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“In The Aisles”, German Movie Opens in Los Angeles in June

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In the Aisles, a German drama film directed by Thomas Stuber opens in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Royal on Friday, June 21. We have two pairs of tickets to Give Away! Details below!

In the Aisles gives an affecting and bittersweet glimpse into the shared connections of a motley group of nightshift workers at a warehouse superstore, with the reclusive Christian (Franz Rogowski, TRANSIT) and the charming but mysterious Marion (Sandra Hüller, TONI ERDMANN).

“The story’s main focus is Christian (Rogowski), a tattoo-covered loner with a troubled past and a socially awkward manner that borders on autism. Christian has just begun his probation period as a shelf stacker at an unnamed warehouse superstore in a faceless East German backwater town. His avuncular mentor is old lag Bruno (Peter Kurth), a chess-loving ex-trucker who misses the mundane certainties of the former Communist era. The young rookie also develops a shy crush on Marion (Huller), a flirtatious married woman 10 years his senior whose abusive husband commonly features in hushed workplace gossip.” (excerpt Hollywoodreporter.com)

TICKET GIVE-AWAY – If you would like to be one of the first to watch this movie then send us an email with “In the Aisles” in the subject line, letting us know that you would like to be considered. We will give away 2 pairs of tickets to 2 lucky winners out of the first 10 people emailing us. The winners will be informed by the end of next week per email. Good Luck!

“In the Aisles” is in German with English subtitles. It will open in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Royal on Friday, June 21.

Buy Tickets Here: http://gwi.io/oovflj

Image & YouTube: ©MusicBoxFilms

“A Tale of Two Émigrés” – Arnold Schoenberg & Erich Wolfgang Korngold at Pittance Chamber Music

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A Tale of Two Émigrés with James Conlon presented by the Pittance Chamber Music

Pittance Chamber Music, known for featuring the extraordinary resident artists of the Los Angeles Opera pit and stage, presents A Tale of Two Émigrés with James Conlon. LA Opera Music Director James Conlon curates and conducts a unique program that tells the tale of Jewish émigré composers Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Arnold Schoenberg, who left their homelands and ultimately settled in Los Angeles as a result of the Nazis’ rise to power. The program will include a talk by Maestro Conlon, who will also conduct works by Korngold and Schoenberg performed by a large ensemble from the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra. The concert takes place at Zipper Hall, Colburn School in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at 3:00 p.m.

This special program features E.W. Korngold’s Sextet, Op. 10 and Arnold Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony #1, Op. 9. According to Lisa Sutton, Pittance Chamber Music Artistic Director, “Both pieces are extraordinary masterpieces of late romanticism, requiring a high level of virtuosity from the performers.”

James Conlon, Music Director of Los Angeles Opera and Principal Conductor of the Italian RAI National Symphony Orchestra, is one of the world’s most important and successful advocates for the music of composers suppressed during the Nazi regime. He is the founder of the OREL Foundation, an organization created to encourage interest in and, especially, the performance of works by composers suppressed as a result of Nazi policies from 1933 to 1945 in order to allow the greater musical community of today and tomorrow the opportunity to determine the place of these composers and their works in the history and canon of twentieth-century music.

Lisa Sutton, Artistic Director and Assistant Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra founded the Pittance Chamber Music in 2013.

Single tickets for A Tale of Two Émigrés with James Conlon are $10. Tickets are available online at PittanceChamberMusic.org or at the venue on the day of the concert if tickets remain. Zipper Hall is located at the Colburn School, 200 South Grand Avenue, downtown Los Angeles, 90012.

WHAT:
 A Tale of Two Émigrés with James Conlon. (Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Arnold Schoenberg). The program will include a talk by Conlon, who will also conduct works by Korngold and Schoenberg performed by a large ensemble consisting of members of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra.

WHEN:
Saturday, June 15, 2019 at 3:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Zipper Hall, Colburn School
200 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012

PROGRAM:

E.W. KORNGOLD                  Sextet, Op. 10
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG     Chamber Symphony #1, Op. 9.

TICKETS:
Single tickets $10

Information:  
www.PittanceChamberMusic.org

Image ©Los Angeles Opera

Frohe Ostern – Happy Easter

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Osterhäschen

(Ein Gedicht von Friedrich Güll, 1812-1879)

Drunten an der Gartenmauer
hab’ ich sehn das Häslein lauern.
eins, zwei, drei: legt’s ein Ei,
lang wird’s nimmer dauern.

