Devid Striesow

Distant Lights

Lichter is an episodic tale from Hans-Christian Schmid about the life on the border between Germany and Poland. The film sheds light on the everyday stories of escape and desperateness.

Yella

A young East German woman leaves her husband and business partner and relocates to a West German city to start anew as an accountant, but he soon catches up with her.

Bis zum Ellenbogen

Achim, a risk-taking young shipowner, and Willi, an inventive bon vivant, collide in the Swiss Alps. The accident alone reveals the rifts that lie between their worlds. Only Sven, the peace-loving bank employee from Sylt, who takes them both in at his vacation cabin, manages to broker a truce with cheese and wine. However, by an unfortunate coincidence, Sven dies at a happy moment. Now Achim and Willi have a problem: what to do with the body? Before his death, Sven told them all sorts of things: about his boss at the bank and fresh bread rolls, a lot of black money and the key to it. While Germany is in the grip of World Cup fever, Achim and Willi travel with Sven's body from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea. On Sylt, the dead man is supposed to wave to his boss one last time before being buried at his elbow as requested. But there's a catch: black money doesn't stink, but Sven does!

The Heart Is a Dark Forest

A woman's life is destroyed when she discovers that her husband has another family.

What to Do in Case of Fire?

The humorous and touching story of six former creative anarchists who lived as house squatters in Berlin during its heyday in the 80s when Berlin was still an island in the middle of the former East Germany. At the end of the 80s, they went their separate ways with the exception of Tim and Hotte, who have remained true to their ideals and continue to fight the issues they did as a group. In 2000, with Berlin as Germany's new capital, an event happens forcing the group out of existential reason to reunite and, ultimately, come to terms with the reason they separated 12 years ago.

Windows on Monday

A new house in a new town could mean the beginning of a phase of domestic bliss for a small family. Nina, a doctor, has taken a few days off. Her husband Frieder is busy laying tiles, while their daughter Charlotte plays in her new room. But Nina is having her doubts; she stands about in the half-empty rooms, feeling thoroughly alienated. Suddenly, without saying a word, she decides to leave...

The Red Cockatoo

A coming-of-age story set in Germany in the 1960s. Siggi becomes involved in a love triangle when he falls for Luise, but the tightening political climate forces him to make a fateful decision.

The Counterfeiters

The story of Jewish counterfeiter Salomon Sorowitsch, who was coerced into assisting the Nazi operation of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp during World War II.

Head Under Water

Something terrible is about to happen in a small town in Germany. Nobody knows the reason why, except one person: Rico Bartsch. The 15-year old grammar school pupil, an absolute outsider, is in love with the most beautiful girl at his school. What in the beginning is a longing that can never be fulfilled will come true at the end of the story. Beautiful Regine will beg for Rico’s love. Until then several inhabitants of the town will die an unnatural death...

Bungalow

A young German soldier named Paul goes AWOL and returns to his childhood home in the countryside. Over a few summer days, Paul evades the responsibilities of everyday life and falls in love with his brother’s girlfriend, disrupting the lives of everyone in his circle.

When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before

Growing up on the grounds of one of Germany's largest psychiatric hospitals is somehow - different. For Joachim, the director's youngest son, the patients are like family. They are also much nicer to him than his two older brothers, who drive him into fits of rage. His mother, painting watercolors, longs for Italian summer nights instead of constant German rain, while his father secretly, but not discreetly enough, goes his own way. But while Joachim slowly grows up, his world, not only through the loss of his first love, gets more and more cracks...

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.....

I Am Guilty

Armin Steeb is adrift: just finished with school, living with his middle-class parents, clueless about finding work. He tries connecting with a girl, he engages in risky sex with strangers in public toilets, he goes to job interviews. He also sends an anonymous letter to a local Munich newspaper, claiming responsibility for a fatal road accident. He fitfully pursues notoriety as he goes through life nearly without affect. What will it take to get Armin to smile?

