Chinese and German filmmakers aim to learn from each other

The 5th Festival of German Cinema in China will tour four cities in China. [Photo/CGTN]

Imagine this, you are a member of a jury, and sitting in the center of the court room is a fighter pilot who is on trial for murder. He has shot down a hijacked civilian jet, killing 164 passengers on board, to stop Islamic terrorists from crashing it into a stadium with 70,000 civilians.

Guilty or not, your vote after hearing arguments from the defense and the prosecution will determine his life.

This is the plot for the German film The Verdict. Though the story is a simple trial case, your opinion as an audience member will lead to different endings, as the story's finale will be determined by the audience's vote.

"I can't wait to see Chinese audiences' reaction," director Lars Kraume told CGTN. This film has aired on TV in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland last October and triggered much discussion after.

The film has been brought to the country at the 5th Festival of German Cinema in China, which kicked off in Beijing on Friday and will later tour to Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan province, Nanjing in East China's Jiangsu province, and Shenzhen in South China.

Kraume has received different reactions from different cultures. Most American audiences believed the pilot to be innocent, even after the 9/11 attacks. However, most Japanese voted definitively in favor of the pilot's guilt.

How Chinese audiences will react really excites Kraume.

The Verdict is one of many films that inspire audiences to think about reality, morality and history.

The Bloom of Yesterday directed by Chris Klaus focuses on the life of a Holocaust researcher, while In Times of Fading Light, directed by Matti Geschonneck reveals society in East Berlin through the drama of a family.

Female equality and refugees are among the topics in the 15 selected German films.