Spiritual Letters

Partisan(de)

Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz 1992-2017. The end of the GDR gave rise to new artistic freedoms in reunited Berlin. Shortly after the fall of the Wall, rebel director Frank Castorf was appointed artistic director of the Volksbühne. His way of working altered the public’s perception of this theater. The chronological history of the Castorf era between 1992 and 2017 is told here in excerpts from the productions and in a series of conversations conducted on the long sofa in the theater's foyer.

Mauerpark(de)

Dr. Motte and Wladimir Kaminer, but also Schraubermicha, Joe Hatchiban and Ginger Brown - they all use it. The Mauerpark is located on the former death strip in Berlin. The Wall used to separate people from each other, but today the park reunites them. Punks lie next to mothers with children and artists paint next to basketball players. A unique mixture of madness and relaxation comes together here...

B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989(en)

The wild West Berlin of the 1980s became the creative melting pot of pop subcultures: music, art and chaos. Before the Iron Curtain fell, anything and everything seemed possible.

Les Mains magnétiques, Ernest Pignon-Ernest(fr)

Ernest Pignon Ernest is a French visual artist who is considered one of the pioneers of urban art in France. This film recounts the major stages of a considerable body of work that began in the 1960s on the Albion plateau and culminated in Les Extases at the Abbey Church of Bernay. The film gives him space to speak freely, generously, and with conviction. Ernest Pignon Ernest's hands are ancient, reaching back from Caravaggio to Titian, from Masaccio to El Greco. His works speak to us. They transform our streets into fictional spaces, reminiscences, rituals.

On The Go - Eyeshocker Express(en)

On The Go Magazine produced Philadelphia Graffiti Documentary featuring Cornbread, Den, NM, and Des.

On The Go - Street Soldiers(en)

On The Go Magazine Hip-Hop Graffiti Video

On The Go - Repeat Offender(en)

Hip-Hop Culture and Graffiti Video Magazine

David Choe: High Risk(en)

Artist David Choe has led a life of high risk, from hedonistic excesses to being imprisoned at a maximum security facility in a foreign country, and yet has been dramatically rewarded for his exploits. Life didn't change much when he traded a $60k fee in favor of stock in a start-up called The Facebook, but now he is estimated to be worth over $250 million, highlighting a colorful career filled with giant street art installations, porn star affairs and investigative reporting for companies like Vice and CNN. Director and childhood friend Harry Kim guides us through the fantastically surreal life of Choe featuring interviews and appearances by Kevin Smith, Eli Roth, Sasha Grey, Sean Parker, and Shepard Fairey.

The Vandals(en)

Report on vandalism

Cope 2 Kings Destroy(en)

NYC Graffiti Documentary "Kings Destroy" straight from the boogie down Bronx and right into your living room, with guest appearances by KRS-1, FAT JOE, CASE II, SEEN, and many more...

Watching My Name Go By(en)

Watching My Name Go By is a 1976 BBC documentary on the birth of graffiti in New York City, and the fight to both prevent it, and expand it's artistic value. In 'Watching my name go by' kids in New York have a unique kind of occupation - sitting on the subway stations ' watching my name go by'. Eleven to 17-year olds compete to see how many times they can 'get their names up ' in a colorful way - a kind of graffiti cult game which has its own rules and regulations. It's illegal and dangerous-some New Yorkers think it's a kind of ' art others think it's disgusting.

Trip to Asia: The Quest for Harmony(de)

Journey with the musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic and their conductor Sir Simon Rattle on a breakneck concert tour of six metropolises across Asia: Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo. Their artistic triumph onstage belies a dynamic and dramatic life backstage. The orchestra is a closed society that observes its own laws and traditions, and in the words of one of its musicians is, “an island, a democratic microcosm – almost without precedent in the music world - whose social structure and cohesion is not only founded on a common love for music but also informed by competition, compulsion and the pressure to perform to a high pitch of excellence... .” Never before has the Berlin Philharmonic allowed such intimate and exclusive access into its private world.