12 Paces without a Head

The era of the feared sea pirates Klaus Störtebeker and Gödeke Michels is coming to an end. After a long period with no booty at last a bulging ship appears on the horizon. However, Störtebeker is badly wounded in the attempted capture and the pirates suffer ignominious defeat. Not only their ship is down the drain - Störtebeker himself is suddenly plagued by anxiety and doubt about his very existence as a pirate. He is drawn to the beautiful country girl Bille, while Michels gets rebuffed by the friesian princess Okka. In the very moment that the crew have mutinied and co-captain Michels is literally at the end of his tether, they discover on board their ramshackle old tub a most unique wonder weapon. Glory days are quickly revived - until the mighty Hanse consolidate their power and weaponry and go to war against the pirates. Störtebeker and Michels are forced to decide: To live as a farmer or to die as a pirate.

Vision – From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen

Hildegard von Bingen was truly a woman ahead of her time. A visionary in every sense of the word, this famed 12th-century Benedictine nun was a Christian mystic, composer, philosopher, playwright, poet, naturalist, scientist, physician, herbalist and ecological activist.

Passing Summer

A woman faces a variety of emotional crises as she spends the summer interacting in various ways with friends, family, and lovers.

I've Never Been Happier

Success is a question of confidence, particularly in times of crisis. Life would be unbearable if there weren’t beautiful things to brighten it up a little, including pretty faces. Frank Knöpfel constantly flirts with life with his beguiling bright blue eyes. He buys a complete stranger an expensive coat in a designer boutique just because he feels like it. He disguises himself as a businessman from Oslo, a Mafia boss, a stock exchange specialist and an estate agent, whatever it takes to bring in the cash. He is the type of person who enjoys looking in the mirror, and delights in what he sees there. A flirtation with a customer in a boutique leads to Frank’s undoing.

Three

Hanna and Simon are in a 20 year marriage with an unexciting relationship. By chance, they both meet and start separate affairs with Adam. Adam has no idea that his two lovers are married, until they are all found out when Hanna becomes pregnant, with the natural doubts stemming from their situation.

Ein mörderisches Geschäft

Tom Winkler and Alina Liebermann are the heart and soul of the Altkirch Strategy Consulting restructuring team. Smart, intelligent and extremely effective, they always work flawlessly as a perfect team. If they didn't work together so professionally, they would have been a couple for a long time, Alina hopes. But so far, to her regret, there has never been a truly private moment between them. Altkirch Strategy Consulting is a management consultancy that looks after the profitability of ailing companies. Their latest assignment is the mechanical engineering company Salerno AG in Oberhausen. Once there, it quickly becomes clear that the company's employees do not see the team of consultants as helpers, but rather as the enemy. After all, the restructuring of the company could mean its possible closure and thus jeopardize the existence of thousands of jobs.

Es war einer von uns

Story of 33-year-old Johanna, who wakes up distraught and disoriented in a park near her apartment the morning after her best friend Leonie's birthday party. Johanna has no memory of the last few hours. She doesn't know what happened, how she got there - a total blank. Obviously, however, she was the victim of an act of violence - the young woman was raped. Johanna presses charges against unknown persons. Her circle of friends, especially Leonie and her fiancé Björn, react with dismay and look after her lovingly. However, when the police find out that Johanna was given knockout drops at Leonie's party and it can therefore be assumed that the perpetrator came from her circle of friends, Johanna's life seems to fall apart at the seams...

Valerie

When a photo model gets replaced by a batch of new younger prettier girls, her life of riches melts in front of her eyes and she's forced to live like a homeless person in a parking lot of a high class hotel she once lived in.

Fraktus

German mockumentary about the history of the techno band of the same name. Fraktus were once considered the pioneers of techno. Now, after 25 years, they are planning their big comeback. The band is supported by their manager Roger Dettner, who used a trick to get the band back together.

