Press Release | Berlin, 06/28/2018

Classic Silent Films and a Restored Masterpiece at the UFA Film Nights in Berlin

• On August 22 to 24, 2018, there will be open-air screenings of early gems of cinematic history, with live music, on Museum Island
• World premiere of the digitally restored film THE FIDDLER OF FLORENCE, plus SUMURUN and APACHES OF PARIS with new scores
• Live musical accompaniment by the I solisti di Francoforte ensemble, Ensemble Trioglyzerin and Maud Nelissen with The Sprockets
• Tickets now available

Bertelsmann and UFA will present the eighth UFA Film Nights in Berlin from August 22 to 24, 2018. On three evenings, early masterpieces of cinema history will be screened in the open air against a spectacular backdrop and accompanied by live music – including a historic coming-of-age drama that was digitally restored with Bertelsmann’s support and expanded to include scenes that had been lost for a long time.

The UFA Film Nights have become a cinematic-musical highlight of Berlin’s cultural summer with a dedicated stage orchestra and big screen erected for the occasion in the Kolonnadenhof on Museum Island, a World Cultural Heritage site. Bertelsmann and UFA thus continue their tradition of presenting outstanding cinematic works in a historic architectural setting. This year, close to 1,000 guests are expected on each evening. Tickets go on sale today.

Following a reception at Bertelsmann Unter den Linden 1, Berlin, the UFA Film Nights open on Wednesday, August 22nd with a world premiere. On show is Paul Czinner's THE FIDDLER OF FLORENCE, a romantic adventure about a young woman who disguises herself as a man and travels to Italy, where she models for a painter – the legendary Elisabeth Bergner in a classic role. The film, which was produced almost a hundred years ago by the then Ufa and until recently was only available in an abridged version, was digitally restored by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation in recent months with financial support from Bertelsmann. A complete version will now be presented to the public again, for the first time in all its newly restored splendor. At the world premiere, the I solisti di Francoforte ensemble will play a newly composed score by Uwe Dierksen, commissioned by ZDF/ARTE. ARTE will broadcast the restored silent film with new music on September 24, 2018.

Thursday evening’s screening is Ernst Lubitsch's SUMURUN starring the great Pola Negri as a seductive dancer, who turns the heads of a sheikh and his son alike. The music for the film is played by the Ensemble Trioglyzerin.

On Friday evening, Nikolai Malikoff's APACHES OF PARIS is on the program, in which American puritans on a moralizing mission in the shabby districts of Paris find themselves exposed to all kinds of temptations. The music is provided by the internationally renowned Dutch composer and pianist Maud Nelissen and her band The Sprockets, also with a new composition.

All three films will once again be introduced by prominent film “patrons.”

The Program at a Glance:

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018. Doors open at 8:30 p.m., screening starts at 9:00 p.m.
DER GEIGER VON FLORENZ– THE FIDDLER OF FLORENCE, (1925/26),
Director: Paul Czinner
With Elisabeth Bergner, Conrad Veidt, Nora Gregor, Grete Mosheim
Production: Ufa, Length: approx. 90 min.
Music: New composition by Uwe Dierksen, commissioned by ZDF/ARTE. The I solisti di Francoforte ensemble will perform the musical accompaniment.

Thursday, August 23rd, 2018. Doors open at 8:30 p.m., screening starts at 9:00 p.m.
SUMURUN, (1920), Director: Ernst Lubitsch
With Pola Negri, Jenny Hasselqvist, Paul Wegener, Harry Liedtke, Ernst Lubitsch
Production: Pagu (Ufa), Length: 103 min.
Music: New composition by Trioglyzerin

Friday, August 24th, 2018. Doors open at 8:30 p.m., screening starts at 9:00 p.m.
DIE APACHEN VON PARIS – APACHES OF PARIS (1927), Director: Nikolai Malikoff
With Jaque Catelain, Lia Eibenschütz, Olga Limburg
Production: Alliance Cinématografique (for Ufa), Length: 108 min.
Music: New composition by Maud Nelissen. Performed by: Maud Nelissen & The Sprockets

The UFA Film Nights hosted by Bertelsmann und UFA are internationally popular as well. Much to the delight of cineastes, several UFA Film Nights have already been held in Brussels, Madrid, Paris and New York. For many years, Bertelsmann has been engaged in a variety of cultural initiatives both in Germany and internationally. The Group’s “Culture@Bertelsmann” activities comprise exhibitions, readings and concerts, the “Blue Sofa” literary format, as well as a commitment to preserving Europe’s cultural heritage. For instance, Bertelsmann owns the Archivio Storico Ricordi in Milan, a music archive that contains a wealth of unique testimonies to Italian opera history. Bertelsmann is indexing the archival holdings to meet the latest standards and making the cultural treasures accessible for a wide audience. As a company with a long history in filmmaking, Bertelsmann also supports and sponsors the restoration, digitization and screening of major silent films.

This year’s UFA Film Nights in Berlin are being held with the kind support of ARTE, the National Museums in Berlin (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin), the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation, Maz & Movie, and Gegenbauer Facility Management. Yorck Kinogruppe, Stroer, radio eins, and RBB Kulturradio are the event’s media partners.

More information at www.ufa-filmnaechte.de  or on Twitter: #UFAFilmnächte

Tickets are now available for 15 EUR including advance booking charge:
Online: www.ufa-filmnaechte.de  or www.ticketmaster.de 
Phone: 01806 999 0000 (0.20 €/call from German landlines / max. 0.60 €/call from German mobiles)

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 music company BMG, the service provider Arvato, the Bertelsmann Printing Group, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company has 119,000 employees and generated revenues of €17.2 billion in the 2017 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for entrepreneurship and creativity. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world.

About UFA
UFA celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2017, making it one of the oldest entertainment brands in the world. Today's UFA Group is a powerful creator of entertainment content, and has steadily expanded its market leadership as a film and television producer in Germany over the years. The company has evolved from a creator of programs and TV producer into a content specialist that delivers a range of solutions for digital and multimedia content exploitation - for all major broadcasters in Germany as well as for many other partners. The UFA FICTION, UFA SERIAL DRAMA and UFA SHOW & FACTUAL production units as well as the UFA LAB operate under the UFA umbrella. UFA is part of the global media and entertainment company FremantleMedia, which operates the worldwide production business of Bertelsmann-owned RTL Group.