
The Universal Theory Die Theorie Von Allem
Synopsis
Not content to let Oppenheimer ask all of the big questions, German director Timm Kröger combines old Hollywood style with heady metaphysical substance in the intellectual thriller The Universal Theory. Set in 1962 at a quantum mechanics conference in an isolated lodge nestled amid the towering landscapes of the Swiss Alps, The Universal Theory is the story of a gifted young physicist, his curmudgeonly mentor, and an enigmatic jazz pianist who knows things about our wunderkind scientist that he’s never told another living soul.
Driven by mind-bending twists, improbable coincidences, and Hitchcockian suspense, The Universal Theory is a captivating nesting doll of a film that nods to the German masters of old Hollywood and considers the metaverse theory from a refreshingly intelligent point of view. Kröger — himself also a cinematographer — films his tale with an eye for the majestic natural beauty that surrounds our characters, effectively evoking both the paranoid postwar era and the brain-tickling complexity of theoretical physics.
Screenings & Events
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Film Credits
- Heino Deckert, Tina Börner, Viktoria Stolpe, Timm Kröger, Lixi Frank, David Bohun, Sarah Born, Rajko Jazbec, Dario Schoch
- Roderick Warich, Timm Kröger
- Jann Anderegg
- Roland Stuprich
- Jan Bülow, Olivia Ross, Hanns Zischler, Gottfried Breitfuss, David Bennent, Philippe Graber
- Diego Ramos Rodríguez
- Ma.ja.de Fiction, The Barricades, Panama Film, Catpics
Sponsors
International Competition Program Sponsor
John and Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation
Film Supporter

Lubo
Synopsis
Lubo, a traveling busker, is conscripted into the Swiss army to defend against a potential German attack. While serving, he receives the news that his wife has died and his three small children have been taken by the state as a part of a national reeducation program for Yenisch children. He flees his unit, adopts a new identity, and begins a desperate search to reunite his fractured family.
Featuring stunning production design and a sterling performance from Franz Rogowski (Transit, Passages), the film tracks Lubo’s odyssey as he uncovers the shocking truth about his children. Based on real-life events, the film is both an emotional character study and a penetrating historical epic.
Screenings & Events
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Media



Film Credits
- Fabrizio Donvito, Benedetto Habib, Marco Cohen, Daniel Campos Pavoncelli, Giorgio Diritti, Francesca Scorzonii, Christof Neracher, Claudio Falconi, Alberto Fusco, Andrea Masera
- Giorgio Diritti, Fredo Valla
- Paolo Cottignola (AMC BFE), Giorgio Diritti
- Benjamin Maier
- Franz Rogowski, Christophe Sermet, Valentina Bellè, Noémi Besedes, Cecilia Steiner, Joel Basman
- Marco Biscarini
- Simone Bachini, Alessandro Mascheroni
- Indiana Production, Aranciafilm, Rai Cinema, hugofilm features, Proxima Milano
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When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl
Synopsis
In this sensitive adaptation of Judith Kerr’s internationally acclaimed autobiographical classic, nine-year-old Anna finds the world shift dramatically around her in 1933 Berlin. When her father, a high-profile Jewish theater critic, abruptly flees to Zurich to escape the Nazis, the family scrambles to follow, leaving everything and everyone behind—from a beloved nanny and friends to cherished toys. A new life filled with challenges and privations, met with persistence and triumphs, lies ahead.

Screenings & Events
Post-Screening Discussion
Post-screening discussion with Prof. Sara Hall, Associate Professor of Germanic Studies, Chair of the Minor in Moving Image Arts, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago
Q&A presented by: