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Sunday April 10th – The Vancity Theatre 7:30 pm

For Tickets Visit:

http://www.viff.org/theatre/films/fc8844-genuine-german-expressionist-classic-with-live-score

On Sunday, April 10th, Vancouver’s Van City Theatre will present the forgotten 1920 fantasy film Genuine.

The little-known followup to Robert Wiene’s classic, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Genuine is the story of a vampire femme fatale kept by a rich madman.

Produced by Berlin’s Decla-Bioscop company, Genuine has for many years existed only in fragments. Vancouver film maker Mark Oliver, grandson of one of the film’s original producers has taken on the task of painstakingly reassembling all known material to create a new, condensed version.

An opiated journey into a fantasy netherworld, no other film so closely evokes the spirit, (and decadence) of Weimar Berlin. Genuine must be seen to believed!

This special screening will feature live musical accompaniment by The Oliver-Film Ensemble:

Daniel Ruiz-percussion

Marc Wild-Electric Guitar

Matt O’Donnell-Electric Bass & Sitar

Vi-An Diep-Guzheng

Justin Patterson-Loops, Samples & Electronic Percussion

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT:Van City Theatre

An interesting article from The Moving Picture World, April 1916

Who knew there was interactive cinema in 1916? David Oliver’s Berlin film company reaches out to anyone with an original idea for a movie. The contest is unfortunately closed…for now anyways!

Top right column

“Prompted by the idea of raising the standard of films and also with a view towards encouraging the talent in young German writers, the Oliver Film Company has inaugurated a film idea contest.  All ideas received up to the 29th of February, 1916, and which are produced in film during the current year will be paid for upon acceptance with 300 marks. The film must not exceed 1,000 meters and should preferably be divided into three acts, although this last stipulation is not exacting. Books on the rental of these films will be kept and the author whose film will register the highest returns will be rewarded with a prize of 1,500 Marks, the second and third highest with respectively 1,000 Marks and 500 Marks…”

A letter from Edith Oliver to the Aliens Department, Home Office. Her husband is now classified an “enemy alien” and is being held in Huyton Interment Camp, Liverpool. Suffering from extreme depression, many of his fellow internees will commit suicide.

Are you ready for “Genuine”? Vancouver audiences will soon find out on Sunday, April 10th when UFA MAN presents this extremely rare, bizarre follow up to expressionist classic “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”….Here is the original 1920 poster by famed graphic illustrator Josef Fenneker. The Berlin Marmorhaus cinema was owned by David Oliver who co-produced “Genuine” along with Erich Pommer and Rudolf Meinert. Further details are on the way!

These “Oliver-Film” production stills recently came to light in a European collection of film ephemera. I’m trying to connect the dots and establish which films they may have come from. Who out there can identify these mysterious actors I wonder? Any help would be greatly appreciated!