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A lyrical documentary on the miraculous lifespan of the North-Atlantic Salmon. Shot in pristine Iceland in and around one of the few rivers in the World that are home to the migrating Salmon and have not been manipulated in any way. No dams - no salmon fry stocked by man - everything in the river regarding the Salmon is untouched by man. In these unspoiled conditions the filmmakers shot hundreds of hours over a period of more than two years. Now the fruit of their labor is in your hands - prepare to immerse in the beautiful world of the North-Atlantic Salmon. Be one with this magnificent creature - swim with the Salmon - die with the Salmon and experience the rebirth through the next generation of the King of fishes.

A documentary about film producer Hal Roach.

Christmas Wishes tells the two true stories of young homeless people in Berlin.

Since time immemorial, we have used images to form a picture of the world. But never before has there been as much filming and photography as there is currently. But how do people deal with it when the world and its image merge? The filmmakers Claus Wischmann and Martin Baer show how quickly and profoundly the way we deal with images is changing. Will we eventually move into a world in which reality and image can no longer be distinguished from each other?

Based on court records, this award-winning documentary feature film directed by Peter Pewas reconstructs a traffic accident in Essen in which three people were directly involved and in which twelve-year-old cyclist Dieter Pahl was killed.

Forty years since Chernobyl. Volker Heise’s new film recounts the 1986 nuclear disaster for the first time from the perspectives of both East and West Germany and Ukraine, using archive footage only. TSCHERNOBYL 86 is a gripping political thriller featuring previously unseen archive material which brings the events of that time into an unsettlingly present-day context.​

The courageous female wrestlers of Ciudad Juárez, a city known for its high murder rate against women - who fight in the ring and in their daily lives to redefine the image of what it means to be a woman in Mexico.

Main character of this movie is Rene Rupnik, a former math teacher. He is forty years old and lives together with his mother in a desolate block of flats. Ever since his early youth women with big breasts have fascinated him, because they symbolise a kind of earth mother to him. He has never had an especially close relationship with his own mother; she was too 'bony' for him. Object of Rene's fantasy is the actress Senta Berger, to him everything a woman should be. Standing by the blackboard and explaining the mathematical laws of sine and cosine ('sinus' is bosom in Latin), Rene sings the praises of the female curves and those of Santa Berger in particular. Filmmaker Ulrich Seidl let the former teacher speak freely about his obsessions and desires, intercutting his monologues with scenes from the protagonist's day-to-day life.

Freya Deichmann's life undergoes a radical change when she meets Helmuth James von Moltke at the age of 18. "I saw him and my heart stood still." He is the love of her live, a love which begins in the summer of 1929 and has to withstand the Third Reich. The dramatic climax is Helmuth's arrest. It is a time torn between hope and parting. Every day could be the last. Her great happiness: almost everyday they write each other letters, smuggled by the prison chaplain Harald Poelchau. A love in resistance, one which doesn't end with the execution of the beloved.

"Jazz Seen" is an exploration of the life of William Claxton, whose photographs turned the world of jazz on its keen and perceptive ear. Various jazz artists, photographers, and actors recount memories they had with Claxton and explore his work, while parts of his life are re-enacted by actors.

Cats are the most popular pets in Europe, with twelve million living in Germany alone. And yet: hardly anyone knows how they live and what they do as soon as they leave their home. Where do they go? Martina Treusch's documentary takes a closer look at the nature and fascination of these popular animals.

On the unspoilt banks of the Save River lies the Lonjsko Polje Nature Park. Numerous species have made this green setting their home. But the star of the region is the white stork. Some villages have more than two nests per rooftop, and the cohabitation between man and beast generally goes well. A surprising illustration: for the past twenty-four years, Stjepan Vokic, a retired school janitor, has looked after the stork Malena, who has been grounded by an injury.

