It was no modest demand being made by a group of 26 signatories when they read out a manifesto at the VIII West German Short Film Festival in Oberhausen in February 1962, calling for nothing less than a radical break with the West German film industry in a statement that culminated with "the old cinema is dead. We believe in the new cinema." In the early 60s, the state of German film was not just artistically desolate, but also economically finished. It was practically impossible for young, critical filmmakers to find their place in the German film industry: as the classic method of getting into film by working as an assistant to an experienced director was stymied by the big age difference between the younger and older generations, this meant they were effectively forced to teach themselves. Peter Schamoni stated that, "back then, there was no way for us to reach the film industry. We had no way of realizing scripts or ideas within existing German film production, so we began to make short films that we ourselves produced." The 26 signatories – directors, cameramen, producers and one actor, not a single one of them a women - were a loosely connected group, which had formed from the DOC 59 association founded by Haro Senft and Ferdinand Khittl in Munich in 1959. Discussed in the press with interest and approval, the film branch itself reacted derisively to the manifesto, giving the young filmmakers the name "Obermünchhausener".

Greece has become a talking point – with innovations of cinematic nature. A young generation of filmmakers has been counteracting economic misery with immense artistic capital in the form of new aesthetic approaches. Its inventive, unconventional and often disturbing images have provided new impulses for international auteur cinema and caused a stir at major festivals.

Our selection of 13 current Greek features and documentaries from 2009 to 2012 put together by Arsenal, most of which can be seen in Berlin for the first time, presents a cinema of huge aesthetic variety, which clearly sets itself apart from the “New Greek Cinema" of the 70s. It can be seen as a veritable sea change, a shift away from classical formats and conventions that has brought about a revitalization of the Greek film landscape. Contemporary Greek cinema is daring, funny, awkward, crazy, visionary and heterogeneous. It is individual, non-conformist and radically offbeat. It experiments with different artistic forms and defies easy categorization. It looks beyond state funding for means of financing. It is neither the result of a political or economic initiative, nor can one speak of a movement or school, although the filmmakers do form a network of sorts, frequently working together or supporting each other's projects. Produced at a time of political, economic and moral collapse, most of the films do not depict Greece’s social crisis in order to convey some sort of political message, yet nearly all of them recount more or less the same problems: economic crisis, speechlessness, family dysfunction, violent propensities, xenophobia, lethargy and a lack of vision. A skeptical treatment of language, a sense of the grotesque and above all strong criticism of the role and state of the family characterize many current Greek films, as does their extraordinary artistic diversity.

We are particularly glad to be able to welcome the two most prominent representatives of new Greek cinema thanks to the support of the Greek Cultural Foundation Berlin: we are expecting filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos for both the opening of the series on May 4 with a preview of ALPEIS (before the regular cinema release via Rapid Eye Movies in mid June) as well as for the screening of DOGTOOTH on May 5, while on May 10, Athina Rachel Tsangari will be presenting and discussing her multi-award winning ATTENBERG to coincide with its general release.

"I think of Canada as female. All the art I've been doing or will be doing is about Canada. I may tend to overly identify with Canada." (Joyce Wieland, 1931–1998)

A sailboat passes by and the word SAILBOAT can be read: the structuralist film reflects the relationship between static text and the moving images – until Hollis Frampton casually steps in front of the running camera from off-screen and a seemingly strictly composed work briefly becomes a home movie. There, at Lake Ontario, the two of them also shot A&B IN ONTARIO (1966–84), a sort of game of hide and seek with the Bolex camera. These films, as well as Wieland's complex reflection on Canada LA RAISON AVANT LA PASSION / REASON OVER PASSION (1969) and 1933, a looped street scene in New York (1967), were obtained by deceased Arsenal staff member Alf Bold in 1993 for our collection. After Joyce Wieland herself died in 1998, we were able to use the experimental film fund bequeathed to us by Alf Bold to obtain seven further films of hers. It gives us great pleasure that the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC) has now released the complete works of this outstanding artist as a DVD box-set and will be presenting them at Arsenal.