The Goethe-Institut Toronto Presents Its October Film Series, STRONGER THAN BLOOD

The Goethe-Institut Toronto proudly presents its powerful and thrilling October film series, STRONGER THAN BLOOD, featuring three outstanding and complex German gangster films over the last two decades. DEALER (1999) by Thomas Arslan, CHIKO (2008) by Ozgur Yildirim, and STRONGER THAN BLOOD (2009) by Oliver Kienle. The films will screen at TIFF Bell Lightbox, October 3, 8, and 10, 2019 at 6:30pm.

Over the last 20 years, a thriller sub-genre of gangster films has carved out a popular and critically acclaimed niche in German cinema. Some films tell hard-hitting street crime stories, some are tender explorations of inner-city life and love. All introduce us to fresh, complex characters that appeal to audiences well beyond their own worlds as they navigate conscience, honour, and responsibility for their actions.

In this exhilarating new Goethe Film Series, the three genre-based films featured are multi-award winning and contain some of Germany's top artists before they were stars. These films tell heartbreaking stories through the eyes of immigrants, from a male perspective.

DEALER, written and directed by Thomas Arslan and winner of the Fipresci Prize, is based on an intimate portrait of a young Turkish man and his rising career in crime and features some of Germany's top film actors, Tamer Ygit, Idil Üner (Short Sharp Shock), and Birol Ünel (Head-On). CHIKO, Özgur Yildirim's debut film, is critically acclaimed, multi-award winning, and set in four Arab blocks of Berlin. It tells the story of a man who must choose between a life of crime and a life of friendship and loyalty. STRONGER THAN BLOOD, the final film in the series, is a multi-award winning and entertaining film about a young man's journey in the drug trade and features an all-star cast of Jacob Matschenz (Never Look Away), Burak Yiğit (Victoria), Aylin Tezel (7500), and Liv Lisa Fries (lead in Babylon Berlin).

Curated by programmer Jutta Brendemühl, Goethe-Institut Toronto actively promotes an ongoing dialogue and exchange between Canadian and German artists and critics. Goethe-Institut Toronto brings the best in contemporary German culture to Canada, seen through a global lens and across the genres.

Ranging from features to docs, shorts to animation, drama to comedy, and the experimental to international, the Goethe Film Series offers film lovers the opportunity to see a top selection of German contemporary arthouse film in Toronto's premier cinema.
www.goethe.de/canada/germanfilm

STRONGER THAN BLOOD Lineup:

DEALER
Written and directed by Thomas Arslan (Bright Nights)
(Germany, 1999, 74 min)
October 3, 6:30PM, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Film Screening

Starring Tamer Ygit, Idil Üner (Short Sharp Shock), and Birol Ünel (Head-On)

Awards & Festivals:
Berlinale 1999
FIPRESCI Prize Forum of New Cinema 1999
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Forum of New Cinema 1999

A story of Turkish life in Berlin, Can is unable to devote himself to anything other than a career in crime as a small-time dealer and errand boy for drug boss Hakan. Hakan keeps his customers supplied within his narrowly staked out territory. Can, also fed up with his situation, sees a bright new beginning for himself and his family when Hakan offers him the prospective chance to run a bar on his own. But Can has little control over the pressure that gradually begins to build up around him and soon finds himself floundering in quicksand.

CHIKO
Written and directed by Özgur Yildirim
(Germany 2008, 92 min)

October 8, at 6:30 PM, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Film Screening

Produced by Fatih Akin (Head-On; In the Fade), starring Denis Moschitto (In the Fade), Moritz Bleibtreu (Run Lola Run), Hans Löw (In My Room), and Fahri Yardim

Awards & Festivals:
2 German Film Awards & 2 further nominations
2 Awards at the Nuremberg Film Festival "Turkey-Germany"

Stopping at nothing and intimidating those who get in his way, Chiko earns the attention of local drug lord Brownie. The money begins to flow and it looks as though Chiko and his friends are getting closer to the lifestyle they desire. But when one of the friends makes a mistake, Chiko is forced to decide between his criminal career and money on the one side and friendship and loyalty on the other.

Özgür Yildirim was born in 1979 in Hamburg, where he studied at the Hamburg Media School. In 2011, he shot Blutzbrüdaz with controversial German "gangster rapper" Sido as the lead, which was a box office hit in Germany. Yildirim recently directed the award-wining TV series 4 Blocks (2017), which caused some debate around the portrayal of Berlin's Arab mafia families.

Fatih Akin's first feature film Short Sharp Shock premiered in 1998 and won the Bavarian Film Award. With Head-On (2004), Akin gained international fame with a European Film Award as well as the Spanish Film Award Goya. In The Fade (2017) won the Golden Globe in the Best Foreign Language Film category. He is highly in demand for literary adaptations, having recently made Goodbye Berlin and The Golden Glove. He is currently working on a Stephen King adaptation in Hollywood.

STRONGER THAN BLOOD
Written and directed by Oliver Kienle (writer of Bad Banks)
(Germany 2010, 108 min)

October 10, 6:30 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox, Film Screening

Starring Jacob Matschenz (Never Look Away), Burak Yiğit (Victoria), Aylin Tezel (7500), and Liv Lisa Fries (lead in Babylon Berlin)

Awards & Festivals:
Bavarian Film Awards 2011 Best Young Actor for Jacob Matschenz & Burak Yiğit
First Steps Award 2010
German Camera Award 2010 Best Editing
3 Max Ophüls Festival Awards 2010

Tommy and Sule are like brothers to each other: nothing will ever get between them. But then Tommy gets caught dealing drugs and has to serve his sentence. Fresh out of juvenile prison, he swears off drugs for good. But when the going gets tough, the only support he finds is from his best friend Sule, who presents him "the master plan": one last drug deal to finance their own auto body shop.

Oliver Kienle was born 1982. After studying German in Würzburg, he went on to the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg. His graduation film Stronger Than Blood received multiple awards and launched his busy career. He is head writer for the much lauded TV series Bad Banks and currently in production for Isi & Ossi (2020), Germany's first Netflix movie.

All GOETHE FILMS are open to audiences 18+.

STRONGER THAN BLOOD Film Series:
When: DEALER, October 3 at 6:30pm, CHIKO, October 8 at 6:30pm, and STRONGER THAN BLOOD, October 10 at 6:30 PM
Where: TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King Street W, Toronto, Ontario
Price: $10 at TIFF Bell Lightbox in person or by phone (day of sales only) or online (as of 10 days prior to screening)

Presented with English subtitles.