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Déjà Vu – Film e. V.
c/o Josef K. Jünger
Hofäckerstraße 38
76139 Karlsruhe
0721/9709491
Office: 0721/691239
Email: karlsruher-stummfilmtage@web.de
Tax-Nr.: 35022/22179 (Karlsruhe-City)
VAT-ID-Nr.: DE264743604
Karlsruhe, 27 November 2014
Press Release
13th Karlsruhe Silent Film Festival
The 13th Silent Film Festival is taking place from 18 to 22 March 2015.
As the Centre for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe is being renovated and prepared for the
city’s anniversary, this year’s festival will be hosted by the Academic Film Club on the campus of
the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). For the first time, the screenings will also take place
at the Kinemathek Karlsruhe. The 13th Karlsruhe Silent Film Festival is organised by Déjà Vu –
Film e.V. in cooperation with the Kinemathek Karlsruhe e. V..
The main programme is titled “History and Film”
For the first time, the festival already starts on Wednesday evening and contains 19 programmes,
giving silent film fans the possibility to watch at least four programmes a day from Thursday to
Sunday.
Two of these programmes are organised by the by the universities of Heidelberg and Strasbourg
in the range of their INTERREG project “The Upper Rhine in Utility Films”. The classic “Wege
zu Kraft und Schönheit” will presumably be one of these two films.
The main programme presents classics like “Madame Dubarry” by Ernst Lubitsch. This film
depicts historic reality quite freely, as it is based on an operetta that largely adapted reality to the
requirements of an operetta. The festival will focus on films that take up the 19th century social
conflicts. These will probably be “Die Weber” (The Weavers) by Friedrich Zelnik and
“Germinal” – a unique early film based on Zola’s work by Albert Capellani. Another focus will
be put on films from the time period of World War One and films about these times. We will
probably show “Das Tagebuch des Dr. Hart” by Paul Leni and “Heimkehr” by Joe May and in
some programmes viewers will be able to watch newsreels from the mentioned time period.
Board: 1. Chairman and Artistic Director/Managing Director: Josef K. Jünger
2. Chairman: Stefanie Tieste, 3. Chairman: Halil Kekilli
Account Nr. 108 086 794, Sparkasse Karlsruhe, Sort code 660 501 01
IBAN: DE21 6605 0101 010867094 BIC: KARSDE66XXX
One day of the festival will be especially reserved for one of the directors of this year’s collegium,
Nicholas Baer, PhD candidate of Prof. Dr. Anton Kaes from the University of California,
Berkeley, will present films that demonstrate typical narrative styles of the cinema.
The programme includes one of the most renowned German classics: “Das Cabinet des Dr.
Caligari”. We will show the first digitally restored version that premiered at the last Berlinale.
Two other films will also be shown this day: “Sodom und Gomorrha” by Mihàly Kertész, who
changed his name to Michael Curtiz after his emigration to the USA and is known to many as
director of “Casablanca”. Buster Keaton does not need to be introduced. We will show “Three
Ages”: Buster’s adventures in three different ages.
Friday, 20 March 2015, will be the “Karlsruhe Day” of the 13th Silent Film Festival. We will
present the results of the project “Cinema in Karlsruhe in 1915” and will show films that could
be seen in Karlsruhe cinemas in 1915. On 15 September 1915, the Residenz-Theater screened
“Der fremde Vogel”, starring Asta Nielsen and “Der Stolz der Firma”, with Ernst Lubitsch.
Fortunately, these films could be preserved and can be screened. However, many, a great many
films that had been in Karlsruhe cinemas in 1915, can’t be shown anymore, because about 80%
of all films from this time are irretrievably lost. We will present a certain kind of film: the socalled “diva film”. Stars like the aforementioned Asta Nielsen, the Italian actresses Lyda Borelli
and Francesca Bertini as well as Henny Porten and the French stars Suzanne Grandais and
Yvette Andreyor will be represented with films. We will probably also show one episode of the
series “Protea”, featuring a female protagonist which was extremely rare at this time.
Within the frame of a partnership project, the ensemble ARK4 from Nancy will come to
Karlsruhe to accompany the expressionist film “Von Morgens bis Mitternachts”(From morn to
midnight) with electronic and jazzy music during the film concert.
We will, of course, resume the successful Culinary Cinema and the Children’s Cinema. These
programmes will consist of two classics: With Murnauer’s “Tabu” we will serve a slightly exotic
menu. The Children’s Cinema celebrates its 10th anniversary with the same film it started with ten
years ago: “Dornröschen” (The Sleeping Beauty) by Paul Leni.
Within the programme “100 years” we will probably present two episodes of the series “Les
Vampires”. Thus, after the detective series “Fantômas” was shown in 2013, a new incredibly
thrilling crime series by Louis Feuillade will be screened again.
All programme information is non-binding
Musicians of the Festival:
ARK4, ensemble from Nancy: “Von Morgens bis Mitternachts”
Andreas Benz: “Das Tagebuch des Dr. Hart” and another programme
Günter Buchwald, Freiburg: “Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari”, “Die Weber”
Günter Buchwald and ensemble: “Germinal”
Cornelia Brugger and the orchestra “Capella Obscura”, programmes on 15.09.15: “Der Fremde
Vogel”, “Der Stolz der Firma”
Frieder Egri: “Dornröschen” (together with children ensembles of Karlsruhe’s music school
Badisches Konservatorium) and presumably “The Three Ages”
Stephen Horne: probably “Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit“ and another programme
Karlsruhe’s improvisation ensemble: “Tabu”
KONS Badisches Konservatorium, children ensembles directed by Sylvia Jürges:
„Dornröschen“ (Sleeping Beauty, Little Briar-Rose)
Gael Mevel, Paris: probably „Les Vampires“ and „Heimkehr“
The Silent Film Festival Karlsruhe is organised in cooperation by Déjà Vu – Film e.V. and
Kinemathek Karlsruhe e.V.
Ordering of festival passes and accreditations will soon be possible via our website:
www.stummfilmfestival-karlsruhe.de.
Released for publication with immediate effect.
On behalf of the festival team:
Josef K. Jünger
Artistic Director
Silent Film Festival Karlsruhe