Goethe-Institut Washington
1990 K Street NW,
Washington, DC 20006
Germany & China
​Brief discussions following each evening’s screenings will compare and contrast the films and the topics with several panelists.
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Dr. Hester Baer - Associate Professor and Head of Germanic Studies at the University of Maryland
Yi Chen – Documentary Filmmaker, Adjunct Professor at George Mason University

All films are subtitled in English, unless otherwise noted.
Emily Must Wait
Germany, Drama, 2016, 12 min.
Director: Christian Wittmoser
When Europe turns to chaos, Emily must hold out in her apartment in hope of reuniting with her loved one. The promise to wait becomes increasingly difficult to keep, as desperation grows and hope dwindles.
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Sissi without Franz
(Sissi ohne Franz)
Germany, Drama, 2017, 17 min.
Director: Tim Garde
Sissi remembers: "As a kid, when life was unfair and I didn't know what to do, I simply imagined that I was happy anyway. And then I was". Now she studies psychology and finds happiness in her relationship with Franz. But what happens when it's suddenly over? Sissi searches. Sissi analyses. Sissi fights. Sissi doesn't give up.
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The Verse of Porcelain
(瓷之诗)
China, 2017, 3 min.
Director: Sola Art and Creative Communication
A young couple, She Yue and Wang Xinhua, live and work in Jingdezhen, the capital of porcelain in China as porcelain artists. Shi was born into a family of porcelain artists. She met Wang, who then came to Jindezheng to study chinaware making. The film depicts their stories, love life and arts.
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Offspring of Mount Tianshan
(天山儿女)
China, 2015, 33 min.
Director: Wang Yimin
In the far west corner of China, a young couple has a joyous wedding ceremony, until the husband’s mentally-ill father dampens the mood. Soon after the wedding, the young woman learns to take care of her father-in-law, as his mental health deteriorates. Caught between her own unhappiness and her sense of obligation to be a good wife, the woman struggles to make the right decisions for the fate of the ill old man.
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