Coachella Valley Premiere – One Time Screening Clara Schumann” wears the mantle of a period love story with attractive distinction — touted as the tale of the feverish ménage-a-trois between 19th-century composers Clara, her husband, Robert Schumann and his protege Johannes Brahms.  The film, as one might expect, contains some extraordinary musical moments.  Clara’s sexist encounters […]

On a weekend police-training course, Marc meets fellow officer, Kay, and begins to develop feelings for him. Kay is spontaneous and a little illicit, which is not Marc's day-to- day life. Back at home though, Marc thinks nothing of it-until Kay is transferred to his unit. Torn between his love for his pregnant girlfriend Bettina […]

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PREMIERE Marcus (MARIO ADORF) is a survivor of Theresienstadt and Auschwitz.  His survival strategy after the war was creating a new identity for himself in Germany, one without Jewish friends or ties.  Now faced with his own mortality, he suddenly decides he wants to be buried in a Jewish cemetery.  To his surprise, he must […]

WEST COAST PREMIERE “A devastating German television mini-series about life in East Germany in the 1980s as experienced by a cultured family in suburban Dresden. A sweeping overview of a society that operates on fear, secrecy and duplicity. The Tower reminds us that the slogan “the personal is political” applies more than ever in a […]

COACHELLA VALLEY PREMIERE When young drifter Jonas (Max Riemelt) begins a friendship with ageing and isolated Ruth (Hannelore Elsner), their two lives become intimately intertwined.  Raised in postwar Germany, Ruth, an ex-cabaret Yiddish performer with a suppressed life force, is struggling with moving into a retirement complex.  Wandering throughout the city doing menial jobs, young […]

U.S. PREMIERE One Time Screening It’s the 70th birthday of Hannes Westhoff and his family (his first and second wives and his children) gather for the weekend in his villa.  Without consideration for losses, their mutual taunts, accusations & aversions run free.  They dig deep into old wounds until an unexpected message changes everything. Starring: Hannelore […]

GUEST:  FLORIAN EICHINGER  (Writer/Director)  At a family gathering, Markus, an almost 40-year-old doting father, is reminded of his ugly childhood when his 4-year-old son is slightly injured while alone with his grandmother. Writer|Director:  Florian Eichinger Genre:  Drama Running Time:  106 minutes Distributor:  Media Luna Country:  Germany Language:  German w|English Subtitles Rating:  N|R Starring: Andreas Döhler, […]

When Phil returns home from summer camp he finds that his mother and twin sister, aren't speaking to one another. Unwilling to confront his family during the last of the summer holidays, Phil escapes to hang out with his best friend.  As the school year begins, a new student arrives, the handsome and mysterious Nicholas.  […]

U.S. PREMIERE “May 1968: Rolling Stones, bell-bottoms, mini-skirts, sexual revolution, protests against the Vietnam War… While Germany sets off for a new era of freedom, rebellious fourteen-year-old Wolfgang gets sent to Freistatt, a foster home for difficult children.  There he shall be “educated” to become a decent boy.  Wolfgang puts up a determined resistance against the […]

February 22, 2020 - BALLOON – Germany – 128 min - Drama | Thriller.

Thuriingen, 1979. Based upon a true story of two families who worked on an audacious plan for more than two years: to flee East Germany in a homemade hot-air balloon- a nerve-wracking battle against the clock..

This movie will be rescheduled. Check back in May. HOW ABOUT ADOLF? – Germany – 91 min – Comedy

"What's in a name?" Shakespeare's lofty question takes on new life in this savage comedy-a breakout hit in Germany-which raucously lampoons contemporary German attitudes, guilt and denials of the Nazi past. When Thomas (Florian David Fitz), the black sheep of a progressive middle-class academic family, surprises his siblings with the news that he intends to name his son Adolf, petty carnage ensues as personal, ideological and sexual histories are unmasked in this scintillating dark comedy. A breakout German box office hit.

May 16, 2020 - SILENT REVOLUTION – Germany – 111 min – Drama/History

A gripping and true story set in 1956 in East Germany of a group of students who saw their life changed forever by a harmless human act of solidarity during the early stage of the Cold War, where freedom of thinking and integrity could make anyone an enemy of the state… or an ordinary hero. This is a film about the extraordinary courage of young individuals in a time of political oppression.

One-time screening, Palm Springs premiere, October 16, 2021. Camelot's doors unlock at 9:30 and the film begins promptly at 10:00 AM. Free to Desert Film Society members. Non-members $10 at the door. Please check with us to learn latest health & safety policies. Masks & Proof of Vaccination are mandatory.