst of films, I can get a takeaway or two: It's always
interesting to see how film-makers use cultural practices
in their work, because their views impact us; whereas I
have no stakes in Hollywood's practices. And if the film
is bad, there's nothing in it for me.
Where do you think cinema is headed in this world of
rapid change and new technologies?
The more things change, the more they will remain
the same. Screens can become tinier and tinier (on
the phone) or bigger and bigger (IMAX), but good
storytelling will always be the lifeblood of good
cinema. Without that, there will be no cinema, no
matter how advanced the technology is.
How has Indian cinema changed?
In the last 20 years, Indian cinema has undergone a
sea change. From an inward-looking industry only
interested in making formula films for domestic
consumption, it has been forced to create more cinema
that can travel and be understood and appreciated in
other countries. Because that's the only way to make
work that lasts, as well as create a market for good
Indian cinema.
Any advice for budding film critics?
Always, always know that the film is bigger than you.
 FILMS STARRING
germany!
Germany has impressive film locations that are perfectly suited to just about every genre. No wonder Bollywood
and Hollywood producers are increasingly opting to shoot there. Berlin especially provides the perfect
backdrop for historical dramas and thrillers. Apart from diverse locations, Germany offers film infrastructure
that is second to none. Major international films have been shot at Babelsberg Studio and Bavaria Film. What's
Up, Germany? brings you a photo essay of famous films shot in Germany.

Berlin Brandenburg
Cathedral Gate, Berlin

Image: Colourbox Image: Colourbox

Park Inn Hotel, East Side

Alexanderplatz Gallery, Berlin

Image: Creative Commons Image: Another Believer

Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Don2 (2011)

This Shah Rukh Khan-starrer was shot extensively in Berlin. Both the actor and the director, Farhan Akhtar, were taken up by the city's
architecture. Over 50 days, they shot in various tourist attractions like the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Cathedral, the Olympic
Stadium and the East Side Gallery—a graffiti-decorated section of the Berlin Wall. Shah Rukh even jumped off the 300-foot-high
Park Inn Hotel in Alexanderplatz for a scene!
 Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)
Europa-Park in the small town of Rust
in Baden-Württemberg is Germany's
biggest amusement park. It has seen its
fair share of Bollywood song and dance
sequences. The title song of Dil To Pagal
Hai was shot in this amusement park,
as were songs from Hero No.1 and Hadh
Kar Di Aapne.

Image: Creative Commons

Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
Europa-Park, Rust Image: Colourbox

Bridge of Spies (2015)

In 2014, Steven Spielberg shot part
of his film on the Glienicke Bridge,
which connects Potsdam with Berlin.
A Most Wanted Man (2014) This iconic bridge was once the
This espionage thriller based on John le actual venue for the exchange of
Carré's novel puts the city of Hamburg spies during the Cold War! German
centre stage. Watching A Most Wanted Chancellor Angela Merkel visited
Man will give you a fairly good idea of the location to watch the filming of
the Hanseatic city, with its warehouse the prisoner exchange.
district, container port, Reeperbahn
street and Alster Lake. This film by Anton
Corbijn was the actor Philip Seymour Glienicke Bridge, Berlin
Hoffman's last leading role before his
death in 2014.

Aerial View of Hamburg

Image: Colourbox

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Nicknamed Görliwood, the idyllic Saxon town of Görlitz is a Hollywood favourite.
Located on the River Neisse, it is an open-air museum of different architectural styles—
Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau. Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest
Hotel was mainly shot in Görlitz and at the legendary Babelsberg Studio. Other films
shot here include Inglourious Basterds, The Book Thief, Around the World in 80 Days
and The Reader.
Görlitz Town, Saxony Image: Colourbox

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Apart from Görlitz, Quentin Tarantino's
Inglourious Basterds was also shot at
Babelsberg Studio and Bad Schandau,
a small spa town near the Czech
border. Starring Brad Pitt, Michael
Fassbender, Christoph Waltz, Diane
Kruger and Til Schweiger, this film was
nominated for eight Oscars.

