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"Remote Area" is a "Heimatfilm" about a strange world in front of our own doorstep. Only 20 minutes away from the Cologne Cathedral into the foothills by tram – one of those areas you drive through in order to spend some time somewhere else. Squeezed in between Cologne and Bonn, neither urban nor rural – unsightly, faceless, arbitrary.

For over half a century, the filmmaker Edgar Reitz, one of the signatories of the Oberhausen Manifesto and a pioneer of epic film narration, has explored, as a practitioner and theoretician, the rules and limits of cinema, which he always seeks to break and extend in new ways. One example of his tireless search and research are the Geschichten vom Kübelkind, which he co-directed with Ula Stöckl in 1969/70, 22 absurdly funny, subversive and anarchistic short films of different lengths, which consciously oppose all conventions, with incredible success. The films remain unrivalled in their Dadaistic inventiveness.

A film portrait of the influential Bavarian actor, director, and screenwriter who publicly confessed his homosexuality, which chronologically covers all the important stages from Action-Theater to the director's early death, supplemented with anecdotes.

She is the grande dame of German and international cinema, always a bit of a rocker chick, freedom-loving, adventurous and willing to take risks. This portrait unfolds Iris Berben's career, which has spanned more than five decades - between the art of film and television, between rock 'n' roll and political commitment.

Flashy shows, synthetic pastel worlds and androgynous faces: so-called K-pop, a form of Korean pop music, is taking the charts and stock markets by storm all over the world. But where does this fascination with this music come from? The documentary explores the social context behind this phenomenon.

In Aquavitae, director Vanessa Jopp shows a transgender woman self reflecting on the creative potential and limitations of gender.

This time, the undercover journalist Wallraff has taken on the subject of 'cheap production for large discounters' with a hidden camera. Under a different identity, he was hired by a large bakery in the Rhineland that supplied cheap rolls for Lidl.

This mini documentary features a rare interview with infamous graffiti artist Banksy, delving into how he started out as a graffiti writer up to his shift to gallery art, installations, CDs, and more. Til this day only a hand full of people know his real identity, such as friends appearing here: 3D of Massive Attack, Damien Hirst, and others.

When you have to bury the dead, 'cause you can't make a living as a dairy farmer anymore and vegan hippies try to find their peace in a hidebound village, life starts to reveal its absurdity. The documentary sooner or later tells the tragicomic story of a villages' struggle for the future.

A film crew retraces the path of a refugee's journey. They hope to reconstruct a memory landscape, but are instead confronted by the artifice of documentary. Bystanders interject with their opinions on how to make better use of their time. What is a story, and whose right is it to tell?

In the past, those who were convinced that they were being pursued by invisible rays or that their telephone conversations were being monitored were considered to be paranoid. Nowadays, people are being monitored as soon as they produce any sign of life. That is just the beginning, however. The research is ongoing and the reality is not far behind.

Short film about electricity in modern life.

In his film, Johann Betz focuses on architect Franz Joseph Ruf, who designed more than 300 buildings during his career. These include the Chancellor's Bungalow in Bonn, Maxburg Castle in Munich, and the German pavilion at the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels.

Expeditions to the heart of the country with the author Pedro Lenz, who lives above the Flügelrad Restaurant next to the railway station in Olten. An oscillating snapshot of the prevailing mood in Swiss society emerges from the interplay between stories of everyday life and Lenz’s reflective texts in Swiss dialect, replete with laconic poesy and a tinge of yearning.

During his work as chief reporter for DDC-TV, a German-speaking television station in the USA, Dennis Mascarenas has met some pretty strange people and gotten into quite a few hairy situations. But when he is asked to make a film about the Germans' relationship to the moon, it is the beginning of the craziest and most unbelievable assignment of his career. 'The Moon Conspiracy' is like a glimpse into Pandora's Box: it takes Dennis and his audience on a surreal journey into hidden universes, only to end up at the frozen bottom of the German soul.

The making of Jörg Buttgereits 1987 horror classic 'Nekromantik'.

Milk - an essential food for our wellbeing? The highly processed white industrial product we are supposed to consume on a daily basis is suspected of causing numerous diseases of civilization. We take a closer look at the ongoing debate.

This movie was featured on the DVD release of Der letzte Mann in 2004 in Germany.

