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BERLIN FILM SOCIETY + KIEZ OPER
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present...

A Very Faustian Christmas Event: Oscar-winning Film + Live Performances from Gounod’s Opera ‘Faust’

'MEPHISTO' (1981)

Dir. István Szabó | 144mins | OmeU [German w/ Eng subs]
Trailer

"An impassioned work of art. Never before have I liked the film more than the book."
- Ingmar Bergman

“Extraordinary actor…compellingly brilliant film.” 
– THE GUARDIAN

The Berlin Film Society and Kiez Oper are excited to present a very unique Christmas event. Combining István Szabó’s 1981 Oscar-winning film, ‘MEPHISTO’, with live performances from Charles Gounod’s 1851 Grand Opera, ‘FAUST’, the Berlin Film Society and Kiez Oper will create a new cross-medium narrative inspired by Goethe’s original 1808 text, befittingly hosted in Kreuzberg’s very own Faust-inspired club, GRETCHEN. Gounod’s opera will serve as a provocative prelude and postlude to Szabó’s critically-acclaimed film, offering an operatic extension to the central themes explored in the film and boasting a cast from the International Studio at the Staatsoper! To accompany the dark and sinister flavours of the evening, the new Berlin-based liquor, PIJÖKEL 55, will serve complimentary welcome drinks from 7pm. The after party (from 11:30pm) at Gretchen is equally as eclectic, featuring the finest drum’n’bass in the city! Film + Opera + Rave!

Sat 8th Dec 2012
19:00 Drinks Reception 
20:00 Opera Performance Part I
20:30 Film
22:45 Opera Performance Part II
23:30 Gretchen After Party
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ABOUT THE FILM

Based on Klaus Mann’s controversial 1936 novel, ‘MEPHISTO’ depicts the moral and existential decline of ambitious actor, Hendrik Höfgen, as the Nazi’s rapidly rise to power in 1930s Germany. Director István Szabó’s Oscar-winning character study charts Höfgen’s gradual absorption into the Nazi propaganda machine, as he becomes its star actor. The heart of the film is Klaus Maria Brandauer’s tour de force portrayal of moral corruption and the terrible consequences of selling your soul in Hitler’s Germany. Winner of the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award and Best Screenplay at Cannes, this is a complex and at times frenzied portrayal of the real costs of success during such tempestuous times.
For more information, please contact: info@berlinfilmsociety.com
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ABOUT KIEZ OPER

Kiez Oper will be presenting a selection of pieces from Charles Gounod's 1859 grand opera, ‘Faust’, with a cast from the International Studio at the Staatsoper. Kiez Oper's aim is to bring opera into the 21st Century. Performing up-close, to uninitiated audiences and in unexpected venues. Featuring the highest quality artists and performers. Untraditional, modern, exciting and at a price everyone can afford. High quality, high drama, high art. For everyone.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KiezOper
International Studio at Staatsoper: http://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/en_EN/content/opera_artist_opernstudio
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ABOUT PIJÖKEL

In the year 1955, a small piece of root wood was found by final year students in a high school near Bremen, which causes great uproar. It is named ‘Pijökel’ which – in the northern German dialect - stands for “little thing“ and the tiny piece of wood quickly reaches cult status within the class. After his studies, Kuno Grote, who became a pharmacist, develops an exquisit and extraordinary herbal liqueur for which he uses only the finest and best tinctures and essences. After his death, his son, Gabriel Grote, and friend, Henning Birkenhake, become the new guardians of this secret recipe and began to manufacture this almost magical liquor.

Website: http://www.pijoekel.de
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pijoekel55