From April 5th – April 24th, the Vancity Theatre will be showing the movie “Lore” (Australia, Germany, 2012, 109 mins), directed by Cate Shortland.
At the end of World War II, after their parents, both loyal Nazis and SS officers, have been interred by the Allies, a group of German children starts a journey through the devastated country. Their goal is to find their grandmother living in the north. The 14-year old Lore (Saskia Rosendahl), which is the eldest of the siblings, leads the group on this eye-opening journey which confronts the children with the consequences of their parents’ actions and reality.
“A lyrical, deeply affecting study into a rarely seen legacy of the Holocaust.” – Megan Lehmann, The Hollywood Reporter
“Intense and emotional. Saskia Rosendahl is mesmerizing.” – Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
“Shortland’s brilliant new film is an unsettling coming-of-age story that renders its judgement on Germany’s crimes and strange aftermath of the war.” – George Robinson, The Jewish Week
April 05 6:30pm
April 06 8:45pm
April 07 7:30pm
April 09 8:45pm
April 24 6:30pm
On the occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day, the movies “Hitler’s Children” and “Return to Reichenbach” will be shown.
“Hitler’s Children” (Israel, 2011, 59 mins, directed by Chanoch Zevi) tells about the descendants of the most powerful persons in the Nazi regime. What does it mean to them to live with a name that will always be associated with one of the most horrible crimes in history?
“Quiet, simple and soaked in sorrow.” Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
“Hitler’s Children was a film that had almost everything. It informed, it surprised, it made me think. Is killing just one or two people more acceptable than killing seven or eight? Where are the boundaries of love and forgiveness? Are there any, even?” John Crace, The Guardian
April 07 6:15pm
The documentary “Return to Reichenbach” (Canada, 2012, 56 mins, directed by Maureen Kelleher) tells about the stories of Mania, as a child orphaned by Hitler’s regime, and Johanna, a Nazi guard that protected her. Many years after the end of World War II, both women meet again in Toronto.
April 07 4:30pm
Moon Man – directed by Stephan Schesch
At the Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth, which will be held from April 12th – April 19th in Vancouver, the new animation feature “Moon Man” (Ireland, France, Germany) by Stephan Schesch will be shown.
Children love him! Moon Man is for them not just a fertile imagination, he’s real.
Sitting on the moon in his lonely silver sphere, Moon Man doesn’t know how much they miss him. Suddenly, in one special night, a shooting star appears in space, right towards the moon. At this moment, Moon Man notices his chance to escape from the lonely moon. He hitches a ride to earth on the shooting star. When the President hears about the unexpected incoming visitation, he is totally upset.
Now, after he has just conquered nearly everything on earth and defeated everyone who stands in his way of becoming powerful, this space attack would destroy everything of his evil plan of world domination. Being attacked by aliens from another planet wasn’t part of his evil plan. That’s why his alarm bells are ringing! The only solution the President has is to escape.
Meanwhile Moon Man goes on a long journey, marveling at the many wonders the world has to offer and realizing how much children love and need him.
Based on the bestselling book by Tomi Ungerer. The film’s well-chosen moon tunes include Louis Armstrong’s Moon River.
Opening Night Friday April 12, 6:30 PM
Sunday April 14, 11:00 AM
and Wednesday April 17, 10:00 AM
Wunderkinder – directed by Marcus O.Rosenmüller
Another German film that will be shown at the Reel to Real International Film Festival in April, is the stirring drama “Wunderkinder” (Germany) by Marcus O. Rosenmüller.
1941 – when the „German Luftwaffe“ is bombing the Russian Army, suddenly everything changes. In Ukraine, three exceptionally gifted children, united by their love of music, must protect each other in order to survive. Two of them are Jewish. This creates some problems for their friendship. Nevertheless, they swear each other to be best friends for their whole life, whatever will happen. Due to the situation they are exposed to, they become unintentionally enemies. But their three fates weld them together.
One German officer wants them to prove their talents – they have to play for their lives! If they play a concert without making any mistake, he will make sure that they stay alive for the sake of culture. To manage the situation, their friendship gives them courage and their music is their power. A stirring story which shows that music can bring people closer together and about the meaning of friendship.
The film won at the Jerusalem International Film Festival, and with winning three awards it was the most successful film at the Giffoni Film Festival in Italy.
Saturday April 13, 6:30 PM
Wednesday April 17, 12:00 PM
From March 15th – March 24th, the Vancity 
Theatre will be showing the German movie “Barbara” (Germany, 2012, directed by Christian Petzold).
The young physician named Barbara who lives in what is still East Germany has the dream to move to West Germany to live with her lover. Therefore, she gets transferred for disciplinary reasons from East Berlin to a provincial hospital. She is experiencing being under permanent observation of the Stasi and being punished for every moment where the Stasi does not know where she is or what she is doing.
At the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in February 2012, the movie won the ‘Silver Bear for Best Director’.
“Barbara is a film about the old Germany from one of the best directors working in the new: Christian Petzold. For more than a decade Mr. Petzold has been making his mark on the international cinema scene with smart, tense films that resemble psychological thrillers, but are distinguished by their strange story turns, moral thorns, visual beauty and filmmaking intelligence.” Manohla Dargis, New York Times
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