VENICE TORONTO MONTREAL line-up

2012
Venice toronto montreal
line-up
CONTACT TORONTO
German Films
c/o TIFF Industry Centre
Hyatt Regency Hotel
King Ballroom (Mezzanine Level)
370 King St. West
HEAD OFFICE
Beta cinema GmbH
Gruenwalder Weg 28d
D-82041 Oberhaching
Phone +49 89 673469 - 828
Fax +49 89 673469 - 888
www.betacinema.com
line up
forgotten
by Alex Schmidt
imagine
by Andrzej Jakimowski
Shores of hope
by Toke Constantin Hebbeln
ORANge honey
by Imanol Uribe
upcomingS
THE PHYSICIAN
by Philipp Stoelzl
The happy prince
by Rupert Everett
STILL LIFE
by Uberto Pasolini
two lives
by Georg Maas
THE NOTEBOOK
by János Szász
the girl with nine wigs
by Marc Rothemund
huck finn
by Hermine Huntgeburth
For further information, including trailers, please visit our website www.betacinema.com
screening
venice
toronto
forgotten
Friday
Aug 31st
15:00
Sala Pasinetti
Press & INDUstry
Thursday
Sep 6th
12:00
Sala Pasinetti
Press & industry
Friday
Sep 7th
00:15
Sala Grande
world Premiere
forgotten
Tuesday
Sep 11th
09:30
Cinema 7, TIFF Bell Lightbox,
INDUSTRY - by invitation only -
imagine
Friday
Sep 7th
11:45
Scotiabank 6
press & industry
Monday
Sep 10th
21:00
Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas 3
world premiere
Wednesday
Sep 12th
18:00
Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas 3
public
Thursday
Sep 13th
14:15
Scotiabank 6
press & industry
Saturday
Sep 15th
16:00
Jackman Hall
public
Saturday
Sep 8th
21:30
Scotiabank 2
international premiere
Sunday
Sep 9th
09:30
Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas 3
public
Sunday
Sep 9th
19:15
Scotiabank 2
press & industry
Sunday
Sep 16th
12:15
Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas 9
public
Wednesday
Aug 29th
11:20
Cinéma Impérial
Press
Wednesday
Aug 29th
21:30
Théatre Maisonneuve
Press
Thursday
Aug 30th
16:30
Cinéma Impérial
international Premiere
shores of hope
Montreal
schedule
orange honey
world
premiere
forgotten
by Alex Schmidt
During a vacation on an island two friends from childhood are haunted
by the ghosts of their past.
Original Title Du hast es versprochen
Director
Alex Schmidt
Cast
Mina Tander
Laura de Boer
Katharina Thalbach (THE TIN DRUM)
Max Riemelt (THE WAVE)
Clemens Schick
Genre
Mystery-Thriller
Language
German
Length
102 min
Produced by Wüste Film Ost OHG in co-production with
Wüste Film GmbH, Magnolia Filmproduktion
and ZDF - Das kleine Fernsehspiel/Katharina
Dufner
completed
Status
Territories available
World excluding German speaking territories and France
screenings
VENICE
Fri | Aug 31st | 15:00 | Sala Pasinetti | P&I
Thu | Sep 6th | 12:00 | Sala Pasinetti | P&I
Fri | Sep 7th | 00:15 | Sala Grande | PREMIERE
TORONTO
Tue | Sep 11th | 09:30 | Cinema 7, TIFF
Lightbox, Reitman Square - by invitation only -
During their childhood Hanna and Clarissa were the best of friends. They spent every vacation together with
their parents in an old summer house on a small island. Shortly after Hanna’s 9th birthday they suddenly lost
touch until an unexpected reunion 25 years later. Hanna (34) is now married, has a seven-year-old daughter
and is the chief resident physician at a hospital, which is where she meets her old friend who is delivered to
the ER after overdosing on sleeping pills. The two women pick up their friendship where they left off and
spontaneously decide to spend a few days on the island, just like in the old days. With Hanna’s daughter Lea
in tow they return to the place where they spent their childhood. When
Hanna learns that Maria, a playmate of hers from the island’s village,
disappeared as a child and was never seen or heard from again, she begins
to search the past. Something horrible must have happened on the island
back then. But the closer Hanna gets to the dark secret, the tighter the
noose around the women becomes, the greater the menace. The truth
that comes to light is much more terrible and horrific than Hanna ever
could have imagined.
world
premiere
imagine
by Andrzej Jakimowski
Ian, a special instructor for the visually impaired, has been hired by a
Lisbon school to help blind children and young adults become more
confident and self-reliant. However, his unusual teaching methods are
not only challenging, but also dangerous...
