Editor

Last year, the festival, which is jointly organised by Goethe-Institut Australia and German Films, posted record attendance figures with more than 26,000 admissions and is now looking to build on this success with an extensive program: a total of 38 feature films and documentaries along with 13 shorts will be shown in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide from 6 - 18 April, 2011.

Actor Burghart Klaußner will be in attendance to present the opening film GOETHE! (YOUNG GOETHE IN LOVE) by Philipp Stölzl in Sydney and Brisbane as well as REQUIEM by Hans-Christian Schmid and THE SILENCE (DAS LETZTE SCHWEIGEN) by Baran Bo Odar. Meanwhile, Melbourne and Perth audiences can look forward to seeing Ralf Huettners VINCENT WANTS TO SEA (VINCENT WILL MEER) which will open their programs. The tragicomedy will then be released in Australian cinemas.

The following new German-language productions are being screened in German Currents: THE DAY I WAS NOT BORN (DAS LIED IN MIR) by Florian Cossen, THE DAY OF THE CAT (DER GROSSE KATER) by Wolfgang Panzer, THE HAIRDRESSER (DIE FRISEUSE) by Doris Dörrie, THE DAYS TO COME (DIE KOMMENDEN TAGE) by Lars Kraume, CLOSE TO YOU (GANZ NAH BEI DIR) by Almut Getto, SINGLE BY CONTRACT (GROUPIES BLEIBEN NICHT ZUM FRHÜSTÜCK) by Marc Rothemund, JULIAS DISAPPEARANCE (GUILIAS VERSCHWINDEN) by Christoph Schaub, NANGA PARBAT by Joseph Vilsmaier, THE POLL DIARIES (POLL) by Chris Kraus, SASCHA by Dennis Todoróvic, COLOURS IN THE DARK (SATTE FARBEN VOR SCHWARZ) by Sophie Heldman, THE MURDER FARM (TANNÖD) by Bettina Oberli, THE CITY BELOW (UNTER DIR DIE STADT) by Christoph Hochhäusler. ALMANYA (ALMANYA WILLKOMMEN IN DEUTSCHLAND) by Yasemin Samdereli will be coming hot off its premiere at the Berlinale.

Eleven audience favourites from the past festivals will be shown in Retro 2001-2010 , including NO PLACE TO GO (DIE UNBERÜHRBARE) by Oskar Roehler and EMMA'S BLISS (EMMAS GLÜCK) by Sven Taddicken. After last year's great audience success with DIE WÖLFE, this year's festival will show Friedemann Fromm's TV mini-series THE WEISSENSEE SAGA (WEISSENSEE). The young audience can expect lots of adventures with TIGER TEAM by Peter Gersina and THE DEVILS KICKERS (DIE TEUFELSKICKER) by Granz Henman. Five documentaries highlighting radical approaches to life can be seen in the sidebar Radical Docs which is being organised in cooperation with ZDF/ARTE; in addition, there will be a screening of KEEP SURFING by Björn Richie Lob.

The festival will be rounded off in style with the first German dance film in 3D as a premiere in the Southern hemisphere: PINA in the presence of Wim Wenders as part of a gala event at the famous Sydney Opera House.