Co-presented with the Goethe-Instituts in North America

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Stepping from the scorching sun into the delicious shade of a tree canopy is a universal pleasure. But few landscapes are as loaded with meaning as the German forest: the setting for national myths and fairy tales, a motif in Sturm und Drang and romanticism. Intertwined with the concept of Heimat and the country’s Nazi past, the German forest is an ambivalent place, offering beauty and refuge while hiding its traps.

The German Film Office’s online series “Der Wald” presents seven recent films that evoke different aspects of the forest. In some, the forest creates a barrier, a comfort zone that separates its residents from the upheavals of modernity (Wood and Water), societal norms (The Trouble with Being Born), or personal grief (Alaska). But in times of climate change, the forest looms as both a friend and an enemy to city dwellers (Afire). Other films lean into the childish joy of discovering the forest’s secrets (Lene and the Forest Spirits) or the horror of stepping into Germany’s violent past (Sleep, The Silent Forest). Lonely Oaks interrogates the disconnect between the forest as both a sanctuary and a natural resource that can be exploited for profit.

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Presented by the German Film Office in collaboration with the Goethe-Instituts in North America.

Films:
Jonas Bak, Wood and Water (2021)
Fabiana Fragale, Kilian Kuhlendahl, Jens Mühlhoff, Lonely Oaks (2023)
Max Gleschinski, Alaska (2023)
Christian Petzold, Afire (2023)
Dieter Schumann, Lene and the Forest Spirits (2020)
Michael Venus, Sleep (2020)
Saralisa Volm, The Silent Forest (2022)
Sandra Wollner, The Trouble with Being Born (2020)


Wood and Water
Dir. Jonas Bak
With Anke Bak, Ricky Yeung, Alexandra Batten, Patrick Lo, Theresa Bak
Germany/France/Hong Kong, 2021
79 minutes

With seamless grace, director Jonas Bak moves from the tall spires of the Black Forest to the teeming skyscrapers of Hong Kong in his tranquil, deeply moving feature debut. Newly retired from her church job, Anke dreams of spending time with her grown children—including her elusive son Max, who lives in Hong Kong and is unable to join his mother and sister on a family vacation due to the ongoing pro-democracy protests. Watch trailer.

 

Lonely Oaks
Dir. Fabiana Fragale, Kilian Kuhlendahl, Jens Mühlhoff
Germany, 2023
100 minutes

In 2018, the Hambach Forest became the focus of climate policy disputes in Germany as a group of activists settled into self-built tree houses to prevent a mining company from excavating the area. Film student Steffen Meyn spent two years with the occupiers documenting their struggle to protect the forest but fell from a tree while the police were carrying out an eviction order. This documentary by his fellow students is based on the original footage he collected before the fatal accident and includes interviews with former “Hambi” activists. Watch trailer.

 

Alaska
Dir. Max Gleschinski
With Christina Große, Pegah Ferydoni, Milena Dreißig, Karsten Antonio Mielke
Germany, 2023
124 minutes

Kerstin, who nursed her father for twenty years until his recent death, is slowly finding her way back to life as she embarks on a kayak tour through the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau. She keeps to herself and speaks only when necessary—until she meets another woman, Alima, on the water trail. Just as she begins to fall in love, Kerstin’s estranged brother enters the picture with an inheritance dispute. Watch trailer.

 

Afire
Dir. Christian Petzold
With Paula Beer, Thomas Schubert, Langston Uibel, Enno Trebs, Matthias Brandt
Germany, 2023
103 minutes

Christian Petzold’s latest is set against the doomsday backdrop of a seaside town threatened by encroaching wildfires. Leon, a disgruntled novelist, travels with his friend to a vacation home near the beach where he struggles to finish a manuscript. They’re met by an unexpected third house guest, Nadja, whose presence distracts Leon as much as it cringingly exposes his self-obsessed bubble. Watch trailer.

 

Lene and the Forest Spirits
Dir. Dieter Schumann
Germany, 2020
94 minutes

Seven-year-old Lene is not looking forward to her family vacation in the Bavarian Forest. But she quickly makes new friends and with them she discovers the magical world of the forest and its legends. She meets “Forest Obelix,” the quaint park ranger, is mystified by the legend of “Forest Peter”, and experiences new things from turtle racing to spotting luminous moss to talking with cows. A film for the whole family! Watch trailer.

 

Sleep
Dir. Michael Venus
With Gro Swantje Kohlhof, Sandra Hüller, August Schmölzer, Marion Kracht, Max Hubacher
Germany, 2020
100 minutes

This unsettling psychological thriller—described by director Michael Venus as “an antithesis to the German Heimatfilm”—tackles the horrors of the country’s past with folklore and fairytale imagery. Marlene, a woman plagued by inscrutable nightmares, suffers a breakdown. As she is hospitalized, her daughter Mona comes upon a dark family secret that leads her to an isolated hotel in the Odenwald. Watch trailer.

 

The Silent Forest
Dir. Saralisa Volm
With Henriette Confurius, Robert Stadlober, Noah Saavedra, August Zirner
Germany, 2022
95 minutes

Twenty years ago, during a family vacation, Anja’s father disappeared in the woods of the Upper Palatinate. Now, a forestry internship takes her back to the area, and her mapping work unveils suspicious traces on the forest floor. Guided by her intuition and ability to read the soil, Anja strives to uncover her father’s fate—and stumbles into a deep web of lies in the process. Watch trailer.

 

The Trouble with Being Born
Dir. Sandra Wollner
With Lena Watson, Dominik Warta, Ingrid Burkhard, Jana McKinnon
Germany/Austria, 2020
94 minutes

In this eerie work of science fiction, ten-year-old Elli lives with a man who appears to be her father in an isolated house at the edge of the forest. As the languorous days of summer wear on, instances of a stranger, more intimate relationship between the two emerge, and we discover that not all is what it seems in this disquieting idyll. One day, Elli drifts away into the woods and transitions to an entirely new existence. Content warning: This film explores ethical issues that must be considered as we look toward the future of Artificial Intelligence. We nevertheless find it necessary to advise viewers that this film addresses disturbing subject matters including incest and child sexual abuse. Watch trailer.