Students can listen to German music, learn about beer and German culture, and watch classic German cinema as part of Missouri Southern’s annual themed semester.

This year’s Germany semester features 10 German films, ranging from a 1919 release to one from 2006. Harrison Kash, director of the Missouri Southern Film Society, said it was especially difficult this semester to narrow the selection to 10 films.

“It’s hard because here we have a country that has made huge contributions to the art of cinema,” Kash said. “It’s very tough to decide what’s appropriate.”

The Germany Film Festival officially kicked off yesterday with a showing of Run Lola Run, a 1998 release by director Tom Tykwer. The next showing will take place Thursday, Sept. 11, with Good Bye, Lenin! at 2:30 p.m. in Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall.

“We’ve turned down a huge amount of good stuff, and I know people are going to feel cheated, but it’s tough to choose.”

The Lives of Others will show at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11 in Corley Auditorium in, and Metropolis will finish off the month of September at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 in Cornell Auditorium. On Tuesday, Oct. 7, The Tin Drum will show at 7 p.m. at Cornell Auditorium, followed by The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari on Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. at the courtyard at the student residence halls.

“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” was first released in 1919, and is a silent film.

“The Cabinet of Caligari is quite a film because it’s unique and it has a style based on German Expressionism,” Kash said. “It’s a huge exaggeration of things. It’s quite a horror film.”

Ruth Beckermann’s East of War will show on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. in Cornell Auditorium, and Ali: Fear Eats the Soul will follow at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

Beyond Silence will be shown in Cornell Auditorium Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m., and Joyeux Noel will finish off the German films with a 7 p.m. showing on Nov. 25 in Cornell Auditorium.

Professor of Biology, Dorothy Bay, stresses the importance of both the German films and the Germany semester routinely to her students.

“It’s just absolutely important that they learn about the rest of the world,” she said. “It’s such a small world now, we need to know as much as we can about other countries.”