English Translation
The movie is based on true events.
Would “Veranstaltungen” sound natural?
No, and it even would be most probably wrong.
“Event” can have two meanings in German:
- Something like a concert or a happening or a parade. That is “Veranstaltungen”. “Event” is nowadays often used in German, too. Some cities have an “Eventkalender”, a nice - or not so nice - example of Denglish.
- Something that has really happenend, a true event, “eine wahre Begebenheit”.
The above sentence is something that you can see often in the opening or end credits of a movie.
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Good to know! Thanks!
I didn’t know that word (Begebenheit). I know Veranstaltung, but I asked as I wasn’t sure if it could have the same meaning, so thanks again for the clarification. For event, the most common word is most likely Ereignis. I’m certain it could belong in place of Begebenheit.
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You are absolutely right.
The sentence sometimes is also:
“Dieser Film beruht auf wahren Ereignissen.”
The difference is only that an “Ereignis” is something remarkable, even spectacular whereas “Begebenheit” is just something that happened.
So it should depend on the movie, which one is the better choice.
Btw, these different possibilties to translate “event” are exactly the reason, why the marketing guys use “Eventkalender” instead of “Veranstaltungskalender”. They like to suggest that the children’s flea markets they list are really remarkable. 
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