The Oldenburg International Film Festival honors Dominik Graf with a retrospective
Dominik Graf is not only one of the greatest filmmakers in the German-speaking realm, but also a great cineaste who loves and knows cinema like no other. Looking at his work and in particular his genre films is like examining cinema, the evolution of film and the ramifications for social debates - far beyond Germany's borders.
He made his debut at the end of the 1970s as part of a generation of filmmakers who had set out to reform mass entertainment. Well-told and cost-effective films, such as those made in the USA by filmmakers like Sam Fuller or Robert Aldrich or perfected in French film by Melville. It is therefore hardly surprising that many of his films were made for television. His works for the series “The Investigator” repeatedly turned into blueprints for larger genre productions and already showed his preference for working with authors who could find harmony in the economy of storytelling. French cinema's respectful term “policiers” became the backbone of his work. With his thrillers “Die Katze” and “Die Sieger”, he created milestones in a genre that didn't really exist in German cinema at all.
With Dominik Graf, the Filmfest honours perhaps the most exceptional filmmaker of his time, one who always prefers to put himself at the service of the story he tells and who has found the essence of this art form in the straightforwardness and economy of storytelling.
His insight from a conversation with the film critic Olaf Möller is perhaps the essence of film as an art form, a simplicity that only the greatest filmmakers have never been afraid of: “Ultimately, I have the impression that what I specifically want or what gives me the most pleasure can only be found in its purity in ready-made films.”
Dominik Graf will be a guest in Oldenburg from September 11 to 15, 2024.
There will be a master class with Dominik Graf on September 14 from 1 pm. Filmmaker and journalist Rüdiger Suchsland will lead the discussion.
Films of the Retrospective
»Treffer« (1984)
»Die Katze« (1988)
»Spieler« (1990)
»Die Sieger – Director’s Cut« (1995/2019)
»Hotte im Paradies« (2002)
»Fabian oder der Gang vor die Hunde« (2021)
Dominik Graf wird vom 11. bis zum 15. September 2024 in Oldenburg zu Gast sein.
Am 14.09 wird es ab 13 Uhr eine Masterclass mit Dominik Graf geben. Die Gesprächsleitung übernimmt der Filmemacher und Journalist Rüdiger Suchsland .
Die Filme der Retrospektive
Im Rahmen der Retrospektive werden in Oldenburg die folgenden Filme zu sehen sein:
»Treffer« (1984)
»Die Katze« (1988)
»Spieler« (1990)
»Die Sieger – Director’s Cut« (1995/2018)
»Hotte im Paradies« (2002)
»Fabian oder der Gang vor die Hunde« (2021)