Erfurt - Gesichter eines Bezirkes(1987)

The Last Days(en)

Five Jewish Hungarians, now US citizens, tell their stories: before March 1944, when Nazis began to exterminate Hungarian Jews, months in concentration camps, and visiting childhood homes more than 50 years later. An historian, a Sonderkommando, a doctor who experimented on Auschwitz prisoners, and US soldiers who were part of the liberation in April 1945.

The Haunted Screen: German Film After World War I(en)

In this film essay, critic Peter Buchka explores the German cinema of the 1920s, ranging from the disquieting images of Fritz Lang's Metropolis to the castrating sexuality of Marlene Dietrich in Die Blaue Engel. The program provides an introduction to Weimar cinema, with Buchka's essay narrated over the images from film clips of 1920s era German films.

Friendship of Men(de)

In this docudrama Rosa von Praunheim looks into Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s sexual orientation, especially into his erotic experiences during his travels in Italy. Contrary to the common belief, von Praunheim argues that Goethe was not a heartbreaker and conqueror after all. It was only in Italy, that he had diverse sexual experiences, not least with men. Von Praunheim bases his assumption on letters written by Goethe to his friend Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi about these sexual encounters. Some of the content of these letters is re-encated in the film. At the same time, historians and linguists analyse and classify the letters into their historical context.

"KZ Buchenwald. Aushalten. Wir eilen euch zur Hilfe"(de)

Former inmates and American soldiers remember the cruel conditions in Buchenwald concentration camp.

13. Parteitag der Liberal-Demokratischen Partei Deutschlands, Weimar 1982(de)

Report from the party congress of the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDPD) from April 5 to 7, 1982 in Weimar.

1933: The Fall of Weimar Republic(en)

The Weimar Republic came to bear for many the humiliation of World War I and the blame for all its accompanying hardships. Despite a few years of stability, the Weimar Republic faced issues such as hyperinflation and the Great Depression, which drove many Germans into the arms of radical and extremist political parties. From this political uncertainty rose a demigod, an unexpected leader who promised to revive Germany to the powerful country it once was. Adolf Hitler converted democracy into a dictatorship, causing the fall of the Weimar Republic.

Bookkeeper Kremke(de)

In this realistic, unsentimental portrait of Germany’s dire economic situation, a middle-aged payroll clerk loses his job due to technological advances and, unable to find another, descends into despair. The film’s director, Marie Harder, was one of only a few women directors of the time and was also the head of the German Social Democratic Film Office. She made only two known films before her accidental death in exile in Mexico in 1936.

The Damned(it)

In the early days of Nazi Germany, a powerful noble family must adjust to life under the new dictatorship regime.

Asphalt(de)

One of the last great German Expressionist films of the silent era, Joe May’s Asphalt is a love story set in the traffic-strewn Berlin of the late 1920s. Starring the delectable Betty Amann in her most famous leading role, Asphalt is a luxuriously produced UFA classic where tragic liaisons and fatal encounters are shaped alongside the constant roar of traffic.

Motherland(en)

A lighthearted psychodrama about mommy issues and Hillary Clinton.

Men and Beasts(ru)

The plot is based on the dramatic fate of the Red Army commander Aleksei Ivanovich Pavlov. Having been captured in January 1942 and being among the displaced persons, he didn't immediately decide to return to the USSR. Having rolled around the foreign country for 17 years, Aleksei nevertheless returned to his homeland. He goes to his brother in the south of the country to Sevastopol. Aleksei accidentally meets the doctor Anna Andreyevna, who was saved from death in besieged Leningrad. She travels by car from Moscow and also to the south, with her daughter Tanya; she suggests he join them. Aleksei tells about his life on the road.

Germany: A Summer's Fairytale(de)

A documentary of the German national soccer team’s 2006 World Cup experience that changed the face of modern Germany.

Riding Giants(en)

Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.

Dave Chappelle's Block Party(en)

The American comedian/actor delivers a story about the alternative Hip Hop scene. A small town Ohio mans moves to Brooklyn, New York, to throw an unprecedented block party.

Partido de homenaje a Joaquín(es)

Edith Head(en)

A light-hearted, toe-tapping portrait of the well-known 8 Oscar winning Hollywood costume designer filmed in her opulent house and garden. Edith Head presents some of her famous designs using glamorous models to impersonate Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck, Dorothy Lamour, Ginger Rogers, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly. They move to the music of the films for which she was the designer as Head recalls the times and places that served as inspiration for the famed looks.

Kaagaz Ki Kashti(hi)

Documentary on the life of ghazal samrat Jagjit Singh, who changed the landscape of Indian Music.

Re: A Pier(en)

A documentary charting the history of Hastings Pier from its construction in 1872 through two major fires and also its use as a significant British music venue, playing host to gigs by Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Genesis, Tom Jones, Pink Floyd and The Sex Pistols.

Takeda(es)

Takeda is a film about the universality of the human being seen thru the eyes of a Japanese painter that has adopted the Mexican culture.

Cinema Iran(en)

Tracing the history and influence of Iranian cinema and its filmmakers.