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OCTOBER 27-DECEMBER 15
Officially the capital of Germany again, though many are questioning the wisdom of moving the government back there, Berlin became the nation’s cinematic capital during the ’80s, as the Munich-centered New German Cinema fragmented and its principal survivor, Wim Wenders, moved there to contemplate angels over the Wall. A series of seven films set amid the city’s tumultuous recent history, “Berlin Blues” includes City of the Lost Souls (Oct. 27), by gay sexual liberationist Rosa von Praunheim; Drachenfutter (translated literally as Dragon Chow but released in Britain as Spicy Rice; Nov. 17), documentarian Jan Schütte’s first fiction film, about a Pakistani and a Chinese immigrant attempting to make a new life in Hamburg (well, right country, anyway); and Christiane F. (Dec. 8), a controversial 1981 semi-documentary portrait of a 13-year-old junkie and her circle (with music by part-time Berliner David Bowie). The films are shown Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. through Dec. 15 at the Goethe-Institut, 1607 New Hampshire Ave. NW. FREE. (202) 319-0702. (Mark Jenkins)