The Life of Beethoven(1927)

Louis van Beethoven(de)

1779. Eight-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven, called "Louis", is already known as a musical prodigy. He learns to go his own way - much to the dismay of the people around him. Some years later, he meets Mozart during times of political upheaval. The unconventional genius and French Revolution are sparking a fire in Louis' heart; he doesn't want to serve a master - only the arts. Facing times of family tragedies and unrequited love, he almost gives up. However, Louis makes it to Vienna to study under Haydn in 1792, and the rest is history. Who was this man, whose music has since touched countless hearts and minds? At the end of his life, the master is isolated by loss of loved ones and hearing. Surely though, he was way ahead of his times.

Copying Beethoven(en)

A fictionalised exploration of Beethoven's life in his final days working on his Ninth Symphony. It is 1824. Beethoven is racing to finish his new symphony. However, it has been years since his last success and he is plagued by deafness, loneliness and personal trauma. A copyist is urgently needed to help the composer. A fictional character is introduced in the form of a young conservatory student and aspiring composer named Anna Holtz. The mercurial Beethoven is skeptical that a woman might become involved in his masterpiece but slowly comes to trust in Anna's assistance and in the end becomes quite fond of her. By the time the piece is performed, her presence in his life is an absolute necessity. Her deep understanding of his work is such that she even corrects mistakes he has made, while her passionate personality opens a door into his private world.

Mahler(en)

Famed composer Gustav Mahler reflects on the tragedies of his life and failing marriage while traveling by train.

Amadeus(en)

Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Salzburger composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

All Day and a Night(en)

While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.

Eleanor the Great(en)

94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.

The Seventh Veil(en)

A concert pianist with amnesia fights to regain her memory.

The Piano Lesson(en)

A brother and sister's battle over a prized heirloom piano unleashes haunting truths about how the past is perceived — and who defines a family legacy.

Another Woman(en)

Marion is a woman who has learned to shield herself from her emotions. She rents an apartment to work undisturbed on her new book, but by some acoustic anomaly she can hear all that is said in the next apartment in which a psychiatrist holds his office. When she hears a young woman tell that she finds it harder and harder to bear her life, Marion starts to reflect on her own life. After a series of events she comes to understand how her unemotional attitude towards the people around her affected them and herself.

Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould(en)

A collection of vignettes highlighting different aspects of the life, work, and character of the acclaimed Canadian classical pianist.

Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland(en)

Based on the best-selling book, Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days, and told through the eyes of Jackson's trusted bodyguards, Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard. The movie will reveal firsthand the devotion Michael Jackson had to his children, and the hidden drama that took place during the last two years of his life.

Effie Gray(en)

A look at the mysterious relationship between Victorian art critic John Ruskin and his teenage bride Effie Gray.

Modigliani(en)

Set in Paris in 1919, biopic centers on the life of late Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, focusing on his last days as well as his rivalry with Pablo Picasso. Modigliani, a Jew, has fallen in love with Jeanne, a young and beautiful Catholic girl. The couple has an illegitimate child, and Jeanne's bigoted parents send the baby to a faraway convent to be raised by nuns.

The Devil's Violinist(en)

The life story of Italian violinist and composer, Niccolò Paganini, who rose to fame as a virtuoso in the early 19th Century.

Battle of the Year(en)

A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.

Hungry Hearts(en)

The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.

England Is Mine(en)

A portrait of Steven Patrick Morrissey and his early life in 1970s Manchester before he went on to become lead singer of seminal 1980s band The Smiths.

Making Love(en)

Costanza is drinking a beer in a Prague pub, a summer night in 1968, while a violinist enters and starts playing a "canone inverso" for her. It is not a case, that music and that violin have a story behind that could concern her. It is the love story between Jeno Varga and the music, between Jeno and Sophie.

A Late Quartet(en)

When the beloved cellist of a world-renowned string quartet is diagnosed with a life threatening illness, the group's future suddenly hangs in the balance as suppressed emotions, competing egos and uncontrollable passions threaten to derail years of friendship and collaboration. As they are about to play their 25th anniversary concert — quite possibly their last — only their intimate bond and the power of music can preserve their legacy.

Vitus(de)

Vitus tells the story of a highly-gifted boy (played by real-life piano prodigy Teo Gheorghiu) whose parents have demanding and ambitious plans for him.

Van Gogh(fr)

After leaving the asylum, Vincent van Gogh settles in the home of Doctor Gachet, where he keeps painting amidst the torments of his failing mental health. He begins an affair with his host’s daughter, however, she soon realizes that he doesn’t love her and that his heart beats only for art.

