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IT’S CALLED CINEMA, BABY, LOOK IT UP — “SELECTS”, THE FREE STREAMING PROGRAM FROM KINEMATHEK

IT’S CALLED CINEMA, BABY, LOOK IT UP — “SELECTS”, THE FREE STREAMING PROGRAM FROM KINEMATHEK

In Berlin, November is the month when it feels like there are only three hours of light a day, but you haven’t yet been able to eat all the gingerbread you can find. In other words, the best conditions for spending time with movies on your own sofa. For all those who are as bored as I am with the offerings of the usual streaming services, Deutsche Kinemathek has been providing a remedy for some time now. The curated online program, Kinemathek “Selects“, is sorted by theme and regularly presents a small but fine selection from its own collection. Free to stream, in full length and quality. And what a collection it is! Cinema meets art and vice versa. After thematic blocks such as “A Long Hot Summer” and “Female Perspectives”, the current curation of the sixth edition is dedicated entirely to a look behind the scenes of filmmaking to mark the 60th anniversary of the Kinemathek institution. Cinema on Cinema: camera, editing, extras. Nine works by greats such as Harun Farocki, Ulrich Schamoni and Thomas Brasch suck you off the couch and straight into the fantastic fictional world of film. All films are available online until January 14. And will then certainly be replaced by a new, equally worthwhile edition.

Text: Hilka Dirks / Credit: Deutsche Kinemathek; DEFA-Stiftung & Horst Bluemel

Click here for streaming.

@deutschekinemathek

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OF WAREHOUSES AND ACROBATIC EXERCISES: RIMINI PROTOKOLL PRESENTS: LA DANSE D’AMAZON. A FULFILLMENT CIRCUS

OF WAREHOUSES AND ACROBATIC EXERCISES: RIMINI PROTOKOLL PRESENTS: LA DANSE D’AMAZON. A FULFILLMENT CIRCUS

I’ve often resolved to stay strong, but every now again I do it: I order something from Amazon. But at least I’m not alone, Daniel Wetzel does it too, as he revealed in an interview with Deutschlandradio. But while I simply satisfy my superficial shopping needs, he has dug deep into the subject and read books about the e-commerce phenomenon. Package delivery is only the most visible thing that the company, which started out as “Relentless.com” before becoming Amazon, does; more than anything else, the company is the world’s largest cloud provider, where the German police and the FBI, among others, manage their data. For Daniel, it didn’t stop at pure literary research, because he is part of Rimini Protokoll – probably the best-known performance group for documentary theater in this country. The result of his intensive work this time is a circus: “La Danse D’amazon. Ein Fulfillment Circus“. In other words, a circus for consumer criticism? Yes, and for an entertaining way of raising awareness of the fact that with every click we contribute to our digital expropriation and financing Jeff Bezos’ rocket launch pad.

For the play, Rimini Protokoll not only looked at the people who package products at the online retailer – such as those in the freezer room who deliver the ice cream we crave – but also at people who are involved with the company on very different levels. To this end, he cast artists across Europe to explore the whole thing physically, so to speak – in other words, what it means to work between finger scanners, conveyor belts and data verification. The history and world of the circus is as complex as the Amazon company itself and its range of tasks. Rimini Protokoll has also brought in experts to research the history of the circus ring: Mr. and Mrs. Winkler, who run the circus archive of the same name. At the same time, the perspectives of contemporary performers are also reflected: Their takes on dealing with things like foreignness, spectacle, the relationship between humans and animals. So many influences come together in the Fulfilment Circus, which is now performing for four days in the Manege in Mahrzahn. But don’t worry: consumer art in the circus is of course primarily one thing: highly entertaining – and it makes me a little more hesitant to order the next package with a click. And that makes the trip to the circus ring worthwhile, doesn’t it?

Text: Nina Trippel / Photos: Luna Zscharnt

Volksbühne, Linienstr.227, 10178 Berlin–Mitte; map
La danse d’amazon. A Fulfillment Circus from 23.–26.11.2023 from 20h. Tickets are available here.

@volksbuehne_berlin
@rimini_protokoll

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A KEY ICON OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN MUSIC — ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO PERFORMS AT HKW

A KEY ICON OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN MUSIC — ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO PERFORMS AT HKW

“Best We Can” is the name of the latest single release by Beninese singer and five-time Grammy winner Angélique Kidjo, who collaborated with the two musicians Nomcebo Zikode and James BKS. A comforting title and an aspirational goal, Kidjo’s driving beats and warm sounds also manage to dispel the omnipresent clouds. On Friday (24.11.2023), you can hear it for yourself live: HKW invites you to indulge in the vast spectrum of rhythms of African music at Tiergarten. Congolese rumba, Nigerian highlife, West African funk, Cameroonian makossa and so on… Combining influences from Caribbean reggae, North American rock, Brazilian samba, and European disco – there is hardly any other musician who so effortlessly draws on these genres, blending the sounds with her unique energy to create something entirely her own without shying away from vintage quotes or Afrofuturist tendencies. With a career spanning over forty years, Kidjo is rightly regarded as one of the most important West African artists and a key figure in contemporary African music. We are lucky to be able to experience her in Berlin – and just the right thing on these short days and at a time when we should all be reminding ourselves regularly: Let’s do the “best we can.”

