CLIFF: A PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST(2021)

Zeitzeugengespräch Jürgen Böttcher(de)

In this interview with contemporary witnesses, painter and director Jürgen Böttcher talks about some stages of his professional career. This also includes his path to film art and his work at Deutsche Film AG (DEFA) in Potsdam-Babelsberg. He also tells of his experiences during the shooting of films such as "Barfuß und ohne Hut", "Rangierer" and the documentary film "Jahrgang 45", once banned but finally re-released at the Berlinale 2015. During the conversation, questions about the difference and similarities between painting and film, the significance of music in film, Böttcher's preference for black and white, and his criteria for choosing topics for documentary film projects will be discussed.

Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire(fr)

In his early days as an actor, Marlon Brando (1924-2004) was a shy young man with theatrical ambitions, like many others; but his charisma and superb acting skills made him truly unique, so that the doors to the starry sky of Hollywood opened for him. However, his peculiar manners, political commitment and complicated love life always overshadowed his artistic success.

Todd Who?(en)

Todd Who? is a passionate, quirky 'rockumentary' that chronicles a fan’s 30 year obsession with criminally underrated rock musician Todd Rundgren.

Harry Benson: Shoot First(en)

What we know today about many famous musicians, politicians, and actresses is due to the famous work of photographer Harry Benson. He captured vibrant and intimate photos of the most famous band in history;The Beatles. His extensive portfolio grew to include iconic photos of Muhammad Ali, Michael Jackson, and Dr. Martin Luther King. His wide-ranging work has appeared in publications including Life, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. Benson, now 86, is still taking photos and has no intentions of stopping.

Hail Bop! A Portrait of John Adams(en)

Shot over the course of a year, this intimate portrait of provocative composer John Adams presents scenes of the artist at work and at play against the backdrop of dramatic American landscapes that reflect the themes of his music. Though he has a number of credits to his name, Adams is best known for his unconventional opera "Nixon in China," which explores the former U.S. president's meeting with Mao Zedong in 1972.

Bobby Charlton – Legend(en)

Bobby Charlton was England's most successful football player and greatest ever sportsman. The star of the 1966 World Cup winning team, the captain of the first English team to win the European Cup, a truly great ambassador for the sport. He died in October 2023 and was universally lauded. Features highlights from his life via the Munich air tragedy to becoming a genuine global legend.

Good Luck on the Road(fr)

Navajazo(en)

An imagined apocalypse is presented to us through portraits of people struggling to survive in a hostile environment, where they only have themselves and the only thing they have in common is the desire to live, no matter the cost.

Captured: Meet Robert A. Robinson Photographer(en)

Bob Robinson (1927-1996) and American photographer living and working in many parts of the world. Norway was one place. His book "Captured by the Norwegians" was published in 1958. Founding member of Manité - a photographic collective. Made the film about Sylvie Becker from East Berlin.

Leonardo Da Vinci The Tragic Pursuit of Perfection(en)

A portrait of the artist as a "sublime demon with the archangel's face", with an innovative musique concrète soundtrack.

A Fugue(en)

A space occupies it, awaiting to be unlocked by a freeing action or notion. What lies ahead is its determination.

La Casa del Ritmo: A Film About Los Amigos Invisibles(es)

A compelling story about Grammy-winning Venezuelan funksters Los Amigos Invisibles, from their early days playing in Caracas, Venezuela, to being discovered by David Byrne of Talking Heads and their rise to international stardom. The viewer experiences their story as it intertwines with a live performance filmed at the Highline Ballroom in New York City in March 2011. The band, with the same original 6 members, celebrates 20 years in 2011.

Lipsett Diaries(fr)

A descent into the maelstrom of anguish that tormented Arthur Lipsett, a famed Canadian experimental filmmaker who died at 49. A diary transmuted into a clash of images and sounds charting a prodigious frenzy of creation, a tableau depicting an artist’s dizzying descent into depression and madness: with LIPSETT DIARIES, Theodore Ushev renews his filmmaking aesthetic and explores what happens when genius is on a first-name basis with madness.

Asier ETA biok(es)

Asier and I grew up in the Basque Country. But one day he disappeared, later I found out he had joined ETA.

Love Has No Bounds(it)

A camorrista follows a surreal path.

Hawking: Can You Hear Me?(en)

A documentary telling the remarkable human story of Stephen Hawking. For the first time, the personal archives and the testimonies of his closest family reveal both the scale of Hawking's triumphs and the real cost of his disability and success.

Chairman for Life(en)

China’s President Xi Jinping is a force to be reckoned with. As leader of the Communist colossus, he commands the world’s attention, but who is China’s strongman and what is his agenda?

Counter Shot: Departure of the Filmmakers(de)

Spice World(en)

World famous pop group the Spice Girls zip around London in their luxurious double decker tour bus having various adventures and performing for their fans.

Little Old New York(en)

Inventor Robert Fulton receives support from a tavern owner and a shipyard worker to help realize his dream of a high-powered steamboat.