Der Job seines Lebens 2 - Wieder im Amt

Shortly before the election, Prime Minister Achimsen has a heart attack. Double Erwin Strunz has to step in. While the politician is treated in hospital, Strunz establishes a policy for the little people...

12 heißt: Ich liebe Dich

Due to alleged West contacts Bettina is arrested in 1984. Jan is a Stasi officer and expert in interrogation. For half a year, the officer and the dissident sit face to face almost daily, and the unbelievable happens: they fall in love with each other. In a few words and gestures and by means of a numerical code, they communicate. '11 means 'you are beautiful', '12 means 'I love you'. Jan and Bettina are always at risk of their love being discovered.

Blaubeerblau

When Fritjof Huber, who works in an architectural office in Munich, is sent to a hospice for the dying to take measurements, his knees shake. He is afraid of meeting people who are about to die. Yet Fritjof himself has not yet really begun to live.

Love Your Enemies

GDR, January 1990. After his ouster and the fall of the wall, dictator Erich Honecker and his wife Margot find themselves virtually homeless. Only Protestant pastor Uwe Holmer and his family, who, like many others, have suffered under his tyrannical regime, offer them refuge.

Auslandseinsatz

Three young soldiers are called up to one of the most dangerous trouble spots in the world - Afghanistan. But it's not just the constant psychological pressure that gets to them, the different cultures and ways of life in the country also pose problems for the young and impetuous men. However, it is precisely the interpersonal aspect that moves them, and so they become friends with Malik Jamil (Omar El-Saeidi) and his children. Life and the situation at the post seem to relax as a result. But then there is a dramatic turn in the life of Malik's daughter, caused by the insurgent Taliban. And in times of battle, one fate affects the lives of others and the soldiers must painfully realize that war is never just.

Die Frau von früher

The suitcases are packed: Frank, Claudia and their 17-year-old son are heading to Toronto, a professional fiasco is forcing the family to make a fresh start. But suddenly Frank's childhood sweetheart Romy appears on the doorstep. Frank swore eternal love 24 years ago. And Romy is now demanding eternal love. A demand that pushes everyone involved to their limits and reveals their darkest sides.

Tod einer Freundin

When Tina arrives at home, another young woman has just been murdered in the village - the third victim of a serial killer

Die Tote vom Deich

Lona Vogt is a target investigator and, together with her friend and colleague Simon Katzer, has been on the trail of the murderer Manuel Bove for some time. Then the body of a young woman is found in the Wadden Sea near Husum.

My First Miracle

When the strong friendship between a precocious eleven year old girl and a middle-aged family man is attacked for being unhealthy and immoral, the two run away together, but their care-free days are numbered.

Der Tote in der Mauer

During demolition work in a village in northern Germany, a cemented-in corpse is discovered in the wall of a building. The autopsy leads the pathologist to conclude that the man suffocated in the cement. The identity of the dead man comes as a surprise to the two detectives on the scene: it is Michael Lehmann, who has been missing for 16 years. He was suspected of having sexually abused and murdered a nine-year-old boy from the village.

Radical Evil

Das radikal Böse is a German-Austrian documentary that attempted to explore psychological processes and individual decision latitude "normal young men" in the German Einsatzgruppen of the Security Police and SD, which in 1941 during the Second World War as part of the Holocaust two million Jewish civilians shot dead in Eastern Europe.

Age of Cannibals

Öllers and Niederländer have everything under control. For the past six years, the two successful business consultants have been traveling through some of the seediest countries around the world in order to satisfy their clients greed. They have achieved almost everything, but there is one career move left: to finally become a partner in the company! When they find out that their team colleague Hellinger made the cut, they are at their wits end. Up or Out is the name of the game. The fact that Hellinger falls from an office window for no explainable reason doesnt seem to help the situation. Of all people, the young and ambitious Bianca steps in for Hellinger. Öllers and Niederländer are irritated, sarcasm spreads, neuroses break out. The fight for survival within the company takes its toll the AGE OF CANNIBALS dawns.

