Germany

Plot: Four tragicomic interconnected stories about how devoted Muslim men and women are trying to manage their love life and desires without breaking any religious rules.Read More »

Kasimir Zwickelhuber is collecting debts in an unusual way: by convincing lonely housewives to auction off sexual favors to rich men. When one of their husbands finds out, Kasimir ends up defending himself in front of a female judge and finds himself being backed up by his willing victims in court.Read More »

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It starts with “Peter Schlemihl’s Miraculous Story”, which tells of a man travelling the world in seven-league boots. Adelbert von Chamisso wrote the tale before setting off to Russia on scientific expedition in 1815. He analysed the flora of Alaska and then explored the Northwest Passage, just like Cook and voyager Bering had done previously, the latter with physician and naturalist Steller in tow.
A porthole reveals the view. Thus begins Ottinger’s journey from Alaska to Kamchatka via Chukotka, with her predecessors’ log books to accompany her on her way.Read More »

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A cinematic visit to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. The camera usually observes the visitors and paints their views on scenes of the ensemble of figures. The amazement at the beauty and grace of the antique sculptures is reflected in the faces of the viewers and emotion is palpable. The visitors come from all over the world – one sees Indians, Asians, Blacks. All age groups are represented, from children to old people. They come individually or in groups and communicate about what they see. The film gets along without any comment. You see more pictures of the visitors than of the altar. This means that it is important for the film to show the cultural interest of the people. Gerhard Rosenfeld creates atmospheric music with a classical feel to it. An early and extremely interesting work by the great documentary filmmaker Jürgen Böttcher.Read More »

Examines the forced participation of Sinti prisoners in the making of Leni Riefenstahl’s drama TIEFLAND. Nina Gladitz’ most controversial claim is that Riefenstahl knew these Sinti would be sent to Auschwitz. This led to court action and the film effectively being withdrawn. A rare film that supposedly was never screened again publicly after its 1982 TV premiere.Read More »

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“I was very impressed by the views from the different apartments in which I lived as a student in Munich. And I had a postcard collection. And in the attic of the film school I found a collection of old 78 Shellac records and numbered them consecutively with the same title: MOOD MUSIC. A recording mix did not happen. With the 16mm projector of the film school, I recorded them directly onto the audio track by rule of thumb.” – Wim WendersRead More »

Wenders explained that the experience of directing this, his second film, was the usual one which occurs with a new director. It is much more difficult and much less successful. One of the biggest problems is that the interior shots were finished first (Normally exteriors are shot first). These were shot at a studio in Cologne. If you notice in the interior shots, the landscape outside the windows does not appear. The windows were covered with a variant of the rice paper you see in traditional Japanese homes. This was done because they did not know what the outside would look like. Care also had to be taken with not showing the environment outside the doors of interior shots. Read More »

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In post-war West Germany, the charming Von Bohm is appointed a city’s new Building Commissioner. His morality is tested when he unknowingly falls in love with a brothel worker, Lola, the paid mistress of a corrupt property developer.Read More »

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Böttcher made his graduation film NOTWENDIGE LEHRJAHRE (1960) about young people who had become delinquent in a youth work yard in Thuringia. Already here a striking feature of his later films becomes apparent: Jürgen Böttcher gives his protagonists a lot of space; he approaches them without prejudice, empathetically and carefully. In addition, his curiosity can be felt in the life situations and stories of his characters.Read More »