Film tips for February

Like no other of his generation, David Lynch has left his mark on cinematic storytelling. He was less interested in providing answers than in emphasising the mysterious. His films oscillate between dream and reality, transporting us into sometimes aesthetic, sometimes nightmarish, sometimes mystical worlds. Lynch, who died in January of this year, left behind an unmistakable oeuvre. To commemorate the cult director, the Riffraff cinema is showing five of his films that established his reputation as an enfant terrible, including Mulholland Drive (2001) and Eraserhead (1977).

Saturday, 8 February 2025, Riffraff cinema, 13:00

With their stirring manifesto "Dogma 95", Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg pleaded for realism instead of alienation from reality. Vinterberg's family drama Festen (1998) is considered the first official Dogma film. Although no longer as consistent, the Dogma legacy can also be felt in his more recent works. For example, in his mini-series Families Like Ours (2024), which deals with the climate and migration crisis between social criticism and intimate drama. Instead of unrealistic catastrophe scenarios, it shows a future that lies ahead of us. The series celebrates its German-language premiere at the Filmpodium.

Sunday, 16 February 2025, Filmpodium Kino, 16:45

From his beginnings in New Hollywood to his epic anti-western: with a total of 26 films, Martin Scorsese has established himself as one of the most respected filmmakers of recent decades. One film that stands out somewhat in his filmography is the satire on the entertainment industry The King of Comedy (1982). The film about an aspiring stand-up comedian will be screened at Xenix in the presence of satirists Dominic Deville, Lara Stoll and Gabriel Vetter. Following Scorsese's film, the trio will discuss the limits and possibilities of satire.

Thursday, 20 February 2025, Xenix cinema, 20:00

The film world is in Oscar fever, as the golden trophies will soon be awarded for the 97th time. In the long history of the Academy Awards, only nine (!) female filmmakers have been nominated for Best Director. Among them is Jane Campion, who was the first to be nominated twice in this category: in 1994 for The Piano and in 2022 for The Power of the Dog. The Filmpodium is currently dedicating a programme focus to her. In addition to all her feature-length films and the series Top of the Lake, a selection of her short films from her student days will also be shown. Even in her early work, Campion's typically sensitive style and sensual visual language are evident.

Friday, 21 February 2025, Filmpodium Kino, 18:15