The Benthin Family

The German Lesson

In a small North German village a drama played out during and shortly after the Second World War about duty versus individual conscience and morality.

Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything

Set in a warm summer in 1990 in former East Germany, it follows a young woman who begins a relationship with a charismatic farmer who is twice her age.

Come Sunday

Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.

The River

Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.

Western

A group of German construction workers set out for a foreign construction site in the Bulgarian province. The strange country awakens adventure feelings among the men. At the same time, they are confronted with their prejudices and mistrust. For two of the men, a nearby village becomes the stage for a competition for the recognition and favor of the village.

Return

Back from a tour of duty, Kelli struggles to find her place in her family and the rust-belt town she no longer recognizes.

The Nest

Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.

The Padre

American retired Judge Randall Nemes and his hired gun, Gaspar, track down a con man posing as a priest in a small Colombian town only to be thrown off-course by a scrappy 16-year-old girl intent on reuniting with her sister in the United States.

The Visit

Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...

My Neighbor Adolf

South America, 1960. A lonely and grumpy Holocaust survivor convinces himself that his new neighbor is none other than Adolf Hitler. Not being taken seriously, he starts an independent investigation to prove his claim, but when the evidence still appears to be inconclusive, Polsky is forced to engage in a relationship with the enemy in order to obtain irrefutable proof.

El Chicano

A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.

The Beautiful Country

After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.

The Young One

A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.

Palermo Shooting

After the wild lifestyle of a famous young German photographer almost gets him killed, he goes to Palermo, Sicily to take a break. Can the beautiful city and a beautiful local woman calm him down?

Finsterworld

The film tells different stories in a kind of parallel Germany about love, affection and hatred.

That Evening Sun

An aging Tennessee farmer returns to his homestead and must confront a family betrayal, the reappearance of an old enemy, and the loss of his farm.

Charm City Kings

Mouse desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader, Blax, takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds himself torn between the straight-and-narrow and a road filled with fast money and violence.

Kisses

Two kids, Dylan and Kylie, run away from home on Christmas Day and spend a night of magic and terror on the streets of inner-city Dublin.

What Maisie Knew

In New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds

Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

Just Don't Think I'll Cry

High-school senior Peter considers the adults around him to be hypocritical, self-congratulatory, and immersed in the past. He gets suspended for writing an essay that his teachers consider to be a challenge to the state. Just Don't Think I'll Cry became one of twelve films and film projects-almost an entire year's production-that were banned in 1965-1966 due to their alleged anti-socialist aspects. Although scenes and dialogs were altered and the end was reshot twice, officials condemned this title as "particularly harmful." In 1989, cinematographer Ost restored the original version, and this and most of the other banned films were finally screened in January 1990. Belatedly, they were acclaimed as masterpieces of critical realism.

Hart am Wind

The electrician Peter Drews is a brigadier at a Baltic Sea dockyard. His men are among the most reliable and diligent workers at the dockyard. Their motivation, however, increasingly suffers from Peter’s narcissism and imperiousness. Even his girlfriend Brigitte who is also a member of the brigade finds it increasingly difficult to accept his behavior. One day, Peter decides that the entire group must enter the navy - just because he has received his conscription call. While four men follow Peter into the navy, Brigitte, who has broken up with Peter, takes over the control of the brigade. During the work at the ship on which Peter is based at she meets the charming lieutenant Asmus.

… verdammt, ich bin erwachsen

15-year old Klaus Kambor, called Kurbel, is living in a village in Lusatia and already thinks of himself as an adult. He can hold a lot of rhubarb wine and has already kissed a girl. But with his new method of lawn mowing, which he thinks is brilliant, Klaus makes a big mistake: He causes a wild fire in the forest. Then he does not react adult-like at all, but shirks the responsibility, which leads to the break-up with his girlfriend Daniela. Furthermore, Klaus does not realize that several of the places he likes the most in his environment are now going to be sacrificed to mining. When Klaus becomes friends with the teacher Konzak and with the construction worker Jule, he feels understood for the first time and starts to take more responsibility.

Pugowitza

World War II is over and Heinrich, a young German boy, influenced by the Russians, starts to act according to Communist principles in a small German village.