Original Title IMAGINE
Director
Andrzej Jakimowski (TRICKS)
Cast
Edward Hogg (ANONYMOUS)
Alexandra Maria Lara (DOWNFALL)
Melchior Derouet
Francis Frappat
Genre
Drama
Language
English
Length
105 min
Produced by Zjednoczenie Artystow i Rzemieslnikow
Sp. z o.o., KMBO Production, Filmes do
Tejo in co-production with Film and Music
Entertainment, Canal + Cyfrowy, WFDiF
Status
completed
Territories available
World excluding Poland, France and Portugal
screenings
Fri | Sep 7th | 11:45 | Scotiabank 6 | P&I
Mon | Sep 10th | 21:00 | Cineplex Odeon 3 | PREMIERE
Wed | Sep 12th | 18:00 | Cineplex Odeon 3 | PUBLIC
Thu | Sep 13th | 14:15 | Scotiabank 6 | P&I
Sat | Sep 15th | 16:00 | Jackman Hall | PUBLIC
The young students huddle together on a bench in the glaring sun, clutching their white canes, listening for
the signs that can let them put together the puzzle of their existence – they are the blind children and young
adults of a specialized Lisbon school. Ian, their new spatial orientation instructor, wants to leave traditional
boundaries behind and help them explore their surroundings without feeling vulnerable or frightened.
Through unconventional means, he aims to stimulate their curiosity and imaginations. Ian quickly wins their
trust, prompting him to attempt challenges with a greater element of risk. His two most eager students
are the adults Eva and Serrano, who experience an adrenaline surge
when they leave their safe, quiet clinic for the streets of the busy
metropolis. But while Eva boldly leaves her cane behind and tries to
mask her blindness, enjoying a flirt in a café, Serrano has doubts that
Ian is being truthful. Is the image of the world that Ian is conveying
to his students real?
international
premiere
shores of hope
by Toke Constantin Hebbeln
GDR in the 1980s. Two East German dock workers dream an impossible dream: of sailing out to the sea.
Rostock, East Germany, 1984. The two friends Cornelis (“Conny”) and Andreas have set their sights on
seeing the world as sailors of the GDR Merchant Marine. It’s a dream they’ve always shared – and that soon
seems doomed to failure. A few years pass and the pals are still on land, working as dockhands. The Stasi
then approach them with a proposition: they are to find out whether Conny’s foreman is really planning to
flee to the West. Their reward: a career at sea. Andreas urges Conny to rat on his boss. Though he refuses,
it’s too late: Andreas passes the information on to the Stasi. Shortly thereafter, the Stasi start to harass
Conny’s Vietnamese girlfriend, prompting Conny to flee with her to
the West. She makes it, but Conny is caught and sent to prison. The
two friends are now firmly in the grip of the Stasi, who expertly play
on the registers of hope and longing, deceit and betrayal to shatter
not only dreams, but lives, loves and friendships as well.
Original Title Wir wollten aufs Meer
Director
Toke Constantin Hebbeln
Cast
Alexander Fehling (GOETHE!)
August Diehl (SALT, THE COUNTERFEITERS)
Ronald Zehrfeld (BARBARA)
Phoung Thao Vu
Genre
Drama, Thriller
Language
German
Length
116 min
Produced by UFA CINEMA and FRISBEEFILMS in coproduction with BR, Degeto, SWR, BR/arte,
arte and SR as well as Hahn Film and in
cooperation with CinePostproduction
Status
completed
Territories available
World excluding German speaking territories
screenings
Sat | Sep 8th | 21:30 | Scotiabank 2 | PREMIERE
Mon | Sep 9th | 09:30 | Cineplex Odeon 3 | PUBLIC
Wed | Sep 9th | 19:15 | Scotiabank 2 | P&I
Thu | Sep 16th | 21:15 | Cineplex Odeon 9 | PUBLIC
Directed by Student Academy Award winning Toke C. Hebbeln
“Engrossing Stasi drama with an impressive narrative clarity and played out by top-notch actors.” (CINEMA)
“Outstandingly well researched. An impressive work!” (DER TAGESSPIEGEL)
“A visually powerful epic... that gives superb roles to three brilliant actors.” (SZ)
international
premiere
orange honey
by Imanol Uribe
Spain, 1950. In a society permeated by fear and held in check by terror,
a young government employee realizes that he can no longer stand on
the sidelines and watch innocent people be sentenced to death. It is the
beginning of a dangerous double life, in which love, loyalty and betrayal
become matters of life and death...
