If home is not just a feeling, but also a place, then the new Heimatfilmfestival has six homes. The new one should be in Altötting, Burghausen, Mühldorf, Trostberg, Wasserburg and Haag in Upper Bavaria “Biennale Bavaria International” take place with film screenings, panel discussions, exhibitions, readings, concerts and comedy evenings. The topic of home is to be explored from all possible angles: Home is a slogan and battle slogan at the same time, some associate it with identity and security, others folklore and conservatism. And because of their origin and character, everyone understands something different by it anyway. How much the interpretation of the concept of home is being fought for, how political it is, can also be seen when it comes to border protection, globalization or refugees. So if you want to deal culturally with home, you shouldn’t just show a few films with people who speak dialect.
Günther Knoblauch, who founded the association with cultural manager Peter Syr in 2017 that is organizing this new biennial, is also aware of this. “With our festival we also want to set an example against the division in society,” says Knoblauch. “It should be a stimulus for people to get involved again.” The former mayor of Mühldorf, who was also a member of the Bavarian State Parliament for a number of years, took the first steps together with his helpers: They convinced districts, cities and municipalities, tourism associations and Bavarian film funding; at the same time they brought together a team of sponsors and supporters. This also includes the actresses Johanna Bittenbinder, Corinna Binzer and Kathi Leitner or the cameraman Stefan Biebl. The Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn and the President of the Bavarian State Parliament, Ilse Aigner, were able to be won as patrons for the first edition of the festival.
… or in a Sicilian town like in the film “A Black Jesus”.
(Photo: Filmdelight)
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You are also expected during the five-day festival, which opens on Wednesday, September 15, with Marcus H. Rosenmüller’s “Beckenrand Sheriff” – at all six festival locations. In addition, an opening gala is planned in the Mühldorf cinema “Hollywood am Inn”. The festival organizers supposedly do not mind that Rosenmüller’s latest comedy, which has shaped Bavarian homeland films like no other, is currently being shown everywhere in cinemas. It’s not about exclusivity, says Knoblauch, the motto of the Bavaria International Biennale is “Best of Fest”.
Most of the 42 films have already been shown at other festivals
That means: Most of the 42 films have already been shown at other festivals, at the Berlinale, the Hof Film Festival or at the Max Ophüls Preis film festival. But that also means: The fight for the films is great – and there are already many national and international festivals that want to adorn themselves with attractive premieres. A newly launched biennale, which, as the name suggests, is only supposed to take place every two years, has a hard time. If it doesn’t take place in any of the major metropolises, the search for an exclusive program is almost hopeless.
But you can also see it this way: The films on the biennale program have proven themselves elsewhere, so there is hardly anything wrong with their quality. Some of them have already been shown regularly in cinemas, for example the documentary “Land des Honigs” from North Macedonia, which has been nominated for two Oscars, or the Austrian Jelinek film adaptation “The Children of the Dead”. Other productions such as Christian Lerch’s Bavarian youth film “Das Glaszimmer” or the Munich documentary “Lionhearted” will only open in cinemas in the next few weeks or months. There are four categories, and film prizes are also to be awarded. Many stories can be told under the term home, from home and abroad, historically or looking to the future.
In order to give the festival program a form, the selection of films was left to a curator: Joachim Kurz is a critic and operator of an online film platform; he ensured a balanced mix of German and international productions, of feature films and documentaries, of films for children and for an older audience. “We wanted to outline the problem and show perspectives,” Kurz said on the phone, the selection of films stands for itself – but there are some interesting overlaps with exhibitions or readings.
It took five years from the first idea to the festival premiere, and planning has been somewhat delayed due to the pandemic. Have you considered moving the festival to the Internet, as did the Munich Dok-Fest or the Landsberg Snowdance Festival in spring? “We ruled that out early on,” says Kurz. “We knew that establishing a new festival in the region online would not work.” Günther Knoblauch agrees, but the experienced politician doesn’t just think of the cinema. He would like to make this part of Upper Bavaria, which is not as well known as the Oberland or the Chiemgau, more attractive. “We want to strengthen the film industry,” says Knoblauch, “after all, you can shoot very well with us.”
Biennale Bavaria International, Festival of New Homeland Films, Wed., September 15, to Sun., September 19, www.biennale-bavaria.de
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