Back in the Gdr: Hebbeln’s Debut Feature Revisits Political Turmoil of East Germany
Writer/director Toke Constantin Hebbeln follows up his 2006 short film Nevermore with this Stasi inspired period piece, Shores of Hope (aka No Man’s Land). A tale of the East vs. West struggle disguised in a drama concerning the separation of two best friends as they try to attain their goals as dock workers in 1982 Rostock, Hebbeln manages to conjure up some minor dramatic tension with this witch hunt scenario, but ultimately, ends up failing us with a by-the-numbers narrative arc.
Conny (Alexander Fehling) and Andreas (August Diehl) are two wannabe dock workers in Rostock, having a dream to get out of the rigid political climate of East Germany and work out on the sea. But soon after being hired, they realize that getting off the docks and on a ship out to sea requires more...
Writer/director Toke Constantin Hebbeln follows up his 2006 short film Nevermore with this Stasi inspired period piece, Shores of Hope (aka No Man’s Land). A tale of the East vs. West struggle disguised in a drama concerning the separation of two best friends as they try to attain their goals as dock workers in 1982 Rostock, Hebbeln manages to conjure up some minor dramatic tension with this witch hunt scenario, but ultimately, ends up failing us with a by-the-numbers narrative arc.
Conny (Alexander Fehling) and Andreas (August Diehl) are two wannabe dock workers in Rostock, having a dream to get out of the rigid political climate of East Germany and work out on the sea. But soon after being hired, they realize that getting off the docks and on a ship out to sea requires more...
- 9/9/2012
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
It’s East Berlin, 1984—an entire nation under the Stasi’s watchful eye. Freedom is near impossible without risk of arrest or bullet courtesy of a botched escape west, the life of a sailor a young man’s one legitimate avenue out. With destination an afterthought, the open sea becomes every lucky appointee’s gateway to the world and a future. But like all oppressive regimes, false hope keeps the unhappy rabble in line. If workers strive to please, the promise of reward succeeds despite its empty, manipulative lie. Unable to risk defection via a one-way ticket to anywhere, the Germans only send those with family to leave behind as collateral. Those without must remain trapped in their cage on the docks, receiving instead ‘an opportunity’ to turn snitch and gain the responsibility and power necessary to transform into the very thing they hate.
Director Toke Constantin Hebbeln and co-writer...
Director Toke Constantin Hebbeln and co-writer...
- 9/7/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Above: Ernie Gehr's Auto-Collider Xv.
The vast bulk of Tiff's 2012 has been announced and listed here, below. We'll be updating the lineup with the previous films announced, as well as updating links to specific films for more information on them in the coming days. Of particular note is that the Wavelengths and Visions programs have been combined to create what is undoubtedly the most interesting section of the festival. Stay tuned, too, for our own on the ground coverage of Tiff.
Galas
A Royal Affair (Nikolai Arcel, Demark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany)
Argo (Ben Affleck, USA)
The Company You Keep (Robert Redford, USA)
Dangerous Liaisons (Hur Jin-ho, China)
Emperor (Peter Webber, Japan/USA)
English Vinglish (Gauri Shinde, India)
Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (Shola Lynch)
Great Expectations (Mike Newell, UK)
Hyde Park on Hudson (Roger Michell, UK)
Inescapable (Ruba Nadda, Canada)
Jayne Mansfield's Car (Billy Bob Thorton, USA/Russia)
Looper (Rian Johnson,...
The vast bulk of Tiff's 2012 has been announced and listed here, below. We'll be updating the lineup with the previous films announced, as well as updating links to specific films for more information on them in the coming days. Of particular note is that the Wavelengths and Visions programs have been combined to create what is undoubtedly the most interesting section of the festival. Stay tuned, too, for our own on the ground coverage of Tiff.
Galas
A Royal Affair (Nikolai Arcel, Demark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany)
Argo (Ben Affleck, USA)
The Company You Keep (Robert Redford, USA)
Dangerous Liaisons (Hur Jin-ho, China)
Emperor (Peter Webber, Japan/USA)
English Vinglish (Gauri Shinde, India)
Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (Shola Lynch)
Great Expectations (Mike Newell, UK)
Hyde Park on Hudson (Roger Michell, UK)
Inescapable (Ruba Nadda, Canada)
Jayne Mansfield's Car (Billy Bob Thorton, USA/Russia)
Looper (Rian Johnson,...