Crash Point: Berlin

After a mid-air collision, an uncontrollable passenger plane with 90 souls on board speeds through the skies over Germany. The impact point for the inevitable plane crash is easily calculated: the center of Berlin. Now the race is on to prevent the catastrophe. Will the plane have to be shot down by fighter pilots?

Der Job seines Lebens

Externally, they could be twins. But really only outwardly: the unemployed, disillusioned toolmaker Erwin Strunz and the dynamic, power-infested Prime Minister Uwe Achimsen. There's the inevitable confusion - and everyone thinks Erwin is for Prime Minister Achimsen. Rainer Kaufmann staged the fast-paced confusion comedy with Wolfgang Stumph, Katja Riemann and Katharina Thalbach in the leading roles.

Henri 4

A wide-ranging, energetic period piece tracing the rise of the Protestant Henry of Navarre as he goes from battlefield warrior to France's beloved King Henri IV. Director Jo Baier's epic is a classically entertaining adventure, albeit one with more than a little bloodshed and frequent bawdy sexual interludes. In late 16th-century France, Catholics and Protestant Huguenots were at war. Seemingly seeking peace, the French dowager queen, Catherine de Medici summons Henry to her court to have him marry her daughter, uniting the two warring factions. However, the Catholics slaughter the Protestant wedding guests in what became known as the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and Henry-now married-must use all his guile to both stay alive and maneuver for the throne. [Written by Palm Springs International Film Festival]

Before the Fall

In 1942, Friedrich Weimer's boxing skills get him an appointment to a National Political Academy (NaPolA) – high schools that produce Nazi elite. Over his father's objections, Friedrich enrolls. During his year in seventh column, Friedrich encounters hazing, cruelty, death, and the Nazi code. His friendship with Albrecht, the ascetic son of the area's governor, is central to this education.

Transpapa

Fifteen-year-old Maren wants to get away – far away. Aside from all the boys thinking she’s frigid, her recently love-struck mother is driving her round the twist. But she also has a father who she hasn’t seen for years. When Maren decides to get in touch with him, her mother finally spills the beans: He now goes by the name of Sophia and lives as a woman – just what she needs! Irrespective of her vexation, Maren risks a meeting and finds in Sophia a person just as hormonal and puerile as herself – a person who would actually prefer to be her best friend, at best even her mother. Can Maren accept that this life makes her father happy? TRANSPAPA is a compassionate and funny story of gender role-breaking, tolerance and the search for identity.

About a Girl

Eberswalde, dying industrial city of forty thousand souls just 50 miles East Berlin. Johanna lives in that hopeless place. She lives refusing herself the dreams of following in the footsteps of her father, a boxer. Her irascible character makes her lose job after job and training in the gym where women are nothing but a nuisance. She perseveres supported by the love of a wonderful boy and the intelligence of a woman who knows that beautiful women are not necessarily stupid.

Riskante Patienten

Rudger, ex-boyfriend of Jan's girlfriend Milene and biological father of their son, turns up at the practice of alternative practitioner Jan. He spent ten years in prison. Now he wants his wife and child back. It's clear to Jan that the man can't be helped with homeopathic doses. Heavy artillery must be brought to bear. Steve, a former colleague who has gone off the rails, promises to help. The operation goes wrong, Rudger rages and Jan flees to one of his patients. The terminally ill Dorothee has retreated to a mill - and has nothing to lose...

Ende der Saison

Klarissa, 26 years old, takes intensively care of her mother Waltraud who has a terminal illness. However, Waltraud isn't grateful, but amused because she doesn't want anyone's pity. As she doesn't like Klarissa's boring boyfriend Marius, she -together with her partner Enno- tries to convince her daughter to leave Marius and enjoy her life. Enno also wants to improve the women's relationship, which changes Klarissa's feelings towards him dramatically.

