The predominant reputation of German and Austrian cinema, cemented in the latter half of the 20th century, is of a film tradition that is deeply introspective, both in its style and subject matter, especially in its ongoing concern with the legacy of the Nazi past. Yet 21st-century German and Austrian filmmaking may be characterised by the outward-facing nature of its film production, with directors from Austria and Germany increasingly turning their attention to places beyond their countries’ borders and to issues that transcend national boundaries, such as modern-day food production, the refugee crisis, and the global economy. What is perhaps the defining characteristic of German and Austrian film since the turn of the millennium is the profound level of political engagement and commitment characterising almost all notable contemporary German and Austrian filmmaking. While the work of German and Austrian film directors is undeniably informed by their German or Austrian background, their attention is frequently turned to issues beyond the confines of Germany and Austria. This is not least demonstrated by the English-language titles that German and Austrian film directors frequently choose for their films, directly appealing to a global audience. Moreover, questions of national and supranational identity, of how a country treats minority groups, or how a country confronts difficult aspects of its own past, are clearly issues relevant not just to German and Austrian culture. The inflection of contemporary Austrian cultural production both with the country’s heritage of having been at the centre of a multi-ethnic Empire, and the lived experience of multi-culturalism today, manifests itself in Austrian filmmakers’ outward-looking attention towards the world. This has led to international recognition, in the shape of both film awards and public appreciation for a film aesthetic ‘diametrically opposed to Hollywood values’ (Hoad: 2013). Similarly, the need for the new Berlin Republic to redefine itself following German re-unification in 1990 has given rise to the socially-critical and internationally-recognised cinema of the Berlin School. This group of auteur filmmakers was honoured with an exhibition by the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2013. This course will look at a number of key Austrian and German films and directors from the past two decades to examine the evolving development of a transnational German and Austrian cinema. Students will be encouraged to draw on criticism of the individual films and relevant transnational German studies scholarship in order to develop their understanding of major developments since 2000 with regard to filmic representations of global issues in German and Austrian cinema. The specificities of Germany and Austria, with their own diverse histories which continue to impact on the countries’ present, will not be neglected, allowing for a multi-perspectival view on how contemporary Germany and Austria see themselves, and how they are in turn seen by others from various vantage points. Key questions to be considered by the course include: what makes German and Austrian cinema specifically German or Austrian? What unique perspective are German and Austrian filmmakers able to bring to bear on the global subject matter that they address in their works? How is contemporary German and Austrian cinema marketed to global audiences? The course will encompass both fiction and documentary film. Students will be encouraged to work comparatively and draw connections between films by different directors and of diverse genres. Film directors will include Fatih Akin, Ruth Beckermann, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Valeska Grisebach, Michael Haneke, Carmen Losmann, Christian Petzold, and Hans Weingartner.
