Where: TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King Street W
When: Dealer, October 3 at 6:30pm, Chiko, October 8 at 6:30pm, and Stronger Than Blood, October 10 at 6:30pm. Presented with English subtitles.
Cost: $10 at TIFF Bell Lightbox in person or by phone (day of sales only) or online (as of 10 days prior to screening). NOTE: All Goethe Films are open to audiences 18+.
Details: The Goethe-Institut Toronto proudly presents its powerful and thrilling October film series, Stronger Than Blood, featuring three outstanding and complex German gangster films over the last two decades. Dealer (1999) by Thomas Arslan, Chiko (2008) by Ozgur Yildirim, and Stronger Than Blood (2009) by Oliver Kienle.
O ver the last 20 years, a thriller sub-genre of gangster films has carved out a popular and critically acclaimed niche in German cinema. Some films tell hard-hitting street crime stories, some are tender explorations of inner-city life and love. All introduce us to fresh, complex characters that appeal to audiences well beyond their own worlds as they navigate conscience, honour, and responsibility for their actions.
In this exhilarating new Goethe Film Series, the three genre-based films featured are multi-award winning and contain some of Germany’s top artists before they were stars. These films tell heartbreaking stories through the eyes of immigrants, from a male perspective.
Dealer, written and directed by Thomas Arslan and winner of the Fipresci Prize, is based on an intimate portrait of a young Turkish man and his rising career in crime and features some of Germany’s top film actors, Tamer Ygit, Idil Üner (Short Sharp Shock), and Birol Ünel (Head-On). Chiko, Özgur Yildirim’s debut film, is critically acclaimed, multi-award winning, and set in four Arab blocks of Berlin. It tells the story of a man who must choose between a life of crime and a life of friendship and loyalty. Stronger Than Blood, the final film in the series, is a multi-award winning and entertaining film about a young man’s journey in the drug trade and features an all-star cast of Jacob Matschenz (Never Look Away), Burak Yiğit (Victoria), Aylin Tezel (7500) and Liv Lisa Fries (lead in Babylon Berlin).
Curated by programmer Jutta Brendemühl, Goethe-Institut Toronto actively promotes an ongoing dialogue and exchange between Canadian and German artists and critics. Goethe-Institut Toronto brings the best in contemporary German culture to Canada, seen through a global lens and across the genres. R anging from features to docs, shorts to animation, drama to comedy, and the experimental to international, the Goethe Film Series offers film lovers the opportunity to see a top selection of German contemporary arthouse film in Toronto’s premier cinema.
More Info: www.goethe.de/canada/germanfilm @GoetheToronto