Unicorns in Film

Reel Unicorns – Real unicorns only exist in the movies

To accompany the exhibition Unicorn: The Mythical Beast in Art, the Filmmuseum Potsdam (Breite Str. 1a, 14467 Potsdam) is presenting a six-part film series that traces the unicorn through film history: from horror comedy to coming-of-age film, from psychological thriller to Harry Potter. 

October 31, 2025, 7 p.m. 
Death of a Unicorn
Director: Alex Scharfman, USA 2025, 108 min.
Elliot Kintner and his daughter Ridley are on their way to visit his boss, Odell Leopold. En route to Leopold’s luxury villa, they accidentally run over a young unicorn. They load the dead creature into their rental car and bring it along to the house. Sensing an opportunity, Leopold decides to turn the mythical animal into cocktails, steaks, and miracle cures—while his employees are being massacred by the unicorn’s bloodthirsty kin. This horror comedy—a blend of monster movie, social satire, and family drama—stands out with its sharp situational humor and reveals a darker side of the unicorn myth rarely seen. (Rated 18+)
Introduction: Michael Philipp, Chief Curator of the Museum Barberini and Curator of the unicorn exhibition

November 23, 2025, 7 p.m. 
Black Moon
Director: Louis Malle, France/West Germany 1975, 100 min.
Young Lily flees by car from a bloody civil war between men and women and stumbles upon a secluded estate nestled in nearly untouched nature. The estate is inhabited by a dying old woman, a pair of siblings, playful children—and talking animals. Flowers nearby emit mournful cries when stepped on, and a shaggy unicorn roams the grounds... This symbol-laden, allegorical coming-of-age story is rich with mythological and deep-psychological references. Strikingly photographed and brimming with unsettling ambiguity, the film invites multiple interpretations.

With short film: A Unicorn in the Garden (dir. William T. Hurtz, USA 1953, 7 min.)
Highly acclaimed animated film based on the short story of the same name by James Thurber.

December 28, 2025, 5 p.m. 
A Kid for Two Farthings
Director: Carol Reed, UK 1955, 96 min.
In the wholesale and retail world of London’s East End, almost everyone harbors impossible dreams. Young Joe buys a goat with a single horn—believing, as tailor Kandinsky tells him, that it will bring him luck. This British box office hit of 1955 was also nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival the same year.

January 11, 2026, 7 p.m.
Heavenly Creatures
Director: Peter Jackson, New Zealand/Germany 1994, 109 min.
Christchurch, New Zealand, in the mid-1950s: Musically gifted teenagers Pauline and Juliet share an intense friendship. The two outsiders escape into a medieval fantasy world filled with unicorns—and soon, those around them begin to suspect a homosexual relationship, which, in the eyes of their conservative environment, is equated with mental illness. Determined to separate the girls, their parents intervene. As a result, Pauline’s hatred for her mother Honora grows increasingly intense. (Rated 16+)

Children's films: 
  
December 20 and 21, 2025, 3 p.m. 
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Director: Chris Columbus, USA 2000, 152 min.
Eleven-year-old orphan Harry Potter discovers that his parents were a witch and a wizard who were murdered. During his first year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he and his new friends, Hermione and Ron, embark on a dangerous adventure in the fight against the forces of evil. In this lavishly produced and thrilling fantasy film based on the bestselling novel of the same name, there’s a haunting scene involving a unicorn: Voldemort, having possessed Professor Quirrell, kills a unicorn and drinks its blood to stay alive—until he can obtain the Sorcerer’s Stone. 

January 10 and 11, 2026, 3 p.m.
Inside Out
Director: Pete Docter, Ronaldo de Carmen, USA 2015, animation, 95 min.
When eleven-year-old Riley moves with her family to San Francisco, the emotions in the control center of her mind are thrown out of balance. Soon, Joy can no longer keep Anger, Fear, Disgust, and Sadness in check, and chaos begins to take over Riley’s mind. In this imaginative and humorous animated film—a road movie through the human brain—a rainbow unicorn plays a small but memorable role in the dream studios inside Riley’s head.

On presentation of an admission ticket to the Museum Barberini, the Filmmuseum Potsdam grants reduced admission to the above films. On presentation of a ticket for the film screenings, the Museum Barberini grants reduced admission to the exhibition Unicorn: The Mythical Beast in Art.