On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the death of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the 43rd International Thessaloniki Film Festival in conjunction with the Goethe Institute Internationes (Thessaloniki) will present for the first time on the big screen the filmmaker’s brilliant series Berlin Alexanderplatz commissioned in 1980 for West German television, and screened by the Greek national broadcaster ET-1 in 1983.
This epic creation comprising 16 hours in total, holds a unique position in the history of world cinema as it marks one of the rare junctures and instances where television competes successfully with cinema for expressionistic possibilities, whilst also denoting a turning point in the life and work of Fassbinder. Consisting of 13 episodes and an epilogue, the work could have been viewed as a film in 14 parts or more simply, a film epic signed by the greatest German post war filmmaker.
In the spirit of the vision, style and breadth that characterizes Fassbinder’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, the 43rd International Thessaloniki Film Festival has programmed an epic marathon of late night screenings of the series on the final three days of the festival: Friday 15, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November. Each of the screenings will run 5 hours, commencing at 1am on the specified date and concluding in the early hours of the morning. There will be two scheduled intervals, and breakfast will be served to patrons at the end of each screening. The series will be screened in television broadcast order and will close with the Epilogue.
It should be noted that on Monday 18 November at the Pavlos Zannas Cinema the complete 14 part series will be shown in its entirety in an unrivalled and cinematic marathon for the truly dedicated admirers of Fassbinder’s creation.
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SCREENING SCHEDULE BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ
Olympion Renault Cinema
Friday 15 November 2002 Session to commence at 1.00am Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Total running time: 320 minutes
Saturday 16 November 2002 Session to commence at 1.00am Episodes 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Total running time: 300 minutes
Sunday 17 November 2002 Session to commence at 1.00am Episodes 11, 12, 13, Epilogue Total running time: 290 minutes (There will be two scheduled intervals during each of the sessions)
Pavlos Zannas – Olympion Renault Cinema
Monday 18 November 2002 Session to commence at 9.00 and conclude at 24.00 Screening of the entire 14 part series
