Reading & Film Screening
The Trial (1963, 120 min) directed by Orson Welles

100 Years of Kafka

Wednesday, 11.12.2024 at 6 PM
6:00 PM IST Goethe-Institut Colombo

Join us this Wednesday, 11 December for a special screening of 'The Trial' (1963, 120 min), directed by the legendary Orson Welles and based on Franz Kafka’s novel.

Special Announcement
At 5 PM, before the screening, Prof. Asoka Mendis de Zoysa will guide a walk-through of the exhibition 'Komplett Kafka' (Completely Kafka), currently on view here at the Goethe-Institut. No registration needed—just meet us in front of the library!

Program for the rest of the night (6 PM onwards)
Introduction by Prof. Asoka de Zoysa
A reading from the Sinhala translation of The Trial, performed by Nimka Udapola
Film Screening 'The Trial' (1963, 120 min)

About the film
Franz Kafka is certainly not one of the easiest writers in the world on whose work a film could be made. The Trial stands out in the category of screen adaptation of one of the world’s classics. Due to the excellent cast and the extraordinary personality of Orson Welles which is reflected in very angle and shot of the film, The Trial was highly praised by the press. The Trial was made in black and white to emphasize Kafka’s metaphysics and Welle’s Babylonian expressionism. The film is based on Kafka’s obsession with a mysterious justice, a latent feeling of guilt, which after Kafka, was to become one of the roots of modern literature. An amusing note about The Trial is that it was Romy Schneider’s idea that besides directing and writing the script, Orson Welles should also act in the film.