Stray Tales November 26–December 6, 2020

Organized by Istanbul Modern Cinema in partnership with the Goethe-Institut Istanbul, and with the contributions of Türk Tuborg A.Ş., Brand New Films from Germany celebrates its 12th year this winter. Comprising seven films that will be screened in the online program for the first time in Turkey, the title of this year’s program is Stray Tales. The selection includes a variety of films that bring fantastic stories to present day as well as urban legends. While some films have a fairy-tale like atmosphere, some question history and facts through their stories that are based on real life events.

Among the highlights of the Stray Tales program are films such as Curveball, a dark comedy agent film adapting real events taking place during the Iraq war to follow the role of the German government and secret service, directed by Johannes Naber whose film Age of Cannibals (Zeit der Kannibalen)was shown in the program in 2014, the documentary Schlingensief: A Voice That Shook the Silence (Schlingensief - In das Schweigen Hineinschreien) portraying the forty-year-long artistic career of film director Christoph Schlingensief, one of the leading names of contemporary German theatre using archival footage, and Schlingensief’s 1986 production, Egomania - Island Without Hope (Egomania - Insel ohne Hoffnung) with its striking photographs, taking place on an island after dooms day, and where artists such as Tilda Swinton and Udo Kier improvise. Also included in the program is a fun family film: Erik Schmitt’s first feature length film Cleo, which premiered at the Berlinale last year as the opening film of the Generation Kplus section. The film portrays the fantastic adventure of the film’s protagonist Cleo as it takes the viewers on a colorful journey across the 800-year-long history of the city of Berlin.