- 8/22/2012
- MUBI
The 37th Toronto International Film Festival® will roll out the red carpet for hundreds of guests from the four corners of the globe in September. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Rian Johnson, Noah Baumbach, Deepa Mehta, Derek Cianfrance, Sion Sono, Joss Whedon, Neil Jordan, Lu Chuan, Shola Lynch, Barry Levinson, Yvan Attal, Ben Affleck, Marina Zenovich, Costa-Gavras, Laurent Cantet, Sally Potter, Dustin Hoffman, Francois Ozon, David O. Russell, David Ayer, Pelin Esmer, Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, Andrew Adamson, Michael McGowan, Bahman Ghobadi, Ziad Doueiri, Alex Gibney, Stephen Chbosky, Eran Riklis, Edward Burns, Bernard Émond, Zhang Yuan, Michael Winterbottom, Mike Newell, Miwa Nishikawa, Margarethe Von Trotta, David Siegel, Scott McGehee, Gauri Shinde, Goran Paskaljevic, Baltasar Kormákur, J.A. Bayona, Rob Zombie, Peaches and Paul Andrew Williams.
Actors expected to attend include: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jackie Chan, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Bill Murray, Robert Redford,...
Actors expected to attend include: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jackie Chan, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Bill Murray, Robert Redford,...
- 8/21/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The globe-trotting section of this year’s Contemporary World Cinema programme has your Sundance (in a pair of excellent titles in Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere and James Ponsoldt’s Smashed) and has select items from several sections from this year’s Cannes ranging from Pablo Stoll Ward’s 3, Yousry Nasrallah’s After the Battle, Aida Begic’s Children of Sarajevo, Catherine Corsini’s Three Worlds, Ulrich Seidl’s Paradise: Love, and they must see In The Fog a masterwork from Sergei Loznitsa and will be padded by world premiere items such as Annemarie Jacir’s When I Saw You, Lenny Abrahamson’s What Richard Did and Sion Sono’s The Land of Hope (see pic above). Here’s the entire list of items that make up this year’s section:
3 Pablo Stoll Ward, Uruguay/Germany/Argentina North American Premiere For Rodolfo (Humberto de Vargas), life at home feels empty and cold,...
3 Pablo Stoll Ward, Uruguay/Germany/Argentina North American Premiere For Rodolfo (Humberto de Vargas), life at home feels empty and cold,...
- 8/14/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Cologne, Germany -- The Berlin-Brandenburg film board rewarded success in its latest round of subsidy hand-outs, signing checks for new projects from star multi-hyphenate Til Schweiger and production powerhouse Widemann & Berg.
Schweiger picked up €900,000 ($1.1 million) in production subsidies for his latest feature, "kokowaa," in which he will star as a luckless screenwriter and single dad struggling to raise his eight year-old daughter (played by Schweiger's own child, Emma Tiger). Schweiger will also produce "kokowaa."
Widemann & Berg received €750,000 ($918,000) towards the sequel to their rom-com hit "Men in the City." Director Simon Verhoeven returns to helm the new film, which goes under the original title "Mannerherzen...und die ganz, ganz, grosse Liebe." Most of the stars of the orignal "Men in the City," including Christian Ulmen and Justus von Dohnanyi, will reprise their roles in the sequel. The first "Men in the City" earnd some $18 million at the local boxoffice for distributor Warner Bros.
Schweiger picked up €900,000 ($1.1 million) in production subsidies for his latest feature, "kokowaa," in which he will star as a luckless screenwriter and single dad struggling to raise his eight year-old daughter (played by Schweiger's own child, Emma Tiger). Schweiger will also produce "kokowaa."
Widemann & Berg received €750,000 ($918,000) towards the sequel to their rom-com hit "Men in the City." Director Simon Verhoeven returns to helm the new film, which goes under the original title "Mannerherzen...und die ganz, ganz, grosse Liebe." Most of the stars of the orignal "Men in the City," including Christian Ulmen and Justus von Dohnanyi, will reprise their roles in the sequel. The first "Men in the City" earnd some $18 million at the local boxoffice for distributor Warner Bros.
- 6/29/2010
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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