Nana Benz

Break Free - Two People. Two Years. One Dream(de)

When Lena and Ulli start the engine of their old Land Rover, Lady Terés, they have a plan: to drive from Hamburg to South Africa in six months. What they don't know yet is that they won't ever get there. Two totally different characters, jammed together in two square meters of space for almost two years, they experience what it really means to travel: leaving your comfort zone for good.

The Dark Side of Chocolate(en)

A team of journalists investigate how human trafficking and child labor in the Ivory Coast fuels the worldwide chocolate industry. The crew interview both proponents and opponents of these alleged practices, and use hidden camera techniques to delve into the gritty world of cocoa plantations.

The Business of Creativity(en)

Going into my interview with Laurel Greenfield, I thought the majority of our conversation would be about her inspiration for painting food and why she chose to pursue painting as a career. We spoke about that but ended up having a much bigger conversation about pursuing a creative career. We talked a lot about finding the balance between having a business plan and taking a leap of faith into the unknown, something anyone pursuing a creative field on their own can relate to.

Refuge(e)(en)

Refuge(e) traces the incredible journey of two refugees, Alpha and Zeferino. Each fled violent threats to their lives in their home countries and presented themselves at the US border asking for political asylum, only to be incarcerated in a for-profit prison for months on end without having committed any crime. Thousands more like them can't tell their stories.

Risk/Reward(en)

A 2003 documentary film about women on Wall Street following the lives of four Wall Street women - a research analyst, a currency trader, an NYSE floor broker and a rookie investment banker.

Becoming Black(de)

In the 1960s, a white couple living in East Germany tells their dark-skinned child that her skin color is merely a coincidence. As a teenager, she accidentally discovers the truth. Years before, a group of African men came to study in a village nearby. Sigrid, an East German woman, fell in love with Lucien from Togo and became pregnant. But she was already married to Armin. The child is Togolese-East German filmmaker Ines Johnson-Spain. In interviews with Armin and others from her childhood years, she tracks the astonishing strategies of denial her parents, striving for normality, developed following her birth. What sounds like fieldwork about social dislocation becomes an autobiographical essay film and a reflection on themes such as identity, social norms and family ties, viewed from a very personal perspective.

Atumpan: The Talking Drums of Ghana(en)

This classic documentary features the story and sounds of the talking master drums of the Ashanti. Filmed in Ghana and narrated by Mantle Hood

Shady Chocolate(en)

Ever since it was revealed that the chocolate industry is involved with child slavery in the Ivory Coast, the industry has been busy – due to consumer demands – explaining what exactly it does to actively fight trafficking and child labour. But does the industry live up to its own promises?In this investigative film, director Miki Mistrati tries to find out, if the chocolate industry – which is one of the largest corporations in the world – speak the truth, when they say that they provide education, medical care etc for the children of the Ivory Coast. But the project runs into trouble already from the get-go, because the embassy of the Ivory Coast won’t let Miki enter the country until he has an invitation – from the chocolate industry.

Vodu Between two worlds(fr)

Documentary on the Voodoo tradition in Togo. Immersion in the heart of spectacular ceremonies, consultations, rituals and local life.

Les Compaquitos au Togo(fr)

Togo, le foot et la politique ne font qu'un(fr)

Fixed(en)

A friendly football match between Bahrein and Togo in 2010, turns out to be rigged, as the team representing Togo is a fake team set up by international gamblers. The bad guys turn out to be victims, the good guy is revealed as the international gambling criminal while the top crooks stay out of sight since they have the power to determine who’ll be convicted. A revealing peek into a hidden world.

Who to Blame?(en)

Filmed in and created by people in the small west African nation of The Gambia. An exciting mystery that showcases many aspects of Gambian culture.

Küss mich, wenn es Liebe ist(de)

Baby Boom(en)

J.C. Wiatt is a talented and ambitious New York City career woman who is married to her job and working towards partner at her firm. She has a live-in relationship with Steven, a successful investment broker who, along with J.C., agreed children aren't part of the plan. J.C.'s life takes an unexpected turn when a distant relative dies and the will appoints her the caretaker of their baby girl, Elizabeth. The baby's sudden arrival causes Steven to leave, breaking off their relationship. Juggling power lunches and powdered formula, she is soon forced off the fast track by a conniving colleague and a bigoted boss. But she won't stay down for long. She'll prove to the world that a woman can have it all and on her own terms too!

Tampopo(ja)

In this humorous paean to the joys of food, a pair of truck drivers happen onto a decrepit roadside shop selling ramen noodles. The widowed owner, Tampopo, begs them to help her turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle-soup making". Interspersed are satirical vignettes about the importance of food to different aspects of human life.

Romance on the Menu(en)

New York restaurateur Caroline inherits a café in Lemon Myrtle Cove, Australia. While there, she starts falling for the place and its people, particularly Simon, the café’s charming local chef.

The Secret(fr)

Marie, who works as a successful door-to-door encyclopedia salesperson, has been married to her husband Francois for 12 years and has a two-year-old son. Though she is relatively content with her life, she feels something is wanting. Enter 50-year old African-American Bill. Initially she is annoyed by his insouciance, but she finds that she is irresistibly attracted to him. Soon the two are in the midst of sordid illicit affair. She knows little about her new lover, and he seems uninterested in learning about her, but the long sessions of lovemaking are something else entirely. Feeling out of control, Marie is increasingly repelled by her own actions. Psychologically, she struggles to reconcile her torrid encounters with Bill and mundane domestic chores such as bathing her son. Moreover, she finds herself incapable of hiding her adulterous behavior, rather she comes home with scratches and hickeys all over her body, to the devastation Francois.

Mildred Pierce(en)

A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.

Body Language(en)

The ambitious Betsy is happy: she gets promoted to a leading management position. Her happiness is spoiled only a little by problems with a boyfriend who feels neglected and an harassing boss. She realizes much too late that her secretary Norma is after her job and step by step tries to ruin her career and private life.