Wolfgang Packhäuser

The Longing

It is set in a dreary village in the Schwabian-Frankish Forest where the seemingly reserved Lena lives with her tyrant of a husband, Johannes, in a loveless marriage. Johannes is the village's spiritual leader and Lena is his faithful, ever-ready-to-serve wife. Lena's daily life is characterized by grinding monotony, a life narrowly circumscribed by nursing, organ playing and the duties of the marriage bed. The mysterious murder of a village girl suddenly knocks this humdrum existence off its tracks. In the wake of these events Lena discovers the affection and tenderness for which she has always longed in Paul, the village mechanic. This encounter is the start of an emancipation that leads her not to reveal Paul's secret regarding the girl's murder, for fear of losing her newly won piece of happiness. In turn it means she has to remain silent, as she has always done in her many years of marriage. So it is that this love ultimately turns Lena herself into a fallen angel.

Der blaue Affe

A short movie about people trying to forget about their everyday life in the Weimarer Republik. But it was not an ordinary day, it was the dark friday - the last night of the golden 1920s.

The Night Father Christmas Died

The holiest night, the loneliest people. A singer, a killer and Santa Clause. United in their destiny.

Breaking the Surface

Having just landed a gig with a trendy magazine, young photographer Nadja celebrates at the local disco, where she bumps into Darius, a 20-year-old skateboarder. Although her frankness at first scares him, the two quickly become a couple, and as their intoxicating affair takes off, they seem like passionate soul mates. Soon, however, career demands and emotional intensity gradually put a strain on their rapport, and things turn even more complicated...

Gold

Canada, the summer of 1898. A group of German settlers travel towards the far north in covered wagons with packhorses and their few possessions in tow. The seven travellers set off from Ashcroft, the final railway station. Along with their leader, flamboyant businessman Wilhelm Laser, they are hoping to find their fortune in the recently discovered goldfields of Dawson, but they have no idea of the stresses and dangers which lie ahead on their 2,500 kilometre journey. Before long uncertainty, cold weather and exhaustion begin to take their toll and conflicts escalate. The journey leads these men and women deeper and deeper into a menacing wilderness. (Berlinale.de)

Jakobs Bruder

Jakob and Lorenz are brothers who couldn't be more different: While Jakob is a successful, dogged star chef, Lorenz is not particularly successful in his job or financial matters, but clearly has more fun in life. One day, when he persuades his brother to visit their mother, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, the siblings set off in their car, picking up a punkette who is traveling as a hitchhiker. It is an enlightening journey for all of them through the northern German wasteland.

Lulu

Everyone is addicted to Lulu. As a symbol of the seductress, she drags everyone around her into the abyss: the elderly Dr. Goll, the mediocre painter Schwarz, her foster father Dr. Schön and the lesbian Countess Geschwitz - all succumb to her beauty and pay with their lives.

The Black Square

VINCENT, a struggling art-thief and failed artist, stole Malewitsch’s legendary abstract painting the „Black Square”. The sale and handover to a Russian Oligarch and his designated art expert MARTHA is set to take place on a cruise ship. When Vincent and his younger partner NILS realise that their principal accomplice will not show-up to provide the boarding tickets and fake ID’s, they desperately overbear two men in order to sneak their way onto the ship. To their horror they quickly learn that their victims are part of the cruise ship’s entertainment act. Desperate not to blow their cover, Vincent and Nils take on their roles as David Bowie and Elvis Presley doubles with varying degrees of success. Despite his best efforts, Vincent’s talents hardly convince the passengers and it does not take long until various crew members discover their true identities and the value of their loot. A wild goose chase for the “Black Square” breaks loose in the belly of the cruise ship…

Emma nach Mitternacht - Frau Hölle

Emma Mayer works as a presenter for a radio station. In her show 'Emma after midnight', she listens to the concerns of callers. She discovers that Katharina Holl, who is about to go on trial for involuntary manslaughter during the construction of an indoor swimming pool, is suicidal. Since the accident, she has been called Mrs. Hell by the press and while she, as the main defendant, has to shoulder all the blame, accomplices such as Lord Mayor Klaus Quade and the owner of the construction company, Mark Wahrendorf, remain on the outside. Emma has little time to deal with Katharina's problem and convince her that there is a point in continuing to live.

Alles Lüge - Auf der Suche nach Rio Reiser

Intercut with concert recordings and contemporary interviews, social and personal conflicts are brought to life in scenes from the Scherben. Actor and musician Nick rehearses for the role of Rio Reiser in a theater production by the old-left director Heiner Caspari. In the confrontation with his role as Rio, in the controversies with Caspari and in the collaboration with Jako, Till and Arne, who play the band members, the boundaries between past and present become blurred, and not just for Nick. The situation escalates when the group retreats to Fresenhagen, the country house of the "Scherben", in a voluntary state of emergency. Despite his love story with Caspari's daughter Julia, Nick feels attracted to Jako and at the same time perceives this mixing of role and life as manipulation by Caspari. Jako, in turn, turns to Julia. The group threatens to break apart.

Closed Season

1942 - Fritz and Emma are hiding Albert, a Jewish refugee, at their remote farm. Since their marriage has remained childless, Fritz asks Albert to sleep with Emma and conceive a child on his behalf.

