From April 18th to 26th, the "German Week" will take place in St. Petersburg for the 15th time. The event with its varied programme from the fields of culture, education and science, society and business is this time organised by the Federal State of Bavaria. In the previous years, this series of events has successfully established itself as a platform for a diverse and direct exchange between German and Russian citizens. Around 60 events provide the audience with a wide range of insights into German culture, business, education and society. The "German Week" is presented by the German Consulate General St. Petersburg together with the Goethe Institute St. Petersburg, the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce and many other partners.
At the centre of a panel discussion on April 20th will be the complex co-operation between the two countries, apart from all the economic and political difficulties. In the context of the German-Russian Cross Year of Regional and Municipal Partnerships 2017/2018, this co-operation will be honoured with a series of events. The Dresden Lord Mayor Dirk Hilbert, the State Secretary Bettina Martin from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the Head of the Hamburg State Youth Welfare Office Dr. Herbert Wiedermann, the Deputy Secretary General of the German Red Cross Dr. Johannes Richert, the Head of International Affairs of the University of Hannover Dr. Birgit Barden-Läufer, the Head of the Representative Office NRW.INVEST Russia Tatjana Schwarzkopf, and Bernd Buder, programme director of FilmFestival Cottbus, will discuss the challenges and perspectives of these very different co-operations.
The programme of the FilmFestival Cottbus includes Russian cinema - one of the most traditional, multi-layered and largest film landscapes in Eastern Europe - right from the start. Russian films are permanent guests in the competitions for feature and short films and also, from action films worth millions to independent cinema, are present in other sections. The "Russkiy Den / Russian Day" section presents current trends in Russian cinematography. Promising works by young directors and film production talents were presented in 2016 and 2017 with selection programmes from Moscow's VGIK, the world's oldest film school, and the St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television.
Comprehensive information on the 15th German Week can be found on the website: www.deutsche-woche.ru
The event brochure can be downloaded with the following link: www.deutsche-woche.ru/broschuere