Angus McGruther Audi Festival of German Films Interview

Angus McGruther Audi Festival of German Films Interview

With a line-up as tasty as Schnitzel, satisfying as Sauerbraten and enticing as Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, it's no wonder that the Audi Festival of German Films 2014 is whetting cinematic appetites!  For the event's 13th annual season, Festival Director, Dr. Arpad Sölter and his international jury of movie experts have selected over 50 award-winning and critically lauded features, shorts and documentaries that showcase Germany's multi-layered, vibrant and ever-evolving culture.

Proudly presented by the Goethe-Institut in association with German Films, screening partner Palace Cinemas, and the support of Audi, whose vehicles are a byword for European automotive excellence, the 2014 Festival will take place over two weeks in six luxurious Palace cinema locations across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra, commencing in Sydney on 26th of March.

Audaciously ambitious in its scope, this year's programme includes extraordinary dramas, thrillers, comedies, romances, westerns, historical epics, coming-of-age tales and horror-movies, most of which will be screening as Australian premieres. There's also a joyous selection of films for the young and the young-at-heart that the whole family will relish, as well as designated school sessions and numerous special events which, in addition to the Festival's screenings, frame the enormous variety of the Audi Festival of German Films.

Launching the Festival in Sydney and Melbourne will be Banklady, an action crime-drama starring celebrated German actress Nadeshda Brennicke, who will be the Festival's guest-of-honour at the Gala Opening Night events in both cities.  Based on a true story, Banklady brings to life the escapades of Gisela Werler, West Germany's first female bank robber who made the transition from shy worker to notorious felon during her heyday in the 1960s.

Screening highlights of the 2014 Festival include:

Bela Kiss: Prologue (Screening in Sydney & Melbourne)
Five young bank robbers hideout in a remote hotel in the woods. Following a series of unsettling incidents, they begin to suspect that Bela Kiss, a brutal serial killer who strangled and poisoned more than twenty young women a century earlier, may haunt their refuge.

Exit Marrakech (Screening in Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane)
Academy Award winning director Caroline Link (Nowhere in Africa) returns with an exploration of culture and personal discovery set in Morocco. A celebrated theatre director and his disaffected teenage son try to reconnect as they explore resentments and issues from the past.

Gold (Screening in Sydney & Melbourne)
Directed by Thomas Arslan, protagonist of the 'Berlin School" of filmmaking (German New Wave) and starring famed actress Nina Hoss, this engrossing drama follows the adventures of a group of German-American immigrants, seeking gold in northwest Canada's Klondike region in the late 19th century.

Home From Home (Screening in Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane)
The Heimat series, by Edgar Reitz, did much to portray Germany as a significant, historic identity. Now, Reitz returns with this revisionist view of -Heimat' (homeland), set in the 19th century, when many Europeans settled in South America to escape the poverty and famine of the time.

Houston (Screening in Sydney, Melbourne & Canberra)

A company executive in the throes of personal dilemmas due to his job, alcoholism and crumbling marriage, is given an opportunity to recruit a new American CEO for his German company, which leads to a number of confronting events.

Oh Boy (Screening in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Canberra)
Niko, a man in his 20s, is beset by a series of unexpected incidents that throw his well-ordered life into turmoil. Shot in black and white on the streets of Berlin, this debut feature by Jan-Ole Gerster has received numerous awards and highlights a side of German life that is not commonly represented in German film.

Sources Of Life (Screening in Sydney & Melbourne)
From writer/director Oskar Roehler comes a compelling portrait of post-war West Germany from the viewpoint of an ordinary man. A WW2 veteran returns to find his life dislocated by an emerging nation and a family trying to cope with significant social change. Starring Jürgen Vogel & Moritz Blebtreu.

Visitors (Screening in Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane)
Amidst hidden resentments, Jacob, a chemist, visits his three adult children after many years. His struggling offspring happily take his money, but are unwilling to relate to him in any real manner. But when Jacob reveals he is unemployed and can no longer support them, simmering tensions, including the question of how they will cope in the future, erupt.

In addition to the Festival's many planned Q&A sessions, to be attended by a host of exciting European guests, some of our special events include:

25 Years Ago – Fall Of The Wall (Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane)
Journey through the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall via two fascinating documentaries and live music from Berlin cabaret pop band, The Beez.

Reading Performance Ww1: 1914 – 1918 (Sydney/Melbourne/Canberra)
Renowned actor, director and performer, Justus Neumann, revisits Karl Kraus' satire The Last Days of Mankind (1918) in an inspiring lecture about the absurdity of war.

Live Music And Film – Musical Sunday (Sydney/Melbourne) Take a voyage from jazz to reggae, accompanied by live music, refreshments plus screenings of As Time Goes by in Shanghai, Journey to Jah and I Feel Like Disco.

