Discoveries from Germany World Cinema

The young fashion designer Brigitte Arend is not having any success with her work, and since she has also been given notice to leave her room, she is facing ruin. Even the man she loves, the composer Stefan Roland, makes her doubt herself, because he likes to devote himself to other women, and not without success. In her desperation, she takes a job as a maid for Director Forbach, where a big party is currently taking place.

Mid-fifties Anne Marie Fuchs lives modestly and withdrawn in Düsseldorf. When a murder happens, it becomes clear that the inconspicuous lady, who is always in short supply, seems to be an absolute investigator with a razor-sharp mind. No wonder, because Anne Marie Fuchs is a former East German spy, especially one who still has a bill from her active time open.

Two directors shoot a documentary about the controversial director and pugnacious actor Peter Kern. But he cannot be easily rammed into the classical form of a documentary.

What Swiss director Stefan Schweitert did for accordion music and for yodeling (Accordion Tribe, Cinequest, 2005; Echoes of Home, Cinequest 2008) he now does for traditional Balkan music. This wonderful film is also a love story – and a door into a world of musical wonders.

Kampf um Norwegen – Feldzug 1940 is a 1940 Nazi propaganda film directed by Martin Rikli and Dr. Werner Buhre under orders of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. The documentary film follows the Invasion of Denmark and Norway in the spring of 1940

Jakob Feierabend has a hard time. Everywhere he applies for work, he is rejected. The reason is his last name. He also fails as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. As a salesman he makes a house call and lets himself be nibbled by the green widow Clothilde Rieker. When suddenly the husband comes home, he has to flee, wrapped in an orange bed sheet. In doing so, he is mistaken by a reception committee for the announced guru. From now on he resides as a guru in the castle of Countess Falkenberg. Jakob's friend Tommi turns this delusion into a lively source of money.

Leonora Carrington, an outstanding figure of surrealism, along with Frida Kahlo, was one of Mexico's most famous painters. As the long-time partner of Max Ernst and close friend of André Breton and Jean Miró, she continually struggles with her visionary imagination, which often triggers serious psychological crises.

A doctor of social sciences - a specialist in failing marriages - becomes jealous. He imagines his skater wife in various situations, but always on skates.

After a successful coup in a luxury hotel in Lichtenstein, the jewel-thief Claire hardly dares her eyes: among the guests are her old "colleague" and former lover Vinzenz Kröger, who now leads a middle-class life. Actually, Claire does not want to have anything to do with the charming rascal. However, he is not ready to let Claire disappear again after he has finally found her again. From a spectacular jewel robbery to sophisticated arrogance, the duo experiences a lot of turbulence - and the emotional life of the two gets really up in the air ...

A live recording of the premier of Korean composer Unsuk Chin's Alice in Wonderland opera at National Theater Munich in June 2007. It is a modern opera based on Lewis Carroll's fantasy novel of the same name. The amazing characters Alice meets are portrayed with a colorful combination of puppets and singer-actors.

Homeless Alfred would like to spend his life on Mallorca. A destination far away. But one day he meets the policeman Erwin.

Ruža left Serbia, her country, over 30 years ago and lives in Zurich. Her daily life is a string of repetitive moments until, one day, Ana arrives on the scene and upsets Ruža's painstakingly organized world. A subtle friendship develops between the two strong willed women.

The film follows the comic (mis)adventures of a poor street musician, who is roped into posing as an eccentric nobleman. He and his antics are rapturously received by the members of a bourgeois family desperate to mingle with the aristocracy. The daughter of the family takes a fancy to the baron (in reality, merely a “joke baron”), assuming him to be immensely wealthy.

Laboratory technician Jutta and factory worker Peter have been a couple since the summer and are enjoying their time together. One day, Jutta realizes that she might be pregnant. The doctor doesn't want to make a preliminary diagnosis until Monday - and today is Friday. The weekend is a tough test for Jutta. How should she decide - for or against the child, should she get married, should she have an abortion? The encounters with Peter, her parents, her friend with the twins and her colleagues don't make it any easier. In the end, Jutta and Peter have to decide on their own.

Taking the demise of a textile factory in Austria’s Waldviertel region as its starting point, with the antiquated manufacturing plant initially shown in full operation, this film poses the question of what work means for people’s self-image and character. After the factory goes bankrupt and closes, the filmmaker accompanies some of its employees as they continue to make their way, questioning them about their daily routines, the circumstances in which they live, about looking for work or the new jobs they find. One woman’s situation is precarious, but that doesn’t prevent her from bringing up her grandchildren. Another woman works here and there, flexible and resourceful. One man blossoms visibly in his newly unemployed state. Bit by bit, different aspects of their private lives and personal misfortunes emerge.