Original Title Miel de Naranjas
Director
Imanol Uribe (CAROL‘S JOURNEY)
Cast
Iban Garate
Blanca Suárez (THE SKIN I LIVE IN)
Karra Elejalde (EVEN THE RAIN)
Eduard Fernández (BIUTIFUL)
Carlos Santos (EVEN THE RAIN)
Nora Navas (BLACK BREAD)
Genre
Drama, Thriller
Language
Spanish
Length
100 min
Produced by Alta Producción and Fado Filmes with
participation of TVE
completed
Status
Territories available
World excluding Spain, Portugal and Brazil
screenings
Wed | Aug 29th | 11:20 | Cinéma Impérial | P&I
Wed | Aug 29th | 21:30 | Théatre Maisonneuve | P&I
Thu | Aug 30th | 16:30 | Cinéma Impérial | PREMIERE
Andalusia in the early 1950s: Twelve years of „Peace“ have transpired but Franco continues to impose
a medieval religious state.
A trial is about to begin in a military court. The public prosecutor requests the death penalty and the court
withdraws to deliberate. But then Enrique, a young clerk, realizes that the sentence has already been decided
beforehand. His hands are tied, however, since the judge, Don Eladio, is not only his superior but also the uncle
of his fiancée Carmen. One day, a friend of Enrique’s, Don José, is arrested and charged with inciting rebellion.
When Don José is condemned to death and shot, Enrique realizes that he, too, must now take up the struggle
against the culture of injustice spreading through Spain. As he becomes active in the rebel movement, he
meets a partisan named Miel, a beautiful woman whose son Fernando is being held in a concentration camp.
Little by little, Enrique discovers that not
only one of Don Eladio’s assistants is on the
side of the rebels, but also Enrique’s fiancée
Carmen, who is the head of the rebels. In a
complex and dangerous mission, the rebels
free the captive Fernando. Although their
mission is a success, they must now escape
from Spain – a plan that is foiled by a
shepherd who has observed the operation
and given them away…
upcomingS
upcomingS
upcoming
THE PHYSICIAN
by Philipp Stoelzl
THE PHYSICIAN tells the story of Rob Cole, a boy who is left a penniless orphan in an 11th-century English
mining town when his mother dies of a mysterious illness. Vowing to become a physician and vanquish
Death itself, he travels to Isfahan in Persia to study medicine under the great Ibn Sina. Through countless
ordeals and challenges, and making many sacrifices along the way, he struggles on unwaveringly. His
unflagging quest for knowledge leads to the blossoming of friendship and true love.
A breathtaking adventure set in 11th-century England and Persia in
the tradition of great international bestselling European films such as
THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS, THE NAME OF THE ROSE and PERFUME:
THE STORY OF A MURDERER.
Original Title THE PHYSICIAN by Noah Gordon
Director
Philipp Stoelzl
(NORTH FACE, YOUNG GOETHE IN LOVE)
Cinematographer
Hagen Bogdanski
(THE LIVES OF OTHERS)
Cast
Tom Payne (HBO’s LUCK)
Sir Ben Kingsley (HUGO, IRON MAN 3)
Stellan Skarsgård (MAMMA MIA, THE GIRL
WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO)
Olivier Martinez (UNFAITHFUL, S.W.A.T)
Emma Rigby
Genre
Action/Adventure/Romance
Language
English
first promo available
Produced by UFA Cinema in co-production with ARD
Degeto and Beta Cinema
in production
Status
Territories available
World excluding German speaking territories, Spain,
Latin America and Poland
Based on Noah Gordon’s best-selling novel sold over 21 million times worldwide.
Visual effects by Academy Award winning Pixomondo (“Hugo”, “Independence Day”, “2012”).
upcoming
THE happy prince
by Rupert Everett
THE HAPPY PRINCE is about the last days in the life of Oscar Wilde – a celebrity, a genius, an icon, even a
national treasure – now in the midst of a public meltdown. We look at the excessive quadrangular love story
he is trapped in. Everyone wants Oscar – Constance, Robbie and Bosie. The result is that freedom eludes him.
The once hailed writer observes his own failure with ironic distance and regards the car crash of his life with
detachment and humor. The film is a comedy with tragic undertones in the tradition of the best of English
tragedies.
THE HAPPY PRINCE is the untold story of the last days in the tragic
times of Oscar Wilde.
