by SARAH ROWLAND

If films like The Downfall, Head-On and soon-to-be-released, Oscar-nominated Sophie Scholl—The Final Days are any indication of the direction German cinema is going, then there’s never been a better time for a series devoted to Germany’s up-and-coming filmmakers. Starting April 13, the Goethe-Institut will do just that, showcasing a different film every Thursday at 8 p.m. and Friday at 6:30 p.m. until May 26.

Kicking things off is Oskar Roehler’s Agnes and His Brothers, a dark family comedy about three brothers who carry the scars of an abusive upbringing. Hans-Jörg is a hapless peeping tom, who gets off on watching women evacuate their bowels. Werner is a successful lefty politician, who enjoys evacuating his own bowels whenever he wants—regardless of whether there’s a toilet around or not—and then wonders why his wife no longer finds him attractive. And finally there’s dear, sweet Agnes, a tranny haunted by her former life as a man.

Of the six other features that will be showcased, Maren Ade’s award-winning The Forest for the Trees is probably the hardest to watch and yet the most rewarding. It’s a micro-budgeted, psychological thriller about a teacher who leaves her small-town life for a teaching job in the big city. Desperate to fit in, she arranges a “chance meeting” with her young chic neighbour that eventually leads to full-on stalker behaviour. But it’s such a slow, cringe-worthy descent that it makes for some disturbingly entertaining viewing—that is if you can get past the home-video production value.

In the documentary department, Jens Schanze’s Winter’s Children takes an unblinking look at how the post-war generations of Germans are dealing with their country’s Nazi past.

And as part of the new wave of German-Turkish filmmakers, which started with Fatih Akin’s nihilistic love story, Head-On, Yilmaz Arslan’s Fratricide should be of interest to the art-house set. Already a festival favourite, this tragic tale is about a Kurdish immigrant pimp who makes the mistake of revisiting his poverty-stricken homeland. For more info on this and other German highlights, visit www.goethe.de/montreal.

Kombat québécois

Other film-related events worth checking out this week include the second annual Kombat Québécois. This is where the same psychos who bring you Festival Spasm Horreur every year unleash all the locally made films that are too action-packed to qualify as horror. In total, 16 rock ’em sock ’em shorts will screen at Club Soda Friday, April 14. Themes vary from ninja flicks to WWI films, so you needn’t worry, there’ll be just as much bloodshed as you’ve come to expect from the Spasm franchise and as an added bonus they’ve even thrown in some sodomy. For more info, visit www.spasm.ca

And at the Monument National on Tuesday, April 18, Prends ça court! will showcase its last batch of international shorts before announcing the winners in May. With more than $80,000 in prizes for the taking and several award-winning Montreal premieres to check out, it’s almost worth missing the final seven duke it out on American Idol. For more info, call 871-9883.

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