Behind the Smoke

Surviving 9/11(en)

9/11 was perhaps the defining historical event of the postwar era. Broadcast live around the world like horrifying theatre, it was a moment in history imprinted onto people's memories. But what was it like to actually live through, and how easy is it to move on from a day that society wants to go on remembering? Twenty years on, this film brings together 13 ordinary people who were caught in an event they weren't able to fully comprehend at the time and which they are still working through.

9/11 Firehouse(en)

Documentary film recounting the story of Ten House, the fire station right next to the World Trade Center, and the experiences of its firefighters on 9/11

Prisoners of Fire(en)

June 26,1990, the Dude Fire rages across Zane Gray country in the towering ponderosa forests below the Mogollon Rim in Central Arizona, killing five prison crew members and a female supervisor on her first fire. Follow along with the survivors and firefighters as they share their experience as inmate firefighters and their harrowing story of courage, loss and redemption.

The last horse-drawn fire engines in Copenhagen(da)

La regla de Gala(es)

Gala is preparing for the firefighter exam when she gets her period accompanied by severe menstrual pain. Together with her father Alfonso, they must figure out how to manage the situation.

Light my fire(en)

In a loveless marriage of convenience, Edith fights to win her distant husband Nolan's heart, but as secrets emerge, Edith must decide if Nolan is worth fighting for or if it's time to walk away

The Fire Triangle(en)

"The Fire Triangle" presents different types of fires (electrical, chemical, etc.) and firefighting techniques, while exploring the "triangle" conception of fire, consisting of heat, fuel and oxygen. Shot in Los Angeles with the cooperation of the LAFD, it dates to 1962.

How to Kill a Cloud(fi)

Scientist Hannele Korhonen has one ultimate passion: to work at the top of the atmospheric science community in the world. She wishes to be totally independent and concentrate on her science while maintaining high ethical values. Her life changes dramatically when she is awarded a 1,5 million USD research grant by the United Arab Emirates. The funder expects her to find ways to make the migratory clouds above the UAE to rain on the country suffering of drought. The opportunity to get proper funding for such a special research is perfect. Gradually she learns that the aim of the funder is to benefit one country, not science at large. Korhonen’s enthusiasm morphs into an ethical dilemma and inner conflicts.

The Remains of the Day: The Filmmaker's Journey(en)

A documentary about making The Remains of the Day.

Martin Scorsese's Journey Into Silence(en)

A behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Martin Scorsese's "Silence."

Queen Victoria's Letters: A Monarch Unveiled(en)

This is the story of Queen Victoria as never heard before; a psychological insight of the woman told through her own words, her experiences recounted solely through her personal diaries and letters.

Rock Bottom Riser(en)

From the earliest voyagers who navigated by starlight to the discovery of habitable planets by astronomers, Rock Bottom Riser examines the all-encompassing encounters of an island world at sea. As lava continues to flow from the earth’s core on the island of Hawaii—posing an imminent danger—a crisis mounts. Astronomers plan to build the world’s largest telescope on Hawaii’s most sacred and revered mountain, Mauna Kea. Based on ancient Polynesian navigation, the arrival of Christian missionaries, and the observatory’s ability to capture the origins of the universe, Rock Bottom Riser surveys the influence of settler colonialism, the search for intelligent life, and the discovery of new worlds as we peer into our own planet’s existence.

Lenin kam nur bis Lüdenscheid - Meine kleine deutsche Revolution(de)

The free, almost naive view from the perspective of a child puts the "68ers" in a new, illuminating light in the anniversary year 2008. The film is a provocative reckoning with the ideological upbringing that seemed so progressive and yet was suffocated by the children's desire to finally grow up. With an ironic eye and a feuilletonistic style, author Richard David Precht and Cologne documentary film director André Schäfer trace a childhood in the West German provinces - and place the major events of those years in completely different, smaller and very private contexts.

Terrorstorm(en)

Throughout history, regimes have used terror attacks as a means of control over their populations, and for the last 100 years, Western governments have employed the same measures.

To the Limit(de)

At the Limit is a documentary about extreme climbing. In this sports documentary, Pepe Danquart shows brothers Thomas and Alexander Huber climbing in Patagonia and on the granite rock "El Capitan" in Yosemite Valley (USA). A key part of the film is their attempt at a speed ascent of the 1,000-meter-high route "The Nose," in which the two athletes aim to break the then speed record of 2:48:30 hours, set by Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama in September 2002.

The Blood Is at the Doorstep(en)

After Dontre Hamilton, a black, unarmed man diagnosed with schizophrenia, was shot 14 times and killed by police in Milwaukee, his family embarks on a quest for answers, justice and reform as the investigation unfolds.

Dealt(en)

Sixty-two year old Richard Turner is renowned as one of the world’s greatest card magicians, yet he is completely blind. This is an in-depth look at a complex character who is one of magic’s greatest hidden treasures.

I Am Another You(en)

Through the eyes of a young drifter who rejects society's rules and intentionally chooses to live on the streets, Chinese filmmaker Nanfu Wang explores the meaning of personal freedom – and its limits.

Mommy Dead and Dearest(en)

Child abuse, mental illness, and forbidden love converge in this mystery involving a mother and daughter who were thought to be living a fairy tale life that turned out to be a living nightmare.

Served Like a Girl(en)

Five women veterans who have endured unimaginable trauma in service create a shared sisterhood to help the rising number of stranded homeless women veterans by entering a competition that unexpectedly catalyzes moving events in their own lives.