Kinder, lasst uns niederducken!
Seht ihr’s ängstlich um sich gucken?
Ei, da hüpft’s und dort schlüpft’s
durch die Mauerlucken.

Und nun sucht in allen Ecken,
wo die schönsten Eier stecken,
rot und blau, und grün und grau
und mit Marmorflecken.

(Friedrich Güll)

Image: Pixabay.com

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“So Ein Theater!” – The latest production by the German Theatre Group of San Diego

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Vorhang Auf! It’s time for another production by the German Theatre Group of San Diego: “So Ein Theater – Oh, What Drama!” plays April 13 & 14 only!

Be prepared for an evening of German Cabaret about the quirks of daily life! Funny and thought-provoking skits and musical numbers about work, kids & family and getting older.

Tickets: General Admission $14 – Student (with ID) $10 – At the door (limited availability) $16 – Get your Ticket here!

The German Theatre Group of San Diego started out with “Ein Abend mit Loriot” (famous German comedian), which premiered in 2017 to a packed house in San Diego. This was followed by “So Ist Das Leben! (That’s Life) – A German Cabaret” in April 2018.  The cabaret-style skits, poems, and musical numbers from well-known German authors took a humorous, sarcastic, and fresh look at modern life. Tickets to the two performances sold out weeks before the opening night, which means the productions resonate with the German community and beyond.

Founded in October 2016 by Astrid Ronke, the group is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and part of the German American Societies of San Diego.

Image: Pixabay

German Composers Fill the Air – L.A. Phil Concerts in Los Angeles

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Ready to brighten up your day with some classical music by German composers? February and March, the LA Phil have special German programming in place for you!

Check out the upcoming concerts below and note that violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter will be in town on March 6th!

Anne-Sophie Mutter • Lambert Orkis – MAR 6 – 
 [Read more…] about German Composers Fill the Air – L.A. Phil Concerts in Los Angeles

Reflecting on Christmas in Germany

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REFLECTING ON CHRISTMAS IN GERMANY

Happy New Year, dear readers!  I hope you had wonderful holidays and enjoyed good food and company!  I just got back a few days ago from my vacation in Germany. While it was amazing to see many friends and family after more than three years, I am so happy to be surrounded by sunshine again.  

Let me tell you, from the 16 days I was in my homeland, at least 14 of them were covered by grey clouds.  At least my mood was full of sunshine as I was excited to relax and also spend some great quality time with people that are very close to me.   And even though I keep saying that I don’t see myself living in Germany again, it is always hard leaving family and friends behind when it’s time to go back home. [Read more…] about Reflecting on Christmas in Germany

Exploring German Christmas Markets

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EXPLORING GERMAN CHRISTMAS MARKETS

Christmas time is here.  Happiness and cheer. My dear readers, there is no doubt and no denying that It’s the most wonderful time of the year.  Every radio station is blasting at least one Christmas song per hour, houses are loaded with Christmas decorations, and the candy isles in the supermarkets offer various delicious Christmas treats for our indulgence.  

I am a big fan of this season and everything that comes with it, especially the Christmas markets.  And this year, I finally have the opportunity again to travel to Germany during this wonderful time to indulge in lots of mulled wine and crepes with Kinderschokolade (yum).  Needless to say, during this time my healthy eating and fitness are not my main priority, but I do believe in balance and that treating yourself here and there is a necessity.

It’s been a hot minute since I stepped foot onto a German Christmas market, around four years, to be exact (oh my!).  Trust me, if you have ever been, you can relate about how big of a deal that might be. For this year’s trip, I have already mapped out three opportunities to stop by for the occasional mulled wine or sweet treat. [Read more…] about Exploring German Christmas Markets

Interview with Til Schweiger – Film ‘Head Full Of Honey’ Opens November 30th in L.A.

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Head Full Of Honey Movie - Til SchweigerDo You Remember Til Schweiger’s Film Honig im Kopf?

It was the most successful comedy-drama film in Germany in 2014, albeit discussing a difficult topic: Alzheimer’s.

This week on Friday, November 30th, 2018, Head Full Of Honey, Til Schweiger’s English language remake opens in select theaters in Los Angeles and New York.

“Head Full of Honey” stars multiple Academy-Award® nominee Nick Nolte as Amadeus, a recent widower whose strong personality, charm and sense of humor can no longer mask the life-altering onset of Alzheimer’s. He and his granddaughter Tilda (Sophia Lane Nolte) develop a special bond. Tilda’s patience and affection for her grandfather become his strongest link to life. Tilda tries to help her grandfather, Amadeus (Nick Nolte) navigate his increasing forgetfulness, and ends up going on a remarkable adventure with him.