Luise modestly but happily runs a small travel agency with her husband Matthias. Matthias goes on a travel tour to distant Kazakhstan. Luise becomes a millionaire overnight; she cracks the lottery jackpot. Luise and her daughter buy a villa with a butler from a wealthy Englishman. The butler takes on the almost impossible task of training them to be posh ladies.

Designer Charlotte's monotonous single existence is thrown into turmoil when one day she meets businessman Paolo Fabrelli. She thinks she recognizes him as the ice cream seller who proposed to her in Italy years ago. In reality, however, Paolo is his cousin. Confused at first, then amused, Paolo doesn't even think about clearing the mix-up. He has fallen madly in love with Charlotte and hopes for true love...

Centers around four older ladies from the Emmental region. When four older women decide to turn the local corner shop into a chic lingerie store, the whole community is thrown into disarray.

Christine Neubauer takes on an unfamiliar role for "Maria, Argentina and the Weißwurst": She plays a rugged perfectionist, who secludes herself from life behind her butcher's apron. Only in the distance does the Urbayerin manage to free herself from her own constraints and to take the heart into her own hands. Carlos Lobo in the role of the proud interpreter and Valentino Fortuzzi as a difficult nephew offer parole. Before the three pull together to bring the white sausage on Argentine plates, they must first gather together in the Culture Clash comedy by director Markus Herling.

Matthieu Carriere, who once starred in German director Volkor Schlondorff's breakthrough film Young Torless, turns director himself for Fool's Mate. Michael Marwitz plays a once-famous concert pianist and chess whiz. He compromises his talents by casting his lot with a group of self-destructive druggies and gamblers. Marwitz' new circle of friends effectively ruins his marriage to Victoria Tennant, an English architect. Fool's Mate makes no effort to cheer up its audience, but this sort of fare apparently is what the European film-festival circuit thrives on.

Christina, a 32-year-old journalist, actually wanted to go on vacation in Provence. But a colleague breaks his leg and of course she has to stand in for him. Shortly before her departure to Masuria, her car is stolen and Christina's grandmother Elsa only lends her the car if she can go with her. Christina really likes her grandmother, but as a travel companion she is a pain in the neck and Christina is constantly at loggerheads with the Polish photographer Marek. But this trip will change the 32-year-old journalist's life. Christina finds out why her grandmother is accompanying her.

Ama, Senta and Klara are sisters in their thirties and couldn't be more different. Ama studies medicine, Senta is a dedicated prostitute and Klara is more of a house maker, who desperately wants a child, even if it is from her abusive, lorry driver husband. Their parents, Rosa and Erich (who suffers from dementia) are tucked away in and old peoples home, which affords the girls some peace and quiet.

The most revealing report about the girls from the peep show. The girls from the peep show can't get enough of their power of seduction even after work. They never miss an opportunity to drop their covers...

Laura Sebald lives with her daughter Anna in Berlin, where she runs a small goldsmith's store. Despite all the efforts of her best friend Birgit, the attractive woman has been avoiding every male acquaintance since her fiancé died in an accident five years ago. When she visits the grave of her great love in the run-up to Christmas, Laura meets a mysterious old man who makes her a strange prophecy: all her wishes could come true if she writes a wish list to Santa Claus. Then he suddenly disappears. A short time later, Laura accidentally meets Sebastian Dobel, the owner of the coffee house chain and operator of a chocolate factory in Salzburg, in the Caf' Dobel. It's love at first sight for both of them. But Laura has a powerful rival: the elegant Margot Degenschildt also has her eye on the chocolate manufacturer.

Nice gift: Shortly before Christmas loses parcel delivery Wolfgang Paschke the debit card, the driver's license and his job. Famously, he also stumbles on a money bag, but a little later he is gone again. Great excitement before the festival!

An 80-year-old woman spends her time at a bus station. She’s waiting for the right moment to leave this place forever.

Florist Valerie unwaveringly believes in the great love of her life, even though her friend Bea has just been divorced and tries to convince Valerie that this Prince Charming does not exist. One day an admirer sends Valerie two rare specimens of "Alpinia purpurata". But who is the sender of the floral greeting? Valerie sets out to find her ex-boyfriends.

Suzanne has helped her husband Till set up a successful ballroom dancing school. But between classes and paperwork, their routine lacks passion and Suzanne gets depressed. When Till forgets their wedding anniversary, she consoles herself at her friend Viviane's house and, on her advice, writes a love letter which she slips into an empty bottle and throws into the river...

A godless sawmill owner makes his family's life so hellish that he has to be killed.

