Germany ′09 – 13 short films about the state of the nation

Over sixty years after the end of the Second World War, forty years after the student revolts of 1968, thirty years after the ′German Autumn′ of 1977, twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and, in the midst of the social upheaval caused by the reforms of ′Agenda 2010′ as the country moves into the globalised world of the 21st century, a group of German film directors have come together to create a panoramic impression – each from their own individual point of view – of the social and political climate in today′s Federal Republic.

Each of the directors involved in this episodic film has created their personal cinematic take on present-day Germany: whether abstract or specific, each auteur was given free rein to choose the form and content of their work. Each individual contribution could be a short drama, a documentary, an essayistic or an experimental piece.

As one of the project′s directors and co-initiators Tom Tykwer describes it: "The film Deutschland ′09 brings together at least a dozen different cinematic interpretations of our native land – these pieces describe the ways in which we position, lose and ensnarl ourselves in this country."

Source: 59. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)