Discover Movies

A passionate group of Australian same-sex ballroom dancers battle homophobia, injury and personal drama as they pursue their dream of competing at the Gay Games in Germany.

The director's mother is 90 years old—and is beginning to forget herself. Not only herself, but everything else as well. She has dementia. Only her faith and her tireless knitting of exclusively blue socks keep her alive. The director, whose relationship with his mother has been very tense throughout his life, approaches the dissolution of his mother's ego in this experimental and essayistic film with the support of Didier Eribon, Simone de Beauvoir, Norbert Elias, Jean Améry, and others. In addition to this very personal story, he also tells a universal story about the process of aging, about repression, but also about rebellion in dealing with and interacting with aging people.

Every fifth year in Förste/Nienstedt people gather to the "Schüttenhoff" (shooters court). For five days at Easter processions of three "battalions" take place symbolizing the storming, defence and conquering of barricades erected by inhabitants or local associations. The three "battalions" are the riflemen (responsible for taking the barricade), the farmers (responsible for defending the barricades) and the pioneers (responsible for mopping up). Two of the five processions are shown, men on Whitsun Sunday and women on the following Tuesday.

In the summer of 2023, the band Element of Crime will embark on a week-long tour of Berlin - not just a tour of various concert venues, but also a journey through their own stories and memories, a homage to their city.

The film "Das geht jeden an" focuses on the cultural riches of the Westphalia region. In addition to towns and landscapes, the film shows well-known landmarks such as the Hermann monument. The film is a child of its time and refers to the blood-and-soil ideology of the National Socialists in its depiction of a supposedly idyllic rural life. At the same time, the film is intended as an advertising film. In fact, the production was commissioned by the Westfälische Provinzial-Feuersozietät to draw attention to fire hazards that could destroy the cultural assets shown in the film.

It's the most dangerous delicacy in the world. Despite incidents of poisoning year after year, the popularity of this exotic dish in Japan remains unbroken. The Japanese blowfish fugu contains one of the deadliest poisons known to man, 1250 times more potent than cyanide. If the cook isn't skilled in the use of a filet knife, the gourmet meal could become a death sentence for the restaurant guest.

Historian, author, and movie critic Lotte H. Eisner is the subject of this documentary. She recalls her early childhood in Germany and her association with such legendary directors as F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang. Leaving Germany for Paris in 1933, her anticipation of WW II saw her relocating to the South of France. Eisner gives her considerable and insightful opinions on classic German Expressionist Films, as several of her admirers drop by during the interview conducted by director Sohrab Shadid-Saless.

A historical account of the postal service through the centuries, from early communication to the late 1960s.

A short documentary feature following young German troops in training,

The film tells the story of the victims’ relatives and the survivors of the racist attack in Hanau in 2020, in which nine young people were murdered because the perpetrator did not consider them to be German.

DEFA made several science fiction films that are hardly known today. These productions, called "utopian films" in the GDR, show astonishing technical achievements. ...Science fiction at DEFA was never a war of the stars, no alien invasion, but in most cases an establishment of contact with the alien via signals, a recurring plot motif. Communication instead of confrontation. These films provide information about the image of a coming socialist society, about expectations and hopes, and they were counter-images to the officially condemned Western SF art.

An experimental documentary film dedicated to Japanese Butoh dance: a multi-layered portrait of a unique contemporary movement within the gray areas between rebellion, trance, ritual, meditation, prayer, philosophy, ancestral experience, and physical anonymity.

A review of 25 years of theatre work by the Berliner Ensemble, dedicated mostly to plays by Bertolt Brecht. Interviews with stage hands and lighting technicians provide an interesting view behind the scenes.

New forms of manipulation and the inundation of stimuli from new media pose a great risk to children’s mental health. Finally, society has started to respond. A secular culture of consciousness is arising: meditation and new forms of resilience and mindfulness training have formed part of the curriculum in many of Europe’s schools. Can systematic inner development genuinely enable young people to take responsibility – for their own lives, for society and for the world? Can openness, compassion and an ethical attitude in children be increased by mental training?

