Music legends and great cinema at Dresden Film Nights 2024

The Dresden Film Nights on the banks of the Elbe begin on June 27 with "Perfect Days", Wim Wenders' film about a toilet cleaner in Japan. On Thursday, the organizers announced a programme with surprises and "some much-loved highlights" - such as the "Dirty Dancing Night" and, for the first time since 2019, the midnight cinema. A total of around 100 films will be shown open air on the giant screen in front of the famous baroque old town backdrop, almost a third of them in the family cinema.

The line-up ranges from classics such as "The Big Lebowksi" or "Thelma & Louise" to new Hollywood films such as "Poor Things" or "Barbie". Also included: the new tragicomedy "Falling Leaves" by Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki and the premiere of the German comedy "Two to One", based on a true story from the time of reunification in Thuringia. The documentary feature film "Caspar David Friedrich - Limits of Time" by Peter Schamoni will be shown alongside the major Dresden art exhibition to mark the 250th anniversary of the German Romantic painter's birth.

Twelve concerts are also planned. Deep Purple, Deichkind, Marius Müller-Westernhagen, the German-Turkish singer Ayliva, who is causing a sensation on Tiktok, and pop singer Roland Kaiser are expected to perform on the stage below the Ministry of Finance. The traditional "Kaisermania" with five shows is already sold out, as are the performances by Silbermond, DJ Purple Disco Machine and the hip-hop band 01099 from Dresden's trendy Neustadt district. And the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra is delighted to be able to play film music in the open air again at the end of the season.

Last year, around 228,000 cineastes and music fans came to the Königsufer, compared to almost 274,000 the year before.000 - a record after the corona-related slump.