We Are Young. We Are Strong.

On 24th August 1992 in the eastern German city of Rostock, a rampaging mob, to the applause and cheering of more than 3,000 bystanders, besieged and set fire to a residential building containing, among others, more than 120 Vietnamese men, women, and children on what has since become known as "The Night of the Fire." The riots became a symbol of xenophobia in the just-reunited Germany. This film recounts the incident from the perspectives of three very different characters.

Sputnik

November 9, 1989, the day the Berlin Wall came down. A 10-year-old girl and her friends attempt to use their teleportation device to beam her uncle back to East Germany but instead, as they witness on TV, end up beaming everyone in their town into West Germany! They have to race against time to undo the experiment before the nasty border guards open fire...

Hannas Baby

The couple Hanna and Georg are overjoyed when Hanna finally gets pregnant, but things take a turn for the worst when Georg's father demands that abortion be performed because of a hereditary defect in his family.

Downfall

In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.

Göttliche Funken

Matthias, who is about to lead his beloved Diana in front of the altar, cannot believe his eyes: Lily, the former love of his life, appears as the pastor who has stepped in at short notice! The convincingly played love drama sends its protagonists on an exciting emotional balancing act with a constant risk of falling.

Kalt ist der Abendhauch

Love story spanning 60 years of the lives of Charlotte and Hugo. As a teenager before the war she is in love with him, but he marries her sister. They share some brief happy moments during the difficult post-war period, then they are separated for the longest time. They meet again as 80-year olds.

Das Glück ist eine ernste Sache

Olivia is hard hit by life. Her husband Klaus is buttering her up and her therapist is losing patience. Then self-centered mother Kora wakes up from her coma and brings her dubious lover Rudi with her from rehab.

A Good Summer

A tragicomedy about the trials and tribulations of life: three lonely hearts find each other, drift apart and experience the happiness of the moment together

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 Burrow

KAFKA'S THE BURROW tells the story of a man's "metamorphosis" (as Kafka would put it) in a rapidly changing and increasingly isolated world. A man (Axel Prahl), who has seemingly achieved everything, ensconces himself in his burrow, a fortress-like apartment complex. But no matter how hard he tries to keep the outside world at a distance, he gets more and more entangled in his own web of fear and paranoia: those outside know he is there, they want him, they want his wealth, and they are inevitably going to get him ...

Roxy

The life of a taxi driver is to not judge or get involved. It's to go where he's told to go, for a price. One day, Thomas gets a group of odd passengers with a ravenous dog. They have money, and they have places to be. How far will he go?

Eden

Fat German star restaurant chef Gregor shows romantic interest in waitress Eden Drebb. She's happily married to hunky Xaver Drebb, but feels romantically neglected. Gregor's deserts seduce her, first trough her brat daughter Leonie, to spend time with him and his fabulous dishes. That soon becomes a rather platonic affair, and domestic troubles. Xaver decides to exact revenge on Gregor, with tragic results.

Familiengeheimnisse - Liebe, Schuld und Tod

Doctor Dahna lives with her mother Ayana in Kenya, where she runs the children's aid organization Hekima Foundation. When Ayana is dying, she reveals one last secret to her daughter: her biological father is Victor Frey, the famous head of a large beauty company. After the loss of her mother, Dahna travels to Germany to get to know her father better. There, however, she encounters a completely alien world. Although her father welcomes her with open arms, his life is characterized by luxury, glamour and money, unlike hers. In memory of Ayana, Victor decides to launch his new perfume under her name. After he uses almost any means necessary, Dahna realizes that her father has two faces. When the press suddenly reports that the Hekima Foundation is involved in a donation scandal, Dahna begins to investigate and discovers a dark family secret.

I'm Off Then

Based on the book "Ich bin dann mal weg" by Hape Kerkeling where the author describes his journey on the Way of St. James, a pilgrimage route, and the people he encounters there.