Synonymous with elegant quality fabrics, cuts and leather craftsmanship, Made in Italy explores the influence Italy has on the global fashion market, creating luxury as a global way of life.

With reference to little scientific theses, sexual rituals and preferences around the world are shown.

Jutta Hipp defied the odds and made it to the heart of the male-dominated jazz scene in 1950s New York.

Fairy tales are never just fairy tales. They shape how we think about power, inequality, and society. This film reveals what lies behind the colorful facade.

Taleb, who came to a refugee camp at the age of five in 1975 and returned there after his studies abroad, tells of his life as a displaced person, his gratitude for the reception and support in Algeria, and his hope that the Sahrawis may one day return to their homeland. For Taleb, this hope drives him to actively prepare for better times: as a graduate in agricultural sciences, he conceived a successful small-scale closed-loop economy in a desert under the most difficult conditions, producing enough food for self-sufficiency.

This documentary explores the harsh and mysterious environment of Antarctica, focusing on the King George Island research stations. It highlights the scientific discoveries, extreme weather conditions, and the unique challenges faced by researchers living in one of the most isolated places on Earth.

The film shows how the German economy is supplied with sea fish: Hamburg-Altona fishing port. Wesermünde-Geestmünde fishing port. Preparations for departure. Departing fishing trawlers. Hauling in and processing the catch. Unloading the cargo in the fish market. Inspection, weighing, and sorting of the fish. Auction, packaging, and processing. Overview of important sea fish from German catches. Transport in special wagons to the German interior.

Tom Angelripper narrates the struggles of the band in the mid-Nineties, his many side projects, and yet another drastic line-up overhaul.

By its definition of being "neither poor nor rich", the middle class seems to have always had an identity problem. The essay film "Orlando or a short history of the middle class" is based on a text written by Daniela Dröscher, inspired by Virginia Woolf's dazzling novel heroine Orlando, a character who experiences both social decline and advancement over three centuries and changes gender in between. The film follows Orlando and tells the story of the middle class from a female perspective.

Make-up and cleats are not mutually exclusive for the soccer players from "Agrispor". In "Mädchen am Ball", Aysun Bademsoy accompanies five young Turkish women on their way up in a women's soccer team in Berlin.

This documentary explores the diverse key players contributing to the success of the second-largest film industry in the world: Nigeria's Nollywood.

The accomplishments of four handicapped ten-year-olds are recorded on camera. Their determination to do and create is obvious in each action.

An unparalleled portrait of Arthur Miller (1915-2005), a major writer who left an indelible mark on the world. Miller's life is intimately connected with the great themes that marked the 20th century. Glamour, fame, social criticism and Marilyn Monroe.

The animated documentary - a mix of live-action footage and animation - tells of the brutal everyday life in the orphanages of the 60s / 70s. Often led by Christian orders, more than one million children were physically and physically abused here. The anonymous protagonist tells of her childhood and her very personal struggle against the nuns' arbitrariness and their ruthless authority.

The Journalist and Her Jailers explores what this local court in Germany can really accomplish. Can it actually provide some measure of justice for Luna Watfa and the tens of thousands of Syrians who have been detained, tortured and disappeared by Bashar al-Assad’s government, and thereby perhaps even provide a blueprint for future war crimes prosecutions worldwide? To engage with this question, Luna must first seek to understand what justice even means in this context, for the plaintiffs, witnesses, the defendants- and for herself.

A documentary about three people with an extraordinary hobby: live Game (LARP). A weekend to be someone else, experience adventure, fight battles, be a child again; recovery from reality and yourself.