Original Title THe happy prince (WT)
Director
Rupert Everett (AN IDEAL HUSBAND)
Cinematographer
Martin Ruhe
(CONTROL, THE AMERICAN, HARRY BROWN)
Cast
Rupert Everett
(MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING, HYSTERIA)
Colin Firth
(THE KING’S SPEECH, A SINGLE MAN)
Emily Watson (BREAKING THE WAVES)
Tom Wilkinson (MICHAEL CLAYTON)
Edward Fox (GANDHI)
Genre
Tragicomedy/Biopic
Language
English, Italian, French
Produced by cine plus Filmproduktion and Bavaria Pictures
with Robert Fox Ltd. and Bavaria Media Italia
in pre-production
Status
Territories available
World excluding German-speaking territories, Benelux,
Italy
Led by a stellar cast, from Rupert Everett as Oscar Wilde to Academy Award-winner Colin Firth and
Academy Award-nominee Emily Watson, THE HAPPY PRINCE reveals the story of a modern fall
from grace of one of the first pop stars in the style of a “Visconti with a touch of Almodóvar in the
lunacy and the tragedy” (Rupert Everett).
upcoming
STILL LIFE
by Uberto Pasolini
STILL LIFE is a poignant, quixotic tale of life, love and the afterlife. Meticulous and organized to the point of
obsession, John May (EDDIE MARSAN) is a council worker charged with finding the next of kin of those who
have died alone. When his department is downsized, John must up his efforts on his final case, taking him on
a liberating journey that allows him to start living life at last.
Original Title STILL LIFE
Director
Uberto Pasolini (MACHAN,
THE FULL MONTY)
Cinematographer
Stefano Falivene (BEL AMI, MACHAN)
Cast
Eddie Marsan
(WAR HORSE, HAPPY GO LUCKY)
Joanne Froggatt
(DOWNTON ABBEY, IN OUR NAME)
Genre
Comedy/Drama
Language
English
Produced by Red Wave/Embargo Films Production in
association with Rai Cinema, Cinnecittà
Studios and Exponential Media
Status
in post-production
Territories available
World excluding Italian speaking territories
upcoming
Two lives
by Georg Maas
A former East German spy in Norway has built her entire life on a fake
identity but slowly all the lies and deceit are unraveled and
she stands to lose everything.
Europe 1990, the Berlin wall has just crumbled: Katrine, raised in East Germany, but now living in Norway
for the last 20 years, is a “war child”; the result of a love relationship between a Norwegian woman and a
German occupation soldier during World War II. She enjoys a happy family life with her mother, her husband,
daughter and granddaughter. But when a lawyer asks her and her mother to witness in a trial against the
Norwegian state on behalf of the war children, she resists. Gradually, a web of concealments and secrets is
unveiled, until Katrine is finally stripped of everything, and her loved ones are forced to take a stand: What
carries more weight, the life they have lived together, or the lie it is based on?
Original Title to liv
Director
Georg Maas
Cast
Juliane Köhler (NOWHERE IN AFRICA)
Liv Ullmann
Ken Duken (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS)
Rainer Bock (THE WHITE RIBBON)
Genre
Drama, Thriller
Language
German, Norwegian
Length
97 min
Produced by Helgeland Film, Asta Film, Zinnober Film and
B&T-Filmproduktion
Status
completed
Territories available
World excluding German speaking territories and
Norway
Starring Juliane Köhler (NOWHERE IN AFRICA), Liv Ullmann and Ken Duken (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS).
upcoming
the notebook
by János Szász
In a village on the Hungarian border, two young brothers grow up during war time with their cruel grandmother and must learn every trick
of evil to survive in the absurd world of adults.
Towards the end of World War II, people in big cities are at the mercy of air raids and death by starvation. A
desperate young mother leaves her 13-year-old twin sons at their grandmother’s house in the country, despite
the fact that this grandmother is a cruel and bestial alcoholic. The villagers call her “the Witch” because she is
rumoured to have poisoned her husband long ago.
Previously pampered, the twins must learn how to survive alone in their new, rural surroundings. They
realise that the only way to cope with the absurd and inhumane world of adults and war is to become completely unfeeling and merciless. By learning to free themselves from hunger, pain and emotion, they will be
able to endure future hardships. So they begin their own series of studies: they fortify their
spirits by reading the Bible and learning foreign languages. They practice every day to harden their bodies
and minds. They hold their hands over flames, cut their legs, arms and chests with a knife and
pour alcohol right on their wounds. They desensitize themselves to insults and learn to ignore the more
insidious appeals of sentiment and love.
The twins keep a written record of all they have witnessed during the war, the Notebook. When they write,
they follow their own strict code: The prose must be free from emotion, the notes precise and objective.