Hänsel und Gretel

Once upon a time, there was a brother and sister named Hansel and Gretel who get lost in the forest. The father searches actively his children with the help of the Herb Fairy Marie. The lost siblings wander around for a while, and then they find a house of gingerbread, biscuit and chocolate. A witch kindly invites the children, but behind the sweet temptation lurks danger ...

Der Prediger

Jan-Josef Geissler (Lars Eidinger) seems to have surprisingly found God. The man, once convicted of the murder of a young woman, presents himself as reformed and suddenly plans to study theology and become a priest, for which he seeks the support of the Church. The clergyman Ralf Remberg (Devid Striesow) is then tasked with verifying the sincerity of Geissler's motives to determine whether the incarcerated man is genuinely serious about the matter. However, the more Remberg delves into the case, the more he begins to question his own faith.

A Decent Man

Conflict-avoidant Thomas just wants a relaxing holiday in the Swiss Alps. But, it's a slippery slope from the beginning. In an effort to repair his own family ties and to impress his boss, he takes his family and his employer's daughter with him. Tragedy strikes and Thomas feels responsible. Should he be his typical passive self? Or risk doing the right thing at the expense of his relationships with his family and employer?

Ein verlockendes Angebot

Tim Trageser's TV drama focuses on a couple whose love passes through a crisis when they start a weekend relationship. Jan and Maria are a young and happy couple, living in the country with their little daughter. When Maria gets the tempting offer to work as chef in a refined Berlin restaurant, Jan confirms her intention to accept. However, they estrange more and more from each other after a short while... Written by fippi2000

Marseille

A young Berlin photographer participates in an apartment swap with a stranger in Marseille to briefly explore the French city.

Forwards Ever!

A stage actor's turn as GDR leader Erich Honecker inspires an outlandish scheme to keep his daughter safe during the Leipzig protests of 1989.

The White Rabbit

A young 13-years-old girl searches for love in the internet. But the truth about the persons behind the computers can be terrible.

Die vierte Gewalt

Freelance journalist Jan Schulte hopes for a job at the online portal of Berlin newspaper “Die Republik” when he discovers a potential scandal. Federal minister of health Elisabeth Stade apparently helped her brother’s search for a heart transplant by moving him up the waiting list illegally. But then Schulte’s colleague Britta claims the compromising material is a fake. Editor-in-chief Weishaupt and publisher Winter refuse to run the article. As Jan keeps on digging into the scandal, investigating state secretary Katharina Pflüger and political advisor Frank Gruber, his evidence is suddenly stolen from the newspaper office, and soon a competing tabloid breaks the story...

Mademoiselle Paradis

18th century Vienna. Maria Theresia von Paradis, a gifted piano player and close friend of Mozart's, lost her eye-sight as a child. Desperate to cure their talented daughter, the Paradis entrust Maria to Dr. Mesmer, a forward-thinking-physician who gives her the care and attention that she requires. With the doctor's innovative techniques of magnetism, Maria slowly recovers her sight. But this miracle comes at a price as the woman progressively starts to lose her gift for music.

My Brother Simple

Ben and Barnabas are unseparatable since they are small. The two of them, however, are no ordinary pair of brothers, for Barnabas, with his twenty-two years, remained mentally at the age of three.

Wellness für Paare

A wellness hotel in a small German castle specializes in well-off couples, offering a wide range of services, including one some partners feel trapped into : relational therapy. It's truth time, for some liberating, forcing others to face their secrets of dysfunctional relationship.

Amerika

Lanski, an unemployed miner, meets the exalted self-promoter Travis. Together, they drift through the cleared landscapes of East Germany.

Luther and I

As a nun, Katharina von Bora lives the life destined for her until she comes into contact with a completely new world of thought in the early 20s through the writings of Martin Luther. She flees with some of her co-sisters and comes without legal status, without income and rejected by her family to Wittenberg, where she meets Martin Luther personally. Katharina decides to marry the reformer and, as his wife, becomes a respected housekeeper, an equal interlocutor and the mother of their children together.

