In 1943, Joseph Goebbels proudly declared Berlin “free of Jews.” Though he did come markedly close to his goal, around 1,700 Jews managed to endure in secret through the war. “The Invisibles” tells the stories of a few of these survivors, bringing their astonishing histories to life in straightforward but consistently compelling fashion.
Director Claus Räfle interviews four Jews who are now in their 90s, all of whom eloquently share their experiences as teenagers in Berlin. Interspersed with their memories are dramatic re-enactments, a risky approach handled with enough skill to add to the film’s depth.
Hanni Weissenberg was an orphan when she was forced, at 17, into a terrifying homelessness. As played in flashback by Alice Dwyer, she dyes her hair blonde and spends her days seeking refuge in movie theaters. Every soldier who flirts with her brings untold danger, but one winds up offering crucial salvation.
Also Read: Claude Lanzmann,...
Director Claus Räfle interviews four Jews who are now in their 90s, all of whom eloquently share their experiences as teenagers in Berlin. Interspersed with their memories are dramatic re-enactments, a risky approach handled with enough skill to add to the film’s depth.
Hanni Weissenberg was an orphan when she was forced, at 17, into a terrifying homelessness. As played in flashback by Alice Dwyer, she dyes her hair blonde and spends her days seeking refuge in movie theaters. Every soldier who flirts with her brings untold danger, but one winds up offering crucial salvation.
Also Read: Claude Lanzmann,...
- 1/23/2019
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
As Summer approaches I always get that same feeling in the pit of my stomach. Gen Con is just around the corner, and I'll soon be immersed in four days of non-stop board gaming fun. Before that though, there's the Spiel des Jahres which is the most prestigious tabletop award a game can get. Put simply, the games that get these awards sell well, and are always a blast to play. Without further ado, here are the nominations for this year's top contenders coupled along with links to buy in case you were interested in trying a few of them out!
Spiel des Jahres award: This is usually the award for the game that's the most family-friendly and or accessible to people who don't typically play tabletop games.
• Azul, by Michael Kiesling from Next Move Games
• Luxor, by Rüdiger Dorn from Queen Games
• The Mind, by Wolfgang Warsch from Nsv...
Spiel des Jahres award: This is usually the award for the game that's the most family-friendly and or accessible to people who don't typically play tabletop games.
• Azul, by Michael Kiesling from Next Move Games
• Luxor, by Rüdiger Dorn from Queen Games
• The Mind, by Wolfgang Warsch from Nsv...
- 5/20/2018
- by Mick Joest
- GeekTyrant
The winners of the 9th Annual Indie Series Awards were revealed on Wednesday, April 4 at The Colony Theatre in Burbank. The ISAs celebrate the best in independently produced entertainment created for the Web.
Top honors went to Giants and How to Buy a Baby, named best drama and best comedy series of the year. Vintage America with Ginger took home the first ever prize for best non-fiction series. Ladies of the Lake led all series with four wins.
Since 2009, the Indie Series Award has honored the most creative and progressive talent in independent web series. The inspirational ceremony was hosted by Emmy winner Patrika Darbo, who took home her first individual Isa for her work in comedy hit Indoor Boys.
A number of soap opera stars who took home ISAs this year, including Arianna Zucker, Ian Buchanan, Kyle Lowder, Alex Wyse and Victoria Rowell (as part of the winning ensemble...
Top honors went to Giants and How to Buy a Baby, named best drama and best comedy series of the year. Vintage America with Ginger took home the first ever prize for best non-fiction series. Ladies of the Lake led all series with four wins.
Since 2009, the Indie Series Award has honored the most creative and progressive talent in independent web series. The inspirational ceremony was hosted by Emmy winner Patrika Darbo, who took home her first individual Isa for her work in comedy hit Indoor Boys.
A number of soap opera stars who took home ISAs this year, including Arianna Zucker, Ian Buchanan, Kyle Lowder, Alex Wyse and Victoria Rowell (as part of the winning ensemble...
- 4/6/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
There are always plenty of Christmas-music roundups this time of year. This one's different. The others usually focus on the newest offerings. Nothing I've gotten this year has really struck a chord, but there is no shortage of favorites from years past that have proven their merits and held up over time. It is those in the classical realm, where trends matter least; and choral, because it's sacred choir music that's at the heart of the celebration of Christmas, that are listed below.
Ancient
If you want some Christmas music you don't already know by heart, just look further back in history.The early music movement of the past half-century has unearthed many long-forgotten masterpieces from the Medieval and Renaissance eras.
Sequentia: Aquitania: Christmas Music from Aquitanian Monasteries (12th century) (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi)
This was Sequentia's second album of Aquitanian Christmas season music, following on the heels of the much-praised Shining Light.
