KLAMMER / CHASING THE LINE
In the 1970s skiing scene, Austrian Franz Klammer was the greatest rival of Swiss Bernhard Russi. For years, the two national heroes engaged in a duel for supremacy in downhill skiing.
Barely 22, Franz Klammer (Julian Waldner) finds himself in the eye of the storm when he arrives for the men’s downhill competition at the 1976 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck. Since the previous season the charismatic newcomer has won virtually every race, so the pressure from the media and the public is off the scale. Faced with this pressure, his sponsor wanting to change his equipment at the last minute, the weather conditions worsening by the day and rival racers on his heels, Franz confronts the ultimate challenge.
Packed with thrilling race sequences and set over several days leading up to the contest, this passionate film explores Klammer’s journey in forging his own identity as an athlete. Director Andreas Schmied’s feel-good biopic provides a highly entertaining look behind the scenes of professional sports and shows Klammer as a rebel against the commercialisation of skiing.
Taken from: https://germanfilmfestival.com.au/films/chasing-the-line
DER PFAD/ THE PATH
On the run from the Nazis, Rolf and his father find themselves stranded in southern France. The young shepherd girl Nuria has offered to guide them along a secret path through the Pyrenees, but Rolf’s father is then arrested halfway. Will the two children manage to escape on their own?
France in 1940: persecuted by the Nazis, the critical German journalist Ludwig and his 12-year-old son Rolf are stranded in Marseilles. Their goal is to travel to New York where Rolf’s mother has been waiting for them now for far too long. Their guessing game of “Good or Bad? – Dissident or Collaborator?” soon turns deadly serious when they increasingly have to face inspectors and officials in Nazi-controlled Europe.
The only way to freedom is a steep path leading from Southern France through the Pyrenees to Spain. Nuria, a girl, only slightly older than Rolf, offers to guide them along the hazardous path. When the father gets caught en route, Rolf and Núria are suddenly all on their own. Rolf’s dog Adi is then the only companion on a path that teaches the two children to stick together and to rely on one another – if they want to survive.
Director Tobias Wiemann (“Mountain Miracle – An Unexpected Friendship”) has succeeded with THE PATH in making a breathtaking film that is for adults as well as for a young audience. A story based on true historical events during the Second World World about courage, solidarity, the will to survive and friendship with Julius Weckauf (“All About Me”) in the lead role opposite Volker Bruch from „Babylon Berlin“ and Anna Maria Mühe from “Dogs of Berlin“, among others. Produced by Daniel Ehrenberg (Eyrie Entertainment), the film combines an astonishingly light touch with great images and suspense to show what it means when children have to cope alone in fleeing war and terror and thus addresses a highly topical subject. THE PATH will be released theatrically in Germany by Warner Bros.
Taken from: https://www.globalscreen.de/mm/en/content/167429