In 2013, Ukrainians rose up against their pro-Russian president, who ruled out any possibility of closer ties with the European Union. We look back at nearly ten years of tensions between Kiev and Moscow, which culminated in war.

This documentary deals with the abduction of the "Landshut" in October 1977. Based on original recordings of reporting from Mogadishu at the time, as well as and interviews with the hostages from 1980, the events are portrayed to give a unique, personal perspective to the hijacking.

An animated short documentary about Ernst Berliner, a Jewish track cycling manager from Cologne and his quest to launch a post-war criminal investigation into the death of his friend Albert Richter, a former amateur track cycling world champion who was killed by the Gestapo in 1940.

The children of the greatest showmasters in German television history come together for the first time in a television program to remember their fathers, the men who made the Saturday evening program on German television the high altar of entertainment.

Short film about the movement patterns of protozoa

Stefan has been building his own road-legal racing car for 12 years. Every Friday after work, he drives to his parents' house in Brandenburg to continue working on it in the garage. For him, this car is far more than just a vehicle, but his life's work and obsession. For him, there will never be an end to this work, because he is always trying to improve, optimize and prove that he can push the limits of what is technically possible one step further. David is also looking for a borderline experience. For him, this lies in the thrill of speed and vehicle control. When his rear axle breaks out at 100 km/h on a forest road, he feels alive. He uses the car to test his own limits. He accepts the risks involved. Die Schaltgetriebenen is a film about the power of passion, about the search for meaning and the urge to prove oneself.

GDR August 31, 1985, Klubhaus in Coswig/Dresden - "Intermedia I - Farbraum/Klangbild"- the event was the first and, as it turned out, the last exhibition by the subculture in East Germany, in which over 40 visual artists and twice as many musicians, performers and super 8 film photographers participated. About 1,200 visitors travelled from all over the GDR to witness a six hour programme on both evenings. It remains unclear to this day how many informers working for the Stasi were among them.

In Beirut, Syrian construction workers are building a skyscraper while at the same time their own houses at home are being shelled. The Lebanese war is over but the Syrian one still rages on. The workers are locked in the building site. They are not allowed to leave it after 19.00. The Lebanese government has imposed night-time curfews on the refugees. The only contact with the outside world for these Syrian workers is the hole through which they climb out in the morning to begin a new day of work. Cut off from their homeland, they gather at night around a small TV set to get the news from Syria. Tormented by anguish and anxiety, while suffering the deprivation of the most basic human and workers right, they keep hoping for a different life.

At the end of the 1970s, German Dominican priest Gerhard Pöter began working with Salvadoran civil war refugees. In the parish of 22 April in Soyapango, social projects gradually emerged, mainly in the field of education, which were supported almost from the outset by various groups from Germany and other European countries. Even today, four years after Father Gerhard's death, the social projects continue, as do the lively contacts and exchanges with groups such as the Freundeskreis El Salvador (Friends of El Salvador) from Braunschweig.

Expedition into the Amazon river and its rain forests

Karl Weisz, photographer of the trip, the fight, the naked life. With the eye of a survivor who doesn't want to leave the street, his home; with the eye of an ex-junkie who misses the thrill, of a friend who is led by his past.

The two-part documentary introduced people in the villages and less populated areas of the Federal Republic. The prevailing structures, worries, hardships and hopes were shown - a portrait of the 1970s.

Behind-the-scenes documentary about the creation of Rammstein's fourth studio album, "Reise, Reise." The album is inspired by one of the deadliest aircraft accidents in history, the Japan Airlines 1985 incident; the last recorded words of the crew can be heard as a bonus song at the beginning of the album. The album artwork features a damaged airplane cockpit with the words "Flugrekorder, Nicht Öffnen" (Flight Recorder, Do Not Open). The cover art is an allusion to the song "Dalai Lama", which deals with an aeroplane accident.

In 1968, musician Irmin Schmidt and friends founded the avant-garde band "Can", which achieved worldwide fame. Schmidt also made a name for himself as a composer for films by Wim Wenders. In this documentary, the charismatic sound tinkerer looks back on his life and career.

Commissioned by the Berliner Landesbildarchiv, this movie shows countless impressions of (West) Berlin everyday life, accentuated with self-ironic commentary.

