The 10th annual conference of the Gesellschaft für Fantastikforschung (GfF) will open at Arsenal with a screening of the adaptation of Michael Ende’s bestselling eponymous novel DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE (The Neverending Story, Wolfgang Petersen, FRG/USA 1984). The conference is taking place from 19th to 21st September at the Freie University Berlin’s Cinepoetics - Center for Advanced Film Studies. This year’s theme is the romantic fantastic, which refers back to the long tradition of fantastic narratives since the beginning of the 19th century, as well as to the persistence of romantic ideas in the fantasy genre. In 1978, Ende’s book marked the return of romantic topoi to Germany. Alternating between romanticism and fantasy, the film adaptation features other points of reference, such as the medium specificity of fantasy and its cinematic traditions. (th) (18.9)
