Director Milo Rau and Editor Anke Trojan started working with 250 hours of filmmaterial shot during two months of research, four weeks of documentary filming and the two large tribunals on-location in Bukavu and Berlin.
Successful North American release of "Beltracchi - The Art of Forgery" & Upcoming screenings all over the US
Our Documentary „BELTRACCHI – THE ART OF FORGERY“ has been very successfully released in the US with full runs at the FilmForum, New York and the Laemmle Music Hall, Los Angeles. The film received a great audience response and lots of good reviews in The Village Voice, The L.A. Times, Slant Magazine, The New York Post and many more. On rottentomatoes.com Beltracchi got a solid 78%. After its east- and westcoats premieres the film will now move on to further cities in the US and Canada.
SCREENING DATES
AUGUST
19th until 31st: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, Film Forum
21st until 27th: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, Laemmle Music Hall
SEPTEMBER
1st: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, Film Forum
4th until 8th: COLUMBUS, OHIO, Gateway Film Center
4th: SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, The Screen
4th: PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, Cinémas Palme d'Or
11th: TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA, Tallahassee Film Society
18th: DETROIT, MICHIGAN, Cinema Detroit
18th until 20th: PORTLAND, MAINE, Portland Museum of Art
25th: MONTREAL, QUEBEC, Cinema Du Parc
OCTOBER
9th until 15th: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, Facets
28th: CLEVELAND, OHIO, Cleveland Museum of Art
30th: CLEVELAND, OHIO, Cleveland Museum of Art
DECEMBER
DVD-Release for US and Canada of „Beltracchi – The Art of Forgery“ by Kimstim
MARCH 2016
13th: PALM SPRINGS, FLORIDA, The society of the four arts
To be announced:
PORTLAND, OREGON, Portland Museum of Art
In december the film will have its north american release on DVD
and next year will also be available via NETFLIX.
BELTRACCHI IN L.A.
After the screenings in New York our film "Beltracchi - The Art of Forgery" travels on to Laemmle Music Hall in Los Angeles. Filmmaker Arne Birkenstock will participate in Q&A's after the 7:40 screenings at the Music Hall Saturday-Monday, August 22-24.
BELTRACCHI @ BIG APPLE
Today "Beltracchi - The Art of Forgery" premieres at the Film Forum in New York City. Filmmaker Arne Birkenstock will attend the screenings during three In-Person Events:
Arne Birkenstock with art critic & author Blake Gopnik
Wednesday, August 19, 7:15 pm show
Arne Birkenstock
Thursday, August 20, 7:15 pm show
Arne Birkenstock with art historian & appraiser Dr. Sabine Wilson
Friday, August 21, 7:15 show
Check out some US reviews from:
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, L.A. WEEKLY, THE VILLAGE VOICE, SLANT MAGAZINE, DEUTSCHE WELLE, THE NEW YORK TIMES, LOS ANGELES TIMES and THE NEW YORK POST.
„BELTRACCHI – THE ART OF FORGERY“ STARTS IN US CINEMAS THIS MONTH
Our production „BELTRACCHI – THE ART OF FORGERY“ (directed by Arne Birkenstock) has its theatrical relase in the US this august. The documentary, which has received the German Film Award „LOLA“ last year, will run at New York Film Forum from august 19th until september 1st at 12:30, 2:40, 4:50, 7:15 and 9:30 every day. In Los Angeles the film starts at Laemmle Theatres on august 21st and will be screened daily at 12:00, 2:20, 7:40 & 10:00. Other cities and theatres will follow.
For the opening night on august 19th at New York Film Forum, the well known art critic and author Blake Gopnik will discuss with Arne Birkenstock after the screening. Director Birkenstock will be present for Q&As in New York on august 20th and 21st and in Los Angeles on august 22nd, 23rd and 24th, alsway for the screenings at 7:40.
60 Minutes called Wolfgang Beltracchi a “con man of epic proportions” and dubbed him and his wife Helene, “the Bonnie and Clyde of the art world.” For nearly 40 years the charming and effervescent Beltracchi produced hundreds of meticulous works of art, forgeries of early and mid-20th century artists, using old canvases and distressed frames scoured from flea markets and paints whose pigments he ground himself. Amazingly, he didn’t reproduce known paintings, but, working in an artist’s style, would create entirely new “masterpieces.” A large Max Ernst that took him three days to produce could sell for $5 million. Beltracchi was put on trial in 2011, but readily admits that the handful of forgeries he was held accountable for are just the tip of the iceberg. Many others sit in some of the world’s greatest art museums and private collections. This documentary captures his unique personality: a bizarre mix of candor and cunning, insouciance and joie de vivre.
