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- Nine-year-old Roman follows his mother Oksana to Germany where she is working illegally. She is living there with the 62-year-old widower Gert who suffers from diabetes. Gert tries to make friends with the boy, but Roman struggles for his mother's attention. When Oksana suddenly falls ill, Roman is left alone with his rival. Gert turns out to be a good playmate until he dies in an accident. Roman is all alone and can now live out his wild curiosity and longing for freedom.
- Iona takes her teenage son to the holy island where she was born so they can hide from a violent crime. As her son seeks forgiveness for what he has done Iona comes to terms with her loss of faith.
- A nine-year-old boy's preening obsession with straightening his hair elicits a tidal wave of homophobic panic in his hard-working mother.
- What is consciousness? Is it in all living beings? What happens when we die? Why do we seem to be hardwired for mystical experience? In these times of existential crisis, there has been an explosion of research into consciousness. After four centuries of silence, scientists are confronting the "Big Questions", cutting a window into a realm previously held tight by philosophy and religion: AWARE follows six brilliant researchers, approaching the greatest of all mysteries from radically different perspectives, from within and without: through high-tech brain research and Eastern meditation, by scientifically exploring inner space through psychedelic substances and by investigating the consciousness of plants. Scientists are arriving at new insights - some have been integral to Indigenous knowledge for millenia. AWARE opens as a science film but emerges well beyond the explicable, ultimately leading one on a voyage upon the ocean of consciousness, a contemplative, sensual, cinematographic meditation. The networks of consciousness are reflected in 'grand' imagery revealing the vast interconnectedness of Nature - from the smallest organisms, to the world of plants and animals and on to the cosmos. It invites one to experience the awe and mystery of life as the researchers do, to dive in with them, returning to see the world anew, to review long-held beliefs and assumptions and initiate one's own oceanic journey. Ultimately, to be aware one is aware. With Richard Boothby, Monica Gagliano, Roland Griffiths, Josefa Kirvin Kulix, Christof Koch, Matthieu Ricard and Mingyur Rinpoche.
- This documentary about the culture of intense cinephilia in New York City reveals the impassioned world of five obsessed movie buffs. The filmmakers expose this delightfully deranged cult by capturing the daily lives of its members. Interviews in movie houses, on the street and in the homes of the subjects tell the story of each individual. Many cannot hold a job, or choose not to. All of them have demoted the importance of the real world, giving all of their attention to the fantasy world of the movies. These human encyclopedias of cinema see two to five films a day, and from 600 to 2,000 films per year. Many have no physical sex lives, living instead in a world of romance with stars like James Dean or Audrey Hepburn. In Cinemania, Hollywood's biggest fans become the true stars. This is the story of their lives, their memories, their unbending habits and the films they love.
- The story of Thailand's last prison executioner.
- Young German Boy on holiday falls in love with beautiful thai girl. Movie is a nice little gem with a twist.
- An unemployed man starts a private car service and takes an older Arab man, Jalil, on a long distance journey from Buenos Aires to La Paz in Bolivia. Non-stop arguing during the ride changes their lives.