Eighteen-year-old Shahnura is about to graduate from high school. Her mother spends hours at the dining table while Shahnura is at school, wondering if her mother, sister, and brother are still alive. Living in Germany without a passport or nationality, she listens to the harrowing stories of her mother and two friends who have experienced imprisonment and re-education camps in China. These accounts reveal the suffering, human rights abuses, forced adoptions, and the grim reality of the camps where the predominantly Muslim Turkic Uyghurs are tortured and mistreated.

A documentary about Fassbinder and the early years of the legendary Antiteater, the group he was a member/leader of. You can here see and hear some of the actors he was going to use in his movies for the next years. The movie shows rehearsals for his play "The Coffeehouse," which also became a television movie, and you can watch unique footage from the 19th Film Festival in Berlin (1969) where "Love is Colder Than Death" was shown. As told in this documentary, his first feature movie was given a cold shoulder by many of the journalists and visitors at the festival. You can in "End of the Commune" watch Fassbinder and actor Ulli Lommel walk out on stage after the opening of "Love is Colder Than Death,” while a man in the audience is shouting "Out with the director!” In this documentary, Fassbinder also talks a lot about his father, who was a respectable doctor.

RTL documentary about the career of Henry Maske.

The Bellaria cinema in Vienna is a small arthouse cinema on Museumsstraße, a side street behind the Vienna Volkstheater. The predominantly elderly audience watches old German films here and reminisces about their own youth. Both the regulars and the staff of this cinema are interviewed. Their biographies are shown in scenes and sketches. Some of them also talk about their lives on camera in their homes.

In Afghanistan Amena Karimyan founded the astronomical group Kayhana – which is Persian for “little universe.” Using a self-built model of the planets, she encourages young girls to reach for the stars. After the radical Islamic Taliban seized power, she was forced to flee the country and is now struggling to build a new life in Germany. Since girlhood, this young Afghan has dreamt of flying to the moon – a dream that suddenly seems within her grasp yet remains impossible to achieve. Stuck between the burden of her past, German bureaucracy and her own ambitions, Amena embarks upon a mission to find her place on earth. In atmospheric images of this and other worlds, Little Universe portrays an ambitious Afghan woman who questions our perceptions of refugee women.

Short film about otters

Marc Aurel-Straße in Vienna: The last surviving Jewish textile merchant in the former textile district, the Iranian hotel proprietor and the Café Salzgries and its regulars. Between the summer of 1999 and spring 2000, Ruth Beckermann undertook a series of small journeys on and around her own doorstep and investigated her local area with the help of a film crew. This documentary film also gives an insight into the political changes when a far right Party joined the Government coalition in Austria.

This documentary is showing Nazi Germany in color. The original and unique color images are portraying the war and German life of the time. You will see the Nazis at work but also in their private situations. All film images are original and fully restored color recordings.

What is the secret of Germany's most successful hip-hop band? What makes them different? How did they make their mark in German pop culture and develop over the years? A behind-the-scenes look at a band that has written German music history and continues to do so.

Anger discusses his Aleister Crowley-inspired theories of art: How he views his camera like a wand and how he casts his films, preferring to consider his actors, not human beings but as elemental spirits. In fact, he reveals that he goes so far as to use astrology when making these choices. This is as direct an explanation of Anger’s cinemagical modus operandi as I have ever heard him articulate anywhere. It’s a must see for anyone interested in his work and showcases the Magus of cinema at the very height of his artistic powers. Fascinating. (Dangerous Minds)

Documentary about the making of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 1972 German television series EIGHT HOURS DON'T MAKE A DAY, featuring interviews with actors Hanna Schygulla, Irm Hermann, Wolfgang Schenck, and Hans Hirschmüller.

Commissioned by Philips, Europa Radio celebrates the company’s experimental PCJJ shortwave radio station in Eindhoven that went on air in 1927 and broadcasted to Europe as well as the rest of the world in various languages. Hans Richter’s film covers one day from morning to night, showing the range and scope of the daily radio programs – from stock market news and sports events to live concerts and a speech by Albert Einstein.

A young pair from Stuttgart fly to Shanghai to hop aboard the textile business of his father while she prepares for the birth of their son. A story about the ever more common movement of Germans into the East for professional gain.

Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off the west coast of Canada, is home to Skil Jaadee and her family. They live in harmony with nature and have made it their mission to save their language and preserve their history.

Even in their mother's laundry room, where they had been making sneakers since 1920, there were arguments. Here was the extrovert Rudolf, who founded the sporting goods manufacturer Puma in 1948, and there was the quiet tinkerer Adolf, who followed suit with Adidas in '49. Companions such as shoemaker Georg Hetzler shed light on the family history, namely whether the rival brothers ever saw each other again in person until their deaths in the 1970s. Sports stars such as Usain Bolt and Manuel Neuer talk about their favorite brand: "Raubkatze" and the "three stripes".

Accidents occur time and again on German highways. The culprits are speeders who do not adapt their driving style or speed to the traffic and harass and endanger other drivers. For months, the two authors Thomas Schadt and Reiner Holzemer observed and interviewed a large number of drivers and accompanied the highway police on their missions.

By 2045, twenty localities in Germany will be resettled because of brown coal open pit mining. The film Waste Land follows the inhabitants of three villages in the Rhenish coal-mining district during their last years in their old home and documents how an entire region prepares for its collective relocation.

An unclassifiable cross between documentary and fiction, Kipp takes the viewer through refugee camps bordering Soviet-occupied areas of Germany.

A queer anthology that explores sexuality, intimacy, and identity across age groups. Conceived as a collaborative project, the film brings together filmmakers from different generations, each directing a short segment portraying encounters between younger and older men. Through these stories, the film examines how attitudes toward desire, relationships, and queer identity shift over time. Moments of curiosity, misunderstanding, attraction, and vulnerability reveal both the gaps and the connections between generations shaped by different social climates. By juxtaposing perspectives formed in eras of repression with those emerging in more open contexts, the film reflects on how LGBTQ+ experiences evolve while shared needs for intimacy, recognition, and connection remain constant. The result is a provocative and intimate mosaic about age, memory, and the changing landscape of queer life.

What images do we associate with abortion and why? Where do these images and the emotional scripts in our head come from? How do they influence women who (want to) have an abortion, how do they shape the general discussion? Franzis Kabisch’s personal desktop documentary investigates these questions with great precision, clarity and humour (yes, humour, too!).

The mineral oil tax and its use are taken as an opportunity to examine the topics of road construction and motor vehicle traffic using the example of West German federal highways.

Educational film about variants of sexuality.

In Saxon-Anhalt, near the town of Zerbst, set away from busy roads, next to a deserted military landing strip, is the village of Straguth. An unimportant place. Lost in time. Or ahead of time. The film describes the people of this quiet place, in the past, the present and the future. A film like the digging of a hole. If one could dig in spiral form. And dig a black hole. An archaeological journey to landscape, people and things, traces of changing times and transition. Wide open landscapes and detailed drawings of people within. And on entering Otto Nathos’ modest bar, there is always talk of the war. The era of youth.

French artist and author Jean Giraud is one of the most famous and influential comic strip illustrators and authors of all time. He achieved his greatest fame as Moebius - not so much a pseudonym as an alter ego. With his triple-split personality - Jean Giraud, Moebius, Gir - he succeeded in making his work accessible in popular comic strip series like Blueberry, in metaphysical fantasies like John Difool and, not least, to a broad public, with set designs for films such as The Fifth Element. In Moebius Redux - A Life in Pictures an exceptional artist tells his life's and work's story. Extraordinary views on Paris, Los Angeles and the Mexican desert build a visual link between his life and his artistic universe, accompanied by the electronic soundtrack composed by "Kraftwerk" legend Karl Bartos.

Director Peter Patzak visits and interviews friends who decided to move from Germany to Rio de Janeiro and New York City.

