Opening Night

CHERRY BLOSSOMS

KIRSCHBLÜTEN

Directed by Doris Dörrie

THURSDAY JANUARY 15 8PM CASTRO
6:30PM - 8PM OPENING NIGHT PARTY CASTRO

Like two cabbage rolls side by side, middle-aged couple Trudi and Rudi lead a routine life in a sleepy German town. When Trudi learns Rudi is terminally ill, she can’t tell him but wants him to see his family one last time. They visit Berlin, where two of their grown children have little time for or interest in them, but their plans to travel to Tokyo to see their other child are unexpectedly disrupted when Trudi herself dies. Left with Trudi’s suitcase containing reminders of her interests that he had discouraged, Rudi pushes on to Tokyo, where he finds no real sympathy from his son but discovers a new understanding of his wife, and of himself.
Acclaimed Doris Dörrie (HOW TO COOK YOUR LIFE, 2007; ENLIGHTENMENT GUARANTEED, 2000) drew from Yasujiro Ozu‘s classic TOKYO STORY for this beautifully acted tale of life, love and renewal.
--Courtesy of Mill Valley Film Festival

IN PERSON: Hannelore Elsner

Co-presented by FRAMELINE

PURCHASE TICKET

Country
Germany
Year
2008
Run Time
35mm, 122min., German, English, Japanese
with English subtitles
Cast
Elmar Wepper
Hannelore Elsner
Aya Irizuki
Nadja Uhl
Maximilian Brückner
Birgit Minichmayr
Camera
Hanno Lentz
Screenwriter
Doris Dörrie
Printsource
Strand Releasing
Awards
Gilde Award 2008: Best German Film
Bavarian Film Award 2008: Best Actor, Best Feature Film
German Film Awards 2008 - Gold: Best Costume Design, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
German Film Awards 2008 – Silver: Outstanding Feature Film
Seattle International Film Festival 2008: Audience Awards for Best Film

Email
strand@strandreleasing.com
Director

Doris Dörrie
Born in Hannover, Germany in 1955, Doris Dörrie studied film at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, before enrolling at the Munich Academy for Television and Film in 1975. She wrote film reviews for the Süddeutsche Zeitung and began making short documentaries for television. After several telefilms she established her reputation with MEN in 1985, a domestic hit and an international critical and commercial success. An author of novels and children‘s books, she has also directed operas. Among her other films: PARADISE (1990), NOBODY LOVES ME (1994 B&B 1996), AM I BEAUTIFUL? (1998, B&B 2001), ENLIGHTENMENT GUARANTEED (2001 Opening Night B&B), NAKED (2002, B&B 2003) and THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE (2005, Closing Night B&B 2007).