Treibjagd

The love of his life, Svetlana, chose suicide twelve years ago. At that time, Stein resigned from the Federal Intelligence Service. Since then, the ex-agent no longer searches for criminals, but is a professional hunter on the prowl. One morning, Stein comes across explosive secret documents in his hunting ground. They reveal the name of the man who had Svetlana on his conscience: Like Stein, Mooser worked for the BND in the CSSR and was in love with Svetlana. Out of wounded vanity, he blocked her exit visa and thus drove the Czech woman to her death. Stein senses an opportunity for the final shot. But Mooser also knows how to lay traps...

The Man

The 30-year-old Fabo wanders aimlessly through the night and drowns his frustration in alcohol.

Résiste - Aufstand der Praktikanten

After a few years working like intern, Till, eventually becomes head of his own company, job counseling for young trainees. In turn, comes Sydelia, left-wing activist, idealist and combative. Their paths will soon cross youth. She is determined to start it the capitalist world in which we now live in a revolutionary way. But really, two people so different can be attracted?

The Papal Council

An assassination attempt on the highest dignitary of the Catholic Church? According to providence, this is exactly what is supposed to happen on a certain day in September. When parts of the prophecy actually come true, the Vatican is seriously worried. The highest security measures are therefore in place for the Holy Father's upcoming visit to Cologne. Vatican security officers Andrea Conti and Paolo Naldini, as well as BKA officers Sara Stertz and Frank Dabrock, join forces to protect the Pope. At around the same time, former Foreign Legionnaire and precision marksman Rami Hamdan receives a mysterious assignment. For the horrendous sum of 25 million dollars, he is to take out a high-ranking figure. His destination is the cathedral city of Cologne.

Because I Am Good!

A teenage car thief is incarcerated in a home for the hard-to-educate. He gets a second chance when he's offered a job at a car dealership that cares for juvenile delinquents. There, he is confronted with his past and becomes the target of a youth gang that wants to recruit him for a major heist.

Sleeping Songs

Martin, a nu-jazz trumpet player with a unique style, is fighting against convention and mediocrity. He will not accept any compromise, neither in his music, nor in love. When he gets the feeling that Kristina, the love of his life, only loves him for his musical talents, he is deeply hurt.Disappointed, he bids farewell to both her and his previous life. On the edge of society, he meets an old woman, Hanna, who bequeaths him her pain in the form of poems. Martin is immediately fascinated. Can they guide him back to himself, to Kristina, or to his music?

Böseckendorf - Die Nacht, in der ein Dorf verschwand

Autumn 1961: The GDR regime secures the border between the workers' and peasants' state and the class enemy in the West. To ensure this, the leadership also orders the use of firearms against those fleeing the republic. In Böseckendorf, close to the border, people are not prepared to accept this development. When one of the residents accidentally learns of a secret plan from the SED district leadership, which reveals that all unruly residents are to be forcibly relocated in just a few days, the people of Böseckendorf spontaneously decide to flee en masse. But can an entire village escape the GDR state power unnoticed overnight?

Dark Days

Margarethe von Trotta's TV movie focuses on a woman whose life is destroyed by her addiction to alcohol. Angela Rinser is a happy mother of two children and quite successful in her job as bilingual secretary. The sudden death of her husband changes everything. She starts drinking and loses her job. Her children Felicitas and Max try to hush up their social decline for years because they don't want to live in a foster home.

Eduard's Promise

In the twenty-four hours after breaking off their relationship, Eduard and Julia take a journey through a desolate urban landscape. The poetic Eduard and the enterprising Julia do not seem destined for each other. But they try again anyway.

The Last Berliner

The last un-renovated building in a trendy Berlin neighbourhood is being vacated. The former tenants are moving out, but Dietmar refuses to budge. His son Tobias tries to convince him to move into social housing. However, his father resists and the situation between Tobias, his father, and the building's realtor, who seems to be there by chance, escalates and gets completely out of hand.

Darling.Sister

Franz and Lilly run their father's cattle farm together. While Franz is perfectly happy with his life as a cowboy, Lilly dreams of a bigger life. That's when she meets Chris, a musician, with whom she starts a romantic affair.

Die Schäferin

No job, no plan. So lawyer Svea returns to her old job as a shepherdess on a temporary basis. Back home, she meets her childhood sweetheart Hannes again, who is now married to Svea's school friend Ute...

The Good Neighbor

The budding friendship between two very different neighbors takes a tragic turn when David runs over a young woman and causes her death. At Robert's insistence David leaves her lying and flees. While Robert hopes his new neighbor will now be irreversibly bound to him, David is increasingly devoured by feelings of guilt. When he meets Vanessa, the sister of his victim, he believes he can put things right. But he hasn't taken Robert into account. Robert is prepared to do anything to keep his neighbor to himself.

It was damp, dark and smelled like wood

The last minutes before the greek heroes are about to leave the Trojan horse.

Herzrasen

A notorious criminal is committed to a psychiatric ward pending a determination of his sanity. With the help of a young woman, one of his theft victims who has fallen in love with him, he manages to escape. He wants to build a middle-class future with her, but she tries to persuade him to pull off one last big heist.