The 12th annual German Currents festival features some of the best recent films from Germany and German-speaking neighbors Switzerland and Austria - all of which make their Los Angeles premieres here. The series begins with MAGICAL MYSTERY OR: THE RETURN OF KARL SCHMIDT, set in Germany’s mid-1990s club scene and starring Charly Hübner as a recovering alcoholic who is enlisted to drive the tour bus for his friends’ techno-filled tour of Germany. A reception in the Egyptian courtyard follows this hysterical and charming road movie.

One of the thrills of each installment of German Currents is the chance to see outstanding performances from rising international stars. A black-and-white Valentine to Romy Schneider, 3 DAYS IN QUIBERON swept the major categories at the 2018 German Film Awards, including wins for Marie Bäumer in the lead role as the legendary actress, for cinematographer Thomas Kiennast, and for Emily Atef as Best Director. German Film Award-winning actor Franz Rogowski and TONI ERDMANN star Sandra Hüller play blue-collar workers in love in Thomas Stuber’s IN THE AISLES.

Dark chapters in history provide storylines for a pair of arresting dramas. Starring Franz Rogowski, Christian Pezold’s TRANSIT is a bold, modern-dress adaptation of Anna Seghers’ 1942 novel about a man on the run from German troops in France that resonates with refugee crises past and present. Lars Kraume’s fact-based THE SILENT REVOLUTION examines the unintended consequences of a small act of solidarity among high schoolers in Communist-controlled East Germany in 1956.

Lisa Brühlmann’s feature directorial debut, BLUE MY MIND, takes the physical transformation and alienation of adolescence to the extreme with a fantastical twist on the coming-of-age tale through the often shocking transformation of its 15-year-old female protagonist, who discovers she is changing into a mermaid.

James Krüss’ celebrated 1962 children’s novel comes to life in THE LEGEND OF TIMM THALER OR THE BOY WHO SOLD HIS LAUGHTER; the fantasy about a boy with a laugh so extraordinary that the devil covets it will screen twice, as a family matinee and in a free program for local students. This year’s series also includes a Next Generation German Shorts showcase of the best student shorts and the winners of the German Federal Film Board’s Short Tiger Award.

Series compiled by the Goethe-Institut and Gwen Deglise. Program notes by Chris LeMaire, Andrew Ameter and John Hagelston.