Film|Neu 2013 Screens New Films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland in DC, Beg. Today

Running today, October 4 - 10, 2013, Film|Neu will present New Films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Landmark's E Street Cinema and the Goethe-Institut. The 21st annual edition of Washington's festival of new films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland brings regional blockbusters and more provocative, adventurous fare to local screens.

The program will open with the Washington premiere of Jan Ole Gerster's quirky and beguiling German Film Award-winning Oh Boy and close with the local debut of the lavish biographical drama Ludwig II from directors Marie Noelle and Peter Sehr. Another highlight is the D.C. premiere of writer-director Detlev Buck's off-kilter period drama Measuring the World, adapted from Daniel Kehlmann's international best-seller and the first Film|Neu title to be presented in 3D at the Goethe-Institut.

Film|Neu is a project of the Goethe-Institut Washington, the Austrian Cultural Forum, and the Embassy of Switzerland, and is made possible with the support of Friends of the Goethe-Institut. All films have English subtitles.

Tickets, updates, and more details: www.filmneu.org.

Friday, October 4, 7:00pm & 9:30pm

Landmark's E Street Cinema

Oh Boy

This luminous black-and-white film of the 24-hour misadventures of one disaffected youth in contemporary Berlin won the 2013 German Film Award. Discussion with cinematographer Philipp Kirsamer and opening party follows the first screening. (Germany, 2013, black and white, 85 minutes, Director/Screenplay: Jan Ole Gerster)

Saturday, October 5, 12:30pm & 3:15pm

Goethe-Institut

Measuring the World (Die Vermessung der Welt)

A Beautiful Mind meets Fitzcarraldo in this gloriously widescreen adaptation of Daniel Kehlmann's immensely popular 2005 novel that reimagines the friendship begun by mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss and geographer Alexander von Humboldt in the late 1700s. A special 3D presentation at the Goethe-Institut Washington! (Germany/Austria, 2012, 119 minutes, Director: Detlev Buck)

Saturday, October 5, 1:00pm & Monday, October 7, 7:00pm

Landmark's E Street Cinema

This Ain't California

"There certainly was enough cement around," remembers one of the now-grown skateboarders gathered to remember the legendary East Berlin rebel Denis "Panik" Panacek, describing the imposing architecture that provided plenty of surfaces and levels for the young athletes. (Germany, 2012, 90 minutes, Director: Marten Persiel)

Saturday, October 5, 3:00pm & Sunday, October 6, 9:30pm

Landmark's E Street Cinema

Life is No Piece of Cake (Das Leben ist nichts für Feiglinge)

When a wife and mother dies from a freak accident, husband Markus and 15-year-old daughter Kim are woefully unprepared to fend for themselves. (Germany, 2012, 93 minutes, Director: André Erkau)

Saturday, October 5, 5:15pm & Sunday, October 6, 7:30pm

Landmark's E Street Cinema

Forget Me Not (Vergiss mein nicht)

When filmmaker David Sieveking received the news his mother, Margarete, had Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, he decided to make a documentary film about her. Discussion with director via Skype follows the first screening. (Germany, 2012, 88 minutes, Director: David Sieveking)

Saturday, October 5, 7:30pm & Sunday, October 6, 1:00pm

Landmark's E Street Cinema

Shifting the Blame (Schuld sind immer die anderen)

In this tense, cold thriller with a taste of hard-fought redemption, young criminal Benjamin Graf discovers his social worker's wife was his victim. Discussion with director follows both screenings. (Germany, 2012, 90 minutes, Director: Lars-Gunnar Lotz)

Saturday, October 5, 10:00pm & Sunday, October 6, 1:00pm

Landmark's E Street Cinema

Kuma

Selected as the opening night film for the prestigious Panorama section of the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival, Austrian-born Kurd director Umut Da?'s debut feature Kuma is a thoughtful, assured family drama about generational issues and the gap between Turkish and German cultures. (Austria, 2011, 93 minutes, Director: Umut Da?)

Sunday, October 6, 5:30pm & Monday, October 7, 9:00pm

Landmark's E Street Cinema

Free Fall (Freier Fall)

When happily settled expectant father and young police officer Marc Borgmann finds himself falling for a fellow male recruit, his world is turned upside down. (Germany, 2013, 100 minutes, Director: Stephan Lacant)

Tuesday, October 8, 7:00pm & 9:00pm

Landmark's E Street Cinema

The Shine of Day (Der Glanz des Tages)

This film blends fact and fiction, focusing on a pair of mistmatched relatives and their comically awkward first meetings. Reception with Austrian treats between the two screenings. (Austria, 2012, 90 minutes, Directors: Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel)

Wednesday, October 9, 7:00pm & 9:00pm

Landmark's E Street Cinema

Lullaby Ride (Nachtlärm)

Not since the Coen Brothers' Raising Arizona has there been such an audacious movie on the subject of baby boosting. Reception with Swiss treats between the two screenings. (Switzerland/Germany, 2012, color, 91 minutes, Director: Christoph Schaub)

Thursday, October 10, 6:15pm & 9:30pm

Landmark's E Street Cinema

Ludwig II

A big-budget, widescreen historical biography with the soul of a scrappy independent film, Ludwig II brings fresh energy and a unique style to the momentous, oft-filmed life of the eccentric Bavarian king. Winner of the 2013 Bavarian Film Award. Discussion with special guest and closing party follows the first screening. (Germany/Austria, 2012, 140 minutes, Directors/Screenplay: Peter Sehr, Marie Noëlle)

Watch a trailer for the festival below!