AIFF2025: Nikolas and Katrine Are In Anchorage for the Film Festival

 

We picked up Nikolas and Katrina at the airport Wednesday night and brought them home.  Thursday we did a tour of AIFF sites (sights?) in Anchorage.  Above they are at the Baar Tooth with the poster for their German language film The World Outside, which will be shown next Friday - December 12 - at the Alaska Experience Theater at 8:30pm.  

Then we stopped at the museum to see the auditorium there and did a quick hello the pink polar bear.

Today we went to the Campbell Airstrip and walked through the snowy woods.  

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Then we stopped to visit Dr. Margritt Engel who has just moved into a new apartment in Chester Park.  It's still full of boxes.  Dr. Engel is a Professor Emerita of German at the University of Alaska Anchorage.  And we had a lively conversation.  My brain was taxed (nicely) as they spoke in German and I did my best to use my rusty German as well.  There were lots of words I haven't heard spoken in a long time.  

When I was a student in Göttingen, German in the 1960s, I visited friends and relatives of my parents who were still alive.  My step-father's cousin invited me to visit them in Berlin, which I did several times during the year.  They had two children - Claudia was ten at the time and Stefan was 7 (I think.)

Long story short, Nikolas is Claudia's son.  I'd met him at his mom's house in Berlin about 15 years ago.  He'd worked on a film and we went to the premier.  Afterward I told him to apply to the Anchorage International Film Festival.  

While we were in Turkey recently, I got an email from Nikolas saying his new film which he made with his girlfriend Katrine, was accepted at AIFF and they were coming to Anchorage.  Naturally, we invited them to stay with us.  

So all that is to let you know I'm probably  a little biased here.  I haven't seen the film, but we've talked about it.  And I plan to do an interview before it is shown next Friday (December 12).  

It's about a woman with agoraphobia - fear of going outside.  But she gets an invitation to a good friend's wedding.  For me that sounds a little depressing, but they've assured me they endeavored to help people learn about and better understand agoraphobia and how it affects people, but in a way that is compelling and even funny at times.  I'm looking forward to seeing it - especially since Katrine is the main actor.  Nikolas gave me this still from the film which he likes much better than the one the Festival folks picked.

They are here for the whole festival, so look for them or for me and talk to them.  They are very friendly and their English is excellent.  And they are both lots of fun.  

And if you know any German speakers, or people with an interest in mental health issues, let them know about this film.  Again:

Friday, December 12 at the Alaska Experience Theater at 8:30pm.    The World Outside or in German Draußen die Welt.  (The ß is the German letter for a double S.)

See you tonight at the Bear Tooth for the opening film, Burt.