27 November - 3 December 2009
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Thursday 3 December 20:15
John Rabe
JOHN RABE
China was in flames when a German businessman
became a reluctant hero. When the Imperial Japanese Army invaded China
in 1937 and attacked the civilian population of the capital Nanking with
unprecedented inhumanity, John Rabe, manager of Siemens’ China branch
and a resident in the country for 27 years, took action. Along with a
few other members of the foreign community including doctors and missionaries
who remained in the city, and driven by simple humanitarian concerns,
shock at the appalling behaviour of Germany’s Asian ally, and a
love for the country and people among whom he had worked for so long,
he created a safety zone in which a quarter of a million civilians survived
what was later to go down in history as the “Nanking Massacre”.
John Rabe had become long forgotten by the time his diaries were rediscovered
ten years ago. They now form the basis for Florian Gallenberger’s
fascinating account of what John Rabe, then head of Siemens China Co.,
did in those turbulent times. To this day he is still revered in China,
but he has never been commended, much less rewarded, for his courage and
decency in his own country. Upon his return to Germany in 1938, he was
arrested by the Gestapo for collaborating with the Chinese. He died in
poverty soon after World War II. The New York Times recently referred
to Rabe as “The Schindler of China”.
John Rabe is an epic drama of courage and human triumph
with Ulrich Tukur in the lead role and with an all-star cast featuring
Daniel Bruehl, Steve Buscemi and Anne Consigny.
Florian Gallenberger studied Directing at the Munich Academy of Television and Film (HFF/M) from 1992-1999. In 2001, he won an OSCAR for his graduation film Quiero ser (short, 2001). His other films include Shadows of Time (Schatten der Zeit, 2004) and John Rabe (2009).
0871 703 3988
99 Shaftesbury Avenue
London W1
Book online now at
www.curzoncinemas.com
We are delighted that director
Florian Gallenberger and producer Benjamin Hermann
will be present
at the screening.
Director
Florian Gallenberger
Screenplay
Florian Gallenberger
Director of Photography
Juergen Juerges
Editor
Hansjoerg Weissbrich
Music by
Laurent Petitgirard, Annette Focks
Producers
Mischa Hofmann,
Benjamin Herrmann, Jan Mojto
Production Company
Hofmann & Voges Entertainment/Munich,
Majestic Filmproduktion/Berlin, EOS Entertainment/Oberhaching, in
co-production with ZDF/Mainz,
Pampa Productions/Paris,
Huayi Brothers/Bejing
Principal Cast
Ulrich Tukur, Daniel Bruehl,
Steve Buscemi, Anne Consigny,
Dagmar Manzel, Zhang Jingchu,
Teruyuki Kagawa
Length/Format
134 min, colour
Festival Screenings
Berlin 2009 (Berlinale Special Gala), Pusan 2009,
Rio 2009, Hamptons 2009, Vancouver 2009,
Ghent 2009, Mar del Plata 2009, Kiev 2009,
Marrakech 2009
Awards
Bavarian Film Prize 2009
(Producers Award & Best Actor),
German Film Award 2009 (Best Film, Best Leading Actor, Best Production
Design, Best Costumes),
Audience Award German Film Festival Paris 2009
Original Version
German/English/Chinese/Japanese
Subtitled Version
English
With backing from
German Federal Film Board (FFA),
Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg,
FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Bayerischer Bankenfonds, DFFF, CNC
World Sales
Beta Cinema/Dept of Beta Film GmbH
UK Distributor
Metrodome +
A special thank you to Metrodome Distribution for their kind permission
to screen this film