Following a successful anniversary edition last year, Filmfest Hamburg is delighted to announce the first programme highlights for 2013. Of course, it’s not just the films that are new, but also the theme and individual sections.

The section WORD!, which follows DANCE! (2012), MUSIC! (2011) and ART! (2010), is this year dedicated to the intersection between literature, language and film. The works on offer include the latest film by Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof entitled ‘Manuscripts Don’t Burn’. This looks at regime opponents, stubborn authors, and the ‘big brother’ state, as well as the paper on which the violent acts of the pursuers are documented. The political thriller was shown at Cannes and was awarded the Fipresci Prize by the International Film Critics Association in the ‘Un Certain Regard’ series.

The WORD! section also includes the film ‘Opium’ by French actress and director Arielle Dombasle. It is based on 14 poems by Jean Cocteau and tells of his great love for author Raymond Radiguet. When the latter dies from typhoid fever, Cocteau becomes addicted to opium. A vibrant story told in an associative, surreal and fantastic way.

The theme of this year’s Filmfest Hamburg is exile and can be found throughout the entire programme.

“For me, exile is one of the biggest subjects of humanity; after all, banishment from paradise is pretty much where we all began. Film is THE art form of exiles: all of Hollywood was founded by refugees. Plant olive trees in Hamburg – and they’ll wither. Or, against all odds, they’ll somehow survive. With great longing for their place of origin. This is the story told by the films based on this year’s theme,” says Festival Director Albert Wiederspiel to explain his decision.

The theme of exile is at the heart of the documentary film ‘Saroyanland’. Here, Turkish director Lusin Dink follows in the footsteps of American author William Saroyan, Pulitzer Prize winner and the child of Armenian parents from Bitlis in the Eastern Anatolia Region. In the poetic staging, the poet comes back to life on his long journey back home as a shadow wearing a hat and coat.

The Three Colours Green section has been enjoying great popularity at Filmfest Hamburg since 2010. Films will be shown that deal with the rapid changes in our environment throughout the world, such as ‘The Human Scale’ by Danish director Andreas Dalsgaard. The film documents how public space can be reclaimed by the residents of Dhaka, New York and Christchurch, and offers visions for new urban living.

In contrast, ‘Le démantèlement’ by director Sébastien Pilote from Québec tells traditional life in the country without any romanticism. Like all generations before him, farmer Gaby is trying to generate some kind of profit on his farm. Even though everyday life is hard, he can’t imagine any other life than that with his sheep and lambs. This changes when his daughter finds herself in financial difficulty. The film won the Award for Best Screenplay at Cannes in ‘La Semaine de la Critique’.

The programme at Filmfest Hamburg includes the latest film by French director and Douglas-Sirk-Award winner (2004) François Ozon: ‘Jeune & jolie’ (Young & Beautiful). The story centres on 17-year-old Isabelle; in the mornings, she goes to school, but, in the afternoons, she secretly works as a call girl. Not due to financial need, but instead driven by a fascination with the power she has over men.

American director Jim Jarmusch is coming to the festival with his film ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’, which was partly filmed in Hamburg. The Douglas-Sirk-Award winner (1999) brings two melancholy, drifting vampires, Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton), to life. Although they have been together for centuries, their love suddenly comes under threat.

The film adaptation of the globally successful novel ‘Le grand cahier’ (The Notebook) by Hungarian-Swiss author Ágota Kristóf is worthy of note. Director János Szász shows how, during the Second World War, the 13-year-old twin brothers attempt to survive in an environment characterised by cruelty and without morals. Ulrich Matthes plays the children’s father. The film was awarded the Grand Prix - Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic.

The 21st Filmfest Hamburg will also feature the melancholic black-and-white road movie ‘Nebraska’ by director Alexander Payne. Here, an estranged father-son duo embarks on a long journey across America to collect a lottery prize worth millions of dollars. Bruce Dern won the Award for Best Actor for this role in Cannes.

The only entry from Germany at Cannes, ‘Tore tanzt’ (Nothing Bad Can Happen) by Hamburg-based director Katrin Gebbe, is also included in the programme.