THE REEDS U.S. Theatrical release 29 January 2010.
After Dark Films, Horrorfest 4, 8 Films to Die For

For more information, click here.

Travellers Thursday 11. February 11:30 CinemaxX 18

The Reeds Friday 12 February 18:00 Marriott 3

Travellers Saturday 13 February 18:15 Marriott 3

Stop by to see us between 10 – 20 February, 2010.

Location:      British in Berlin
Stand No.:     35
Location:      MGB
Phone:           +49 30 259398 – 471

Contact info:
Ildi Toth Davy    626 390 6882 (mobile)

Steven Mackler – Acquisitions
+1 646 244 2880

SCREENINGS

The Reeds    Fairmont 1   Thurs, 5 November        15:00:00
The Reeds    Loews 2         Sunday, 8 November      17:00:00

If you’re interested in attending one of the screenings at AFM, and are a registered market attendee, click here.

A Necessary Death

Sat 10 Oct  Apollo Theatre  21:00:00

London

A Necessary Death, nominated by the Raindance Film Festival as Best Debut Feature

Dates:  13 – 18 August, 2009

Screening:  Celia The Queen

Wed 29 Jul     Kino Cinemas        4:45 PM
Sat 1 Aug     Greater Union Cinema 5    9:15 PM

Jonathan Romney in Berlin

A story of ordinary love in a defiantly non-glamorous mode, Valeska Grisebach’s Longing packs a formidable emotional punch, all the more so for its spare aesthetic and sure-footed restraint. The director’s second feature, following 2001’s acclaimed Be My Star (Mein Stern), thrives on elliptical storytelling and undemonstratively subtle performances from non-professional leads. Its low-key naturalism may not appeal to all tastes, but Longing is a major find for festivals and an intriguing prospect for specialised sales.

Set in a village in the Berlin area, Longing is a portrait of love, marriage and heartbreak – big themes in a small, mundane milieu. Markus (Mueller) is a welder and volunteer fireman happily married to Ella (Welz), who sings in the local choir; the pair, in their 30s, share a passionate, sexually charged attachment. A chance incident Markus’s arrival on the scene of a suicide attempt ets them thinking about love and fate, but apparently has no direct affect on their relationship. But while away on a training weekend, Markus gets drunk and wakes up the next morning having spent the night with waitress Rose (Dornbusch). Markus goes back to Ella, and the pair’s mutual passion seems undiluted, but he finds he can’t keep away from Rose. He’s caught between the two women until a sudden event the sort that gets viewers asking each other, “Did you see what just happened?” changes the course of all their lives.

Events move towards a drastic conclusion, as startling in its way as a comparable turn in a Michael Haneke film. But then Grisebach boldly switches mood in the coda, in which a group of local children comment on the story, wrapping up on a note that’s both ambivalent and surprisingly upbeat.

Much of the film, dealing with domestic life and the routines of work and socialising from firemen’s training to coffee mornings s acutely-observed naturalism in something like a Dardenne brothers vein. Indeed, like the Dardennes, Grisebach has the knack of getting under the skins of her characters without telling us too much or having them tell us about what they’re feeling. She’s one of those directors who can speak volumes about a person’s interior life just through a close-up of the back of their head. And her attitude to her characters, while scrupulously distanced, always maintains an admirably non-judgmental respect for their complexities. Bubblegum pop and disco tunes are used sparingly and smartly, and a large, hungry rabbit makes a winning cameo.

Production companies
Rommelfilm
GFP Medienfonds

Producer Peter Rommel

Screenplay
Valeska Grisebach

Cinematography
Bernhard Keller

Editors
Bettina Boehler
Valeska Grisebach
Natali Barrey

Production design
Beatrice Schultz

Main cast
Andreas Mueller
Ilka Welz
Annett Dornbursch

15 May    8:00 pm (Fri)  CITY RATS screening, Gray 3
17 May    8:30 pm (Sun)  OFFSPRING screening, Palais E
19 May    5:30 pm (Tues) A NECESSARY DEATH, Gray 4

Location:
France – Lerins R4

Dates:
14–25 May 2008

Attending:
Ildi Toth Davy – Sales and Acquisitions
M: +1 626 390 6882

Neda Tancic – Marketing
M: +44 (0)7980 997 561

Maja Zimmermann – Acquisitions
M: +1 323 428 1623