The Incorrigible Barbara

The former athlete Barbara follows her husband to the province and attempts to masters her new life, even after her separation from him.

Außenseiter

Paul Schulte takes a spa stay on the Baltic Sea to have his heart condition treated. His wife Barbara accompanies him and finds interest in the valuable art objects in a nearby church. Together with her accomplice and lover Klaus Grunow, she plans to break into the church. But Paul Schulte sees through his wife's plans and tries to dissuade her. One morning, Paul Schulte is found dead.

Schwester Agnes

Sister Agnes helps in all situations and does not only make friends. She has just fallen out with the new mayor. The consequences leave an entire community upside down.

Paths in the Night

Set against the backdrop of post-unification Germany, the film explores the breakdown of relations in a decaying social structure.

Ware für Katalonien

At the end of the 1950s, the production of optics in the German Democratic Republic has reached top quality and instigates interest in the West. When national demand rises strongly and at the same time the export to South America heavily decreases, the Volkspolizei - the GDR police force - starts to look into the case. Two seemingly unrelated cases are the starting point for the investigation by second lieutenant Schellenberg of the department for optics racketeering: An old woman who was arrested in the Berlin city railway for trying to smuggle a pair of binoculars to West Berlin, and a dead person in an area of allotments who was involved in obscure dealings with optical devices.

Seine Hoheit – Genosse Prinz

Kasper Mai, an export merchant and comrade with a “clean” record, discovers he is the prince of Hohenlohe-Liebenstein. His royal grandmother designates him as the heir to her estate. A private trip to her reveals that she does not want a NATO airbase built on her land. The GDR and his grandmother thus find a common interest, and a clever lawyer from the East works against other family members looking to settle their debts with the estate money.

Nebelnacht

When a motorcyclist dies in an accident, lieutenant Kreutzer and his colleague Arnold receive the order to investigate the backgrounds of this mysterious case. Although the leads point to murder, head physician Dr. Nikolai, the driver of the car involved in the accident, maintains his innocence and even has an alibi. With a lot of arduous detail work, Kreutzer follows all leads and evidence. Both Nikolai’s colleagues and his son act suspiciously. Eventually, Kreutzer convicts the criminal who secretly used the physician’s car for his criminal dealings.

Kalter Krieg der Konzerte - Wie Bruce Springsteen den Osten rockte

Berlin, summer 1988: While Michael Jackson and Pink Floyd perform in the West, East Berliners can look forward to Bruce Springsteen, Depeche Mode and James Brown. The documentary reveals how the organizers enforced the concerts with the state authorities. On the anniversary of the fall of the Wall.

The Boy with the Big Black Dog

A little boy tries to keep a huge Newfoundland dog in his family's apartment.

Ein Jahr voll Musik

Photo reporters Rolf and Karin travel the country in search of the best motifs for a new travel calendar. When they happen to pass by the filming of "A Year Full of Music", the theme for the calendar is found. Over the course of the seasons, they take pictures of popular music artists such as Gilbert Bécaud, Thomas Lück and Etta Cameron in the most beautiful places in the country, from the Baltic Sea to Berlin and the Thuringian Forest.

Freundschaft! - Die freie deutsche Jugend

Feuerland

Volker Koepp documents life in the Dorotheenstadt in Berlin-Mitte, which was called "Feuerland" in the 19th century.

Der Fall der Mauer

The Ministry for State Security - Everyday life at a public authority

Former heads, senior officers and the rector of the MfS law school explain how the ministry functioned. The interviewees see themselves as legitimate actors with a clear mandate and political enemy image. They provide an insight into the techniques and routines of secret service work, psychological tricks during interrogations and the management of “unofficial collaborators”. What they all have in common is that they are not aware of any moral guilt. The directors contrast their footage of prisons and archives with the statements of former Stasi employees in an attempt to expose their evasions and efforts at suppression.

Das Ende des Politburos

On October 18, 1989, the SED Central Committee confirms the dismissal of Erich Honecker. The documentary tells the story of the last months of the Politburo, of the demise of the GDR's most important organ of power, from spring 1989 to early 1990.

Generation '89 - Growing up in the year of change

The documentary tells the story of the reunification from the perspective of six teenagers from East Germany.