Graffiti in Berlin(en)

For three decades already a subculture marks the face of the capital. A purpose in life for those who write their names on rooftops, trains, bridges and houses. For others juvenile, delinquency or simply an eyesore.

Pinto con lata(es)

The first Venezuelan graffiti documentary featuring the participation of the most important writers of national graffiti, either by style, quantity, quality, technique and their experience or the places where they write, these writers have set a milestone in what graffiti is today in Venezuela. In the graffiti: respect, strategy, intelligence, experience, agility, skill, boldness, competition, secrecy and illegality are key and determining issues captured in this documentary. Pinto con lata takes place in the Gran Caracas, and records the graffiti movement during the years 2008-2011. Gran Caracas and its contrast, its nights, its harshness, its people and graffiti are the main protagonists.

The New York Graffiti Experience(en)

Documentary on New York Graffiti featuring art by Cliff, Phase 2, Comet, Blade, IN, Billy167, LSD OM, Ajax , Dean, Mico, Checker 170, Skylark

The Re-Up(en)

A backstage and on-stage look at Nicki Minaj's career during the Pink Friday Tour, festivals, and more.

Ich will da sein - Jenny Gröllmann(de)

The film accompanies Jenny Gröllmann, a German actress, during the last two years of her life.

Battleship Berlin(de)

Berlin’s brutalist heritage is under fire. The city’s powerful Charité hospital wants to destroy a brutalist icon of the Cold War era: The infamous former animal research laboratory called the Mäusebunker. Meanwhile, a dedicated group of politicians, preservationists, architects, gallerists, and students fight for an adaptive reuse of these magnificent, uncompromisingly unique structures. Who will win? No matter the outcome, you’re left with the impression that preservation can be brutal.

Queens Don’t Cry(de)

Bosom buddies BeV StroganoV, Ovo Maltine, Ichgola Androgyn and Tima die Göttliche are four Berlin drag queens who met in the mid 1980s. These four queens became Germany’s most popular drag performers and have been busy fertilizing the German cultural scene. Besides being performers, they are also political activists – in AIDS awareness, anti-gay violence, the sex workers movement and the struggle against the extreme right and racism. The film tells their story.

Drawing the Line: A Portrait of Keith Haring(en)

Short documentary about artist Keith Haring, detailing his involvement in the New York City graffiti subculture, his opening of the Pop Shop, and the social commentary present in his paintings and drawings.

Dhafer Youssef - Jazz sous les Pommiers(it)

Strange Object(en)

An archival investigation into the imperial image-making of the RAF ‘Z Unit’, which determined the destruction of human, animal and cultural life across Somaliland, as well as Africa and Asia.

Mothra vs. Godzilla(ja)

Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.

Zeitgeist: Addendum(en)

Zeitgeist: Addendum premiered at the 5th Annual Artivist Film Festival. Director Peter Joseph stated: "The failure of our world to resolve the issues of war, poverty, and corruption, rests within a gross ignorance about what guides human behavior to begin with. It address the true source of the instability in our society, while offering the only fundamental, long-term solution."

Dune(hu)

Sounds as witnesses. They blurr into memories, half-dreams, it is undecided if they are real or not. A fluctuation between imagination and reality.

The Dune(fr)

Through the course of several accidents and chance encounters, Hanoch and Ruben will meet and each of them will have to face a page of his personal history, a page that they both need to turn for good.

The House on the Dune(fr)

In a village on the French-Belgian border, a smuggler named Sylvain falls in love with the pretty Pascaline, which infuriates Germaine, his mistress. The jealous woman reports Sylvain to the police. As a result, the young man gets hurt during a night chase. Fortunately Pascaline offers him hospitality and looks after him.

The Way Back(en)

Ember is a 21-year-old photography student, stubborn, confident and independent. Her biggest dream has always been to move out of her hometown - she hated it for as long as she could remember and never felt comfortable there. But as Ember fulfils her dream and moves away to a different city, she keeps coming back to the memories of her past life and introspecting her connection with her hometown.

