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He became a beacon of hope for thousands of children and a lifesaver for hundreds: the Jewish German Fredy Hirsch. Director Winfried Laasch takes a look at one of the last mysteries of the Holocaust. As a boy scout, Fredy Hirsch took care of those who were most helpless in the face of Nazi reprisals from an early age: Jewish children and young people. First in Düsseldorf, later in Prague, then in the Theresienstadt ghetto and finally in Auschwitz.

Wolves divide and fascinate us. 150 years after they were driven to extinction in Central Europe, they are returning slowly but inexorably. Are they dangerous to humans? Is it possible to coexist? Using Switzerland as a point of departure, where wolves have returned in the very recent past, this documentary sheds light on the wolf situation in Austria, eastern Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, and even Minnesota, where freely roaming packs of wolves are more common sight.

Darío Aguirre moved from Ecuador to Germany to be with Stephanie, but from the very first day there was a third party in their relationship:the government. They issued him ten visas in fifteen years. A long trail of papers, stamps, permits, and restrictions connected Darío to Germany while also keeping him at a distance. Then one fine day the mayor of Hamburg invites Darío to become a German citizen. A confession of love? Darío responds with a tender, ironic road movie that traces his intertwined journey from the country of his fathers to the country of his children.

Andreas wants Kim, but Kim wants something more. She wants a penis. She doesn't want to talk about this with Andreas. And when their best friend, Anna, moves in, it all gets to be a bit much. But if two people feel lonely around each other, can they be less alone when there are three of them?

1964. Berlin is a divided city. Flight from the German Democratic Republic is punished with an order to fire. Still, many people desperately try to cross the border. People forge identity papers, dig tunnels, climb into hot-air balloons and hide in cars going to the West - towards freedom. But as large vehicles are getting controlled more frequently and thoroughly, a West Berliner has a seemingly impossible but ingenious idea: the smallest and most inconspicuous car available at the time, the BMW Isetta, should help him smuggle a man across the border into the West.

As Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger wanted to lead the Church back to its former strength, but instead he plunged it into a deep crisis. He reacted largely inactive to the revelations of multiple cases of abuse by clergy. In order to understand the thinking of this unconditional hardliner, documentary filmmaker Christoph Röhl delves deep into Ratzinger's past - but what really leaves us speechless are the testimonies of how the church, on a large and small scale, dealt with the crimes of its priests.

Once upon a time, there's been an epidemic on earth: People float away due to fear and petty criminal brothers Rémi and Widu are fighting the whole time while trying to accomplish their biggest mission yet.

A couple have disappeared without a trace on their way home after a medieval festival. This calls not only the officers from Brandenburg onto the scene, but also the currently sidelined investigator Lucy and her former colleague Hannah. During their investigations, they come across the widowed Harald Kurtz and his father-in-law Meckenstock, who live on an outlying farm. Meanwhile, Hannah suffers from hallucinations and finds out more about the family.

An exploration of the reality behind the dream of a better life; what is lost and what is gained in the pursuit of personal wealth and perceived happiness.

Stefan Gabriel is an active father always looking at life positively. While he tries to give back to society, his daughters Jessica (12) and Sabrina (15) struggle with their own problems. Jessica is often mistaken for a boy and has to deal with her many ticks. She would happily swap places with Sabrina, who, despite her illness, appears to have her life completely under control. But the more Sabrina’s health worsens, the worse Jessica’s ticks become. The girls need a plan and fast. They come across a special ritual in an old book, which could be their rescue. But the girls first have to find a boy to sleep with Sabrina. They don’t have much time left and Jessica puts all she has got into implementing the life-saving plan, no matter how crazy it may be.

After the success of the first film "Die Informantin", which delighted over 5.5 million viewers, the story of the undercover law student Aylin is now being told. She actually doesn't want anything to do with the LKA. But she has no choice. In "Der Fall Lissabon" she has to spy on a star lawyer who launders money for terrorist cells. Should she refuse, the life of her sister and that of her niece is threatened. Crime scene inspector Aylin Tezel embodies a brave young woman who gets caught between the fronts and can only rely on her instinct.