The Peppercorns and the Curse of the Black King

Mia and her partner Benny, along with Mia's sister, Alicia, will be in charge of solving some puzzling cases that are happening in their city Hamburg. Surrounded by ghosts and mysterious characters this group of friends, accompanied by other young people, follow their clues.

Zorn - Kalter Rauch

In the fifth film in the series, the two chief commissioners Zorn and Schröder again investigate a truly tricky case in Halle. The script was written by Stephan Ludwig, who wrote the novel as in the previous productions. Directed by the crime-experienced Andreas Herzog. In addition to the two proven chief commissioner actors Stephan Luca and Axel Ranisch play again u. a. Alice Dwyer the prosecutor Borck and Katharina Nesytowa Zorn's girlfriend Malina.

Liebe möglicherweise

Stories about citizens of a big city who encounter a variety of fates as a result of their difficulties in communicating with each other.

The Nameless Day

The retired Chief superintendent Jakob Franck who often had to inform relatives as a "death messenger", now hopes to lead a life beyond the dead.

Die Wunderübung

Joana and Valentin Dorek are a married couple going through a crisis. This prompts them to take a trial session with a couple’s therapist. In the therapist’s consulting room they start off with their standard programme: she won’t stop talking and he isn’t even listening. The broken communication between the couple is a real challenge for the therapist. He is almost at his wits’ end when his mobile rings and a surprising message brings chaos into their therapy session.

Oshima

A Japanese business traveler is completely exhausted at a German airport. There, Mr. Oshima seems already to be expected by a businessman and his translator, from whom he spontaneously abducts himself to the foreign city. In his surreal odyssey through the night, however, he loses himself more and more, until he finally disappears without a trace and nothing remains of him as this story.

Dreamland

An affluent city is covered in snow, all seems perfect – on the surface. Divorcé Rolf is doing his best to rebuild his relationship with his daughter. Pregnant Lena appears to be living a faultless family life with her husband and son. Social worker Judith has a tough job and escapes it through her fantasies, whilst widowed Maria has finally built up the courage to invite her male acquaintance to a romantic dinner. In the course of one day, all of them will cross paths with the Bulgarian Mia, who works in the red-light trade and their seemingly perfect lives will never be the same…

Seitenwechsel

The relationship of Alex and Teresa has hit hard times. After 15 years of marriage, the passionate football coach and the sensitive psychoanalyst do not respect each other's needs anymore, and thus they are arguing constantly. Even a divorce seems possible, but then something unbelievable happens: After another ugly fight during a big thunderstorm, they switch bodies. Trapped, they have to play each other's roles, and chaos is bound to follow.

I Was at Home, But...

After a 13-year-old student disappears without a trace for a week and suddenly reappears, his mother and teachers are confronted with existential questions that change their whole view of life.

Alfons Zitterbacke

Clumsy peculiar pupil Alfons Zitterbacke dreams of being an astronaut and wreaks havoc anywhere he goes but against all odds wants to proof everyone who is teasing him wrong especially his father who wants him to be more of a 'normal' kid.

Unterm Birnbaum

After the death of their child, the Hradschek couple consoled themselves with gambling and shopping orgies. After the creditor increases the pressure on them, Ursel and Abel decide to kill him.

Oskarreif

Viewers of the short film as a real film always in new excerpts. Oskar just doesn't understand why nobody wants to film it. For his friend Benny, however, who works in a video store, the situation is crystal clear: there are simply no highlights. So Benny gradually adds more and more elements that he hopes will be a great success. After all, he wants to help Oskar achieve an international breakthrough: In addition to baby animals and sex, racism and homosexuality must of course not be missing. While Benny lets his imagination run free, Oskar gets drunk. And so Oskar's fine story gradually becomes a cliche monster that doesn't leave much of his original idea.