Maleika tells the incredible story of a cheetah mother and her six cubs: Martha, Malte, Mirelèe, Marlo, Mia and Majet. Set in the magnificent landscape of the Masai Mara natural reserve, the cheetah family experiences adventurous, difficult and funny moments in their fight for survival. Having accompanied her for 3 years, the artist, photographer and devoted conservationist Matto Barfuss allows his audience to take an unusually intimate look into the life of this extraordinary cheetah family.

Schalke 04 is surrounded by a number of myths. In 2002, the legendary club battled for the DFB Pokal title in Berlin. This documentary covers FC Schalke 04's Bundesliga season finale, following the club's outgoing coach, hustling manager, extraordinary fans and national team players.

August 1942: Amidst the unimaginable suffering inflicted during the blockade of Leningrad by the German Wehrmacht, an orchestra director was given an almost impossible task: to stage the premiere of Dimitri Shostakovitch's "Leningrad Symphony". The performance became a symbol of the brief triumph of culture over the barbarism of war.

Evangelical fundamental Christians used the 2006 World Cup in Germany for their missionary purposes: over 10,000 missionaries were deployed to spread the "Word of God", convert people and collect donations. The documentary aims to inspire reflection on the consequences of religious fanaticism, which, despite the missionaries' friendly demeanor, goes hand in hand with intolerance towards those who think differently. Free of verbiage, it hints at parallels between faith and fanaticism using purely visual means and cleverly intersperses basic information as animated infographics that shed light on the ideology of the evangelicals and how it is spread.

Ulrike Ottinger’s provocative mélange of ethnography, stunning tableaux and baroque vignettes was inspired by what she calls the “well-stocked miracle” of Korean wedding chests, assembled according to time-honored customs. This exploration of love and marriage in South Korea looks closely at ancient and present-day rituals, revealing what is old in the new and new in the old. Her inquiry leads us from shamans, temples and priests, to the enchanted maze of 21st-century Seoul, where vendors of medicinal herbs co-exist with high-tech beauty salons for wedding couples and secular marriage palaces. Using film much like a canvas, Ottinger creates a modern fairytale flush with mythological heroes, traditional rites, ancestral symbolism, dreams of eternal love, and a whole lot of Western kitsch. One of her most acclaimed documentaries, it captures the amazing phenomenon of new mega-cities and their contradictory societies caught in a balancing act.

What does it mean for our society if we measure ourselves ever more perfectly - and also make our data accessible to third parties? Anke Engelke talks to futurologist Harald Welzer about the consequences of self-optimisation and efficiency thinking. She meets people with Down's syndrome and their parents who have to live with the effects of the drive for perfection and the struggle to achieve.

When I came of age, my father gave me a film about my life. It infuriated me, because I had attempted to get away from his camera all my childhood. My father, filmmaker Joschy Scheidegger, documented our family obsessively. It was only when he died that I was impelled to take over not only his extensive film archive, but also his camera. «My Life as a Film» is a personal search for the surprising truths hidden behind my father’s pictures. A philosophical family story about filming and the attempt to capture life.

The story of a luckless address: Vienna, Schottenring 7. This was the site of Ringtheater were nearly four hundred people died in a fire in 1881. Where the emperor subsequently built the Sühnhaus ('the house of atonement') to make up for it and no-one wanted to live there.

In southern Germany, winter can still be admired in all its glory every year. With its white coat of snow and icicles and myriads of small crystals that look like geometric works of art. In the valleys and on the slopes the snow is still so thick every year that the alpine huts are snowed in up to the windows. Cows and dairymen are safe in their farms at lower altitudes. But not the wild creatures of the mountains! They need strategies to survive the cold season and to defy snow masses, cold and ice. And some seem to do it so easily that they even raise their young in the middle of winter. But how do animals, plants and fungi cope with the annually recurring ice age, which from our perspective is a time of need? The many adaptations in nature prove that winter is an integral part of the natural cycle of the year and the living environment of species. They are adapted to cold and frost. That is why the animals and plants at the edge of the Alps suffer particularly from climate change!

Still Alive - The Drama on Mount Kenya is a gripping docudrama that recounts a legendary rescue operation on Mount Kenya in Africa in 1970.