DER FAN Sets First U.S. Theatrical Release With 4K Restoration

Eckhart Schmidt’s 1982 film DER FAN is set to make its first-ever U.S. theatrical appearance with a new 4K restoration from Fun City Editions. The release begins August 28 at New York’s Metrograph theater, located at 7 Ludlow Street, for an exclusive one-week engagement. The opening-night screening will include an introduction by filmmaker Jacqueline Castel. After the Metrograph run, the film is scheduled for additional bookings around the country, including screenings at Los Angeles’ American Cinematheque on September 3 and September 5. The restoration was created from the movie’s original 35mm camera negative. This presentation will also feature DER FAN’s original stereo soundtrack, marking the first time that version has been heard theatrically since the film’s German release in 1982. DER FAN stars Désirée Nosbusch as Simone, a teenage runaway whose devotion to a Neue Deutsche Welle singer known only as “R” becomes increasingly dangerous. Bodo Staiger plays the musician, who treats Simone as a disposable sex object after she finally meets him. Staiger’s band, Rheingold, provided the film’s synth-pop soundtrack. Metrograph’s engagement will coincide with “That Most Taboo of Red Meats,” a program focused on films about female cannibals. The series includes HOUSE, IN MY SKIN, JENNIFER’S BODY, RAW and SPIDER BABY. Rue Morgue also unveiled an exclusive poster for the rerelease. Luke Insect designed the artwork, with additional layout by Scott Saslow. Insect said the design draws on the New Wave music and styling associated with R, as well as rare German post-punk and New Wave record sleeves from the early 1980s. The poster uses a black, white and red duotone to create what Insect described as a cold, industrial visual style.