Based on material that emerged during the occupation of the arena in the summer of 1976, the film shows the organization of collective work, the negotiations with the city and community and finally the demolition of the buildings.

A group of teenagers must meet once a week for anti-aggression training, or they'll end up in jail. In the past, they have taken their aggression out on other people; now they have been given a chance to control their anger.

The minutes before the train departs: time pauses.

Documentary about the journey of Patrick Allgair and Gwendolin Weisser, who travelled over 100,000 kilometres on foot and by hitchhiking. Starting in Freiburg, Germany, they travelled eastwards for three and a half years, passing through Ukraine, Russia, China, Japan and Mexico on their way around the world.

Young police officers are supposed to enforce the law and suppress their personal opinions. After their training, protected by bullet proof vests, shields and a gun, they are sent out on the streets. This documentary accompanies students at a German police academy over the course of their first year. A remote location in Saxony-Anhalt. Real-life simulations and practice at the shooting range are the preparation for the second phase of their training - going out on the streets and facing the real world. It's their first year at the academy and on the beat, and these young men and women are often confronted with realities that take them to their limits. This documantary takes an uncensored look at the German police for the very first time.

PROJEKT A is a documentary that resists the common clichés about anarchism to instead show anarchist ideas of a society in which no one shall have the power to control knowledge, natural resources, land, soil or other people. After inspiring over 25,000 German cinema-goers, this award-winning documentary about anarchism and anarchist projects in Europe is now available on VoD! “Projekt A stirs up the audience and is grippingly shot, getting close to the kinds of tenacious people who are so vital to change in our society.” (kinokino) “…a cinematic portrait, not of anarchy, but of anarchists. A story, not of possibilities, necessities or even failure, but a depiction of achievements, initiative, action, ideas, as well as success.” (kino-zeit.de) Audience Award Filmfest Munich

A personal meditation on the landscape of the American West that tracks the ruling conception in nature in the 19th and 20th centuries from the pioneers through the instamatic tourists, at the same time that it obsessively follows the four seasons. The elemental vicissitudes of the weather, the exact moment of the day, the colour of the light and the soil and the trees form an acute visual record of the constantly changing mood of the landscape. The film successfully attempts, with quiet, passionate, almost single-minded firmness, to confront us as nakedly as possible with our cultural inability to see nature whole, without preconceptions.

Hans Schomburgk reflects on his life as a researcher. He recounts experiences, adventures, and insights he has gathered over the course of 60 years between Cape Town and Congo. The film shows the changes that Africa has undergone in terms of nature and culture during this period, comparing yesterday and today.

Out of love for Huskies, nature and cold winters Dave and Kristen Olesen moved from Minnesota to the North West Territories in Canada 25 years ago to create their own little universe on the magnificent East arm of Great Slave Lake. With their two daughters Annika 15 and Liv 12 and their 37 dogs, the Olesens enjoy a unique lifestyle in the wide open wilderness far away from civilization. One winter they all leave their self-built homestead with ten dogs on a two and a half thousand mile family expedition allowing Annika to run the Junior Iditarod in Alaska. As unexpected obstacles all along the trip culminate in three heavily injured dogs the whole endeavor is at risk. Optimism, love and loyalty prevail on this exciting epic family voyage.

“Why does cinema need death, when it can’t show it?” The filmmaker’s monologue and the discourse of images meet

Comprehensive classic piece that looks at the process of creating the movie, told with a strong, well-constructed narrative that plays almost as a movie itself, a detailed retelling of how the movie was made and the dedication to authenticity that's evident right down to the finest little details on the ship. After a narrator sets the scene for various segments from the film, the piece takes its time to take a closer look at all of the elements that are necessary to create the movie and the challenges of shooting such a labor- and authenticity-intensive picture.

Short film about trouts

Documentary film.

The history of Germany's oldest independent family-owned film studio, now run by Brauner's daughter, Dr. Alice Brauner. The film traces the life of Brauner, who was born in Poland, shaped by German history, survived the Holocaust as a Jew, and became the most important film producer of his time in the country of the perpetrators.

Made up of hundreds of street interviews done in Berlin two years after the Reunification, Former East/Former West is a vital, surprisingly open, and at times disturbing documentary about what it means to be German at this particular moment in history.