“Let’s get emotional again”: The cinema industry is currently trying to attract people who haven’t been to a cinema for a while. There is a lot on offer for them (and everyone else) in the autumn: Hollywood is launching a new “Joker” film, the sequel to “Gladiator” or “Mufasa: The Lion King”, German cinema is more diverse than ever with “School for Magical Animals 3”, “Hagen – In the Valley of the Nibelungs” or “Old White Man”. Some of these will be premiering in Munich. But there is also a lot on offer beyond these potential box office hits, Munich cinemas are attracting people with festivals, ceremonies, retro films or discussions. The range is huge, ticket prices are low (at least on the first weekend in September), so it’s not just those who don’t like going to the cinema who will get emotional.
Start of the festival season
“You have to come and visit us!” This sentence is often heard on vacation, for example when the nice neighbors leave the campsite or the hotel room next door. After the thriller “Speak No Evil” you might think again: This is the story of a family that visits their vacation friends at home – and experiences true horror. The US remake of a Danish film opens the Fantasy Film FestivalIn its 38th edition, the festival focuses on feminist body horror (“The Substance”), Hong Kong action (“Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In”) or brand new films from the festivals in Toronto (the Chinese time travel action comedy “Escape from the 21st Century”) or Venice (the Belgian true crime thriller “Maldoror”). This year there is a jury prize for the first time, the festival runs until September 18th and takes place in the City Cinema.
Autumn is festival time in Munich, and in the coming weeks and months the African Film Days (in Gasteig HP8, 11 to 13 October), the Queer Film Festival Munich (in City, 15 to 20 October) or the Greek Film Week (in the Theatiner, Rio and Gasteig HP8, 14 to 23 November).
Cinema festival for young and old
There are many things you have to spend more on today than you did yesterday, such as rent, groceries or pizza at your favorite Italian restaurant. But there is one thing that prices remain stable: On September 7th and 8th, 2024, the “The Cinema Festival” As in the previous year, films will be shown for a weekend at a special price of five euros – in all cinemas, in all seats. Due to the great success of this nationwide cinema advertising campaign, it will simply be repeated: In Munich, many cinemas are taking part, large houses such as the Mathäser, Cinemaxx, Gloria or Arri Kino, but also arthouse cinemas such as the City, Cinema, Rottmann, Rex or Studio Isabella.
Anyone who missed the hits of the summer cinema (“Inside Out 2”, “Two to One”, “Just One More Time”) can catch up for little money. But attractive new releases such as “Fifty Fifty”, “The Irony of Life” or “What is Normal?” are also on offer. There is also something for the very young: The “Disney Channel Interactive Cinema” also takes place on the cinema festival weekend, in the participating cinemas the young guests can watch, sing, puzzle or dance at a reduced price.
New program at the Film Museum
On 11 September the Munich Film Museum after the summer break. It starts with a Robert Altman retrospective; the US director would have celebrated his 100th birthday in February 2025 (he died in 2006). Altman was considered nonconformist and difficult, he experienced great triumphs and defeats. He also liked to experiment with genres or overlapping dialogues. Films such as “Nashville”, “M*A*S*H” and “The Player” are timeless masterpieces; in 1993 he won the Golden Lion of Venice for the three-hour ensemble drama “Short Cuts”. The big city dance from LA, with a prominent cast including stars such as Jack Lemmon, Frances McDormand, Tom Waits, Julianne Moore and Robert Downey Jr., also opens the film museum season.
The Jewish writer Lion Feuchtwanger was born in Munich 140 years ago, and a square in Lehel was recently named after him. From September 13, the Film Museum will be showing a small series of literary film adaptations based on his works, including Franz Seitz’s “Success” from 1990, the British film adaptation of “Jud Süß” (1934) and Konrad Wolf’s feature film “Goya – or the arge path to knowledge”, which was made in the GDR in 1971.
Other film series are dedicated to the filmmaker and photographer Robert Frank, the film artist Rebecca Horn or the Senegalese writer and director Ousmane Sembéne. The series “Bonner Republik” (with films by Peter Goedel, Helke Sander or Christoph Schlingensief) starts on 18 September, and in October the Underdox Festival The Romanian Film Festival follows in November, and the Werner Herzog Film Prize is awarded in December. And the new year starts with a tribute to the British actress Sally Hawkins (“Happy-Go-Lucky”, “The Shape of Water”) and a film series called “Gender Comedies”: comedy classics such as “Some Like It Hot” and “Viktor and Viktoria” are on the program.
Birthday of the film city Munich
If you enter the word “Filmstadt” into your trusted Internet search engine, you will end up at Bavaria Filmstadt in Geiselgasteig and the tours offered there. But there is a second Filmstadt in Munich that has a significant impact on the city’s cinema landscape: the umbrella organization for 16 member groups, initiatives and associations coordinates the municipal film work as well as film series and country film festivals such as Bimovie, Cinema Iran or the Latin American Film Days. In September, the Film City Munich 40th birthday.
The public can join in the celebrations: over four days there will be films, directors’ talks and musical contributions. Munich’s Deputy Mayor Dominik Krause has announced that he will attend the official ceremony on 12 September in the Film Museum. From 13 to 15 September the festival continues in the New Maxim Cinema: Doris Metz will present her documentary “Petra Kelly – Act Now!”, Eylem Kaftan will present her hybrid film about sexual violence, “Bir Gün, 365 Saat”. There will also be film programmes from the festivals Colorful Dog, Cinema Asylum or Flickering & noise.
Everything except film: operas, ballets or concerts
A film is made so that it can be shown in the cinema. A trivial statement that has been relied upon ever since pictures first learned to move. But sometimes the cinema you trust doesn’t show any films at all, then it becomes a concert or sports arena, a theatre or an opera house. In October, for example, “Met live in the cinema” into the new season, the opera broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera in New York can be experienced live in many cinemas. It starts with Jacques Offenbach’s “Les contes d’Hoffmann” (October 5th), followed by Jeanine Tesori’s contemporary opera “Grounded” (October 19th), Puccini’s “Tosca” (November 23rd) and Verdi’s “Aida” (January 25th).
A ballet performance is scheduled for September 25th: Matthew Bournes “Edward Scissorhands” based on the film of the same name by Tim Burton will be shown at the Gloria Filmpalast, among others. Rock and pop concerts are also making it to the big screen, and not just since the successful “Eras Tour” film with Taylor Swift from last year. On September 12th, “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” will be shown at Arri, Cinemaxx and Mathäser, and from September 26th, the Leopold Kino and Arri will be showing the concert film “Paul McCartney & Wings: One Hand Clapping”. In October, the Swedish metal band Sabaton with “The Tour To End All Tours”.