Cinema

Goethe on demand
“Longing / Belonging” in Films

How have filmmakers realized the theme of belonging? What can we as viewers learn from them? Experience our new film series on Goethe on Demand.

Serienfieber Illustration einer Hand mit Fernbedienung

German TV-Series in Canada
Binge Fever!

Television “Made in Germany” is having a golden moment with the rise of international streaming services. German series that appeal to global audiences through smart and original writing, diverse themes, talented lineups and opulent productions have never received so much attention.

Streaming
Goethe on Demand

On Goethe on Demand, the streaming platform of the Goethe-Institut, we present a variety of online film programs, film festivals and film series that can be streamed from home.

Film archive

Our film archive contains more than 650 films in DVD format (PAL). Films can be rented for non commercial screenings by educational institutions, such as schools, colleges and universities, as well as cultural institutions, such as art galleries, cinematheques and museums.

100 years Loriot

Vicco von Bülow found the ideal sketch partner in Evelyn Hamann, the two appearing together in sketches and films for over 30 years: “Renate, let us move over to the three-piece suite!”

100 Years of Loriot
There Used to Be More Tinsel

For decades, Vicco von Bülow – better known as Loriot – made people in Germany laugh, many quotes from his sketches becoming popular sayings. This year he would have turned 100.

Festivals

Dennis Vetter is film critic, moderator and program curator, as well as co-founder of “Woche der Kritik” in Berlin, the Berlin Critics’ Week. Since 2020 he is the artistic director and part of the curatorial team. Mathieu Li-Goyette is a Montreal-based film critic, film curator and editor-in-chief of online film-magazine Panorama-cinéma.

Interview with Dennis Vetter and Mathieu Li-Goyette
The Joys Of Debating

Dennis Vetter, co-founder of Woche der Kritik in Berlin and Montreal-based film critic, film curator and editor-in-chief of online film-magazine "Panorama-cinéma" Mathieu Li-Goyette in conversation about how debates can be an essential part of film programming.

Berlinale Blogger*innen 2024

“We are particularly proud of this year’s selection which achieves the best possible balance between auteurs we cherish and admire and powerful new voices in the independent cinema landscape,“ says Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director, about the nominated Berlinale films. Germany's largest film festival will take place in Berlin from 15 to 25 February 2024. Our bloggers from around the world will be reporting on new films and the people behind them, impressions of the German capital, awards ceremonies and more. Read along!

Picture Palace
TIFF23 & beyond: German Actors Go Global

The 48th TIFF boasted 14 German films—or 20+, depending on how you define ‘German Film’.

Illustration: Tobias Schrank © Goethe-Institut

Berlinale Bloggers 2023

A constantly evolving Festival: This is how the 73rd Berlinale, which ran from 16 to 26 February 2023, described itself. Our bloggers from nine countries were also curiously moving back and forth between the film festival's cinemas – and presenting their highlights from a selection of more than 400 films.

Sofía Otero in “20.000 especies de abejas”. Director: Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren

Berlinale 2023
A few surprises at the end of the festival

The audience is back, Steven Spielberg does a dance, and the Golden Bear goes to a French documentary film. What else has been happening at the Berlinale?

Vicky Krieps in “Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert” by Margarethe von Trotta

Berlinale 2023
The beautiful dawn of normality

Hollywood stars will be there, the competition includes 19 films from 19 countries, and Kristen Stewart is president of the International Jury – what more do you need to pique your interest in the Berlinale?

“Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush“ by Andreas Dresen

Berlinale 2022
Not a festival of unadulterated joy

The Berlinale is set to go ahead as an in-presence event in the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, despite rising infection rates. That casts a shadow over the anticipation of a promising festival programme.

„Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn“ by Radu Jude, Golden Bear for Best Film, Berlinale 2021

Berlinale 2021
The streaming Berlinale takes the pulse of our times

The Berlinale's first online competition features powerful contemporary cinema, with the winning film resonating with our current state of mind.

„Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn“ by Radu Jude, Berlinale 2021, Competition

Berlinale 2021
A Festival in Tricky Times

A digital industry event in March, an audience event in June – this year's Berlinale has to tread unconventional paths due to the pandemic. It is all the more important that it is being held nonetheless.

Red Carpet in front of the Berlinale Palace

Berlinale 2020
Winds of change and fresh faces at Potsdamer Platz

Some big changes are coming to Germany's biggest and biggest-name film festival this year. Here’s the lowdown on what’s new at the Berlinale 2020.

Award ceremony 2019: Festival Director Dieter Kosslick with award winners and jury members

Berlinale 2019
Farewell, controversies, and some amazing films

The last Berlinale under Dieter Kosslick has come to an end: with an unusually meticulously-conceived competition – and heated debates.

Léonore Ekstrand im Wettbewerbsfilm „Toppen av ingenting“ von Axel Petersén und Måns Månsson

Berlinale Blogger 2018
Seven things you need to know about the Berlinale

Spectacular, forgotten, memorable and utopian: Why the Berlinale is what it is.

Film Scene

Sandra Hüller bSandra Hüller at the 96th Oscars Nominees Luncheoneim 96.Oscars Nominees Luncheon

Picture Palace
A portrait of the versatile and exceptional actor Sandra Hüller

She has gained international recognition in recent years and is one of Germany’s most celebrated female actors. In just one year, she embodied three radically different characters on screen and is now nominated for an Oscar for her role in Anatomy of a Fall.

