TUK to screen films from German producer

JP/17/TUK

checked --JSR TUK to screen films from German producer

In collaboration with the German Cultural Center Goethe- Institute, Teater Utan Kayu (TUK) plans to hold a three-day screening of films produced by Artur Brauner, arguably the most influential postwar German film producer.

The screening, which runs from Friday to Sunday, will feature films produced by Brauner, some of which became his own favorites.

On the first day, viewers will have a chance to appreciate two films: Morituri and The Plot to Assassinate Hitler, produced in 1947 and 1950 respectively.

On Saturday, three films, Witness out of Hell, After Your Decrees and A Love in Germany will be played, followed by Hanussen, The Rose Garden and Europa Europa on Sunday.

A public discussion will be held on Sunday in between screenings of the two films.

Born in Lodz, Poland, in 1918, Brauner founded the "Central Cinema Company" (CCC Filmkunst) in Berlin in 1946 and established himself as the producer of Schlagerfilme (musical romantic comedies), Heimatfilme (idyllic post-World War II "homeland" films), and Krimis (mysteries)

In the course of a lengthy career in the film industry, Brauner produced 250 feature films, a feat that established him as one of the most successful movie producers in post-war Germany.

He also has produced many films that depict the plight of Jewish people under the Nazi totalitarian regime.

The penchant was driven by an atrocity he suffered under Nazi rule. Nazi troops killed 49 of his relatives when they invaded his hometown.

Brauner first film, Morituri, deals with Germany in the grip of the Nazi years. But the film was a flop as the German public was not yet ready for such introspection.

Discouraged by the failure, Brauner shifted his priority to producing light-hearted films.

He returned to producing politically and socially conscious films in the 1960s after the public had become more receptive to his works. -- JP

Screenings are from May 27 through May 29 at Teater Utan Kayu (TUK), Jl. Utan Kayu 68H, East Jakarta. All films are in German with English subtitles.