Image: Colourbox
Bad Schandau, Saxony

The NeverEnding Story (1984)

Wolfgang Petersen's epic fantasy was largely shot at Munich's Bavaria Film, one of
the largest film production companies in Europe. Made on an estimated budget of
$27 million, it featured state-of-the-art animation and puppetry and was Germany's
most expensive movie back then.
Image: Emmanouil Kampitakis
Bavaria Film Studio (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
 GERMANY: CINEMA ACTION!
Germany has a vibrant cinema scene. What’s Up, Germany? travels to Berlin, Munich and Hamburg in
search of places dedicated to film and finds lots of action, from open-air cinemas to movie theme
parks, festivals to museums.

Germany has film festivals dedicated to almost every genre. The creative energy
is palpable at the country's largest film festival, the Berlinale. Held in February
every year, it is the second-largest celebration of cinema in the world. Then there's
Filmfest München during the summer, which ranks second only to the Berlinale
in terms of importance. It screens blockbusters to low-budget films, and aims
to encourage young talented film-makers. Another attention-grabber is Filmfest
Hamburg. The third-largest international film festival in Germany, it attracted more
than 40,000 people in 2017!

Niche Offerings

Founded in 1954, the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen is one of the
oldest—and among the most important—festivals dedicated to shorts. It focusses
on new trends and technological developments. Another major draw is the
SCHLINGEL International Film Festival for Children and Young Audience. Priyanka
Chopra's Sikkimese production, Pahuna: The Little Visitors, won two awards at this
festival recently. Cologne hosts the Feminale, which shows a variety of films made
by women. The Green Screen festival is all about nature and wildlife. Even its trophy

Image: Colourbox
is made of sand!

Faster, Bigger, Better!

Movie Park Germany is a blockbuster theme park with different zones offering thrilling
rides, Hollywood-inspired live shows and famous cartoon characters. Located in
Bottrop-Kirchhellen, around 50km from Düsseldorf, it is a must-visit for children and
the happy-hearted! Its rides are actually categorised as intense, moderate and soft!

GERMANS IN
Cinema under the Stars HOLLYWOOD
Outdoor cinemas or Freiluftkinos are quite the rage in Germany, especially in Berlin.
Check out these German actors
You'll find them strewn across the capital, in parks, courtyards and old warehouses. and actresses who have made it
Head to Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Potsdamer Platz, Spandau, Moabit or Hasenheide big in Hollywood:
Park for an experience you'll never forget. Most major cities in Germany have their
own open-air cinemas that invite residents to step out under the stars on summer • Marlene Dietrich
evenings to catch their favourite films! • Conrad Veidt
• Diane Kruger
• Nastassja Kinski
Movie Museums • Ralf Moeller
• Christian Berkel
Germany has some seriously impressive film museums that seek to edify and • Franka Potente
entertain. So, if you're interested to learn more about German film history, head • Til Schweiger
straight to either Frankfurt's German Film Museum or the German Cinematheque
• August Diehl
Museum of Film and Television in Berlin or the Potsdam Film Museum. Filmpark
Babelsberg and Bavaria Filmstadt offer a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at • Tom Wlaschiha
how movies are made, daring stunt shows and a 4-D cinema experience. Guided • Eric Braeden
tours are available at all four venues and come highly recommended.
• Udo Kier
• Elke Sommer
What' s Up, Germany? 's Survival Kit
10 Must-see German Movies
Contemporary German film-makers have put Germany on the international movie map with their unique
and eclectic offerings. What’s Up, Germany? has hand-picked ten German movies from 1998 onwards
that you simply can't afford to miss! Some are Oscar-nominated, but all make for a compelling watch.
Ready for some binge-watching?!

1 6
Run Lola Run
Lola Rennt, 1998
A breathless thriller, this film revolves around Lola,
who needs to deliver 100,000 Deutsche Marks in
20 minutes or else her boyfriend will be dead! And
so she starts running. Director Tom Tykwer tells the
story in three different ways, with the smallest of
changes affecting the outcome dramatically. Put on
your running shoes and run with Lola through the
streets of Berlin!
The Lives of Others
Das Leben Der Anderen, 2006
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's debut feature
film won the Oscar for best foreign language film.
This gripping political thriller takes place in East
Berlin in the 1980s. An agent of the secret police is
assigned to spy on a playwright, but he increasingly
becomes uncomfortable with this task. The director's
second film, Never Look Away, will be Germany's
entry for the Oscars in 2019.