Ancient
If you want some Christmas music you don't already know by heart, just look further back in history.The early music movement of the past half-century has unearthed many long-forgotten masterpieces from the Medieval and Renaissance eras.
Sequentia: Aquitania: Christmas Music from Aquitanian Monasteries (12th century) (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi)
This was Sequentia's second album of Aquitanian Christmas season music, following on the heels of the much-praised Shining Light.
- 12/24/2015
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) never left Germany but became internationally respected by his peers during his lifetime and a symbol of pure musicianship for future generations. A virtuoso organist, harpsichordist, and violinist/violist who may have also played lute, as a composer his mastery of counterpoint and fugal writing remain unmatched, yet he was also open to the influences of contemporary Italian and French composers.
Born into a highly musical family in Eisenach, Germany, Bach became organist at the Neukirche in Arnstadt in 1703 at the age of 18. His first major appointment was as court organist to Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Weimar, in 1708; six years later the Duke made him Concertmaster. In 1717 Bach became Kapellmeister and music director to the music-loving Prince Leopold of Anhalt in Cöthen, where Bach wrote much of his greatest secular music. Bach's duties switched to writing choral and organ music for use in church services...
Born into a highly musical family in Eisenach, Germany, Bach became organist at the Neukirche in Arnstadt in 1703 at the age of 18. His first major appointment was as court organist to Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Weimar, in 1708; six years later the Duke made him Concertmaster. In 1717 Bach became Kapellmeister and music director to the music-loving Prince Leopold of Anhalt in Cöthen, where Bach wrote much of his greatest secular music. Bach's duties switched to writing choral and organ music for use in church services...
- 3/21/2015
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Christine Schäfer/Michael Schade/Andreas Schmidt/Gachinger Kantorei Stuttgart/Bach-Collegium Stuttgart/Helmuth Rilling Haydn: Die Schöpfung (The Creation) Juliane Banse/Ingeborg Danz/Michael Schade/Andreas Schmidt/Gachinger Kantorei Stuttgart/Prague Chamber Choir/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Helmuth Rilling Mendelssohn: Paulus (St. Paul Oratorio) Christine Schäfer/Cornelia Kallisch/Michael Schade/Wolfgang Schöne/Gachinger Kantorei Stuttgart/Bach-Collegium Stuttgart/Helmuth Rilling Mendelssohn: Elias (Elijah)
(all on Hänssler Classic)
These two-disc sets, reissued from now-classic mid-'90s recordings led by legendary choral conductor Helmuth Rilling, boast similar virtues. Primarily, Rilling -- who celebrated his 80th birthday at the end of May -- understands as well as any conductor alive that the key to an oratorio performance that will stand up to repeated straight-through listening is to keep things moving. This might seem obvious when dealing with works clocking in upwards of two hours, yet the recording catalogs are littered with renditions that drag because their...
(all on Hänssler Classic)
These two-disc sets, reissued from now-classic mid-'90s recordings led by legendary choral conductor Helmuth Rilling, boast similar virtues. Primarily, Rilling -- who celebrated his 80th birthday at the end of May -- understands as well as any conductor alive that the key to an oratorio performance that will stand up to repeated straight-through listening is to keep things moving. This might seem obvious when dealing with works clocking in upwards of two hours, yet the recording catalogs are littered with renditions that drag because their...
- 6/20/2013
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
A late-Romantic composer who occasionally worked in a more modern style, Alexander Zemlinsky (October 14, 1871 – March 15, 1942) was something of a prodigy. Anton Bruckner was among his teachers. Brahms, impressed by the Symphony in D and a quartet, recommended Zemlinsky to Simrock, Brahms's publisher and arranged a stipend for the young composer. Zemlinsky was friends with the slightly younger Arnold Schoenberg and taught him counterpoint (in which Brahms had tutored Zemlinsky); Schoenberg later married Zemlinsky's sister.
The connection to Schoenberg (who studied music with no-one else) probably contributed to the revival of Zemlinsky's music, which was largely forgotten in the decades after the Nazis drove the Jewish composer first from Germany back to his native Vienna, and then to America, where he found none of the success Schoenberg achieved in exile.
A few choice volumes Decca's Entartete Musik series ("decadent music," the Nazis' phrase for music they found insufficiently Aryan or overly...
The connection to Schoenberg (who studied music with no-one else) probably contributed to the revival of Zemlinsky's music, which was largely forgotten in the decades after the Nazis drove the Jewish composer first from Germany back to his native Vienna, and then to America, where he found none of the success Schoenberg achieved in exile.
