Ciné-Club

Thursday 31^st October 2013 at 20:00
CERN Council Chamber

Nothing is better than nothing at all
(Nichts ist besser als gar nichts)

Directed by Jan Peters (Germany, 2010) 89 minutes

When Jan Peters' girlfriend accidentally takes his wallet on a trip to foreign climes, she leaves the filmmaker standing in Frankfurt Airport without a penny to his name. The only capital he possesses is a group ticket for the public transport system. After hearing about people who supplement their inadequate incomes by 'escorting' groups of tourists across the city, Mr Peters decides to apply the same method to his own situation. The filmmaker starts a business as an 'independent travel escort' and enters an obscure world of supplementary jobs and adventurous business models.

The film will be shown in the presence of Jan Peters, artist in residence at CERN, winner of the Collide@CERN Geneva prize.  It will be preceded by his short film Time’s up co-directed together with Marie-Catherine Theiler, 2009, 15 min.

Thursday 7 November 2013 at 20:00
CERN Council Chamber

El Verdugo / The Executioner

Directed by Luis Garcia Berlanga (Spain, 1963) 90 minutes

At the time "The Executioner" was shot, 1963, Spain was going through one of its most obscure historical periods: Franco's dictatorship. The film addresses the always polemic subject of death penalty from an unusual perspective: that of the executioner, who never expected to actually have to do his job and is clearly not prepared to carry the burden. Just like death penalty constituted a fundamental tool of the dictatorial regime back then, so did censorship, literally obliterating every artistic manifestation suggesting the smallest trace of criticism to the regime. Surprisingly, "The Executioner" made it through fairly well, with only a few cuts and script changes. Some say it was due to the incompetence of censors; others suggest the key was the outstanding job of both Berlanga and Azcona with their brilliant script -one of the many they produced together- and the charming storyline, completed with a set of lively characters. Perhaps a combination of both. This excellent black comedy quickly raised interest in Europe, receiving several awards, and was widely acclaimed as a cry against a regime that had to get soon to an end.

Original version Spanish; English subtitles

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par Cine-Club