- A Face, a Tag Line, an Invention. Two facets that don't seem to belong to the same woman. A Hollywood star as an ingenious inventor piques our curiosity. The director Georg Misch is interested in how truth and myth intertwine. He listens to stories about her told by people who knew her. He dissects the history of the woman with the exotic eroticism who not only made surprising and daring decisions in her private life, but who caused a sensation with an intrepid film project right from the start. What is left? her first film Ecstasy with its scandalous nude scenes, movies that nobody has seen or heard of, a sixty-year-old son who is still struggling with his relationship to his mother, an invention whose patent ran out too soon, so that what has become a cornerstone for wireless communications, which are in constant use in our everyday lives, brought its inventor late fame but never earned her any money. At the end of the day what lingers is the echo of her fascinating beauty. The way the film handles the archive material from various sources reflects the inner conflicts of a Hollywood diva whose other talent as a mathematical genius and inventor was not allowed to unfold so as not to endanger her aura as a successful goddess of the silver screen. As we peel away the convolution of myths that grew up about her while she was still alive what gradually emerges is the portrait of a modern woman beyond the Hollywood star. In the last decades of her life the telephone became her only means of communication with the outside world, even with her children and close friends. She often talked up to six or seven hours a day on the phone, but she hardly spent any time with anyone in person in her final years. For this reason, though also of course because of the significance of her invention to modern communications, the telephone has been chosen as the "structuring motif" of the movie. The interviews in the movie have been staged as telephone calls and lead the viewer through time like a nostalgic conference with the film's protagonists. Calling Hedy Lamarr isn't, however, a portrait; it is above all a film about the Hollywood diva from the perspective of her son Anthony Loder, a fairly successful telephone dealer in Los Angeles who wants desperately to be the Hollywood producer of a feature film about the life of his mother. Through his research he encounters contradictory statements and fantastic theories. There is often only a fine line between truth and lie. Many times the conversations between him and the other protagonists shift and take on a magical aspect, and in a supernatural way Hedy Lamarr sometimes even seems to join in. The Hollywood diva's purported schizophrenia is expressed dramaturgically as a persistent shifting between the extremes of her character and is a strong pattern in the film. The meaning of truth must be constantly reinterpreted. Lamarr's death in February 2000 marked the end of one of the most complex Hollywood biographies of the last century. The film ends where Hedy Lamarr's story began: in Vienna. In her will she asks that her ashes be strewn in the Vienna Woods. A homecoming she always dreamed of but which she never managed to make during her lifetime.
- North Korea is a country of stark contrasts. On the one hand, it presents real socialist stereotypes like cryptic messages from a frozen time loop, combined with shocking reports on shortages. On the other hand, polished Pyongyang lures with a futuristic skyline, flashy amusement parks and department stores with a range of goods equal to those in western consumer meccas.
- A doc about right-wing movements worldwide and their completely incorrect interpretation of "Aryanism," a phenomenon which began with French philosopher Gobineau and continued with the Nazis. Filmmaker Mo Asumang embarks on a journey into the madness of racism and meets German neo-Nazis, America's most notorious racist Tom Metzger and members of the KKK in the Midwest. English subtitles.
- The story of the German antifascist and pacifist John Heartfield, who pioneered the use of ART AS A POLITICAL WEAPON. A young Graphic Designer and an animated cartoon figure take us on a journey through Heartfields eventful times.
- A cinematic essay - inspired by the book "who we were" by Roger Willemsen With Alexander Gerst (astronaut), Sylvia Earle (deep sea researcher), Mathieu Ricard (buddhist monk), Dennis Snower (economist), Felwine Sarr (philosopher) und Janina Loh (critical post- humanist). We may think that we're simply not capable of understanding the increasingly complex problems of our planet, but for these charismatic scientists, that's not enough. Whether it's on the top of the world, in the depths of the ocean, inside the human brain, at the G-20 summit, or in the heart of the International Space Station ISS, they are searching for practical ways to save our world. Considering their drive, we have to ask ourselves if, we as citizens of the planet, are finally ready to take on responsibility - if only for the sake of those who will come after us and ask: "WHO WE WERE"?
- 45 years ago, with the victory of the revolution in Nicaragua, an era of hope begins. A young generation takes over the government with the ambitious goal of building a fairer and more socially just society. In the 1980s, 15,000 "brigadists" from West Germany alone traveled to Nicaragua to help rebuild the exhausted country: liberals, Greens, trade unionists, social democrats, leftists and church representatives harvested coffee and cotton, built schools, kindergartens and health stations. No other movement has mobilized so many people. Director Petra Hoffmann is also involved. 45 years after the victory of the revolution, she asks what has become of the wishes and dreams of the revolutionaries and their supporters.
- Dog Flesh deals with a complex period in the life of Alejandro, a solitary, fragile and unpredictable man who is crushed by the hostility of his mysterious past.
