In our Monthly Film Series, we will show a variety of GERMAN or GERMAN language films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. On the 2nd Wednesday of each month, audiences will now have a chance to see these films on a regular basis at the CLINTON STREET THEATER. (Children movies will be playing on Sunday afternoons – please check our website.) All films are with English subtitles.

WED. July 11, 2018 – 7:00 PM

The Lies of the Victors (Die Lügen der Sieger)

Germany 2014
Director Christoph Hochhäusler
Cast: Florian David Fitz, Lilith Stangenberg, Horst Kotterba, Ursina Lardi

Fabian Groys, a renowned journalist for a political news magazine, enjoys great freedom since the stories he uncovers make for good sales. When he is saddled with an intern, he reacts sulkily, but after losing his hot story about questionable army policy towards injured veterans, he switches to a gory zoo story that he’d actually meant to leave to the intern. But there seems to be more behind the suicide of a man who had himself torn to shreds by a lion. Signs proliferate indicating that the two stories are interlinked. Is it pure coincidence, or is Groys the victim of nebulous figures who are skillfully feeding him information? Is he still an independent investigative journalist or has he long since been made into a puppet captured in the sticky threads of a web, spun by forces unknown? And if this is the case, how can Groys regain his independence if he is battling an opponent who never steps out of the shadows?

Christoph Hochhäusler’s political thriller shines a light to the topical issue of power, lobbyism and the manipulation of the media. THE LIES OF THE VICTORS untangles a cunning web involving indiscretion, the spreading of half-truths, the hunt for a big scandal, and the, at times, dubious methods of lobbyists. Hochhäusler takes a look behind the scenes revealing how offstage players influence and control political and journalistic processes.

Christoph Hochhäusler ‘s works have premiered in Berlin (Forum, Competition) and in Cannes (Un Certain Regard). Aside from filmmaking, he has published essays in several film journals, and he lectures in the film departments of various universities in the USA and Germany, such as Harvard (VES), Hamburg (Media School), Munich (HFF) and Berlin (DFFB). He is also founder and co-publisher of the film magazine Revolver. Born in 1972 in Munich, he studied Architecture in Berlin before graduating in Film Directing at the University of Film & Television Munich (HFF). His feature films include: DREILEBEN – ONE MINUTE OF DARKNESS (TV, 2011), THE CITY BELOW (2010), the episode SÉANCE in DEUTSCHLAND 09 (2009), LOW PROFILE (2005), THIS VERY MOMENT (2003), and THE LIES OF THE VICTORS (DIE LÜGEN DER SIEGER, 2014).