Homecoming at filmforum Duisburg: A Century of German History in the Cinema Hall
Date and Time
Location
Price
About this Event
Mood
Venue Type
A House, a Century, countless fates
On Monday, October 19, 2026, the filmforum Duisburg opens a view on a moving panorama of German history: Homecoming - A Century Story tells of a house by a Markish lake, whose changing residents experience the political upheavals of the 20th century. The film starts at 18:00 and combines literary adaptation, historical dramaturgy, and compelling acting into a special stage experience in the cinema hall.
History becomes a stage
Volker Schlöndorff's production is based on the novel of the same name by Jenny Erpenbeck from 2007. At its center is a plot of land that is more than just a piece of land: it becomes a memory space where the Weimar Republic, National Socialism, war, the GDR, and the turning point overlap. Four families and several generations leave traces of hope, loss, home, and belonging there.
A literary adaptation with historical depth
The dramaturgy does not follow a single life story, but rather a network of changing perspectives. A Jewish cloth manufacturer loses his land in the 1930s. An architect builds a modern house and later fails in the GDR system. A writer finds refuge after exile, while her granddaughter experiences the years leading up to the fall of the wall there. In this way, private memories condense into the chronicle of a century.
Light, landscape, and quiet tremors
The cinematic imagery works with the tranquility of landscapes and seasons. The water, the house, and nature form a seemingly constant backdrop, while human biographies change, break off, and begin anew. It is precisely this tension between outer silence and inner upheaval that shapes the theater atmosphere of the evening and gives the film its sensual power.
Direction and acting
Director and screenwriter Volker Schlöndorff, awarded an Oscar and the Palme d'Or for The Tin Drum, meets Erpenbeck's century novel with a restrained, precise direction. The ensemble featuring Lars Eidinger, Martina Gedeck, Susanne Wolff, Michael Maertens, Ulrich Matthes, Angela Winkler, Detlev Buck, and other actors carries the multifaceted narrative with great presence.
For the adaptation, the film was awarded the Prize of the Frankfurt Book Fair for the best adaptation at the Hesse Film and Cinema Award in 2026. The jury honored a film that does not merely explain history but makes it tangible through characters, spaces, and fates.
Conclusion: An evening of film between memory and present
Visitors can expect a concentrated stage experience about home, displacement, memory, and new beginnings. Homecoming - A Century Story transforms the cinema hall into a resonance chamber of German past and invites reflection on the traces of great history in personal life. Those who appreciate literary adaptations with historical depth and compelling acting will experience an extraordinary evening at the filmforum Duisburg.
Official channels of filmforum Duisburg:
- Instagram: no official profile found
- Facebook: no official profile found
- YouTube: no official profile found
- Website: no official profile found
