Next Week in Munich: Girls Don’t Fly, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige

Hello again! It’s been a creatively tumultous time at Arts in Munich over the past few months – please forgive me. There’s been an existential crisis, but I’ve decided to continue.

And so I’m back. Arts in Munich is getting an overhaul, but in the meantime, things will continue here.

Irish singer-songwriter Foy Vance kicks off the week at Strom. His Berlin show was sold-out, but there are still tickets left for his Munich gig.

Have you been to the Neues Maxim cinema since its reopening? It had to close in June last year, because the owner was no longer able to pay the rent. Thanks to a small group of Munich cinephiles, it opened again just a few months later. Cafe Ruffini collected money to pay for new seats, and the new team is trying to raise its profile – the cinema will also be used for literature evenings and small gigs. Their selection of films is wonderful – and a great many are international movies shown with subtitles. Raving Iran is currently showing, and you can catch Girls Don’t Fly (shown in English) on Tuesday – a documentary about young female pilots in Ghana.

Also on Tuesday, Tom Odell is playing at the Tonhalle (the gig was originally meant to be in Backstage, so take note, early ticket buyers!). He’s currently on tour promoting his dramatic-sounding second studio album, Wrong Crowd, which was released in summer.

It’s unfortunately already sold-out, but Professor Volker Depkat from the University of Regensburg is hosting a talk on Obama on Friday night at the Amerikahaus. The talk’s a critical assessment of his presidency, covering both his foreign and domestic policies.

Isn’t it incredible that Status Quo are still going? Originally founded in 1962, the band finally settled on their name in 1969, and have had over sixty chart hits in the UK. They’re playing at the Olympiahalle on Wednesday, where they’ll be supported by seventies cult band Uriah Heep.

Head to the Haus der Kunst on Thursday night to learn more about Lebanese art and film – there’s a lecture performance from Beirut filmmakers Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige at 7pm. Their focus is Lebanese history – they were politicized at a young age, a result of the Lebanese Civil War. You might know their work from A Perfect Day, the 2005 film about the civil war and a man with a sleep disorder.

Multi-instrumentalist Trixie Whitley (the daughter of blues singer Chris Whitley) is playing at Strom on Saturday. Her voice is so very soulful:

Have a great week, folks!