Come Closer

The focus is on a relationship between a couple, played by the directing duo, and Daniel, with whom they end up in bed one after the other. It's an open-hearted game of love, fascinating to look at, and at the same time it's true, it questions everything.

Das Unwort

After a Jewish boy was harassed by his classmates for months, an argument breaks out between the overwhelmed parents, the class teacher and the school management.

Cloudy Clouds

17-year-old Paul likes strange things: stealth trails and abandoned buildings, whispered conversations and left-behind bags. Besides that, he seems to be a young man without qualities. His mysterious nature catches the eyes of his classmate Dala and his art-loving teacher Mr. Bulwer, both seemingly driven by hidden desires. Then a boy’s dead body is discovered in the forest...

Das Geheimnis des roten Hauses

Thuringia, around the turn of the century: Eva Hermsdorf takes up a position as governess at the court of Count Rudolph von Plessen. A deep affection quickly develops between the two, but a secret makes their love impossible: Rudolph is said to have killed a friend of his former lover Liliane. But Eva suspects an intrigue behind this accusation and secretly travels to Leipzig as Liliane's servant to shed light on the matter. When she finds out the truth about Rudolph's alleged murder, she finds herself in mortal danger. Only Rudolph can save her from the hands of Liliane and her cruel husband Henri.

No Room for Gerold

Three roomates, a rhinoceros, hippo and a wildebeest, must confront their crocodile roomate Gerold about his poor habits.

The Last Execution

The ambitious scientist Franz Walter doesn't hesitate when he is promised a professorship at the university. He immediately accepts, pledges absolute loyalty to the system and agrees to work for the GDR's foreign intelligence service until he can take up his new position. Together with his colleague Dirk, he is sent on foreign assignments to West Germany. Franz soon has to use blackmail to get innocent people to talk. But his superiors go even further: GDR refugees and their relatives are targeted to be psychologically destroyed, forged letters, medical diagnoses, surveillance and wiretapping are on the agenda. However, this is more than Franz can bear: he feels powerless and increasingly isolates himself. When he then decides to steal secret documents for a later defection to the West, this results in an unfortunate chain reaction leading to his arrest and ultimately to his execution...

Für immer Eltern

With their two grown children gone, Anja and Michael Wagner move into their own apartment in the city center. Both are looking forward to their newfound freedom. But when Niklas, their youngest child, is kicked out of his roommate's apartment, he decides to move in with them and his girlfriend.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller, egged on by romantic dreams of heroism, voluntarily enlist in the German army. Full of excitement and patriotic fervour, the boys enthusiastically march into a war they believe in. But once on the Western Front, they discover the soul-destroying horror of World War I.

Bach - A Christmas Miracle

Leipzig, December 1734: Christmas brings the Bach family together. The first snow has fallen and the children Gottfried and Elisabeth are delighted about the arrival of their older brothers Friedemann and Emanuel. The Thomaskantor has retired to his music room. Anna Magdalena supports her husband, as there are only a few days left and his latest work, the six-part "Christmas Oratorio", must be finished on time. It is awaited with suspicion by the city council and the gentlemen of the consistory, who have long found Bach's waywardness a thorn in their side and fear that, after the premiere of the St. Matthew Passion a few years earlier, the St. Thomas Church will once again be filled with "operatic" music. With the oratorio, Johann Sebastian Bach hopes that he will finally become court composer in Dresden. And, as always, he demands that all members of the family join forces to help him. But differences of opinion are increasingly delaying the completion of Bach's most famous work.

Ach, diese Lücke, diese entsetzliche Lücke

Twenty-year-old Joachim is unexpectedly accepted at drama school in Munich and moves into his grandparents' upper-class villa. From then on, he tries to find his identity as a young man between the world of theater and the everyday life of his eccentric grandparents.

1949

In 1949, German writer Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika embark on a road trip across a Germany in ruins, from US-dominated Frankfurt to Soviet-controlled Weimar.