What is the "Lost in the 90s" festival in Berlin about?

It's a film festival celebrating 22 feature films from the independent cinema of the 1990s.

When will the "Secrets of a Soul" restoration be screened?

The digitally restored silent film classic "Secrets of a Soul" will premiere at next year's Berlin festival.

How is the new score for 'Secrets of a Soul' unique?

The live score uses new technology to generate electronic sounds and lights based on the performing violist's real-time brain activity.

Home / Arts and Entertainment / Berlin Celebrates 90s Cinema: A Nostalgic Revival

Berlin Celebrates 90s Cinema: A Nostalgic Revival

18 Dec

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Summary

Berlin festival screens 22 feature films from the 1990s.
Digitally restored silent film 'Secrets of a Soul' to premiere.
A new score for the silent film uses real-time brain activity.

Berlin Celebrates 90s Cinema: A Nostalgic Revival

Berlin is hosting a film festival, "Lost in the 90s," dedicated to the independent cinema of that decade. The event will showcase 22 feature films, celebrating a period that redefined filmmaking after the fall of the Berlin Wall. This retrospective will extend globally through the Goethe-Institut, reaching 150 institutes worldwide starting in March 2026.

The festival will also feature a special premiere: a digitally restored 4K version of G. W. Pabst's 1926 silent film, "Secrets of a Soul." This restoration, a collaboration with Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung, will be part of the Berlinale Classics program.

"Secrets of a Soul," renowned for its early exploration of Freudian psychoanalysis and expressionist dream sequences, will be accompanied by a novel live score. South Korean composer Yongbom Lee's new composition will be performed by Broken Frames Syndicate, utilizing cutting-edge technology to translate a violist's real-time brain activity into electronic sounds and lights.