The Golem – How He Came Into The World
In Sala Darsena on the Lido a classic of silent film The Golem – How He Came Into The World (1920) by Paul Wegener in a world premiere screening of a newly restored 4K digital copy made from the original negative / Scoring with original music by maestro Admir Shkurtaj commissioned by La Biennale di Venezia and performed live by the Mesimèr Ensemble
The silent film classic The Golem – How He Came Into The World (Der Golem – Wie er in die Welt kam, 1920), written and directed by Paul Wegener, is the film chosen for the Pre-opening event on Tuesday August 28th of the 75th Venice International Film Festival of the Biennale di Venezia, to be shown in the Sala Darsena (Palazzo del Cinema) on the Lido.
The Golem – How He Came Into The World will be screened from a new digital copy made from the original negative that was thought to have been lost, restored in 4K and supervised by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung in Wiesbaden (Germany) and by the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique (Cinematek) in Brussels, to be shown in its world premiere screening. The digital restoration was done by Immagine ritrovata in Bologna.
The screening of The Golem – How He Came Into The World will be scored with original music by maestro Admir Shkurtaj, commissioned by La Biennale di Venezia, and performed live by the Mesimèr Ensemble wth members: Hersjana Matmuja (soprano), Giorgio Distante (Bb trumpet, midi trumpet), Pino Basile (cupafon – a set of friction drums, percussions, ocarina), Vanessa Sotgiù (synthesizer, piano), Iacopo Conoci (cello), Admir Shkurtaj (conductor, electronics, accordion, piano).
The Golem – How He Came Into The World by Paul Wegener
Set in ancient Prague of the 16th century Der Golem – Wie er in die Welt kam (1920) recounts the Jewish tale of the clay-made creature brought to life by a rabbi’s occult ritual. Foreseeing the upcoming expulsion of the Jews from the city, Rabbi Löw (Albert Steinrück) creates and awakes the mythical Golem in order to protect his people.
Through a turn of events the Golem saves the emperor’s (Otto Gebühr) life, convincing him to lift the ban. But due to a jealous servant (Ernst Deutsch) and his selfish plans the Golem runs out of control and turns against his creator…
Director Paul Wegener, who also performs the Golem, already adapted the story twice before, once in 1914 and again in 1917. But only his third attempt, driven by great artistic ambition, earned him broader appreciation. Its outstanding mise-en-scène with architecture by Hans Poelzig and cinematography by Karl Freund made Der Golem – Wie er in die Welt kam one of the most recognized and widely-cited films of Weimar Cinema.
The film turned out to be a great international success for the German silent film industry with sold out screenings for months – even in the US and China. Its emblematic expressionist style influenced Hollywood’s classical horror movies as well as popular culture up to this day.
The 75th Venice International Film Festival
August 29th – September 8th, 2018
Lido di Venezia, Venezia