The film is brought to the US by KimStim.
"The Congo Tribunal" – Press – The Berlin Hearings
THE MOST AMBITIOUS POLITICAL THEATRE EVER STAGED?
"Mixing a court of law with the theatrics of the stage, a landmark project investigates the 20-year DRC conflict, hearing from real victims, politicians and big business alike."
THE GUARDIAN, 01.07.2015
"Wo Politik versagt, hilft nur die Kunst: Der Regisseur Milo Rau bringt den unfassbar grausamen Krieg, der im Kongo tobt, auf die Bühne."
ZEIT, 01.07.2015
WENN THEATER GRENZEN ÜBERSCHREITET
"Öffentlicher Raum der Bewusstseinsveränderung."
NZZ, 01.07.2015
"Milo Rau inszeniert sein „Kongo Tribunal“ in den Berliner Sophiensaelen – nun geht es vorrangig um die Verantwortung der multinationalen Unternehmen, Weltbank, EU und NGOs an den Kriegen im zentralafrikanischen Land."
TAZ, 30.06.2015
"Was kann Theater leisten angesichts von sechs Millionen Toten?"
TAGESANZEIGER, 01.07.2015
WENN DIE KUNST DIE JUSTIZ ERSETZT
Das ZDF hat Milo Rau bei der Erarbeitung des "Kongo-Tribunals" in Bukavu und Berlin begleitet - inkl. erstmalig ausgestrahltem Material aus dem Dreharbeiten im Kongo und den Bukavu Hearings.
ZDF ASPEKTE, 03.07.2015
"Mehrfach wird herausgestrichen, dass dieses von dem Schweizer Regisseur Milo Rau einberufene Tribunal zwar als Theater auftrete, aber als Anfang für den Weg zu echter Gerechtigkeit gelten könne."
FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU, 29.06.2015
JUSTIZTHEATER ZWISCHEN WERTE- UND GEFÜHLSSTANDARTS
"Gefordert ist ein neues Wertesystem. Das Kongo-Tribunal ist ein erster Schritt in diese Richtung."
SWR 2, 29.06.2015
DAS KONGO TRIBUNAL IN DEN SOPHIENSAELEN
"Ein Akt der Aufklärung im besten Sinne!"
RBB INFORADIO, 28.06.2015
"The Congo Tribunal" - The Berlin Hearings 26 - 28 June 2015
The Berlin Hearings have been formally opened today, on the 26th of June 2015 at the Sophiensaele, Berlin. In the second part of the Congo Tribunal Hearings the perspectives developed in Bukavu, that specifically addressed the region and its economical and political players, will be continued on a global level. International accomplices will be accused on different institutional levels: the multinational companies, the EU, its member states and Switzerland, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the NGOs and the UN.
Follow The Berlin Hearings via the LIVE TICKER by clerk Kathrin Röggla.
"The Congo Tribunal" - Bukavu Hearings
"The Congo Tribunal" has spoken
After one year of investigations and three intense days of hearings, the jury of the Congo Tribunal responds as follows to the core issues that were presented publicly by the chief investigator during the Opening Session on 29 May 2015.
Have interethnic conflicts and attacks by armed groups in the east of the country become uncontrollable to such a degree that the government and the Congolese army (that is recovering from 20 years of conflict in the country) frequently fail in their attempts to restore order?
NO. It is our judgment that the ethnic conflicts would be controllable if there were adequate political will and accountability for power.
Are the government of the DRC and the Congolese army actors in the systematic attacks against the local population by intentionally keeping the region in perpetual disorder and insecurity, whether it is through active collaboration with armed groups or simply by being passive?
YES. We feel that some elements of the military and certain political leaders in the DRC are actors in the systematic attacks against the local population, but they are certainly not the only ones. The government of the DRC has a share of responsibility for the disorder and insecurity due to its shortcomings and its passivity.
