Jazz in focus
Six music films as part of the 65th Weimar Master Classes at the Kommunales Kino mon ami
For the first time, jazz takes centre stage: as part of the 65th Weimar Master Classes, the Kommunales Kino mon ami will be showing six music films at 9 p.m. each evening, accompanying the course and concert programme of the international master classes at the Weimar Music University.
The series kicks off on Tuesday, 22 July with the 1986 film ‘Round Midnight’, considered one of the best jazz films ever made. It is director Bertrand Tavernier's declaration of love for the heyday of bebop and the musicians of the Paris underground scene.
This will be followed on Wednesday, 23 July by the film ‘Misty – The Erroll Garner Story’ from 2024. It is a haunting portrait of jazz legend Erroll Garner. With a mixture of archive material, interviews and musical moments, the life of the pianist and composer is reflected as a mirror of US history.
On Thursday, 24 July, ‘Django – A Life for Music’ (2017) is on the programme. The film takes us back to France in 1943: the gifted jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt is at the height of his success, playing to sold-out halls, but then has to flee from the Nazis.
The music film series continues on Tuesday, 29 July with ‘Sing! Inge, sing’ (2011). It is about the German jazz singer Inge Brandenburg, who grew up in difficult circumstances. At the end of the 1950s, she was discovered and celebrated as the best European jazz singer – but success eluded her.
The film ‘Köln 75’ on Wednesday, 30 July, focuses on pianist Keith Jarrett's legendary ‘Köln Concert’, one of the best-selling jazz recordings of all time. The concert almost didn't happen, but a determined young woman pulled out all the stops.
To conclude the film series, the Kommunale Kino mon ami will finally show ‘Whiplash’ (2014), in which 19-year-old drummer Andrew is driven to peak performance by conductor Terence Fletcher using brutal teaching methods at a renowned music school. The film is a drama about the fine line between encouragement and abuse, motivation and drill.
Tickets for the music films are available at the cinema box office for £7 each, or £5 with a discount.
[17.07.2025]