November 2013: DW's culture calendar
October 29, 2013
The cold and wet fall season is the perfect time for movies! The film festival Mannheim-Heidelberg is showing exciting motion pictures from October 31 till November 10. The festival aims to be a forum for young and unknown directors. Films from all over the world are in the running. One of them is the Norwegian-German-Iraqi production "For Snoen Faller – Before Snowfall" by Kurdish-Norwegian director Hisham Zaman. In this highly topical migration drama, an Iraqi boy follows his sister across Europe. His gruesome mission: to murder his sister in an honor killing. But his search takes an unexpected turn.
Dürer – a versatile art superstar
The glory and grandeur of the Renaissance are on display in Frankfurt, where the Städel Museum is showing an extensive exhibition on Albrecht Dürer. The great master is considered by many to be the most important German artist of his age. The son of a goldsmith, he was born in Nuremberg in 1471 and died there in 1528. Dürer's significant oeuvre extends across all techniques. He was master not only of painting and drawing but also of the art woodcut, as well as being a "revolutionary of etching," according to Jochen Sander. Sander curates the comprehensive exhibition "Dürer. Art – Artist – Context", which is at the Städel Museum until February 2, 2014. Loans from the Prado in Madrid, the Louvre in Paris, the Uffizi in Florence and from London, Amsterdam and Los Angeles will also be part of the exhibition.
League of the Damned
It's all about scoring goals on stage in November. The Berlin Theater "Ballhaus Naunystraße" is playing "League of the Damned" from November 1-4. The play is director Neco Celik's glance behind the scenes of the Turkish soccer club Türkiyemspor, but it also tells the story of German immigration. After all, Türkiyemspor is the most successful migrant club in German soccer.
"I walk with my lantern and my lantern with me"
November 11 is St. Martin's Day. People celebrate the memory of Saint Martin of Tours. Legend says that St. Martin cut his warm coat in two with a sword on a cold night, and gave one half to an almost-naked beggar. People remember this legend every November.
"St. Martin" is a beautiful occasion, especially for children. They go from house to house and sing or participate in St. Martin processions, with home-made paper lanterns. One of the well-known songs the kids sing during the event is "I walk with my lantern and my lantern with me." Participants are often led by a rider on horseback dressed as St. Martin, complete with sword and red coat. Those who are interested can find out the dates for a procession near them in local newspapers, or ask in churches or schools.
The avant-garde in battle
There's also lots of interesting art around in November. The Bundeskunsthalle Bonn is showing the exhibition "1914 – The Avant-Gardes at War," starting on November 8. In the trenches of World War I, artists, too, experienced the horrors of barrage and gas attacks. At the same time, the outbreak of the war in 1914 marked the disruption of the artistic exchange across national borders in Europe.
The exhibition shows how avant-garde artists dealt with their war experiences - an artistic preview to the WWI memorial year 2014. Paintings, drawings and sculptures by Beckmann, Dix, Kandinsky, Kirchner, Klee, Lehmbruck, Macke, Malewitsch, Marc, Picasso, Schiele and others will be on display until February 23, 2014.