Press Release | Berlin, 08/20/2015

UFA Film Nights 2015 Draw Crowds Again

• Bertelsmann Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe: Keeping the creative achievements of past generations alive
• UFA CEO Wolf Bauer: UFA Film Nights are a highlight of Berlin’s cultural summer

In 2015, their fifth year, the UFA Film Nights in Berlin have once again proven their ability to draw a crowd: as the three-day silent film festival under the open sky in Berlin's historic center gets underway, the organizers – the international media company Bertelsmann and the leading German film production company UFA – are able to report largely sold-out screenings. Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s South Sea romance “Tabu,” filmed on Tahiti, kicks things off on Thursday evening – it was the director’s last film before he died in an accident shortly before its premiere in 1931. “Tabu” will be accompanied by the UFA Filmorchester playing film music created by the young composer Florian C. Reithner on behalf of Bertelsmann and UFA especially for the occasion live in front of the spectacular setting of the Kolonnadenhof on Museum Island. The actor Joachim Król introduces the film as its sponsor. 

Bertelsmann’s Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe said: "By hosting the UFA Film Nights, we seek to keep alive the creative achievements of past generations, which represented a decisive advance in our cinematic culture and are a source of inspiration to this day. We are delighted that so many people recognize the value of these film classics, as evidenced by the sold-out screenings.” UFA CEO Wolf Bauer emphasized that, “in their fifth year, the UFA Film Nights have long since become established as an institution and crowd-puller in Berlin's cultural summer. This is very gratifying, because we want the UFA Film Nights to provide a visible platform for the unique cinematic heritage from the 1920s left to us by directors like Fritz Lang, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau and Ernst Lubitsch and producers like Erich Pommer.” 

Before the lights go down and the screening begins on Museum Island, Bertelsmann and UFA will host a reception at Bertelsmann’s premises at Unter den Linden 1 on Thursday evening. Among the 300 guests expected to attend are actors, cultural personages and other notables from politics and society. Actress Maria Furtwängler and actors Tom Schilling, Joachim Król and Hans-Werner Meyer have confirmed their attendance, as have the fashion designer Jette Joop, the journalist/author Harald Martenstein, the Brandenburg Economics Minister Albrecht Gerber, several ambassadors, and heads of important cultural institutions such as the Goethe Institute, Free University of Berlin, Berlin’s National Museums and the German Federal Film Board. 

The second movie in the UFA Film Nights is Johannes Guter’s 1928 crime caper “Her Dark Secret” on Friday night, accompanied by Neil Brand on the piano. The movie will be introduced by the young German “Game of Thrones” star Tom Wlaschiha. The three evenings of the event conclude on Saturday night with “The Adventures of Prince Achmed,” the first feature-length “silhouette film” in history, which whisks viewers off to an Oriental fairytale world. Trioglyzerin will furnish the music for the film with classical and oriental instruments; the actress Natalia Wörner will introduce the film. 

Afterwards, the UFA Film Nights will once again take to the European stage, and will be screened in the European metropolis of Brussels from September 24th to 26th. 

The program at a glance:

Thursday, August 20, 2015: Doors open at 8:30 p.m., movie starts at 9:00 p.m.
Tabu (1931) by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau,
new composition by Florian C. Reithner performed by the UFA Filmorchester conducted by Florian C. Reithner, introduced by Joachim Król

Friday, August 21, 2015: Doors open at 8:30 p.m., movie starts at 9:00 p.m.
Her Dark Secret (1928) by Johannes Guter,
accompanied by Neil Brand in the wings, introduced by Tom Wlaschiha 

Saturday, August 22, 2015: Doors open at 8:30 p.m., movie starts at 9:00 p.m.
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) by Lotte Reiniger,
accompanied by Trioglyzerin, introduced byNatalia Wörner

Tickets are available at the door for €15.

The UFA Film Nights are hosted by UFA and Bertelsmann with the kind support of the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation, Deutsches Filminstitut, Cine Plus, Gegenbauer Facility Management, Humboldt Box and Securitas. 

Yorck Kinogruppe, Stroer, RBB Fernsehen, radio eins, RBB Kulturradio, Mit Vergnügen and Berlin.de are the event’s media partners. 

More at www.ufa-filmnaechte.de  and http://www.bertelsmann.com/news-and-media/specials/ufa-film-nights/ 

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company that operates in about 50 countries around the world. It includes the broadcaster RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the service providers Arvato and Be Printers, the music company BMG and the e-learning provider Relias Learning. The company has more than 112,000 employees and generated revenues of €16.7 billion in financial year 2014. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes the creation of first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world.