The film about Max Bill (1908-1994) moves between the dynamic fields of art, aesthetics and politics. Max Bill was probably the most important swiss artist of the 20th century and the most famous student to come out of the legendary Bauhaus in Dessau. He was an ardent anti-fascist and all his avant-garde work as an artist, sculptor, architect and typographer showed a social responsibility and environmental awareness right through his life. His views have become incredibly topical.

Documentary about India

A black paste that made our world louder and happier: when inventor Emil Berliner began using shellac as a sound carrier in 1896, this was the initial spark for a media revolution that has continued right up to the present day. It had already begun ten years earlier with Emil Berliner's invention of the gramophone. Together, the record and the record player changed people's everyday lives. It was a revolution - technically and culturally - because shellac records, unlike wax cylinders, could be reproduced and distributed on a mass scale. 78 revolutions per minute became the standard playback speed and shellac - the resinous paste made from slate flour, cotton, soot and the resin of the lacquer louse - gave the record its name and became synonymous with an era.

The portrait of austrian pianist and composer Friedrich Gulda based on archive material.

CHAOSTAGE is the first real german Punk movie. part fictional, part documentary it tells the story of some young punks...

The bags are packed, hats have been found and now they’re off on their journey. A grandma, her daughter and her grandchild are flying to Gran Canaria for the weekend. The granddaughter films her grandmother, whilst her mother takes her mother by the arm, and Gran makes comments about life in a foreign country.

Director Carolin Genreith takes a warmly ironic look at her mother and her female friends but also addresses her own fears and vanities. A vibrant portrait which looks beyond the borders of one twentysomething’s coolly urban lifestyle in Berlin to examine the travails of menopause – as well as the art of banishing one’s fear of ageing with a well-placed hip thrust.

A nobleman, Mr. Waller von Wallerstein, is fatally ill. He places an advertisement for the adoption of a child who is to continue the old noble line. A child comes forward, a young Russian. However, it brings with it its entire entourage: the Russian mother, a pianist, and later also the father. The nobleman, who actually only wanted to occupy one child, is occupied by an entire family. Amidst wrangling and misunderstandings, a happy moment arises. This is the external plot of the new novel by American author Irene Dische, who lives in Berlin. The novel has caused a great stir. In its formal structure, it follows the "33 Changes on a Theme by Diabelli" written by Beethoven. It is, says Irene Dische, about a novel of "cold-hearted kindness". The heat of emotions offers too little chance for kindness in the family war: Report on a happy exception in the slaughterhouse of love.

Short film about inuits

Parasympathetic irritation is generated in the test animal by subcutaneous injection of muscarine. Salivary secretion, miosis, convulsive evacuation of thin feces and severe shortness of breath as signs of intoxication with a parasympathomimetic. The symptoms of intoxication are reversed by subcutaneous injection of atropine.

An upcoming documentary project.

A look at naturism on the island of Rügen, Germany.

Violence, sex, and buttocks: a brief history of controversial pop music videos. With its explosion in popularity in the 1980s, the music video became an expression of a desire for emancipation, and producers were quick to recognize its commercial potential. MTV became the vehicle for this music video culture—and relayed its scandals. From Michael Jackson's "Thriller" to Madonna's "Justify My Love" and N.W.A's "Fuck The Police," right up to the recent escapades of Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Rammstein... : peppered with more or less subtle references to sex or violence, music videos have borne witness to the gradual shifting of the boundaries of good taste. Through a kaleidoscope of the most controversial videos, we look back at the strokes of genius and brilliance of three decades of music.

Nana Xu travels to the place built by her father as a prisoner during the Cultural Revolution: first a work camp, later a prison, fruit farm and treatment centre. Conversations with last remaining witnesses, where home is still shaped by a repressed past.

For more than a quarter of a century, Russia has been conducting a peacekeeping operation in a conflict area between Transnistria and the Republic of Moldova. Starting from the observation of the trilateral “peacekeeping post” on the Dniester River, this documentary reflects the life in the region, which is sluggish under the supervision of the mission’s soldiers.

A tour of the sights and attractions of Berlin.