issue 129
Escape for the winter
A new-ish Hungarian gaming import is testing the waters here: live-action room escapes. Will Berliners line up to get shut in? Read more
A case for justice
OUT NOW! Based on a biography by Paula Byrne; the alternative histories of DIDO ELIZABETH BELLE feel incongruous. Read more
Socialism's where the heart is
OUT NOW! Despite flaws, the relationship between Ken Loach's latest, JIMMY'S HALL, is a passionate triumph. Read more
On the outskirts of Berlin
OUT NOW! Like the Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Cindy's life is under construction. Her search for recognition among nearby airport engineers turns her tale around. Read more
Dam confusing
OUT NOW! Stunning visuals detract from the overall narrative in director Kelly Reichardt's abstract moody thriller NIGHT MOVES. Read more
The search for humour
OUT NOW! Simon Pegg and Co. fail to do justice to the original French novel in the occasionally humorous HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS. Read more
August is hot for dance!
INTERVIEW. While summer cools down, Berlin’s stages will be heating up. Tanz im August, Berlin’s biggest international dance festival, steps up on Aug 15 around the city under the lead of new artistic director Virve Sutinen. Read more
The jewellery snatcher
INTERVIEW: Re Rebaudengo's obsession for art is on display at Me Collectors Room, but it's her penchant for bling that is particularly dazzling, with pieces dating back to the 1930s. There's only a little over a month before it ends on Sep 21. Read more
At home you’re a tourist
Seventeen urban tours presented by 27 artists from 12 countries: the B_Tour Festival, or International Festival of Guided Tours, rethinks Berlin through a series of hybrid artistic experiences all over the city from Aug 8-10. Read more
Three's company
OUT NOW! The complicated dynamic of the purported ménage à trois of playwright Friedrich von Schiller is explored in the evocative DIE GELIEBTEN SCHWESTERN. Read more
A neo-Nazi in parliament
At one point it seemed like Germany's ultra-nationalist Udo Voigt would fade into obscurity, however the results of the May elections have determined otherwise. As the new EU parliament terms start, Voigt is controversially back. Read more
Ask Hans-Torsten: Driver's licenses
Hans-Torsten Richter answers your questions about surviving and thriving in Berlin, like why switching a driver's license for a German one is easier for some than for others. Read more
Photo by Michal Andrysiak
Cowboys and Indianer
Respect, admiration or cultural appropriation? A visit to Brandenburg’s Wild West theme park raises questions about Germany’s ‘special’ relationship with Native Americans. Rachel Glassberg investigates. Read more
Body bags
OUT NOW! Moods of Hitchcock reverberate in BLACK COAL, THIN ICE, a body part-riddled Chinese thriller. Read more
Hack and slash
OUT NOW! Director Gareth Evans walks a tightrope between the grotesque and the beautiful in THE RAID 2. Read more
Tinted love
Does the perfect pair of summer shades remain as elusive as romantic bliss? Michael Hald scours the city to help you find your match and discovers that, with style as in love, perfection has its price. Read more
A beautiful farewell
OUT NOW! The last release from legendary Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki soars majestically in the wonderful THE WIND RISES. Read more
Photo by Marc Brinkmeier
Club death and transfiguration
Cookies shuts its doors for the final time after July 19, but that's just the tip of the iceberg of Mitte's moribund nightlife scene. Is the party over for the formerly happening district and what does it spell for the rest of Berlin? Read more
Otto in the sky
Art collective ZERO co-founder and prolific 86-year-old installation artist and professor Otto Piene sadly passed away Thursday, the first day of his exhibition "More Sky". Don't miss the legend's last living contribution at Neue Nationalgalerie. Read more
Foggy Rumsfeld
OUT KNOW! Former US Defense Secratary Donald Rumsfeld gets the "Fog" treatment in THE KNOWN UNKNOWN. Read more