Conceived by filmmaker Miryam Charles as a “carte blanche” at the invitation of the Goethe-Institut, this film series offers an opportunity to discover new voices in contemporary German cinema, whose works are rarely shown here.
“I conceived this program as an invitation to discover works that bring to light stories and memories long left on the margins. Through documentary, fiction, and experimental film, these films offer unique perspectives on contemporary Germany by exploring the connections between identity, belonging, and memory.
What unites them is their ability to create a dialogue between the personal and collective history. In my own work, I’m interested in those spaces where personal narratives become acts of transmission. By bringing these films together, I hope to share works that shift our perspective and open a space for reflection on the stories that continue to shape our present.” — Miryam Charles
“When everyday life suddenly unravels, buried wounds rise to the surface. In the urgency of the moment, friendship, fear, and courage blur together, revealing what could no longer remain hidden. A taut story in which survival becomes an act of love.” (Miryam Charles)
Sheri Hagen
Sheri Hagen is a Nigerian-born German actress, screenwriter, filmmaker, and producer. Born in Lagos, she was raised in Hamburg, and has lived in Berlin since the mid-1990s. From 1991 to 1994, she studied acting at the Theater an der Wien. She started in television, starring in various productions beginning in 1995. She starred as the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the ZDF two-part TV movie Deutschlandspiel (2000), and played in the TV movie Baal (2004), adapted from the Bertolt Brecht play of the same name, and The Lives of Others (2006) by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Hagen also manages her very own projects as a screenwriter, film director, and producer. She directed the 2012 award-winning film At Second Glance, the first German film to feature a cast primarily made of people of African descent. In 2015, she created her own production company, where she subsequently directed the films Blue Window (2018) and Billie (2025).
Photo: Hardy Brackmann | Courtesy of Goethe-Institut Montréal
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