2 Nowhere in Africa
Nirgendwo in Afrika, 2002
This Oscar-winner by Caroline Link is about a family
of Jewish refugees who migrate to a small farm in
Kenya before World War II. It is an adaptation of
Stefanie Zweig's autobiographical novel and is
sure to move you.
The White Ribbon
Das Weisse Band, 2009
Beautifully shot in black and white, this film by Michael
Haneke won the Palme d'Or and the Golden Globe
in 2010. Set in a small village in Germany before
7
World War I, it uncovers an uncomfortable reality:
the seemingly simple villagers hide dark secrets and
moral decay.

3 8
Good Bye, Lenin!
2003
A tragicomedy by Wolfgang Becker, Good Bye, Lenin!
enjoys cult status. It revolves around Alex, an East
Berliner who tries his best to hide the fact that the
Berlin Wall has fallen from his socialist and ailing
mother, since she may not be able to withstand
the shock. In this funny yet emotional movie, Alex
recreates East Germany within the four walls of their
apartment!
Barbara
2012
This movie won Christian Petzold the Silver Bear for
best director at the Berlin International Film Festival.
It also represented Germany at the Oscars in 2012.
Starring Nina Hoss and Ronald Zehrfeld, it hauntingly
portrays a woman who is torn between her desires
and the need to survive.

4 9
Head-On Victoria
Gegen die Wand, 2004 2015
Fatih Akin’s breakout film tells the tale of a love affair This crime thriller by Sebastian Schipper is one of the
that is too complicated to have a happy ending. few feature films shot in a single continuous take! It
It won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International won six prizes at the German Film Awards in 2015.
Film Festival. Born in Germany to Turkish parents, Its cinematographer received the Silver Bear at the
Akin often focusses on ethnic identity and cultural Berlin International Film Festival. Don't miss this one-
stereotypes. take wonder!

5 10
The Downfall Toni Erdmann
Der Untergang, 2004 2016
This movie by Oliver Hirschbiegel was so well- Director Maren Ade's comedy has been a favourite
received in Germany and across the world, it's no of audiences and critics alike ever since it was shown
surprise that it was nominated for an Oscar. Actor at the Cannes Film Festival. This quirky and original
Bruno Ganz delivers a powerhouse performance as film about a father and daughter has won many
Hitler during his final days in the bunker. awards. Though it makes you laugh, it also examines
the meaning of life.
 Win
Cool Mugs!
What's Up, Germany?'s Cinema Quiz
Read the Indo-German mag with swag and take a shot at this multiple-choice
quiz. Correct entries will be part of a lucky draw. Send in an image of this quiz
with your answers to krishan.nagrath@diplo.de. Good luck!

1 ..
6
What is the name of India's first talkie? This was the opening film at the 1st

.
Alam Ara
Raja Harishchandra ..
Berlin International Film Festival.
Apart Together

2
Rebecca

7
The Tiger of Eschnapur
For a Few Dollars More

This German director worked in the He shot Kamal Amrohi's romantic horror

...
Indian film industry.
Wolfgang Petersen ..
film Mahal.
Josef Wirsching

3 8
Walter Kaufmann Radhu Karmakar
Franz Osten Soumendu Roy

Who won the Silver Bear for best director Which German film was shot in a single

...
at the Berlinale in 1964?
Akira Kurosawa ..
continuous take?
Run Lola Run

4 9
Satyajit Ray Toni Erdmann
Ritwik Ghatak Victoria

Which iconic film studio was opened Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies was

...
in Bombay in 1934?
East India Film Company ..
partly shot on which bridge in Germany?
Glienicke Bridge

5 10
Bombay Talkies Hindenburg Bridge
AVM Studios Marienbrücke

What was the first Indo-German Which film catapulted Marlene Dietrich

.. ...
collaboration in cinema? to international stardom?
Awaara Three's Company

.Indisch bin Ich

Prem Sanyas
The Blue Angel
Dude, Where's My Car?

What's Up, Germany?'s Cinema Quiz

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