Valerie Koch

Die Anruferin

A lonely woman's prank phone call leads to an unexpected friendship with a grieving widow.

This Is Love

Set in Vietnam and Germany, This Is Love centers on Chris and the nine-year-old Jenjira on the run from the mafia. Together with his friend Holger, Chris bought the young Vietnamese girl's freedom from human traffickers – without actually being able to pay. Meanwhile, the female detective Maggie learns after 16 years why her husband up and left her without a word. These two worlds come together when Chris is accused of murder and Maggie is charged with interrogating him.....

Friedrich - Ein deutscher König

„Friedrich - Ein deutscher König” beschreibt in markanten Schlüsselszenen die wesentlichen Lebensstationen des Preußenherrschers. Katharina Thalbach verkörpert den „Alten Fritz”, ihre Tochter Anna den Kronprinzen und jungen König. Der Film rekonstruiert Aufstieg und Leben des Preußenkönigs und schildert dessen zentrale Stationen - von der durch den Despotismus des Vaters gezeichneten Jugend bis zum Aufstieg zum bewunderten Feldherrn und als „Friedrich der Große” verehrten König.

Phoenix

German-Jewish cabaret singer Nelly survived Auschwitz but had to undergo reconstructive surgery as her face was disfigured. Without recognizing Nelly, her former husband Johnny asks her to help him claim his wife’s inheritance. To see if he betrayed her, she agrees, becoming her own doppelganger.

They've Got Knut

Set in the early '80s, a time when a new wave of leftist political consciousness and activism had swept German youth (and was just about to disappear as quickly as it arrived), this satiric comedy follows a young couple, Ingo (Hans-Jochen Wagner) and Nadja (Valerie Koch), as they travel to Austria for a weekend of skiing near her parent's luxurious chalet. While Ingo and Nadja have an open relationship, he thinks its time that they commit to one another exclusively, and is hoping this weekend will convince her this is a good idea. However, their privacy is interrupted when several guests arrive -- friends of Nadja's brother Knut (Ingo Haeb), a noted political activist, who, unbeknownst to her, has also planned a ski weekend. As the guests await Knut's arrival, they get the unpleasant news that he's been arrested during a demonstration; several propose that they should come to his aid, while the majority decide instead to go skiing as a way to pay tribute to his commitment to the cause.

Zwei Seiten der Liebe

Carola and Dieter Martin have been married for 25 years. After Dieter dies in a car accident, Carola finds out that he was gay and had been in a relationship with the much younger lawyer Tobias Volperius for six years. Deeply shaken by this discovery, she withdraws from the outside world and tries to drown her sorrow in alcohol. When she attempts suicide, it is Tobias who finds and saves her. As a result, the two become friends, and Tobias is able to help Carola save her late husband's furniture business, which has been run down by fraudulent proxy Viktor Lipinski and is about to be taken over by another company.

Der Tote im Watt

Janne Flecker returns to her hometown of Cuxhaven because her brother Erik was found murdered in the mud. There, Janne's picture of her family is crumbling, known shipyard owners.

The Voices

A mentally unhinged factory worker must decide whether to listen to his talking cat and become a killer, or follow his dog's advice to keep striving for normalcy.

The Culpable

Jakob, Dominik and Oliver are best friends, they play soccer and work as priests. They are united in their belief that the catholic church can make the world a better place. But when Dominik is confronted with allegations that he abused a boy, Jakob's world collapses. Torn between his beliefs and the friendship to Dominik, he's committed to finding the truth.

Der Fall Marianne Voss

Griesenow, 2013: The hairdresser Marianne Voss is found dead in the forest by her daughter Heike. Shortly afterwards, her husband Karsten comes under suspicion of murder. But he protests his innocence.

Im Zweifel

For Pastor Judith Ehrmann, her job as an emergency counselor is more than just part of her job: giving people assistance is a vocation for them. But when a classmate of her son dies in a car accident, that's unusual. Judith begins to doubt: herself, her job - but also her family. For all at once everything seems to indicate that her own husband and son were involved in the accident and now want to cover this up. The emotionally intense drama of award-winning director Aelrun Goette raises fundamental themes without giving easy answers.

Prager Botschaft

In September 1989, more and more GDR citizens fled to the West German embassy in Prague. Among them were Stefan and Bettina, who were spending their honeymoon in Czechoslovakia. When Stefan briefly returns to the GDR to fetch their young son, he also brings their friends Karin and Thomas with him. There is no end to the influx of refugees and the embassy is completely overwhelmed with those wanting to leave. What's more, despite hectic negotiations behind the scenes, no political solution seems to be on the horizon. The situation in the embassy garden is becoming increasingly dramatic. A humanitarian catastrophe is imminent.

Jesus Cries

JESUS CRIES is a modern adaptation of the New Testament. The story is set in a fictitious metropolis in the near future. The First and Third Worlds are reflected in one city. The divide between poor and wealthy continually grows. As insurrection begins, Jesus of Nazareth becomes the political and spiritual force behind change. He is arrested, tortured, and executed. After his death, his disciples are thrown into confusion with feelings of doubt and guilt. They fight over the interpretation of his teachings and their responsibility to his vision. Will they themselves move to action?

Unterwerfung

François is a literary scholar and drinker. His relationships with women are limited to one year, his life is sufficiently happy. Until the day when charismatic Muslim politician Mohamed Ben Abbes becomes president in France, introduces patriarchy and polygamy and loses his job. In his growing loneliness, Rector Rediger's offer to resume his teaching at the Sorbonne reaches him on one condition: he must convert to Islam.

All My Loving

Three siblings have all reached a point of their life, at which they realize the need to quickly change some things before they step into the second half of their lifetime. In the midst of chaos, insufficiency and loss they are searching for the path that just might lead them to happiness.

Ein toter Bruder

Jakob and Annette are on their way to Arved. An "alumni party" is being held there with fellow students. Host Arved is now a successful politician who has offered the previously unsuccessful journalist Jakob an attractive job. But when Annette sees Arved's wheelchair-bound wife Diana, she just wants to get away.

Toubab

Matured through two years in prison, Babtou is looking forward to a new beginning with his buddy Dennis. A free man in a free world! But of all things, his welcome party where all the boys from the block are gathered ends in a police operation. Babtou has his hands cuffed again and is confronted with dramatic news. He will soon be deported to his “home country” of Senegal. To prevent a deportation, Babtou and Dennis are willing to do anything, including marriage.

Kurz & schwul

Compilation of five shorts, including: The Stretch Marks (Der Schwangerschaftsstreifen), What Grown-Ups Know, Angesichts, Nacht in Wilhelmsburg, & Out Now! The short films revolve around coming out, the dangers of the big city, a stylish suicide, and, of course, love.

Phantoms of July

Ursula and Neda, an East German waitress with a broken heart and an Iranian YouTuber with a broken arm, both feel trapped and lonely in their precarious lives. One summer evening, Ursula falls for a mysterious musician from the city, while Neda is convinced that she recognized an old friend from Tehran in an equally enigmatic street sweeper. The winding paths of chance draw the two women together on an unexpected ghost hunt in the mountains...

Pferd am Stiel

Sarah and her best friend Dilek have a YouTube channel together, but it's no success. Sarah then discovers “hobbyhorsing” for herself, but Dilek doesn't think much of it.