A Bullet for Pretty Boy(en)

A biography of Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, a gangster who started his career at a young age after seeking revenge for his father's murder.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind(en)

Television made him famous, but his biggest hits happened off screen. Television producer by day, CIA assassin by night, Chuck Barris was recruited by the CIA at the height of his TV career and trained to become a covert operative. Or so Barris said.

The Assassination of Trotsky(fr)

A Stalinist assassin tracks exiled revolutionary Leon Trotsky to Mexico in 1940.

Night Without Sleep(en)

Upon awaking in the morning, a man finds his thoughts clouded by the possibility that he committed a murder.

Nightwatching(en)

An extravagant, exotic and moving look at Rembrandt's romantic and professional life, and the controversy he created by the identification of a murderer in the painting The Night Watch.

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs(fr)

Solange is seriously depressed, and her kindhearted husband, Raoul, makes it his mission to cure her doldrums. After many failed attempts to cheer her up, Raoul hits upon a possible solution: find his wife a lover. Unfortunately, his choice, Stéphane, proves to be just as ineffectual in restoring her flagging spirits. In the end, the gorgeous Solange finds her own, highly problematic tonic to her troubles in the form of a 13-year-old boy.

Dharmaveer 2(mr)

Explores Anand Dighe's life, tracing his political journey and capturing the essence of his impactful legacy as a prominent figure.

Karel Hynek Mácha(cs)

Between Marx and a Naked Woman(es)

Between Marx and a Naked Woman is the adaptation of a novel written by Ecuadorian Poet, Jorge Enrique Adoum. The scenes of this film insert us into Ecuador in the sixties, when the electoral struggle, convoked by the military government for a new return to democracy, is in full force. Galvez’s left-wing party must elect its candidate, but he is shoved to one side because of the criticism of the party’s political leadership. While his struggle becomes bitter, he must withstand the frustration of not being able to offer full love to Margaramaría, another party member.

Confucius(zh)

The film depicts Confucius's later life, as he traveled across a China divided by war and strife in an ultimately futile effort to teach various warlords and kings his particular philosophy.

August Rush(en)

Lyla and Louis, a singer and a musician, fall in love, but are soon compelled to separate. Lyla is forced to give up her newborn but unknown to her, he grows up to become a musical genius.

The Miracle Worker(en)

The true story of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan, a gripping battle to overcome impossible obstacles and the struggle to communicate. As a young girl, Helen Keller is stricken with scarlet fever. The illness leaves her blind, mute, and deaf. Sealed off from the world, Helen cannot communicate with anyone, nor anyone with her. Often frustrated and desperate, Helen flies into uncontrollable rages and tantrums that terrify her hopeless family. The gifted teacher Annie Sullivan is summoned by the family to help the girl understand the world from which she is isolated, freeing Helen Keller from her internal prison forever. Television remake of the 1962 film which also starred Patty Duke in the role of Helen Keller.

Bethune(en)

Based on the true story of Canadian doctor Norman Bethune, this film traces his life from his beginnings with his deeply religious family in Ontario, through his medical studies in school, where he developed his overwhelming compassion for those less fortunate, and his driving desire to see that they get the medical attention they need. Most of his life after college was spent either working in war zones around Europe or developing new treatment techniques in his home country.

Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon(en)

In the 1960s, British painter Francis Bacon surprises a burglar and invites him to share his bed. The burglar, a working class man named George Dyer, accepts. After the unique beginning to their love affair, the well-connected and volatile artist assimilates Dyer into his circle of eccentric friends, as Dyer's struggle with addiction strains their bond.

Before Night Falls(en)

Spanning several decades, this powerful biopic offers a glimpse into the life of famed Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, an artist who was vilified for his homosexuality in Fidel Castro's Cuba.

Being Maria(fr)

A young, struggling actress lands her dream role in a film by an emerging Italian director, starring alongside an American superstar. What begins as her big breakthrough quickly turns into a living hell.

Once(en)

A vacuum repairman moonlights as a street musician and hopes for his big break. One day a Czech immigrant, who earns a living selling flowers, approaches him with the news that she is also an aspiring singer-songwriter. The pair decide to collaborate, and the songs that they compose reflect the story of their blossoming love.

Champagne Charlie(en)

This is the story of the Charles Heidsieck who opened the market for Champagne sales in America just prior to the American Civil War. He is a reluctant French spy and is captured and spends time in a Union prison. There are two parallel love stories (he is French) and some battles with his uncle for control of the family vineyard (because his father married his mother who the uncle also loved).

Day of Despair(pt)

Portrait of the last days of the life of Portuguese writer Camilo Castelo Branco.