- In Iran, since the 1979 Islamic revolution, women are no longer allowed to sing in public as soloists - at least in front of men. Defying censorship and taboos, the young composer Sara Najafi is determined to organize an official concert for solo female singers. In order to support their fight, Sara and her friends invite three French female singers, Elise Caron, Jeanne Cherhal and Emel Mathlouthi, to join them in Tehran and collaborate on their musical project, re-opening a musical bridge between Europe and Iran. Are they going to succeed and finally be gathered in Tehran, sing together, on stage and without restrictions, and to open a door towards a new freedom of women in Iran ?
- A film about brothers and sisters 'in heaven and on earth'. Memories of the author's brother who died in very young age lead into the story of the author's aunt: a German nun who found a close 'brother' in a Spanish saint to-be, Rafael Arnaiz. Her mission is to work for his international recognition. A piece of his rib as an official relic was the reward of her work. Rafael had died from diabetes 3 years before Sister Ingrid was born, having lead a life between arts, music, literature, good food and a sober Trappist abbey. A young, attractive guy as a perfect role model for a modern saint? BROTHER SISTER is a very personal reflection about the tightrope walk between inner and outer freedom.
- His mother blames communism, his uncle an inheritance dispute, the others fall silent. Director Dieu Hao Do explores the fragmentation of his family. The American War in Vietnam scattered them across three continents. Nearly 50 years after their escape, contact between the seven family members has all but broken down. How have traumas from persecution and violence inscribed themselves on the bodies and souls of the survivors and their children? After the Fall of Saigon on April 30 in 1975, more than 1.5 million people fled the communist regime, many of them including the director's family belonging to the Chinese minority there.
- Situated right next to the German border, the village of Osinów Dolny boasts 43 hair salons. Seven euros will get you a short trim. While older hairdresser Halina and her unmotivated assistant Andzela wait for business, Halina dispenses unsolicited wisdom. The customers usually come from the other side of the border, the older ones among them still remember a time when the village was known as Niederwutzen. Over the course of German-Polish history, the place has certainly seen its fair share of changes. Business is waning, competition is getting rougher. But chitchatting while the scissors snip away will never go out of style.
- A 76-year old engineer is on a mission: to connect the United States and Russia with a 100-kilometer long train tunnel beneath the Bering Strait. THE STRAIT GUYS follows Czech-born mining engineer, George, and his fast-talking protege, Scott, along the proposed route of the InterContinental Railway through Alaska, to the Bering Strait and onward to Russia. The "Strait Guys" endeavor to convince international governments, corporations, and indigenous tribes to green-light their $100 billion railway project, which would provide ground-based infrastructure across the continents, relieve overcrowded Pacific ports, improve global supply chains, and ease tensions between the superpowers. The US and Russia have been successfully collaborating in space for decades. Now the Strait Guys are out to prove it is also possible down here on earth.
- Documentary film about the largest decentralized monument and art project in the world, and its personal core
- Yaar is a young Jewish Berliner who dreams of becoming a game designer and who considers himself "the most un-Jewish Jew in the world". From his point of view, this documentary asks what the Holocaust still has to do with Jews today.
- "The Virgin Obsession" - In traditional Islam, like in so many other religions, sex is something that is reserved for marriage. What does this mean for young Muslims living in western secularized societies? The film maker himself has had a free upbringing, as there are many who do not share. And the fixation of honor and virgin is far from just girls. We can meet some of the film makers' friends, but also a psychologist, a lawyer and women's rights activists.
- "I am from nowhere" is what Andy Warhol used to say when asked about his origin. "Nowhere" is the tiny village Mikov in Slovakia which Warhol's mother left for the United States in 1921. Looking for Andy Warhol's roots countless camera crews from all over the world began coming to Mikov. This documentary is looking for the effects of this invasion.
- A documentary about the daily life of North Koreans.