Anton gets confused when he visits Thea at home the first time. They recently had great sex. But now it seems weird that the flatmate Paula knows all about that night with Thea. What does she mean with "Geh Vau", he asks. "Fucking," answers Paula. When he's ready to head out for a concert of the feminist punkband "Schapka", Thea would prefer to stay at home with the handsome young man.

Thomas, a Swiss-German musician, is stuck at home because of a broken foot. He wanders around his tiny Parisian flat, his leg in a plaster, busy composing a new piece. At sunrise, an unexpected female visitor is showing up for him at the door.

Martin Kühn has work to do - and a lot of it. As an inspector, dealing with murders and kidnappings is his bread and butter, but when these crimes happen almost on his doorstep, even the experienced police officer is not left cold.

Ambitious doctor Clemens Hoffmann wants to take some time out before his next career move and fulfill his long-cherished dream of sailing around the world on a boat for a year. Shortly before his departure, an accident thwarts his plans.

A woman is faced with a big decision. As the young mother of a 15-year-old son, she believes she has missed out on something. Without further ado, she leaves her husband, who is 30 years her senior, and rediscovers life with a sporty surfer.

The lover of a policeman is strangled in his house.

"Chair Times" charts a course through an ocean of chairs. In the focus are 125 objects from the Collection of the Vitra Design Museum. Arranged according to their year of production, they illustrate development from 1807 to the very latest designs straight off the 3D printer, forming a timeline to modern seating design. The film features many people whose vocations involve design and who are experts in the field, such as designers Hella Jongerius, Antonio Citterio and Ronan Bouroullec, architects and collectors Arthur Rüegg and Ruggero Tropeano, architect David Chipperfield, Director Emeritus of MAK Vienna/Los Angeles Peter Noever, Mateo Kries, Director of the Vitra Design Museum, Vitra Design Museum curators Amelie Klein, Jochen Eisenbrand and collection curator Serge Mauduit. And your guide through the history of chairs is Rolf Fehlbaum, Chairman Emeritus of Vitra.

It's 10:47 pm on a bus somewhere in a city. A few teenagers are listening to music and talking loudly. The other passengers look languidly out the window or at their cell phones. A drunk man gets in and joins the teenagers; the mood starts to shift.

The island of Corsica boasts spectacular mountain vistas filled with unique wildlife. Explore the shrubland and meet moufflons, hybrid pigs and more.

Like every year, Maike and her husband Sören invite family and friends over for New Year's Eve. This time, however, the raclette dinner turns out differently than the meticulously planned Maike had hoped: In addition to the cheese, all three couples sitting at the table reveal hard-to-digest truths and intimate secrets.

Hans, a mediocre heartbroken actor, is greeted by an Angel of Death after attempting suicide an hour before his play's premiere. A sarcastic dark humour conversation begins as Hans tries to convince the Angel that he should be brought back to the world of the living while the Angel enjoys delicious cheeseburgers and lemonade and gives the actor relationship advice.

The local theater in Armstadt has to take a step back; the budget gets cut due to less audience. However, the actors try their best to prepare for a new piece.

A family celebrates Christmas in a Norwegian log cabin. Old conflicts and a tragic secret cloud the mood.

Film by Jan Bonny, also known as "Endlich Leben".

In the intensive care station, the young doctor, Miranda Schwarz, is feeling morally conflicted about having to save her tormentor's life.

Germans colonized the land of Namibia, in southern Africa, during a brief period of time, from 1840 to the end of the World War I. The story of the so-called German South West Africa (1884-1915) is hideous; a hidden and silenced account of looting and genocide.

Director Thomas Heise picks up the biographical pieces left by his family, and composes an epic picture of four generations of his family, of a country, of a century.

