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One of the themes this year at the Film by the Sea festival in Vlissingen was "films based on literature". And one of the International Premieres being shown as part of this theme is Thomas Stuber's Dark Satellites, based on Clemens Meyer's German-language novel 'Die Stillen Trabanten'. The book is a bundle of short stories which follow several people in the city of Leipzig, all solitary, all suddenly confronted with their loneliness by meeting unlikely soulmates. Stuber, with Meyer's help on the script, adapted three of those stories for his film version. The end result is a well acted, but very leaden and melancholy look at humanity and relationships. We see security guard Erik, who during his nightly rounds keeps meeting the young Ukrainian refugee...

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German cinema looks set for a major boom this year with a strong lineup of diverse works that span historical dramas, coming-of-age tales, high-octane nostalgia, animation and sci-fi fun.

The Berlin Film Festival is bowing a muscular selection of local titles, among them “Afire,” by Berlinale mainstay Christian Petzold (“Undine”), screening in competition. The films centers on a group of young people staying at a holiday house near the Baltic Sea during a hot, dry summer, exploring volatile emotions that start to sizzle when a wildfire spreads through the surrounding forest.

Likewise vying for the Golden Bear is Margarethe von Trotta’s biopic “Ingeborg Bachmann: Journey Into the Desert,” starring Vicky Krieps (“Corsage”) as the radical Austrian author. The film examines her relationship with Swiss writer Max Frisch and her 1964 journey of self-discovery through the Egyptian desert.

“Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything,” by Emily Atef (“More Than Ever”) and...