At this year’s Berlinale, South Korean director Lee Don-Ku debuted Kashiggot, a film which explores the commission, atonement and punishment of sin. In the Asian market, prolific filmmakers traditionally prefer to remain within the often painfully saccharine genre of the “Asian blockbuster.” This presents a stark contrast to Asian art-house cinema, which aims at commenting
CategoryDays in Berlin
Gallery Weekend Berlin in Fragments
The Gallery Weekend in Berlin has a relatively recent history as this year it celebrated its 9th birthday. The event, which this time around was even more well–organized than in previous years, was founded by a small group of gallerists, who have now become somewhat even more professional in what they do, since they had
Sein oder Nichtsein, das ist hier die Frage!
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous and yet most difficult tragedies to perform. The reason for this difficulty is the complexity of Hamlet’s character. Often the actors choose one or more idiosyncrasies of character and focus on this, while ignoring the humor and cunning of Hamlet. I once watched a Hamlet who constantly desired
Matsukaze: An Evocative Merger of Theatrical Traditions
In blending together the traditions of Japanese Noh Theatre with the venerable institution of Western opera, the Staatsoper’s showing of Matsukaze provides for a hauntingly pleasurable experience. Translated from Sino-Japanese as ‘skill’, Noh theatre represents a conflation of the Japanese musical theatre tradition (dating back to the 14th century) and its 16th European counterpart. Taken
Berlin’s Other Film Festival
For the cinephile living in Berlin, February means attending as many Berlinale screenings as possible. The still-intact Friedrichstrasse Christmas decorations add a sense of cheer to the festival, and with the arrival of movie stars – be it yesteryear’s goddess Catherine Deneuve or sex-appeal induced James Franco – comes the hope of a glimpse of
Museum Wars: Turkey Battles for History
As ECLA of Bard students, we are relatively familiar with one of Berlin’s most amazing treasures—the Pergamon Altar. Not only do we visit it annually in an almost festive fashion as First Years, but it also decorates our homepage. I would even dare to say that if ECLA of Bard were to establish a formal
ME Collector’s Room––The Olbricht Collection
ME Collector’s Room, located in the gallery–packed Auguststrasse, offers what might be the closest experience to a Renaissance Wunderkammer (‘cabinet of curiosities’). The Olbricht Collection, which features works from the Renaissance up to the present day, has had its permanent home here in Berlin since May 2010. For the collectors of the Renaissance era, their
Going Green: St. Patrick’s Day in Berlin
On the 17th of March, Berlin turned green for the third time: since 2011, people armed with glasses of Guinness and dressed like Irish Leprechauns disregard the freezing cold and hit the streets to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The festival started a few days earlier with Irish whiskey tastings, film screenings, costume-making workshops and culminated