An intimate portrait of the superb actress Gena Rowlands, icon of independent cinema. Together with her husband, legendary director John Cassavetes (1929-89), she lived an unusual life beyond the dream factory, a life in which reality and fiction were so perfectly intertwined that it made possible films that still today seem incredibly real.

Why do women stay in violent relationships even when they have been abused for a long time?

In 1921, German philosopher Walter Benjamin purchased a painting Angelus Novus by the Swiss-German artist Paul Klee. Benjamin admired it and described it in detail in his essay “Theses on the Philosophy of History.” The picture portrays a restless angel who tasted reality. For a moment the angel freezes as if observing the inevitable turns of history. German director Eric Esser filmed at the Spanish-French border, which used to be a place of smuggling routes. It is across this border Walter Benjamin once escaped from the Nazis too.

ROLAND REBER’S CABARET OF DEATH paints a multi-layered picture of existence and puts the taboo subject of death back in line into the circle of life. In various storylines a ruined relationship crosses paths with an old man begging for euthanasia, a live show featuring candidates who are mercilessly sacrificed to the audience, a dancer who cannot escape ageing despite her self-optimization and the one with the mask who craves to be famous at all costs. And between all this, a corpse driver rolls his “clients” through a long corridor and shares his very personal and unaffected thoughts about life and dea

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?

Technology is advancing and groundbreaking developments are being made in the field of artificial intelligence. With these advancements, comes a new world of possibilities that will affect almost all aspects of life. What is in store for us? How will artificial intelligence change our world of work, our society, and our everyday life? Scientific Journalists Ranga Yogeshwar and Tilman Wolff visit the worlds leading experts in the field to find answers to these questions.

More than anyone in the cynical film industry, legendary artist Robert Redford embodies the United States' brightest side: perseverance, independence, idealism, and integrity. A champion of active environmentalism and the right to openly criticize any institutional abuse, he has put his artistic work at the service of his political commitments, whether as an actor, director, producer, or founder of the Sundance Festival, a formidable forum for his struggles since 1985.

Together with his girlfriend and his friends, André is trying to survive in his wasteland of monotony. Drinking alcohol and smoking weed won't serve the purpose André is looking for. As he is introduced to MDMA things start to change.

Marc and Sam have been a happy couple for a long time. But they have to hide their love, as Marc is a professional footballer and is afraid of losing his career if his relationship with a man becomes public. When he meets his old childhood friend Emma again, who was dumped pregnant by her boyfriend, he asks her to play his token wife. But she is in love with Charles, unaware that he is Marc's half-brother.

Axel lives in a poor village where people work days at the chicken farm and gamble their last pennies at night. It's made Manne, the farm and casino owner, a very powerful man. Axel's debts are so great he has to do whatever Manne says. So he works in Manne's villa but can at least see his childhood love Jenny, who is now Manne's girlfriend. Axel seeks refuge in his imagination. He has rebuilt the entire village as a model in his cottage. Here, he is king, his word is law. Here, he saves Jenny from Manne and sends him running. One day Axel finds a friend, his neighbor Heiner, a strange guy who constantly quotes Karl May and talks happily with his chicken. Only by joining forces will they bring Manne's empire crashing down.

The Barenboim-Said Music Academy in Berlin is an experiment. Its main aim is to bring together young musicians from the Middle East: Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Daniel Barenboim wanted to create a safe space for them.

Documentary about the rise of the Video Home System in Germany.

At the far end of the Alaskan peninsula, for filmmaker Roman Droux a childhood dream comes true. He discovers together with the bear researcher David Bittner the universe of wild grizzlies. The two adventurists face bears at smelling-distance, experience the struggle for survival of a bear family and witness dramatic fighting scenes. Driven by a desire to explore the unknown the film tells a personal story of wilderness, framed in breathtaking pictures of unique creatures.