Horror Party – Moonlight Mania (Sydney/Melbourne)
Join us for the movie Bela Kiss: Prologue, a Q&A with lead actor Angus McGruther and diabolical drinks prior to our equally dark second feature, The Station " sweet dreams guaranteed!

The Swiss Conspiracy – Swiss Soiree (Melbourne)
Indulge in an authentic Swiss feast, two fabulous Swiss movies and music from Swiss DJ Moses Iten. Presented with the kind assistance of the Swiss Consulate.

Oriental Night (Sydney/Melbourne)
Depart your everyday life whilst enjoying the movie Exit Marrakech and let your senses succumb to an exotic Moroccan-themed evening.

Michelle Langford Book Launch (Sydney/Melbourne)
Michelle Langford, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at University of NSW, will launch her Directory of World Cinema: Germany Vol. 2 in a special evening at the Goethe-Institut.

Angus McGruther Q&A Screening of Bela Kiss: Prologue:

Sydney:
Sunday 30th March: Palace Norton Street: 7.45pm Bela Kiss +Q&A
Wednesday 2nd April: Chauvel Cinema: 6.00pm Bela Kiss +Q&A

Melbourne:
Thursday 3rd April: Kino Cinemas: 6.15pm Bela Kiss +Q&A
Friday 4th April: Palace Cinema Como: 6.00pm Bela Kiss +Q&A
Festival Dates and Venues:
Sydney: 26 March to 10 April: Chauvel Cinema & Palace Norton Street
Melbourne: 27 March to 11 April: Palace Cinema Como & Kino Cinemas
Brisbane: 28 March to 3 April: Palace Centro
Canberra: 1 April to 6 April: Palace Electric Cinema

The Festival Website will soon be live at: http://www.goethe.de/ozfilmfest

Interview with Angus McGruther

Question: Can you tell us about the film, Bela Kiss: Prologue?

Angus McGruther: Bela Kiss: Prologue is a curious and gruesome story, inspired by the real serial killer Bela Kiss who murdered several women during the first world war and was never caught. In fact no one ever reported seeing him again. The film takes you on a fictional journey into what happened after his mysterious disappearance and his unexpected connection to the film's modern day protagonists.


Question: How can you relate to your character, Peter?

Angus McGruther: Peter is the larrikin of the group, a little less serious and rather spontaneous. I don't see myself really as the larrikin, but I do love spontaneity and am usually up for an adventure, like Peter. We both don't take life too seriously.


Question: What was the most difficult part of filming Bela Kiss: Prologue?

Angus McGruther: Some of the brutal scenes were physically taxing and we worked a lot with the elements, around moisture a lot of the time and out in the autumn forest which is incredibly beautiful, but it definitely got cold!


Question: What are you looking forward to most about your Bela Kiss: Prologue Q&A sessions at the Audi Festival of German Films?

Angus McGruther: I was away working when the film premiered in Germany so never had the chance to see it with an audience, so I'm excited to share it especially with an Australian audience and see how the film is received here.


Question: How do you feel when you watch yourself of the big screen?

Angus McGruther: It always depends on the work. Sometimes I'm self-critical or I think about ways I could have changed certain parts of my performance, but other times I enjoy seeing the finished product of something we've worked on. It can actually be quite satisfying.


Question: Is there a film that you are really looking forward to seeing at the Audi Festival of German Films?

Angus McGruther: Yes! Since living in Berlin I am endlessly fascinated by the history of that city. I will definitely be seeing the documentaries "The Family" and "I Will Not Lose" about life during the days of the GDR.


Question: What inspired your move into acting?

Angus McGruther: At school I was always involved in drama and theatre. I think it's where I felt most comfortable amongst the varied landscape of school life. And naturally I auditioned for drama school it continued on from there.


Question: How do you split your time between Australia and Germany?

Angus McGruther: Easy - chase the summer! Seriously though, Germany gave me my professional start as an actor and I have a solid group of friends there… but I have found my circles in Berlin and Sydney keep on colliding in the most uncanny ways, even professionally. So the transition from one place to the other has become increasingly easier, as I know how two worlds deeply connected. And having Bela Kiss: Prologue at this year's AFGF is a wonderful token of this stage in my career.


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming an actor and presenter?

Angus McGruther: I have met some incredibly talented people doing what I do, seen amazing places and laughed like never before.


Question: What's next for you?

Angus McGruther: A trip back to Berlin is on the cards for me. I can't get enough of my Euro summers! We have some theatre projects in the pipeline with a wonderful Australian theatre collective now working in Berlin. I am also spending some time in LA this year which is a new venture, but super exciting!


Interview by Brooke Hunter