AfricAvenir Windhoek and the Goethe-Centre Windhoek presents Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “Angst Essen Seele Auf“ – “Ali: Fear Eats Soul”

AfricAvenir Windhoek and the Goethe-Centre Windhoek presents Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s "Angst Essen Seele Auf“ – "Ali: Fear Eats Soul"nDirected, written, set-design, music and produced by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, West-Germany, 1974, 94 minutesnAbout the film
Emmi, a widowed cleaning lady in her sixties, enters a bar in Munich frequented by foreigners where she meets Ali, a considerably younger Moroccan guest-worker. Ali, who’s name is actually El Hedi ben Salem M’Barek Mohammed Mustapha, accompanies her home and a relationship begins which results in marriage. When Emmi breaks the news of the marriage to her children, they react with disgust. Emmi and Ali find themselves increasingly isolated and decide to go away on holiday to escape their problems. When they return, the pressure subsides in the end, Emmi and Ali observe their inner problems more clearly. 
Ali’s loneliness worsens as Emmi’s situation improves and the two drift apart.
Ali starts to see his former girlfriend Barbara again. When Emmi attempts to get him back and the two of them dance like at the beginning of their encounter, Ali has a breakdown. The doctor diagnoses a burst ulcer. Emmi stays with Ali, she holds his hand.nWhat marks Fassbinder’s film out as being so exceptional is that this seemingly very simple and broadly drawn story is constantly afforded extra layers and shades of depth and detail without ever losing focus on the basic theme of exclusion by society.
"Ali: Fear Eats the Soul“ was Fassbinder’s international breakthrough, winning him a FIPRESCI prize at Cannes in 1974.nSee more infos here: http://www.fassbinderfoundation.de/en/texte_detail.php?id=23&textid=37 nPress
"This 1974 film stands as one of Fassbinder’s sturdiest achievements, posed between the low-budget funkiness of his early features and the mannerism of his late period.“ – Dave Kehr, Chicago Readern"Technically flawless, deceptively simple and avoiding excesses, it is about problems that are timely and timeless in implications.“ – Varietyn"It is, rather, another quite courageous attempt by Mr. Fassbinder to develop a film style free of the kind of realistic conventions that sentimentalize life’s mysteries.“ – Vincent Canby, New York Timesn"One of Fassbinder’s crown jewels, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is as powerful as any film he ever made, despite its pedestrian premise.“ – Christopher Null, FilmCritic.Comn"A powerful attempt to deal with a range of serious issues as well as the characters’ own complex psychologies. Visually and dramatically intense, it remains one of Fassbinder’s finest.“ – Film4n"Regarded as one of the high-water marks in German New Wave cinema of the 1970s, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is at once an intense portrayal of a relationship and a tribute to one of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s film heroes, Douglas Sirk.“ – Rotten tomatoesnDate: Thursday, 21 February 2013
Time: 7h15 pm
Venue: Goethe-Centre Windhoek/NaDS, 1-5 Fidel-Castro St
Entrance: Entrance Free
Language: Original with English subtitles

For more information contact: AfricAvenir Windhoek, Cell: 085-5630949, 
E-Mail: moc.liamelgoog@khw.rinevacirfa n