Among the notable cast are also Oscar nominee Matt Dillon (Amadeus’ son Nick), Emily Mortimer (Nick’s wife, Sarah) as well as Jacqueline Bisset and Greta Scacchi, and others.

Written and directed by acclaimed German actor and filmmaker Til Schweiger and based on his earlier successful German film release, this poignant generational drama marks Schweiger’s English-language directorial debut.

About “HEAD FULL OF HONEY”
A CONVERSATION with Writer, Director and Producer TIL SCHWEIGER

QUESTION:  “Head Full of Honey” centers on Amadeus, played by Nick Nolte, who is struggling with the onset of Alzheimer’s and all the frustration and confusion that comes along with it. But his experience is part of a larger story. What are some of the themes and ideas the movie touches on? [Read more…] about Interview with Til Schweiger – Film ‘Head Full Of Honey’ Opens November 30th in L.A.

Happy German Unity Day!

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800px-World_Cup_2006_German_fans_at_Bochum.jpgTag der Deutschen Einheit 

A relatively young country is celebrating its coming of age

When I was in elementary school, there was no certainty when or if the two Germanys would ever reunite. Every time I visited the United States then, I was met with great interest by many trying to figure out which Germany I was from. … “Are you from West Germany?”, ” Have you ever been to the East?”, and so on …

Nowadays it’s almost unthinkable that Germany, as it looks and feels today, has not always been like that. It had to go through a lot of growing pains!

From its birth as a united country in 1871, to forcefully being separated after WW II, to miraculously being reunited in 1989.

Germany’s reawakening

Germany has gone through quite some changes during my lifetime. I would have never anticipated seeing the German people cheering on the streets with cars happily sporting the German flag. Young people proudly singing the German national anthem and having the colors of the German flag painted onto their faces.

This was 2006. And we happened to be visiting Germany while the country was hosting the Soccer World Cup. We witnessed first hand this newly found self-confidence of a ‘new’ Germany.  It still gives me the shivers!

It’s good to see Germans being proud of their country again. May the past, however, not wane as a reminder of the darker times that Germany lived through but encourage the German people to stand up for the ideals of humanity, social justice, freedom and equality, and keep its doors open to a world that is moving closer and closer together.

My best wishes to a beautiful young country! I am glad you have been finding your way.

Much luck for the future.

Now let’s celebrate! 

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Credits: © Arne Müseler / www.arne-mueseler.de / CC-BY-SA-3.0

The Captain – A new film by Robert Schwentke on the true story of the Executioner of Emsland

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THE CAPTAIN, a new German biopic, is based on the true story of the Executioner of Emsland in the final days of WWII . It opens in Los Angeles on August 10th at the Nuart Theatre with a Q&A session with director Robert Schwentke to follow.

About The Movie:

Based on the arresting true story of the Executioner of Emsland, THE CAPTAIN follows a German army deserter, Willi Herold (Max Hubacher), after he finds an abandoned Nazi captain’s uniform in the final weeks of World War II. Emboldened by the authority the uniform grants him, he amasses a band of stragglers who cede to his command despite the suspicions of some. Citing direct orders from the Fuhrer himself, he soon takes command of a camp holding German soldiers accused of desertion and begins to dispense harsh justice. Increasingly intoxicated by the unquestioned authority, this enigmatic imposter soon discovers that many people will blindly follow the leader, whomever that happens to be.
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Simultaneously a historical docudrama and sociological examination with undertones of the absurd, THE CAPTAIN presents fascism as something of a game to be played by those most gullible and unscrupulous.
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Director: 
Robert Schwentke (Red, Insurgent, Tattoo)
Main Cast includes : Max Hubacher as Willi Herold (Night Train to Lisbon), Milan Peschel as Freytag (The Manny/Der Nanny),  Frederick Lau as Kipinski (Victoria),  Alexander Fehling as Junker (Inglorious Basterds)
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Watch The Movie for FREE !

Claim one pair of tickets from us that invites you and a friend to see the movie at the Nuart Theatre starting August 13th. (More information is printed on the ticket)

Send an email to californiagermans(AT)gmail.com with “Let me watch The Captain for Free” in the subject line. We will select one winner at random from the first 10 people who email us.

Credits: Images and Video by Music Box Films
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