A few choice volumes Decca's Entartete Musik series ("decadent music," the Nazis' phrase for music they found insufficiently Aryan or overly...
- 10/14/2011
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Henry Of Navarre (aka Henri 4)
Stars: Julien Boisselier, Joachim Król, Andreas Schmidt | Written and directed by Jo Baier
Two of the greatest perils of being a noble in the later 16th-century France were marrying into the Valois royal family and being called Henry. Henri IV, or Henry of Navarre, was in trouble on both counts. The German French-language film Henry of Navarre, aka Henri 4, directed by Jo Baier, presents the bloodthirsty tale of a king many believed to be the saviour of France. Although, judging by the amount of time he spends going from fight to fight and romping with buxom beauties, it’s surprising he had the time.
Henri 4, the Protestant Huguenot King of Navarre is married off to Margot, the daughter of Catherine de Medici who is also the mother of the king and his miscreant and conniving brothers. Catherine marks the occasion of her...
Stars: Julien Boisselier, Joachim Król, Andreas Schmidt | Written and directed by Jo Baier
Two of the greatest perils of being a noble in the later 16th-century France were marrying into the Valois royal family and being called Henry. Henri IV, or Henry of Navarre, was in trouble on both counts. The German French-language film Henry of Navarre, aka Henri 4, directed by Jo Baier, presents the bloodthirsty tale of a king many believed to be the saviour of France. Although, judging by the amount of time he spends going from fight to fight and romping with buxom beauties, it’s surprising he had the time.
Henri 4, the Protestant Huguenot King of Navarre is married off to Margot, the daughter of Catherine de Medici who is also the mother of the king and his miscreant and conniving brothers. Catherine marks the occasion of her...
- 7/4/2011
- by Kate
- Nerdly
Cologne, Germany -- Veteran TV producer Thilo Kleine has been named co-managing director at VIP Medienfonds joining Tilo Seiffert to run the German private equity fund.
VIP has invested nearly $1 billion in over 50 feature films since its founding in 1989, including Tom Tykwer's "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer," Paul Verhoeven's "Black Book" and Todd Haynes' Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There."
But when German tax authorities took aim at the country's film funds, VIP, the largest private fund, became a poster child for corporate malfeasance. One of the fund's founders, Andreas Schmidt, was imprisoned for tax evasion and other crimes.
Since then, VIP has gone through several bosses. Seiffert took up the reigns last year, replacing Thierry Potok. Potok in turn took over in 2008 from Peter H. Riedel, who replaced Dirk Specht and held the job for less than a year.
VIP has invested nearly $1 billion in over 50 feature films since its founding in 1989, including Tom Tykwer's "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer," Paul Verhoeven's "Black Book" and Todd Haynes' Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There."
But when German tax authorities took aim at the country's film funds, VIP, the largest private fund, became a poster child for corporate malfeasance. One of the fund's founders, Andreas Schmidt, was imprisoned for tax evasion and other crimes.
Since then, VIP has gone through several bosses. Seiffert took up the reigns last year, replacing Thierry Potok. Potok in turn took over in 2008 from Peter H. Riedel, who replaced Dirk Specht and held the job for less than a year.
- 10/11/2010
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Berlin – "John Rabe," an historic biopic about the German business man who saved 200,000 Chinese civilians from the Nanking massacre, is the front runner for this year's German Film Awards – or Lolas – with seven nominations.
The film's nominations include best film, best director for Florian Gallenberger and a best actor for star Ulrich Tukur as Rabe.
Steve Buscemi also picked up a nomination as best supporting actor for his role as an idealistic American doctor who helps Rabe. It was one of the few Lola nominations ever given to a non-German actor.
Uli Edel's Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated terrorist drama "The Baader Meinhof Complex" picked up four Lola noms, including best film and best actress for Johanna Wokalek.
"Chiko," a gangster movie by first time director Ozgur Yildirim, surprised many by also nabbing a best film nom along with ones for Yildirim's screenplay, for lead actor Denis Moschitto and for editor Sebastian Thumler.
The film's nominations include best film, best director for Florian Gallenberger and a best actor for star Ulrich Tukur as Rabe.
Steve Buscemi also picked up a nomination as best supporting actor for his role as an idealistic American doctor who helps Rabe. It was one of the few Lola nominations ever given to a non-German actor.
Uli Edel's Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated terrorist drama "The Baader Meinhof Complex" picked up four Lola noms, including best film and best actress for Johanna Wokalek.
"Chiko," a gangster movie by first time director Ozgur Yildirim, surprised many by also nabbing a best film nom along with ones for Yildirim's screenplay, for lead actor Denis Moschitto and for editor Sebastian Thumler.
- 3/13/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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