Press Release | Berlin, 08/05/2020

UFA Film Nights Go Digital in Anniversary Year

• From August 20 to 22, 2020, legendary silent films with exclusive musical accompaniment can be experienced online
• “Woman in the Moon,” “People on Sunday,” and “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” each accessible free of charge for 24 hours
• Music contributed by celebrated DJ Jeff Mills, chillout pioneer
  Raphaël Marionneau and Ensemble Trioglyzerin

In light of the current situation, the UFA Film Nights will for the first time take place exclusively online and not with thousands of guests on Berlin's Museum Island. So in its tenth year, the silent film festival is open not only to Berliners, but to movie buffs all over the world. From August 20 to 22, 2020, Bertelsmann and UFA will present the anniversary edition of the UFA Film Nights as part of the digital Culture@Bertelsmann series, featuring three early masterpieces of cinema history, each with exclusive musical accompaniment. The films will be live streamed on the company website as well as on Bertelsmann's YouTube and Facebook channels.

The event’s curtain-raiser is Fritz Lang's epochal, technically visionary masterpiece Frau im Mond (Woman in the Moon) from 1929, with a musical interpretation by the celebrated DJ Jeff Mills. The pairing was a highlight of last year's UFA Film Nights. This will be followed on the second evening by Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday), the legendary homage to Berlin by Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, and Billie Wilder (1929/1930), with DJ Raphaël Marionneau supplying the music. In 2013, the UFA Film Nights guests celebrated the film and the DJ with regular applause between the scenes. The third evening will feature Lotte Reiniger's Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (The Adventures of Prince Achmed) from 1926, the first full-length silhouette film in history. Its fairytale world of filigree silhouettes is accompanied by Trioglyzerin on classical and oriental instruments. This fascinating animation classic was the closing movie of the UFA Film Nights in 2015. All films start online at 9:00 p.m. CEST and are then accessible free of charge for the following 24 hours.

Bertelsmann Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe comments: “Even after a century, silent films have forfeited none of their fascination and inspirational power. By hosting the digital UFA Film Nights, we want to keep this art form alive even in times of physical distancing. Selected masterpieces of Weimar cinema will be streamed live to people's homes, thus re-establishing them in the public’s consciousness.”

UFA CEO Nico Hofmann added: “Especially in the present exceptional situation, I'm very pleased that we have found a way to give the outstanding silent film scene of the 1920s a platform that will appeal to a wide audience in this year's tenth edition of the UFA Film Nights: For the first time, the highlight of Berlin's cultural summer can be experienced digitally anywhere in the world – a real enrichment in these difficult times.”

The digital UFA Film Nights will be hosted by Bertelsmann on YouTube (www.youtube.de/bertelsmann  ), Facebook (www.facebook.com/Bertelsmann  ) and the company website (www.bertelsmann.de/culturedigital  ) as well as on www.ufa-filmnaechte.de  . They will also be embedded on the radioeins website (www.radioeins.de/livestream  ).

The program at a glance:

Thursday, August 20th, 2020, from 9:00 p.m.

FRAU IM MOND – WOMAN IN THE MOON (1929)
With Gerda Maurus, Willy Fritsch, Klaus Pohl, Gustav von Wangenheim, Fritz Rasp
Production: Fritz Lang Film for Ufa, Length: 156 min
Music: Jeff Mills with his musical interpretation

Friday, August 21st, 2019, from 9:00 p.m. Director: Fritz Lang

MENSCHEN AM SONNTAG– PEOPLE ON SUNDAY (1929/1930)

Director: Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer
Script: Billie Wilder, Robert Siodmak
Camera: Eugen Schüfftan, Fred Zinnemann
With Erwin Splettstößer, Brigitte Borchert, Wolfgang von Waltershausen and others
Production: Seymour Nebenzahl, Length: 74 min
Music: DJ Raphaël Marionneau

Saturday, August 22nd, 2020, from 9:00 p.m.

DIE ABENTEUER DES PRINZEN ACHMED– THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED (1926)
Director and Scriptwriter: Lotte Reiniger
Production: Louis Hagen, Length: 65 min
Music: Trioglyzerin

The digital UFA Film Nights are part of the “Culture@Bertelsmann goes digital” series, in which Bertelsmann's cultural activities continue even in times of coronavirus-related restrictions. A variety of streaming offerings, live broadcasts, and interactive projects in the areas of music, film, and literature are planned through fall. Retrospectives of earlier projects such as concerts, readings, and exhibitions will also be presented on Bertelsmann's YouTube channel, website and Facebook channel. On social media, these cultural activities can be found under the hashtag #BertelsmannCultureDigital. More at www.bertelsmann.de/culturedigital.

The UFA Film Nights are supported by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation; radioeins (rbb) is the media partner.

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 126,000 employees and generated revenues of €18.0 billion in the 2019 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world. Bertelsmann aspires to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.

About UFA
UFA is one of the oldest and best-known entertainment brands in the world and today does business as a powerful creator of entertainment content that 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 operate under the UFA umbrella. UFA is part of the global media and entertainment company Fremantle, which operates the worldwide production business of Bertelsmann-owned RTL Group. Managing Directors of UFA are Nico Hofmann (CEO) and Joachim Kosack.