UFA Film Nights: Bertelsmann and UFA invite you

15.07.2021

UFA Film Nights live again on Berlin's Museum Island

Scene from Ernst Lubitsch's CARMEN with Harry Liedtke and Pola Negri

From August 25 to 27, 2021, legendary silent films with exclusive musical accompaniment
Program with three masterpieces of cinema history: CARMEN, THE LIGHT OF ASIA and NOSFERATU
World premiere: Bertelsmann main sponsor of the digital restoration of the opening film CARMEN
New concept: all three films also available online on demand
The music will be provided by ensemble Kontraste, Silent Light Orchestra and the international organ virtuoso Cameron Carpenter
Advance booking starts immediately

Berlin, July 15, 2021 – Live and in front of an audience again: after a digital edition last year, Berlin’s Museum Island is once again the venue for the UFA Film Nights. From August 25 to 27, 2021, Bertelsmann and UFA will present masterpieces of Weimar cinema, all of which have made international cinema history, on three evenings in the open air, against a spectacular backdrop and accompanied by live music. The silent film festival will also take place online: With live streams, a revamped website and digital program information.

This year’s UFA Film Nights kick off with Ernst Lubitsch’s CARMEN, a free adaptation of Georges Bizet’s opera of the same name and Lubitsch’s first major production. Due to its opulence and Pola Negri’s top-class acting, the film caused a worldwide sensation at the time under the title GYPSY BLOOD. CARMEN was extensively digitally restored by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation with financial support from Bertelsmann. This cinematic jewel is now being presented to the public for the first time in a largely completed cut and with reconstructed colors. On the Museum Island, the film will be accompanied by ensemble KONTRASTE with a new composition by Tobias Schwencke, commissioned by ZDF/Arte.

The second evening will feature the oriental fairy tale THE LIGHT OF ASIA by Franz Osten, the first collaboration between German and Indian filmmakers and also the first ever international co-production in India. The Silent Light Orchestra, made up of members of the Trioglyzerin ensemble and the Ekkehard Wölk Quartet, both formations that have already enchanted previous UFA Film Nights, will delight audiences with oriental soundscapes.

The third evening is dedicated to Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s classic NOSFERATU. The “mother of all horror films” will be accompanied by the world-famous organist Cameron Carpenter, who has been thrilling the international music world with his virtuosity on the organ for years.

Tickets are now available at a price of 20 euros including advance booking fee at www.ufa-filmnaechte.de.

All films start at 21:00. Admission is from 19:30. The corona regulations applicable to the event can be found at www.ufa-filmnaechte.de.

All three films will also be streamed live and free of charge on the specially redesigned website www.ufa-filmnaechte.de. The films will remain available on demand until 9 p.m. the following day and will also be accessible via the social media channels of the UFA Film Nights as well as Bertelsmann and UFA.

Bertelsmann has been supporting the restoration of Weimar cinema classics for several years. In 2015, for example, the company assisted the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation in digitally restoring the expressionist film classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari by Robert Wiene (1920), thus preserving it for future generations. Thanks to a digital restoration, the silent film DER MÜDE TOD (1921) by master director Fritz Lang, which was made a century ago, was restored to its former glory in 2016. This restoration was also realized by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation as the rights holder and supported by Bertelsmann as the main sponsor. The romantic adventure DER GEIGER VON FLORENZ followed in 2018. The film, which was produced by Ufa in 1925 and had previously only been available in a shortened version, was digitally restored to its original length by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation with financial support from Bertelsmann. This year will finally see the world premiere of the restored version of Ernst Lubitsch’s CARMEN. With Bertelsmann’s support, the epic is now available again in a largely completed edited version with reconstructed colors.

The program at a glance:

Wednesday, August 25, 2021, movie start: 9:00 p.m.

CARMEN (1918), directed by Ernst Lubitsch

Screenplay: Norbert Falk, Hanns Kräly

With Pola Negri, Harry Liedtke, Leopold von Ledebur, Grete Diercks, Paul Biensfeldt, Paul Conradi, Max Kronert, Margarete Kupfer, Heinrich Peer, Wilhelm Diegelmann.

Production: PAGU (Paul Davidson)

Length: 94 min.

Music: New composition by Tobias Schwencke based on motifs from the opera of the same name by Georges Bizet, commissioned by ZDF/Arte. The ensemble KONTRASTE will perform

Thursday, August 26, 2021, start of film: 9:00 p.m.

DIE LEUCHTE ASIENS (1925), directed by Franz Osten

Screenplay: Niranjan Pal

With Sarada Ukil, Himansu Rai, Profulla Chandra, Seeta Devi, Rani Bala, Sunit Mitter, Jagit Mathur, Sundar Rajam, Nolini Kumari

Production: Emelka Group, Himansu Rai, Peter Ostermayr

Length: 97 min.

Music: Silent Light Orchestra

Friday, August 27, 2021, start of movie: 9:00 p.m.

NOSFERATU (1921/22), directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau

Screenplay: Henrik Galeen

With Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder,

Ruth Landshoff, Georg Heinrich Schnell, John Gottowt, Gustav Botz, Max Nemetz

Production: Prana-Film, Albin Grau, Enrico Dieckmann

Length: 94 min.

Music: Cameron Carpenter (organ)

Partners of the UFA Film Nights are Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, arte, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz and Gegenbauer. radioeins and rbbKultur are media partners.

About Bertelsmann

Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company that is active in around 50 countries around the world. The Group includes the television group RTL Group, the book publishing group Penguin Random House, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato, the Bertelsmann Printing Group, the Bertelsmann Education Group and the international fund network Bertelsmann Investments. With around 130,000 employees, the company generated revenues of €17.3 billion in the 2020 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination enables first-class media offerings and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world. Bertelsmann is pursuing the goal of climate neutrality by 2030. In 2021, Bertelsmann celebrates the 100th birthday of its post-war founder and longtime CEO Reinhard Mohn.

About UFA

UFA is one of the oldest and most prominent German entertainment brands and today presents itself as a high-performance program creator that has continuously expanded its market leadership as a film and TV producer in Germany in recent years. The company has developed from a program creator and TV producer into a content specialist that offers solutions for digital and multimedia content exploitation – for all major broadcasters in Germany as well as for numerous other partners. The production units UFA Fiction, UFA Serial Drama, UFA Show & Factual and UFA Documentary operate under the umbrella of UFA. UFA is part of the global media and entertainment company Fremantle, which operates the worldwide production business of the Bertelsmann-owned RTL Group. The managing directors of UFA are Nico Hofmann (CEO) and Joachim Kosack.