The young Schiller, whose heart and soul are writing and poetry, is forced into the military academy (the pride and joy of the Duke of Württemberg). Schiller is disgusted by the everyday routine of the military, always back and forth between breeding and drills. Conversation, conflict or even critique are discouraged – the oppression insufferable for the young rebel. Disgusted by the brutality, he writes his drama "The Bandit", which he would later publish anonymously. But following a frank conversation with the Duke, Schiller is dishonored and must leave the land.

A night-time chase. The dealers in their off-road vehicle are sweating bullets, because Diller and Kessel have them in their sights. A routine operation for the well-rehearsed duo, long-time friends who have always had each other's backs. And at the moment, Kessel is in dire need of Diller's support: his daughter suffers from severe epilepsy, her treatment is expensive and his marriage is in danger of falling apart. But Kessel knows he can rely on Diller and he loves his wife. So he is sure that everything will be fine. And suddenly an opportunity arises to help fate along: With a bag full of drugs, which Kessel discovers in the car of the fugitive dealers. Kessel hesitates only briefly and then lets them go. But instead of solving his problems, this bag plunges him into new, far greater conflicts - and takes his partner Diller and his family with him.

Documentary made in two parts by Luciano Berriatúa. This first part focuses on childhood, personal life and the early works in films by German director F.W. Murnau.

A single mother of three children lives a chaotic and not very wealthy life in which her oldest daughter tries to manage everything and wants to find a decent guy for her mum.

Full of idealism, doctor Katrin Berger runs a bush hospital in Namibia together with her colleague Sam. Sensitive Sam feels much more than just collegial friendship for Katrin, but just as he is about to finally reveal his feelings to her, the urbane Stefan, the twin brother of Katrin's late husband, turns up unexpectedly. He claims to be in Africa as part of a humanitarian project. Sam alone seems to sense immediately that Stefan is playing a false game - or is it just his jealousy of his charming rival?

The petty criminal Frieda stops the physicist Oskar from killing himself. They both embark on a journey to Norway. Oskar does’nt seem to find life worth living as he has calculated that he will never find love and therefore spend the rest of his lifetime alone. The two find themselves on a journey to each other and in the search for a will to live.

The sisters Rosalie and Bianca stick together, come what may. In fact, they have no other choice - their mother has died and left them with a pile of debts. Taking part in a design competition is supposed to help. The organizer is the famous fashion czar Paul Petit. Just like the two budding fashion designers Rosalie and Bianca, the designer Rosenschmelz and Leon Bär also throw themselves into the contest.

The transport of a red Cadillac from Hamburg to San Remo poses serious problems for a car mechanic when his two passengers, whom he picked up at a carpooling agency, turn out to be rather shady characters. The vacation trip to sunny Italy turns into a wild chase as the police are constantly on the heels of the three.

Lawyer Sienna can hardly believe her luck when her long-time partner and dream man Oscar proposes to her. Nevertheless, Sienna hesitates briefly because, unbeknownst to Oscar, Sienna is already married to her childhood sweetheart Tyler. Years ago, she left him head over heels after Tyler cheated on her. But on paper, they are still wife and husband. So Sienna travels to Cornwall to persuade Tyler to sign the divorce papers. But he wants something in return from his former partner. He is currently fighting for custody of his daughter Ivy, who was born out of the affair. Ivy's mother Naomi has since died. Sienna is supposed to pretend that she and Tyler have a happy marriage so that Ivy doesn't have to move in with her grandmother in the USA.

Azerbaijan. Yagub has nothing left but beats his disabled son Musa until a shattering message brings about a sudden turn.

Katrin and Max are a couple. She examines police colleagues for her workability, he is a Kripo commissioner. When Hansen, the chief commissioner, is placed at his side, everything changes.

Zündschnüre explores the emotional and psychological aftermath of war. The story follows two former soldiers who return home after serving in a brutal conflict. They find themselves struggling to reintegrate into civilian life, grappling with trauma, guilt, and their difficult pasts. As they attempt to reconnect with their families and rebuild their lives, the haunting effects of war continue to haunt them, testing their resilience and relationships. Fuses is a poignant and intense exploration of human suffering, healing, and the lingering scars of violence.

A drama that chronicles the heroic endeavors of POWs trapped within a Russian prison camp in 1950 and their attempts to escape.

A princess falls in love with a paparazzo who is using her to become famous.

Female American tourists are being kidnapped by a crime ring headed by a beautiful Asian woman. They're drugged and then sent to an island where they are kept as sex slaves to be used by wealthy tourists. Two agents are dispatched to rescue the women and put an end to this operation.

They say it's over 2000 years old, and more than 4,000 miles long. But even today nobody really knows for sure. The Great Wall of China is one of the world's famous buildings but it is still the least known. British writer and historian William Lindesay has lived in China for twenty years. Exploring the Great Wall has become his lifetime obsession.