Poster "All Quiet on the Western Front" in the rain

Oscars 2023
"All Quiet on the Western Front" – except at this year’s Oscars

A German picture picked up four gold statuettes at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. And with that, Edward Berger’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Im Westen nichts Neues) has made film history.

Interview with Tucké Royale
On Daydreams and Just the Right Pen

To grasp all of Tucké Royale’s artistic work, take a deep breath. Sascha Ehlert gives it a try.

Monika Treut’s film “Von Mädchen und Pferden” about two lesbian girls in the German-Danish border region.

LGBTQI+
“Queer Cinema belongs to the mainstream here”

Monika Treut is considered to be one of the pioneers of Queer Cinema. In this interview the film director and producer talks about positive developments in western societies, repressive trends and things that aren’t quite running as they should.

Werner Herzog on Goethe on demand
The Epitome of an Auteur Film Director

Most people only know Werner Herzog as the crazy director who worked with the insane and highly controversial actor Klaus Kinski. On September 5, 2022, he turned 80 years old. The Goethe-Institut honors him with a film series on Goethe on Demand.

Scene from the movie “Buddenbrooks”: The elaborate historical costumes were designed by Barbara Baum, who has been working as a costume designer in the film industry for about 50 years.

Film production
Women Behind the Cinematic Scenes

While the public can recite the names of famous German actresses, the women behind the camera often go unrecognised. We introduce ten women from the German film scene everyone should know.

Filming goes green: the ecological message of many films is now coming true behind the scenes.

A Sustainable Film Industry
The Show Must Go Green

Many films and documentaries explore environmental issues or call for a more sustainable lifestyle. Is the industry living up to its own values though, and just how green is German film?

“Love Steaks” by Jakob Lass | © daredo, BeMovie

Independent film production
German filmmakers Explore New Avenues

More and more German filmmakers are exploring new avenues – off the beaten track of traditional fundraising and conventional cinema – and with success.

An Interview with Michael Ballhaus
“My Film School Was The Cinema”

As a cameraman Michael Ballhaus made cinema history. At the 2016 Berlinale he is going to be awarded an Honorary Golden Bear. An interview with the born-and-bred Berliner about his career.

Cinema History in Germany
From Kintopp to Multiplex

The first films in Germany were screened 120 years ago – in the ballroom of a restaurant in Berlin. Since then, the venues in which we view films have changed constantly.

Actress Laura Tonke and Hans Löw in “Hedi Schneider steckt fest” (2015) by Sonja Heiss

Profession Film Actor
Appearance and Reality

Many young Germans find the idea of becoming a film actor very appealing. Movie stars, it would appear, live glamorous lives. Yet success in this business depends not only on talent and personality.

Film Series

Montreal
Achtung Film!

Achtung Film!, the Goethe-Institut’s monthly film series, will be presented every month at the Cinématèque québécoise in Montreal. The focus remains contemporary German cinema in all its diversity and richness, from fiction to documentary, established to emerging filmmakers, from entertaining to challenging films.

Hello Again - Ein Tag für Immer, dir. Maggie Peren | Alicia von Rittberg

Ottawa
Goethe-Cinema

Goethe-Cinema, the Goethe-Institut Ottawa’s monthly film series, will be presented monthly at the University of Ottawa (Hamelin Hall, 70 Av. Laurier East):

Blog

Montreal
Überblog

The "Überblog" of the Goethe-Institut Montreal contains, among other things, a number of reviews matching the film programme.

Top

Cinema

Goethe on demand “Longing / Belonging” in Films

German TV-Series in Canada Binge Fever!

Streaming Goethe on Demand

Film archive

100 years Loriot

100 Years of Loriot There Used to Be More Tinsel

Festivals

Interview with Dennis Vetter and Mathieu Li-Goyette The Joys Of Debating

Berlinale Blogger*innen 2024

Picture Palace TIFF23 & beyond: German Actors Go Global

Berlinale Bloggers 2023

Berlinale 2023 A few surprises at the end of the festival

Berlinale 2023 The beautiful dawn of normality

Berlinale 2022 Not a festival of unadulterated joy

Berlinale 2021 The streaming Berlinale takes the pulse of our times

Berlinale 2021 A Festival in Tricky Times

Berlinale 2020 Winds of change and fresh faces at Potsdamer Platz

Berlinale 2019 Farewell, controversies, and some amazing films

Berlinale Blogger 2018 Seven things you need to know about the Berlinale

Film Scene

Picture Palace A portrait of the versatile and exceptional actor Sandra Hüller

Oscars 2023 "All Quiet on the Western Front" – except at this year’s Oscars

Interview with Tucké Royale On Daydreams and Just the Right Pen

LGBTQI+ “Queer Cinema belongs to the mainstream here”

Werner Herzog on Goethe on demand The Epitome of an Auteur Film Director

Film production Women Behind the Cinematic Scenes

A Sustainable Film Industry The Show Must Go Green

Independent film production German filmmakers Explore New Avenues

An Interview with Michael Ballhaus “My Film School Was The Cinema”

Cinema History in Germany From Kintopp to Multiplex

Profession Film Actor Appearance and Reality