- A knife in the pocket, adrenaline in the blood and only one dream in mind: to be a gangster - and the biggest one at that. Yehya was 15 years old and close to realizing his dream when he met the filmmaker Christian Stahl in the stairwell. Yehya wasn't just the nice boy from next door, he was also "the Boss of Sonnenallee" - one of the gangster runners of the Berlin borough of Neukölln. And gangster runners want to make it in the gangster world. In the eyes of the authorities, he is an "intensive offender"; in his own eyes, Yehya is "one of the top ten of Neukölln. I got my own prosecutor!" Yehya: the son of Palestinian refugees from Lebanon, a Rütli school student with straight Fs - and a jailbird doing time. At the age of 17, Yehya was convicted of robbery and sentenced to three years without parole. The director Christian Stahl followed Yehya through the years in prison and, at the same time, his family in Neukölln. The viewer is there as Yehya's image of the world and gangsterism wobbles, as he quickly goes up the ladder in prison hierarchy, as he turns to Islam, and as he suddenly himself becomes a victim while in prison. His father tries to solve the family problems with a pilgrimage to Mecca, Yehya's brothers follow in his footsteps, and the government wants to deport Yehya or send him back to the refugee camp in Beirut. His parents, who as refugees in Germany were not allowed to work for 14 years and stayed in their own world, are in despair. Gangster runner presents an impressive portrait of an "intensive offender" whose charm, criminal energy, and reflexivity astound and shock. Between Muslim traditions and gangster dreams, macho image and mosque, the ever-present war in the foreign homeland of the parents and the battle to survive in Europe.
- Snapshots from the Berlin district of Neukölln, which is commonly regarded as a social hotspot. About the residents of the district with a high proportion of foreigners in their everyday lives, with their worries and life plans.
- The German Bundestag (parliament) is the political heart of the Federal Republic of Germany - a highly symbolic place loaded with expectations. We accompany four members of the Bundestag through their everyday routines, plunging in at eye level. The documentary Bundestag shows how politics is done today, how complex the processes and formalities behind the scenes are - a closer look at this "center of power".
- The film describes the life story of who was probably the best cyclist in East Germany
- A river like the sea - this is how the indigenous people used to refer to the giant stream shaping their homelands. In their language this translates to "Parana". Over 3,000 kilometers, the Parana flows from Brazil to Argentina via Paraguay, along the mythical Iguazu Falls and the breathtaking Ibera wetlands of Northeast Argentina, all the way to Buenos Aires. The Parana region hosts a unique eco-system, with abundant flora and fauna and stunning natural beauty. But this river paradise is under threat. Ambitious construction projects, contamination, deforestation and ruthless hunting are just a few of the factors endangering the entire region. We discover here a part of South America largely unknown to outsiders and get to know its people, who share their passion for the river and their worries about its future. Through their actions and beliefs, they want to show that a different future is possible, a better life along the river, while preserving its unique and vital eco-system. Innovative fishermen, biologists, environmental activists, indigenous people, photo models, ship captains, or old-fashioned gauchos - they all are part of this journey into the unknown, one that inspires and sends a message of hope and change.
- In Uruguay there are still a lot of missing people who vanished during the dictatorship between 1973-84 and were never found again. Maria Emilia Islas is one of them and still missing. She disappeared at 22 years, with her husband and her child of 18 month. Maria Esther Gatti - her mother and school teacher spent searching 16 years to find her granddaughter finding her finally living with a family of an Argentinian military officer Buenos Aires. After learning the truth about her origin, the 18-year old granddaughter chose to continue living with the parents who adopted her by force, when she was a baby.
- At the beginning of 1979, after more than 30 years of collective repression, a dramatized and emotional US television miniseries ensured that the German population was suddenly reminded of the terrible Nazi crimes against the Jews. What is now expressed with the hitherto unknown word Holocaust, hits many millions of people in the heart. The unexpected echo and the audience reactions were fierce. Even before the TV broadcast neo-Nazis blasted in vain transmitting towers in Germany to prevent this. From the creation and the shooting over the broadcast to the tremendous reactions, documentary filmmaker Alice Agneskirchner tells the story of this emotional television event, which led to a paradigm shift in the perception of German Nazi crimes.