Original Title Le Grand Cahier
Director
János Szász (WOYZECK)
Cast
Piroska Molnár
László Gyémánt
András Gyémánt
Ulrich Thomsen (THE CELEBRATION)
Ulrich Matthes (DOWNFALL)
Orsolya Tóth (WOMEN WITHOUT MEN)
Péter Andorai
Genre
Drama
Language
Hungarian, German
Length
approx. 100 min
Produced by Intuit Pictures in co- production with
Hunnia Filmstudio, Amour Fou and Dolce
Vita Films, financed by Magyar Filmalap
Zrt., MDM, MBB, MEDIA, Eurimages,
Wiener Filmfund, CNC, DFFF and FISA
Status
in post-production
Territories available
World excluding German speaking territories and
Hungary
Cinematography by Christian Berger (THE WHITE RIBBON, CACHE).
Starring Ulrich Thomsen (THE CELEBRATION, IN A BETTER WORLD, THE INTERNATIONAL)
Based on Agota Kritóf‘s famous novel of the same name (Le Grand Cahier).
upcoming
the girl with nine wigs
by Marc Rothemund
The true story of a young woman whose lust for life means she is determined to be so very much more than just another cancer patient.
Sophie has just started her studies when she is diagnosed with cancer: her world is turned upside down. But
Sophie is a fighter. She wants to live, with everything that goes with life; dreams, parties, laughing, flirting
and having sex. Nine individual wigs become Sophie’s elixir of life. Sometimes courageously wild, erotic
or romantic, depending on the hair color and style, each wig brings another piece of Sophie to the fore. She
escapes from the everyday hospital drudgery, parties wildly with her best girlfriend and falls in love with her
buddy Rob. With humor, courage and a portion of lightheartedness, Sophie extends her middle and gives her
illness the bird!
Original Title Heute bin ich blond
Director
Marc Rothemund
(SOPHIE SCHOLL: THE FINAL DAYS)
Cast
Lisa Tomaschewsky
Karoline Teska
David Rott
Maike Bollow
Peter Prager
Alice Dwyer
Genre
Drama, Comedy
Language
German
Length
approx. 90 min
Produced by Goldkind Film in co-production with Scope
Pictures, Degeto Film and Universum
in post-production
Status
Territories available
World excluding German speaking territories, Benelux
and Taiwan
Based on the bestselling novel translated into 18 languages.
Directed by Academy Award nominated Marc Rothemund (SOPHIE SCHOLL: THE FINAL DAYS).
upcoming
huck finn
by Hermine Huntgeburth
Huck Finn sits prim and proper at the table with widow Douglas and Miss Watson every day, is served by the
obedient house-slave Jim, goes to school and constantly to the church as well. After all, he and his best mate
Tom Sawyer are wealthy boys since they found a treasure during their last adventure. What’s wrong here?
– Right, boys like Tom & Huck are definitely not prim and proper! Huck Finn loves nothing more than being
outdoors in his rain barrel, catch fish and roast it on a stick over the campfire. Shoes, jackets, shirt collars –
what’s all that for? Every time possible they sneak away…but one day it’s all over with the good village life.
Huck’s boozy and greedy father shows up in St. Petersburg. And he’s up to no good! The tramp and
scallywag thinks that the prosperity of his son Huck belongs all to himself. Before the old man can do any
mischief, Huck runs away and Jim joins him as he overhears that Miss Watson sold him to a slave trader.
Based on Mark Twain‘s bestselling novel.
Original Title Die Abenteuer des Huck Finn
Director
Hermine Huntgeburth (THE WHITE MASAI)
Cast
Leon Seidel
Louis Hofmann
Jacky Ido (THE WHITE MASAI)
August Diehl (THE COUNTERFEITERS, SALT)
Heike Makatsch (LOVE ACTUALLY)
Peter Lohmeyer (MIRACLE OF BERN)
Genre
Family Entertainment
Language
German
Length
approx. 100 min
Produced by Neue Schönhauser Filmproduktion in coproduction with Majestic Filmproduktion,
Filmaufbau Leipzig and MMC Independent
in post-production
Status
Territories available
World excluding German speaking territories and
Russia
On a self-made raft they start their exciting adventure down the dangerous river Mississippi all the way
to Cairo and from there to Ohio, a country where slavery is forbidden and Jim can build up a life as a free
man. At least that is the plan. Hunted by Huck’s dad and three ruthless slave-hunters, Huck experiences his
greatest and most dangerous adventure ever.