The Way Back(en)

The Year of Return is an initiative of the government of Ghana that is intended to encourage African diasporans to come to Africa to settle and invest in the continent. This film documents one diasporan family as they return to Africa.

Hello, Moscow!(ru)

At the amateur talent show the boy, accompanying himself on the accordion, sings a song about Moscow... The plot of the movie is based on the story of the director of the school about how this accordion, once belonging to a cadre worker who died during a demonstration in 1905, has been in many hands before it got to the guys.

Untamable Angelique(fr)

Angelique goes in search of her husband Joffrey de Peyrac who did not die on the stake.

Do Re Mi(ms)

Do, who doesn't take much consideration about his marriageis circled with so many debts. He lied to his mother in law to get some money. Do and his wife eventually got a divorce and Do moved out to Kuala Lumpur to start a new life. Re on the other hand has a wife who is working at a night club whereas he stays at home and takes care of the house chores. Due to re's negligent behaviour his wife's money was stolen and he was told to leave the house bringing him dragging himself to the big city. Mi, a bachelor who is head over heels with the girl who is staying across his house often loans him some money. While Mi was out looking for a job he helped out capturing the theif who snatched a lady's handbag alongside with Re and Do who was in the area and helped out as well. They became close friends since then.

Multishow ao Vivo: Ivete no Maracanã(pt)

This Ivete Sangalo concert at Rio de Janeiro's legendary Maracanã Stadium, and the subsequent DVD/CD releases, constituted the year's main event in Brazilian pop music. Sangalo rose to fame with the axé band Banda Eva, and since 1999 has embarked on an unstoppable solo career, making her the undisputed queen of pop in Brazil in terms of sales and popularity, as well as gathering countless industry and society awards. Accordingly, Sangalo put on a show at the Maracanã that should leave no one envious of the megaconcerts offered in Rio by Madonna, Michael Jackson, and the Rolling Stones. Alternating some of her many hits with new songs or new versions of old material, Sangalo burns through the set with her characteristic enthusiasm and infectious star magnetism, incessantly cheered on by an adoring audience of 55,000. The album has sold over 800,000 copies in Brazil (being certified Diamond), and features the single "Deixo". Recorded on December 16, 2006.

Bari Lai Lai Lai(en)

The story of Bari Lai Lai Lai follows Sita, a passionate writer who plans to create a vibrant music video. She enlists two models, Nikhil and Sanchita, to bring her vision to life. Nikhil, a strong and confident man, meets Sanchita, a beautiful and charming young woman, for the first time at Tower Bridge in London. From the very first moment, Nikhil is captivated by Sanchita's elegance, proving that first impressions truly last forever. As the music video unfolds, their chemistry grows naturally, and what begins as a professional collaboration blossoms into genuine love. The two fall for each other during the shoot and eventually start living together, their romance becoming a heartfelt part of the story behind the song. This music video combines the themes of love, destiny, and the magic of a first encounter against the iconic backdrop of London.

Polcan and Shavka(ru)

Two dogs, Polkan and Shavka, watched a flock of sheep by the river. Suddenly, they notice a hare, chase after him and run into the forest, where they meet face-to-face with three wolves. Shavka, chickening out, backs away, and the brave Polkan takes the fight. In a fierce fight, he manages to defeat one wolf, but from wounds he loses consciousness.

Tony Manero(es)

A man is obsessed with John Travolta's disco dancing character from "Saturday Night Fever".

Eijanaika(ja)

The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ei ja nai ka" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a revelrous march on the Tokyo Imperial Palace, which turns into a massacre. Characteristically, Imamura focuses not on the leaders of the country, but on characters in the lower classes and on the fringes of society.

Mock the Week - Too Hot For TV 3(en)

If you've ever wondered how 'Mock the Week' would look in a world without censors, then wonder no more. This exclusive DVD contains three specially expanded episodes with all the smut put back in and an even more outrageous sixty minute reel of completely new "too hot" material. See Dara, Frankie, Russell, Andy and Hugh go further than ever before with star guests like Ed Byrne, Rhod Gilbert and David Mitchell joining in the misbehaviour.