japanese
Facing the Past—German Documentaries
A
  • Eternal Beauty
  • The Fairy Tale of the Little Fish
  • The Unknown Soldier
  • Winter’s Children

  • B
  • Do Communists Have Better Sex?
  • Black Box Germany
  • My Life as a Terrorist
  • The Rebel
  • The Wall

  • C
  • Last to Know
  • I Love You All
  • The Kick
  • Locked Up Time
  • Screenplay: The Times
  • Sweep It Up, Swig It Down
  • A Special Program on Germany


    It is an honor and a privilege for the Goethe-Institut Japan and for myself to congratulate the organizers of the tenth Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival for all their efforts in realizing another international film event in Japan which attracts documentary filmmakers and enthusiasts from here and abroad.

    In a time of fast and vast information, documentary films more than ever before have become a media form of outstanding importance for conveying serious, impartial, and lasting information and knowledge in the world. It is with great pleasure indeed that in 2007 the Goethe-Institut Japan will contribute to the festival’s program for the first time, with a series of outstanding films under the title “Facing the Past—German Documentaries.” This program underlines not only the relevance of the past in Germany today, but also how the making of documentaries contributes to maintaining our awareness of how to deal with history today for the purposes of lasting reconciliation and prosperous integration among its European neighbors.

    My very special thanks go to the festival organizers, the film directors, and guests from Germany, as well as to our German partners, AG DOK and German Films.

    To the festival and its audience, I wish everyone great success and fascinating film viewing.

    Dr. Uwe Schmelter
    Director General, Goethe-Institut Japan
    Goethe-Institut Regional Director for East Asia