Dear Reader!

For our German World Team here in Hollywood, a very exciting weekend lies behind us. Since our office is located on Hollywood Boulevard just 1 ½ blocks from the Kodak Theatre, we were able to witness the growing excitement related to the 81st Academy Awards daily. With nominations for Germany and Austria in the category “Best Foreign Language Film”, and two nominations for the German short film production "Auf der Strecke / On the Line" (Academy of Media Arts Cologne) by Swiss director Reto Caffi and "Spielzeugland / Toyland" (Mephisto Film Production) by the German director Jochen Alexander Freydank as well as nominations for Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser (A Creative Differences Production) with "Encounters at the End of the World" as documentary film, five nominations for “The Reader” (Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production), including Kate Winslet as best actress in a leading role, all pointed to the continued success of German film. And we have not been disappointed! Freydank’s “Toyland” won the Oscar in the category “Live Action Short” and Kate Winslet won the Oscar for “Best Lead Actress” for her portrayal of Hanna Schmitz in “The Reader”, a film based on the novel “Der Vorleser” by German author Bernhard Schlink. Congratulations to all winners!

Please stay tuned for our Oscar Party pictures that will be online by the end of this week on www.german-world.com and for our Oscar reporting by Andreas Fuchs in our upcoming Spring 2009 issue.

Austria, Germany and Switzerland had a similar exciting weekend celebrating the last days of Karneval. You’ll find the latest from the Karneval in Cologne in our Webblog from our staff writer Gabriele Hoevel who lives and works in Cologne and joins the fun every year. And our “Web Window Europe” on www.german-world.com shows you a few live shots of the Karneval craziness in various cities.

Today, we also like to present our new Event & TV Guide to you, featuring a selection of the hottest upcoming events and the highlights of the German TV programs in March. In addition to that, you will find 100 new events in our event calendar on www.german-world.com
If you are a resident of Greater L.A., make sure you do not miss the “Wendeflicks”, a film series of the last films made in East Germany hosted by Academy Award Nominee Armin Mueller Stahl and presented by the Wendemuseum and the DEFA Film Library starting on February 28, 2009 at LACMA / Bing Theatre at 7 PM. Please see page 2 of our Event Guide for the complete schedule.

Also, the L.A. Opera is offering all tickets for Richard Wagner’s masterpiece “Das Rheingold” at 20 % off for German World readers and affiliates. Click here to order your ticket now.

We wish you all lots of fun at the various events.

Best regards,
Petra Schuermann
Publisher

German World Event Tips

California
Feb. 25 - 11.30 AM / Feb. 26, 10 AM
March 3, 10 AM / March 5, 10 AM
Open House: KindergartenLA
KindergartenLA is a New Language Preschool located in Santa Monica/West LA offering the opportunity to learn an additional language through play and discovery in a safe and friendly environment.
Information: (310) 581-5264 - Diana@KindergartenLA.org

February 27, 2009 - 8 PM – Midnight
German Karneval - Austrian Fasching - Swiss Fastnacht

Come and celebrate with German beer, bratwurst and German party music.
No entrance fee. Costumes are optional (dirndl or lederhosn count as costume or come in your halloween outfit). Hosted by Doris Adlam, Alpinemixer, Germanmixer, German-World Magazine, German American Lawyers Association of Southern California, and GABA.
Location: On the WATERFRONT CAFE, 205 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90292, www.waterfrontcafe.com (half a block north of Rose Ave).
After-Party at the BAJA CANTINA , 311 Washington Blvd, Marina Del Rey, until 2 AM.

Illinois
March 9 – 6 PM
Culture without Borders: Writing in a Foreign Language
Reading and discussion with Josip Novakovich (Croatia/USA), Lena Gorelik (Russia/Germany), and moderator Elizabeth Loentz. (Language: English)
Josip Novakovich moved from Croatia to the U.S. at the age of twenty. He has published a novel, April Fool's Day (in ten languages), three story collections (Infidelities: Stories of War and Lust, Yolk, and Salvation and Other Disasters) and two collections of narrative essays. His work was anthologized in Best American Poetry, the Pushcart Prize collection, and O. Henry Prize Stories. Lena Gorelik was born in Saint Petersburg in 1981. Eleven years later, she and her Russian-Jewish family came to Germany. Her two novels, My White Nights (Meine weißen Nächte) and A Marriage in Jerusalem (Hochzeit in Jerusalem) were published to much critical acclaim in Germany. Elizabeth Loentz is Associate Professor of Germanic Studies and a member of the Jewish Studies Program faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Information & RSVP Lisa Lux, lux@chicago.goethe.org - (312) 263 0472
Location: Goethe-Institut Chicago, 150 N Michigan Ave, Suite 200
www.goethe.de/chicago

New York
March 28 – 7 PM – 11 PM
Bremervoerder Fasching Ball
Benefiting the Bremervoerder Chorus. Live Music, great raffle. Donation: $ 45 (includes dinner and unlimited beer, wine, and sodas)
Information & Reservation: (516) 825 2176
Location: Park Restaurant, 1132 Hempstead Turnpike, Franklin Square, NY

For more events, review our Event & TV Guide or check out our event calendar on
www.german-world.com