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In Focus: Christian Petzold
Institute of Contemporary Arts
Films
Fri 18 – Thu 24 August 2023

A man wades through steely blue water, the water up to his chest
Undine, dir. Christian Petzold, Germany / France 2020

One of contemporary German cinema’s defining figures, Christian Petzold’s work intricately engages with both reality and fiction whilst being steeped in the history of cinema.

A founding member of the loose movement known as the Berlin School, Christian Petzold makes films unlike anyone else. Since his first films made for television in the mid 1990s, Petzold's work has radically reimagined genres such as film noir and melodrama, whilst continually centring narrative mysteries and enigmatic protagonists.

From his eloquently titled Love in the Time of Oppressive Systems trilogy to his new trilogy exploring the elements, Petzold has over the past two decades crafted an indelible and singular body of work that marks him out as one of contemporary cinema’s most intriguing filmmakers.

The ICA is delighted to present a small programme of Petzold’s work to mark the release of his newest film Afire on Friday 25 August.
 
Programme

A woman with orange hair and in formal dress stares. Behind her is a top-down map of urban Berlin

Fri 18, Sat 19, Wed 23 & Thu 24 Aug
Drawing upon the rich and complex history of the city of Berlin, Christian Petzold crafts a mysterious and captivating lover’s fable inspired by the German myth.


Two people ride bikes through the woods

Sat 19 & Tue 22 Aug
Barbara
The first part of Petzold’s Love in the Times of Oppressive Systems trilogy is a complex and engrossing character study set in 1980s East Germany.


A woman stares dead into the eyes of a man in front of her. We see the back of the man, and half her face

Sun 20 & Tue 22 Aug
In his sixth collaboration with actress Nina Hoss, Christian Petzold crafts a haunting and evocative drama set in the rubble strewn city of Berlin in 1945.


A person leans on the shoulder of another person. They stand against a wall in an apartment building

Tue 22, Wed 23 & Thu 24 Aug
Christian Petzold’s timeless adaptation of Anna Segher’s 1944 novel is an all-consuming labyrinth of lost love and existential threat.