In the life of TV presenter Lisa, everything revolves around her talk show, celebrities and the ratings. There is just as little room for love as there is for her mother Maria. When the 66-year-old loses her memory after a fall in her apartment and wakes up in the hospital, she can only remember that she has never been to New York and sets off immediately. Lisa goes in search of Maria with her makeup artist Fred. She struck gold on a cruise ship that was just leaving for New York. As stowaways, the three have no choice but to earn the passage. While Fred is hired as an assistant by the Greek on-board magician Costa, Lisa and Maria have to work in room service. The crossing soon takes surprising turns for mother and daughter: Maria falls in love with the charming dancer Otto, who supposedly knows her from before, and Lisa takes a liking to the widowed statistician Axel Staudach, who is traveling with his son Florian.

An anthology film that features four segments. Contagium: The beginning of a global pandemic originated by the macabre experiment of a military scientist. Gully: The calvary of a young man who, as a result of his ambition, is the victim of a painful metamorphosis. The Body: The martyrdom suffered by a woman obsessed with beauty and who resorts to a home cosmetic surgery in order to save money. The Cabin: A post-apocalyptic era in which money becomes the only means that can allow the infected to stay alive.

The Berlin Philharmonic brings in the New Year with a festive concert featuring performances of music by Gershwin, Bernstein, Porter & Loewe.

Ironically, the art detective Johann Friedrich von Allmen is staying in a high-end Zurich hotel when a million-dollar dahlia painting disappears from the private suite of the owner. What would be more obvious to the eccentric Dahlia Gutbauer than to entrust "Allmen International Inquiries" with the discreet replacement?

Five short movies in a german anthology.

A naïve New Yorker retreats to his dead Grandfather's summer cottage, a datsche in Germany, but instead of peace he finds Adam, a refugee in hiding.

The Bokelberg photographic collection brings to life the Paris of the Belle Époque (1871-1914), an exhibition of workshops and stores with extremely beautiful shop windows before which the owners and their employees proudly pose, hiding behind their eyes the secret history of a great era.

Four depressed girls in a mountain hideout transform their misery into porn films. The arrival of two gonzo reporters threatens to upset the fragile balance of this feminist micro-utopia.

Endarchiv examines the symbolic process of disposal and forgetting while raising the question how to take care of the emotional and performative remains of the GDR and its oppositional movements. The film maker Anna Zett is seen spray painting short questions and statements onto large mounds of pebble gravel, where every step leads to a rockslide. The action is interspersed with found footage filmed by Klaus Freymuth, showing demonstrators writing and painting onto the East side of the Berlin Wall shortly after the border was opened in November 1989.

Richard Wagner: Good Friday Music from Parsifal ∙ Wotan's Farewell and The Magic Fire from Die Walküre (Concert Version) ∙ Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde Hector Berlioz: Royal Hunt and Storm from Les Troyens ∙ Love Scene from Romeo et Juliette Claude Debussy: Pelléas et Melisande (Concert Suite by Claudio Abbado, based on the Orchestral Suite, arranged by Erich Leinsdorf) ∙ Prélude à l'après midi d'un faune

When Lena and Ulli start the engine of their old Land Rover, Lady Terés, they have a plan: to drive from Hamburg to South Africa in six months. What they don't know yet is that they won't ever get there. Two totally different characters, jammed together in two square meters of space for almost two years, they experience what it really means to travel: leaving your comfort zone for good.

Russia as you have never seen before: from the bird's eye view. From Kaliningrad, to the Bering Strait, from the Icebreakers on the Polar Sea to the antelopes in the Kalmykia steppes, from the Caucasus peaks to the volcanoes of Kamchatka.

11-year-old Leo has to deal with her depressive father while secretly falling in love with her best friend Isabell. Slowly she realizes that she deserves to be free despite her father's illness.

In a tranquil village, the two students Kerstin and Selina disappear one after the other. Both are 16, have unstable parents and were undergoing therapy at the “Herzland” riding stable. While the residents don't believe there was a crime, Julia Durant suspects the kidnapper is among them.