Do the international community and the MONUSCO troops stationed in eastern Congo contribute to the political stabilization and to the security in this region by building a government and a weak army, albeit one that is recovering?
YES. It is our judgment that the "international community" through the intermediary of MONUSCO contributes to the political stabilization and security in the region, but not in a meaningful way. If the political will were there, it could certainly do more, and do it more effectively and efficiently. Too often it is guilty of not assisting people who are at risk.
Also check out the press coverage from TAZ, ORF, SWR and VOICE OF AMERICA
"Sound of Heimat" goes Asia
"SOUND OF HEIMAT - Germany sings", our cinema documentary about the Germans and their ambivalent relationship to their own folk music will be screened in Vietnam and India next week. The entertaining journey of kiwi-saxophon player Hayden Chisholm through Germanys musical landscapes opens the European-Vietnamese Filmfestival in Hanoi on june, 10th and will be shown in Hyderabad (India) on june 11th. Another screening will take place in Ho-Chi-Minh-City (Saigon) in Vietnam. Filmmaker Arne Birkenstock will attend the screenings in Vietnam and conducting a workshop for south east asian filmmakers in Hanoi.
"The Congo Tribunal" is on!
Milo Rau’s “The Congo Tribunal” will be formally opened today, on the 29th of May 2015 at Collège Alfajiri, Bukavu. A total of 350 guests are expected from the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, from Kinshasa, and from Europe.
First press coverage from THE GUARDIAN, TAZ, and SUEDDEUTSCHE
"The Congo Tribunal" - 48 hours to go...
Milo Rau‘s "The Moscow Trials" now available on DVD and VOD
After its successful release in German cinemas last year and on festivals world wide, our production "THE MOSCOW TRIALS" directed by Milo Rau is now available on DVD and VOD. The film is published by German Arthouse distributor "good! movies" and contains film and a lot of extra material in Russian, English, German and French. The film can be ordered here.
"The Congo Tribunal" soon to start in Bukavu
"The Congo Tribunal" - the newest theatre and film-project of award winning director Milo Rau will start on may, 28th with an international hearing in Bukavu. In a coproduction with Langfilm and the IIPM, Fruitmarket covers exclusively this historic event for a theatrical documentary and a transmedia platform directed by Milo Rau.
In the form of a tribunal with an international cast and filmed on-location in Eastern Congo and in Berlin, the theatre & film project “The Congo Tribunal” examines the causes and backgrounds for the war now ongoing for almost 20 years in the Great Lakes region. The result is a humanly harrowing, profound analytic tableau of the neo-colonial world order.
Our team is shooting in the Congo since the beginning of may for the third time. The Bukavu hearing will be covered by seven cameras in the historical colonial college of Bukavu and will be followed by a further hearing in the Sophiensäle in Berlin.
"Beltracchi - The Art of Forgery" shortlisted for the German Documentary Film Award
We are thrilled to announce that "Beltracchi - The Art of Forgery" has been shortlisted for the German Documentary Film Award. We keep our fingers crossed and look forward to the award ceremony, 18th of june in Ludwigsburg.
"The Night of all Nights" - Shooting in Japan
Back in Japan - Osaka spring. Photos by Thomas Schneider.
"The Night of all Nights" - Shooting in India
Shooting in India for our documentary "The Nights of all Nights", written and directed by the Samdereli Sisters, just started.
Some "Behind-the-Scenes" Pics by Thomas Schneider:
"The Congo Tribunal" 2nd Research in Congo
Milo Rau and his team headed to Congo for the second research trip of "The Congo Tribunal".
Find a detailed travel diary in four parts on TAZ Online (in german):
"Beltracchi - The Art of Forgery" goes US!
"Beltracchi - The Art of Forgery" is coming to US theaters this summer! And take the chance to see the film and director Arne Birkenstock at Reel Art Film Festival Toronto and the Kino Festival NYC!
"Sound of Heimat" receives annual German Record Critics' Award
Our Cinema Documentary "Sound of Heimat", written and directed by Arne Birkenstock and Jan Tengeler, received the German Record Critics' Award.
The German Record Critics' Award was established in 1980 to set the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field of music recording. The „Annual Awards“ are presented to as many as 15 outstanding productions, and „Certificates of Special Merit“are awarded to three artists and producers for lifetime achievement in recording.