‘Funny Games,’ ‘The Piano Teacher’ and More: Michael Haneke Retrospective in Kyiv

From Aug. 15 to 23 in Kyiv, at the Zhovten cinema, a retrospective of prominent European director Michael Haneke’s films titled VIDEO will take place – a series of screenings of the Austrian filmmaker’s key works. The program includes the scandalous “Funny Games,” and Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix and “Palme d’Or” winners – “The Piano Teacher,” “The White Ribbon” and “Amour.”JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The films will be screened in their original language (German, French) with Ukrainian subtitles. The main theme of the retrospective, according to the organizers, is embedded in the title VIDEO, which literally means “I see.” Haneke, one of the most prominent European directors of recent decades, worked on the edge of shock and deep drama, revealing the nature of audience complicity in the events on screen. His films are permeated with reflections on the essence of violence, the crisis of the Western worldview, human alienation and isolation from the outside world. Haneke’s cinema does not allow one to remain a neutral observer, so his works have always been at the center of attention at leading European film festivals. Film Screening Program Schedule August 15, 18:00 Funny Games (1997) – retrospective opening film Frame from the film “Funny Games” Other Topics of Interest GANNA: ‘I Want Ukrainian Folk Music to Be Heard for Its Beauty, Not Because of War’ Ukrainian singer, composer and folk researcher GANNA explains why Ukrainian traditional music belongs on the world’s biggest stages – not because of Russia’s war, but because of its artistic power. A film-scandal, during the premiere of which at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, a third of the audience left the session. “Funny Games” seemed so cruel to the public that the director was even accused of sadism. Critics argued that it is impossible to criticize the exploitation of violence on screen with the “most violent film of the decade.” At the same time, it was this film that gained cult status and prompted the public to reflect on what changes are happening in cinema and mass culture with the tacit consent of the viewer. Tickets August 16, 18:00 and August 21, 19:00 Benny’s Video (1992) One of Haneke’s first films, which brought him recognition in Europe and outlined the main themes that the director would return to in his subsequent work. The film tells a story of a teenager’s morbid fascination with violence captured on a video camera. Without taking his eyes off the lens, the boy gradually leans towards a crime that he seeks to “shoot” on video. Tickets August 19, 18:30 The Piano Teacher (2001) Frame from the film “The Piano Teacher” “The Piano Teacher” is the winner of the Grand Prix of the 2001 Cannes Film Festival and the winner in three main categories (best director, best actress and actor). This adaptation of the novel of the same name, by Nobel laureate in literature Elfriede Jelinek, centers on a Vienna Conservatory teacher (Isabelle Huppert), who develops a deviant relationship with her student, which destroys the established order of her life and reveals its “dark” side. Tickets August 18, 18:00 and August 20, 18:00 The White Ribbon (2009) Frame from the film “The White Ribbon” Winner of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival “Palme d’Or,” “The White Ribbon” tells the story of a village teacher who finds himself in the midst of strange events on the eve of World War I. However, the secrets of the small village turn out to be not what they seem. “The White Ribbon” is considered one of the most important in the director’s career, exploring the nature of 20th-century catastrophes and the origins of human inability to resist true evil. Tickets August 18, 18:00 and August 22, 19:00 Amour (2012) The victory of “Amour” at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival made Haneke only the sixth director in history to become a two-time winner of the “Palme d’Or.” “Amour” tells the story of an elderly woman’s sudden severe illness and her husband’s helplessness in the face of the inevitable. Tickets August 23, 18:00 Happy End (2017) The director’s farewell film, “Happy End” is a kind of crossover that combined all the key themes of his work into a bizarre canvas about a wealthy bourgeois family whose members have neither love nor a sense of community. Only a desire to end their own lives as quickly as possible. Tickets In addition, on Aug. 21 at 11:00, within the framework of the retrospective, an open talk with philosopher Oleksandr Filonenko will take place, focusing on the specifics of film viewing and the nature of violence. Admission is free. Registration The general partners of the retrospective are Visa and Raiffeisen Bank. The project is also supported by the Austrian Embassy in Ukraine and is being implemented in partnership with the Zhovten cinema. The screenings will be accompanied by short introductory speeches before the films by the organizers of the retrospective – the KRAY project. This is an independent research film project founded in 2023. The project works with auteur cinema through public screenings in Kyiv and Kharkiv, discussions, reviews, and translations. After each screening, there will be a discussion of the film with speakers, as well as an opportunity for the audience to share their impressions of what they have seen. Full information about the event is available on the website, Telegram, and Instagram.