Contemporary German Art

It is believed that in summer, especially in July and August, all of Europe goes on one big collective vacation. Looking at Germany’s calendar of cultural events, it’s hard to believe this: it’s as packed as any other season. There is no shortage of things to do.

Film: Munich Film Festival and Film Nights on the Elbe in Dresden

Munich is Germany’s second film capital after Berlin. Here there is a huge film studio, competing with Potsdam’s Babelsberg, and its own Bavarian Film Prize, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. It’s more or less the same with festivals. In contrast to the glamorous Berlinale in February, Munich holds its own mid-summer film festival that is more modest and democratic, but does not skimp on celebrity guests.

The program includes new releases from young German directors, European premiers and hits from Cannes, which ends successfully just a month before the Munich festival. This year there are two confirmed headliners: Ralph Fiennes, a Briton, and Louis Garrel, a Frenchman, are coming to Bavaria. The former will receive an award for his contribution to cinema and will present his new film “The White Raven” about Rudolf Nureyev, while the latter will receive the Margot Hilscher prize, instituted only this spring.

Every summer, one of the world’s most beautiful open-air cinemas opens in Dresden on the banks of the Elbe, not far from the Saxon Ministry of Finance. Locals are used to it, but new tourists initially do not know whether they should look at the huge movie screen or behind it at the magnificent panorama of the city.

The cinema has 3,500 seats. 400 of them are under the roof in the restaurant courtyard, so you can combine watching a movie with dinner. The program of the Film Nights on the Elbe has been compiled in such a way that nobody is left disappointed: The program includes classics, family films and new German and Hollywood hits. This year’s schedule includes Oscar winners and nominees “A Star Is Born,” “The Wife,” “The Favourite,” “Van Gogh” and “Man on the Moon,” German box office leaders “Boy Needs Fresh Air” and “100 Things,” as well as the timeless “Dirty Dancing” and “The Big Lebowski.

The festivities: Kiel Week and Cologne Lights

The first sailboat race was held in Kiel back in the late 19th century. The event was so successful that within a few years it was visited by Emperor Wilhelm II. After a six-year hiatus caused by World War II, the regatta was reborn not only as the most important sailing event in the world, but also as a major summer festival. Now it is annually visited by about three million tourists.

The central point of the program is still the race, but ordinary spectators do not come to watch it. During the Kiel Week there are music concerts and performances of street theaters, on the Town Hall Square delicacies from all over the world are served, and towards the end there is a fireworks display. The most spectacular event is considered a parade of old ships, in which the Russian side is traditionally attended by the sailing ship “Kruzenshtern.

“Cologne Lights” – another festival with a history that goes back to the century before last. In the summer of 1817 the first fireworks were launched from a ship sailing down the Rhine. Almost two centuries later the event became an annual event. Today it is the largest musical and pyrotechnical show in Europe. Visitors from all over the world come to watch it.

The best seats are on the water: a few hours before the fireworks show, a column of dozens of boats decorated with lanterns starts moving along the river. To get on deck, tickets must be booked in advance. Most people, however, prefer to watch the fiery carnival from the waterfront – with the exception of some VIP-stands, the entrance is free. This year the musical part of the festival will be dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the composer and conductor Jacques Offenbach, one of the most famous natives of Cologne.

Entertainment: Board games festival in Berlin

Board games have become so popular that Germany has its own festival – Berlin Brettspiel Con. This year the event will celebrate its first anniversary, albeit not a round one yet, but still a solid one: it will be 5 years old. The organizers are still experimenting with formats, but some traditions have already been fixed in the program.

• First, tournaments on the most popular games are held at the festival, and the winners receive real prizes.
• Secondly, board game manufacturers use Berlin Brettspiel Con as both a creative laboratory and an advertising platform: they offer all visitors to test their novelties and give their opinion. But the festival team’s main invention and special pride is the “flea market of games,” whose participants give away to everyone what they themselves have already played enough of.

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