Text: Alina Herbel / Photos: Fabrice Mabillot

HKW, John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin–Tiergarten; map
Angélique Kidjo on 24.11.2023 at 20h. More information and tickets can be found here.

@hkw_berlin

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EVERYTHING CRUMBLES INTO DUST: THE BURSTER GALLERY PRESENTS MASTER STUDENTS AT THE UDK BERLIN ART AWARD

EVERYTHING CRUMBLES INTO DUST: THE BURSTER GALLERY PRESENTS MASTER STUDENTS AT THE UDK BERLIN ART AWARD

How does art get from the academy to the gallery? Who builds the bridge between the university and the art world? One place where you can always find young artists is the Galerie Burster. The team has been associated with the Berlin University of the Arts for many years. This year, the gallery presents master students awarded the UdK Berlin Art Award – a prize awarded to outstanding students from the Fine Arts and Design Departments. Following the opening exhibition by performance artist Finja Sander, Mateo Contreras Gallego will be using photography and moving images from this week onwards to tell stories of farewells and absence. He repeatedly refers to his Colombian origins and the experiences of his family.

Shinoh Nam, whose works will be on display from 22.11.2023, also deals with change and dissolution: he breaks buildings down into fragments, and architecture appears as mere artifacts – as fragments of memories of something that once was. From 29.11., Seungjun Lee will also be questioning how we remember. In his search for a language of memory, he chooses materials that will forever be linked to history: Dust and sand. He forms miniature houses from refined grains, which are already in the process of disintegrating and slowly crumbling at the beginning of the exhibition. Lee creates fragile spaces from the remains that are wiped away and disposed of – and in doing so, finds poetic images for the passing of time. This show proves just how much awaits these four newcomers in the future.

Text: Laura Storfner / Photos: Silke Briel / Credit: Galerie Burster

Galerie Burster, Ludwigkirchstr.11, 10719 Berlin–Wilmersdorf; map
Wed–Fri 12–18h & Sat 12–16h. Solo Shows: UdK Berlin Art Award until 02.12.2023

Mateo Contreras Gallego
15.–18.11.2023

Shinoh Nam
22.–25.11.2023. Opening 22.11.2023 18–21h

Seungjun Lee
29.11.–02.12.2023. Opening 29.11.2023 18–21h

@galerieburster
@mateocontreras
@studioshinohnam
@himmeljuen

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AN ICON TURNS 60: KINO INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATES A MILESTONE BIRTHDAY

AN ICON TURNS 60: KINO INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATES A MILESTONE BIRTHDAY

I know a cinema where everything is just right: the location, the architecture, the hand-painted posters on the façade, the heavy red velvet curtains, the bar in the lobby and, of course, the outstanding film program. I have spent countless hours in the wonderful cinema seats here. And, depending on the movie and how I’m feeling afterwards, for a very long time at the lobby bar… We’re talking about the legendary Kino International. Now this icon is celebrating its 60th birthday – with an extensive program, but more on that below! First, let’s go back in time: it’s November 15, 1963 and the Wall has been dividing Berlin into East and West for two years. Kino International opens its doors as the first premiere cinema in the former GDR. With its design, choice of materials and proportions, the building is one of the most successful new cinemas of the post-war period. The latest DEFA films premiered here, including Konrad Wolf’s “Solo Sunny”. It was designed by architects Josef Kaiser and Heinz Aust as a three-storey reinforced concrete skeleton structure clad in light-colored sandstone. Characteristic of the movie theater is the cinema hall projecting above the first floor with a spacious foyer – column-free and nine meters above the first floor with a large open glass surface facing Karl-Marx-Allee.

The stately building was designed for multifunctional use. The foyer hosted balls, rock concerts, political rallies – even hairdressing competitions. What is less well known is that even before the fall of the Wall, the Kino International was a window to the world and showed selected Western productions such as “Cabaret” and “Beyond Africa”. The film “Dirty Dancing” was shown six times a day in 1987 and was sold out for weeks. The premiere of “Coming Out”, the first queer film in the former GDR, took place on November 9, 1989. It was a doubly moving event for the guests, as it turned out afterwards. When the Curtain came down, so did the Wall between East and West. In 1990, the cinema was added to the city of Berlin’s list of monuments and this may have been its salvation. The cinema has been part of the Yorck-Kinogruppe since 1992 and is still a place of openness and exchange today. And so this birthday is being celebrated: a lavish program accompanies the celebrations until the film theater closes in spring 2024 – for a brief general refurbishment from the basement to the roof in line with the conservation requirements. My highlight is the open day (19.11.) with a screening of my favorite DEFA classics: “Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella”, “The Legend of Paul and Paula” and “Trail of Stones”. Architectural backstage tours (19.11.) provide a look behind the scenes. Every Sunday – for the next three months – a film will be shown that deals primarily with the GDR past: Films such as the Stasi drama “The Lives of Others” or the tragicomedy “Good Bye, Lenin!” are among the most successful films in Germany’s post-reunification history. A photo exhibition on the history of the building accompanies the celebrations. All that remains is to say: Happy Birthday, Kino International!

Text: Milena Kalojanov / Photos: Daniel Horn / Credit: Yorck Kinogruppe

Kino International, Karl-Marx-Allee 33, Berlin–Mitte; map
Special program to celebrate the cinema’s 60th anniversary. Register for the architectural tours on 19.11. at denkmal@yorck.de.

@kinointernational

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