Goethe celebrates Pride
Queer as German Folk

“Wir sind nun einmal anders, als die andern,
Die nur im Gleichschritt der Moral geliebt,
Neugierig erst durch tausend Wunder wandern,
Und für die 's doch nur das Banale gibt.
Wir aber wissen nicht, wie das Gefühl ist,
Denn wir sind alle andrer Welten Kind;
Wir lieben nur die lila Nacht, die schwül ist,
Weil wir ja anders als die andern sind.” - Das Lila Lied

Considered one of the first queer anthems, the 1920 cabaret tune Das Lila Lied or The Lavender Song hints at an underground world of queer folk. The Goethe-Institut New Zealand is proud to bring kiwi audiences a fresh, global take on the queer experience through a series of pride events with something for everyone!

Queer Cinema. The Goethe-Institut will celebrate queer stories on screen. There will be screenings of No Hard Feelings, Cocoon and Tackling Life in Wellington, Auckland and New Plymouth.

In the powerful, semi-biographical No Hard Feelings, director Faraz Shariat unfolds a tale of intense first love and offers a sensitive insight into the experience of migrants in Germany caught between feeling foreign, being excluded and obtaining the permanent right to stay, and shows how even subsequent generations are still in the process of arriving.

Realistic and taking on the protagonist Nora’s perspective, Cocoon captures a summer of change in the microcosm of Berlin-Kreuzberg.

Tackling Life is a rousing portrait of a rugby team sweating, celebrating, laughing and crying together, winning and losing. It is about the joy, after years of searching, of finally finding a community where you can be who you really want to be.

Entry is free and prior registration is essential. All films will be screened with English subtitles.

For venues, screening times and further details, please check here.

Queer as German Folk is an exhibition offering new perspectives on queer culture in Germany and the world. The installation was developed by the Goethe-Institut New York alongside curators Brigit Bosold and Carina Klugbauer from the Schwules (Queer) Museum in Berlin. It explores all kinds of queer resistance from the Feminist movement in East Germany, to Marriage Equality and the fight for trans * rights in Germany today. The travelling exhibition has already been well received in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Mexico City, Montreal, Toronto and Guadalajara; Mexico. The Goethe-Institut New Zealand is proud to give Queer as German Folk its first outing in a kiwi city, Wellington, the home of the world’s queerest Parliament.

Queer as German Folk will open on Friday 5th March 5:30pm at the Goethe-Institut in Wellington, 150 Cuba St, level 6, entrance Garrett St. Please register by email via info.wellington@goethe.de if you intend to attend the opening event. The exhibition runs until 1 April. It will be open to the public Monday - Thursday 12-6pm. It will also be open over the Cuba Dupa Weekend, 27 and 28 March, Saturday and Sunday 12-6pm.

Queer Comic Conversations. What are the joys and challenges queer and trans people experience in today’s world? Queer Comic Conversations is a visual-bilingual collaboration between two trans talents from opposite corners of the globe, exploring German, kiwi and global queer lives. The Goethe-Institut New Zealand is delighted to launch the print version of a new comic by Illi Anna Heger and Sam Orchard. Hosted at the Goethe-Institut, the event will include a conversation between both artists, with Illi joining us from a distance.

Queer Comic Conversations will be launched as a booklet on Friday 26th March at 6pm at the Goethe-Institut 150 Cuba Street. Entry is free and the comic will be on sale on the night.

Illi Anna Heger is a queer artist from Germany who explores their identity through autobiographical comics as well as writing queer theory and journalism. Since 2009, they (xier) have been developing a new German grammar which makes space for queer and non-binary folk within the traditionally gendered language.

Sam Orchard is a kiwi artist and illustrator of Australian extraction. He is best known for his long-running, popular web-comic Rooster Tails, short, observational comics on his life as a transman in Aotearoa New Zealand. Sam has been working in youth and community development for over a decade and has worked on a number of significant national campaigns in that time. His work is often focused on making complex ideas (and identities) accessible to a wide audience. He is the current director of the Same Same But Different festival showcasing queer writers and writing.