Von Trotta, star of New German Cinema, to be focus of weeklong celebration

German film director Margarethe von Trotta will visit Skidmore April 12 and 13 to present the College's 35th Frances Steloff Lecture and to discuss her films in public interviews and panel discussions.

Prior to the Steloff Lecture, from Saturday, April 7, through Wednesday, April 11, a Margarethe von Trotta Film Festival will feature six of her films. The lecture, film festival, and panel discussions are free and open to the public. 

The Steloff Lecture will begin at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 12, in Gannett Auditorium of Palamountain Hall. Von Trotta will describe her career as actress, screenwriter, and film director, and discuss her new film about the writer-philosopher Hannah Arendt, author of The Origins of Totalitarianism, Eichmann in Jerusalem, and other works. A special showing of von Trotta's most highly acclaimed film, Marianne & Julianne, will begin at 6 p.m. April 12 in Gannett Auditorium, immediately preceding the Steloff Lecture.

During the following day, Friday, April 13, Von Trotta will participate in panel discussions with Skidmore faculty, beginning at 11 a.m. in the Payne Presentation Room of the College's Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery. In "Three Political Films by Margarethe von Trotta" panelists will discuss Rosa Luxemburg, Rosenstrasse, and The Other Woman from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. From 3 to 5 p.m., a discussion titled "A Margarethe von Trotta Trilogy" will focus on Sisters, Sheer Madness, and Marianne & Julianne, followed by an audience question-and-answer session with Von Trotta from 5 to 6 p.m.

The five-day film festival will offer repeated showings of six of the director's films. The schedule is as follows:

- Saturday, April 7– Rosa Luxemburg (1-3 p.m., Gannett Auditorium), The Other Woman (3:30-5:30 p.m., Gannett Auditorium), and Rosenstrasse (7-9:15 p.m., Davis Auditorium)

- Sunday, April 8 (in Gannett Auditorium)–Sisters (1-3 p.m.), Sheer Madness (3:30-5:30 p.m.), and Marianne & Julianne (7-9 p.m.)

- Monday, April 9 (in Davis Auditorium)– The Other Woman (4-6 p.m.), Rosenstrasse (7-9:15 p.m.)

- Tuesday, April 10 (in Davis Auditorium)– Rosa Luxemburg (4-6 p.m.), Marianne & Julianne (7-9 p.m.)

- Wednesday, April 11 (in Davis Auditorium)– Sisters (4-6 p.m.), Sheer Madness (7-8:50 p.m.); Marianne & Julianne (9-11 p.m.)

Born in Berlin in 1942, Margarethe von Trotta is considered one of the most important directors to emerge from the New German Cinema. She began her career as an award-winning screen actress and went on to direct nearly 20 films. The Encyclopedia of Film calls von Trotta "one of the world's great directors" and her work has been honored at film festivals in New York, Boston, Vancouver, Rome, and Paris.

The annual Steloff Lecture at Skidmore was established in 1967 by Frances Steloff, a native of Saratoga Springs who founded the Gotham Book Mart in New York City and became a well-known patron of writers.