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Berlin Alexanderplatz

Co-Presented with Films at the MFAH and Goethe Pop Up Houston

with Director Burhan Qurbani

Apr 23, 2021, 10:00 AM Eventive Virtual Platform $10.00 Get Tickets

Join Houston Cinema Arts Society, Films at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and Goethe Pop Up Houston for a special week-long virtual screening of the newest adaptation of Berlin Alexanderplatz from April 23rd to April 29th, with a free virtual discussion with the film's director Burhan Qurbani on April 24th at 1pm CDT.

Tickets are $10, with a $2 discount for HCAS and MFAH Film Buff Members.

KINO! Germany NOW! 2021 Discover New Talent is presented by the German Film Office, an initiative of the Goethe-Institut and German Films.

An African immigrant struggles to make a new life for himself in the big city in director-co-writer Burhan Qurbani’s (We Are Young. We Are Strong.) audacious, neon-lit reinterpretation of Alfred Döblin’s 1929 novel. After surviving his perilous journey, Francis vows to be a good man, but he soon realizes how difficult it is to be righteous while undocumented in Germany–without papers, without a nationality, and without a work permit. When he receives an enticing offer for easy money from the psychopathic gangster Reinhold (Albrecht Schuch), Francis initially resists temptation, but eventually he is sucked into Berlin’s underworld and his life spirals out of control.

Country, Year Germany, 2020
DirectorBurhan Qurbani
WriterBurhan Qurbani, Martin Behnke
CastWelket Bungué, Albrecht Schuch, Jella Haase, Joachim Król
ProducerLeif Alexis, Jochen Laube, Fabian Maubach
Runtime183 MINS, SECS
GenreNarrative
SubjectFilm
Event TypeFilm
Special Guests

Burhan Qurbani

Burhan Qurbani was born in 1980 in Germany after his parents moved there in 1979 as political refugees from Afghanistan. His father was a civilian employee in the U.S. Army and so Burhan grew up in different cities all over Germany. In 2002, he started studying film directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. For his short films he received the Short Film Prize of German Film Critics, the German Camera Prize for best short and the “Black Pearl” for the best upcoming filmmaker at the Middle East International Film Festival in 2008. His graduation film, Shahada (2010), premiered in competition at the 60th Berlinale in 2010 and was critically acclaimed and awarded at many festivals around the world. His second feature, We are young. We are strong (2014) opened the competition at Rome IFF and Hof IFF and received multiple awards worldwide.

Rand Omran

Rand Omran was working as a Cultural Orientation Instructor at YMCA International Services. She has been serving refugees since 2009. Now she is working at Houston Community College as an academic advisor and instructor.

In 1997 Rand received her Masters of Political Science in and 2007 she earned her Ph. D. of Philosophy in Political Science, both from the University of Baghdad. From 1999 to 2007, Rand worked at the International Studies Center, University of Baghdad as a researcher. In 2007, Rand fled from Baghdad to Jordan with her family. She then came to Houston as a refugee in 2008.  Initially Rand worked in the Resettlement department, providing resettlement, employment, and social services.

In 2015, she cofounded of P.E.A.C.E. (Promoting Eastern Artisan Collaborative Effort). She is a board member of Iraqi American Society; a member of Youth Empowerment Group Leadership @FAM Houston. She enjoys working with people from different cultures and backgrounds and using her training, skills, and personal experiences as a refugee to improve the lives of others.