The city that could be a celluloid version of the perfect German city of dreams, there are good reasons why film is what it is. The deep thought that reflects local notions of how a representation of an idea will play out on moving images is germane to a city born of philosophy. To consider film, after all, is to consider how time works, and how time plays on all of us. It is a difficult game, and at the end of the day, there are no winners, only those who are older.
But to consider and ponder is one thing, to visit with the intention of saving the daydreaming for later is quite another. This is the point where the city becomes its most alluring self, demonstrating what could be, at every corner, what could be. Then the glorious appeal of the hotels in Mannheim become clearly and exactly the right place to be at the moment. And there are few moments that are as ripe for philosophy, for a daydream, or for a chance to get lost in the movies while on vacation, than those found in Mannheim in November.
This is the time of year when there is the famous International FilmFestival Mannheim-Heidelberg . For ten days there are 40 films that are shown in both cities, and it is attended by 60,000 people. It is no ordinary festival at all, because there are many elegant distinguishing features to this.
It began in 1952, making this film festival second only to Berlin for the longest-running film festival. It has been around for so long because its reputation earns it the right to stay, seeing premiere works by Truffaut, Fassbinder, and Kieslowski over the years.
It has a very selective curatorial process, too, where a few thousand films are considered by the committee, picked for their excellence as well as their eligibility (they cannot have a showing at another major festival). These are honed down to 750, and of these, 40 are selected in a very thorough and time-consuming process. Excellent eyes make the selections, so that the excellent eyes that attend will not face the prospect of frustrated expectations. This is one of the cream of the crop festivals that defines film for the modern age.
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