Fassbinder Days 2025: Celebrate the master of German film!

Fassbinder Days 2025: Celebrate the master of German film!

Rainer Werner Fassbinder is one of the most important filmmakers in West German post-war cinema. He was born on May 31, 1945 in Bad Wörishofen and began his career at the age of 21. Over a period of 15 years he created 44 films and television plays as well as 15 theater productions. Fassbinder was active in a variety of roles: as an author, director, actor and sometimes also as a cameraman and producer. His early films, made between 1969 and 1971, grew out of his theater work and were characterized by static camera work and unnatural-looking dialogue.

In order to properly honor Fassbinder's life and work, the Munich association "Fassbindertage e. V." next weekend a series of events surrounding his birthday. From May 30th to 31st, an academic symposium entitled “Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Cinema of Subversion” will take place at the Ludwig Maximilians University, which will deal in detail with Fassbinder’s themes and film aesthetics. Ute Holl and Clemens Pornschlegel will give exciting lectures about his works and on May 31st Margarethe von Trotta, who played with Fassbinder in “Baal” in 1969, will present the film.

Events about Fassbinder and more

The full program of the Fassbinder Days 2025 can be found on the website www.fassbindertage.de can be viewed. In addition to the focus on Fassbinder, Munich also offers other interesting events. Sir Simon Rattle will speak about the impact of music on May 27th at 7 p.m. in the Catholic Academy. Moderated by BR music journalist Bernhard Neuhoff, the conversation will also be accompanied by music from members of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

The X-D-E-P-O-T of the New Collection in the Pinakothek der Moderne currently houses the care robot Garmi, whose functionality will be discussed in a dialogue series on June 7th at 3:30 p.m. Barbara Hepp and Hans-Gerd Grunwald will lead the event, which will focus on the social implications of this technology.

Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling in Munich

Another important thinker who shaped Munich is Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling. He lived in the city for almost 30 years and had a significant influence on intellectual life. Professor Markus Gabriel will give a lecture on Schelling's philosophy of time at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences on June 12th at 6:30 p.m. This new perspective on Schelling offers the opportunity to place his ideas in the context of current philosophical discourses.

In summary, it can be said that the upcoming weekend and the subsequent events in Munich offer an excellent opportunity to deal with Fassbinder's legacy and other culturally and historically relevant topics. Fassbinder's works, which range from melodramas to social criticism to historical narratives, have made him a key figure in cinema and deserve to be celebrated and discussed.