F.W. Murnau, director, writer, and producer; Robert Flaherty, writer and producer (Kino International, 1931) Tabu started out as a collaboration of two of the most distinguished filmmakers of the 1920s, F.W. Murnau and R.J. Flaherty. Completed by Murnau and shot on locations in Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Morea, the film tells the story of a young Pacific island couple falling in love and thereby violating a local taboo. Tabu, released in 1931 just days after Murnau's untimely death, was rightly called “the apogee of the art of silent film.” It was often interpreted as a commentary on Hollywood by two drop-outs of the studio system, but it also establishes—in beautiful images—a powerful argument for inevitable tragedy. Screened courtesy of Kino International, kino.com. Olaf Stieglitz (Muenster University) and Massimo Perinelli (University of Cologne) will introduce the film and lead a discussion afterward.