Germany
The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent of people in an unprecedented way, unleashing unlimited creative opportunites. But does democratized culture mean better art, film, music and literature or is true talent instead flooded and drowned in the vast digital ocean of mass culture? Is it cultural democracy or mediocrity? This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world’s most influential creators of the digital era.
After a tempest, fishermen do not find only fish in their nets. That is what happens to Jafaar, a poor fisherman who lives poorly in Gaza. And what he hauls in is really upsetting: imagine that, a pig! An unclean animal judged impure not only by the Faith of Islam but also by the Jewish religion. Determined to get rid of the animal, Jafaar tries desperately to sell it, first to a United Nations official, then to a Jewish colony where Yelena raises pigs not for their meat but for security reasons. Of course, going unnoticed in the company of a “forbidden” animal, among his Palestinian brothers, past Israeli soldiers and under the scrutiny of Islamic fundamentalists is no bed of roses and a series of misadventures await Jafaar.
The Snow Queen is a powerful story of friendship and the triumph of love over wickedness. The story follows a young woman who is forced to battle the wicked snow queen in order to save the soul of the man she loves.
Ari and Oona go to the same school. Lolita-like Ari, is blonde, pouting and lives in a world of bright colours, frustrated by her mother still treating her as a child, while arty Oona dresses in black and is treated as an adult by her artist father. When Oona’s father commits suicide after his wife has an affair with his brother Lukas, Oona starts to self-harm, but finds and unlikely friendship with Ari. Ari’s enthusiasm for exerting her sexuality rebounds when she starts an affair with Oona’s uncle, who has recently moved in with Oona’s mother.
An unflinching look at the rise and fall of one of the most infamous political figures in US history.
An international group of film students finds a disturbing video clip on the dark web which seems to contain poltergeist phenomena. Agreed that it’s just what they need for their latest documentary project the group travels to the sanatorium shown in the video clip. Once there, they rig up their camera equipment and start to explore the possible ghost activities – until the true horror begins.
Conditioned by its long lasting geographical isolation Madagascar is home to unique Fauna and Flora, with a high percentage of endemic species. Due to the lack of predators, monkeys and poisonous snakes on the island, extraordinary animal species like the funny lemurs were able to develop in a unique way.
The main hero of the film is an electrician with a far greater effect on the people around him than his job defines. He is the last link in a huge energetic system and he becomes the binding bridge between the geopolitical problems of post-soviet space and the common people. The economic devastation of the country had an enormous impact on the industrial workers and yet despite the upheaval, these people did not seize to love and suffer, to have and be friends and to enjoy their lives. In particular our resilient electrician, who possesses a wonderful and open heart. He not only brings electric light (which is often out) to the lives of the inhabitants of this small city, but he also spreads the light of love, loyalty, life and mainly laughter.
HANNAH ARENDT is a portrait of the genius that shook the world with her discovery of “the banality of evil.” After she attends the Nazi Adolf Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem, Arendt dares to write about the Holocaust in terms no one has ever heard before. Her work instantly provokes a furious scandal, and Arendt stands strong as she is attacked by friends and foes alike. But as the German-Jewish émigré also struggles to suppress her own painful associations with the past, the film exposes her beguiling blend of arrogance and vulnerability — revealing a soul defined and derailed by exile.
A young man must escape from a mysterious locked vault before he dies of dehydration.
In Chile’s Atacama Desert, astronomers peer deep into the cosmos in search for answers concerning the origins of life. Nearby, a group of women sift through the sand searching for body parts of loved ones, dumped unceremoniously by Pinochet’s regime.
Why do things fall to the ground without magic? The young magician’s apprentice LIMBRADUR is far more interested in the universe and its secrets than boring magic spells. He is fascinated by the stars, the universe and the laws of nature. So, one night he sneaks into the Albert Einstein Museum, where he meets ALBYX3, a small, clever but rather quirky robot who knows all about Albert Einstein and his theories. ALBY takes LIMBRADUR on a magical journey of discovery through time and space, during which they not only uncover the secrets of gravity but also learn much about friendship and imagination. For LIMBRADUR and ALBY both have secrets of their own.
Marcel Marx, a former bohemian and struggling author, has given up his literary ambitions and relocated to the port city Le Havre. He leads a simple life based around his wife Arletty, his favourite bar and his not too profitable profession as a shoeshiner. As Arletty suddenly becomes seriously ill, Marcel’s path crosses with an underage illegal immigrant from Africa, who needs Marcel’s help to hide from the police.
A monumental windstorm and an abused horse’s refusal to work or eat signals the beginning of the end for a poor farmer and his daughter.
An old couple, their only son, the son’s wife, a young man and his lover live peacefully in a village. Then, a terrifying earthquake strikes that causes a nearby nuclear station to explode. The residents must evacuate, but the family lives on a farm, with only half of the area designated as an evacuation area…
Eoghan is a sound-recordist who is returning to Ireland from Berlin for the first time in 15 years. His reason for returning is a job offer: to find and record places free from man-made sound. His quest takes him away from towns and villages into remote terrain. Throughout his journey, he is drawn into a series of encounters and conversations which gradually divert his attention towards a more intangible silence, one that is bound up with the sounds of the life he had left behind. Influenced by elements of folklore and archive, “Silence” unfolds with a quiet intensity, where poetic images reveal an absorbing meditation on themes relating to sound and silence, history, memory and exile.
Two misfit males, one man-child, one boy, find each other, building a small cabin in the woods to create a new life. Their daily struggle for survival creates a strong bond between them until the hut is destroyed and one of the boys carted off. The former psychiatric patient is told that his friend was just a figment of his imagination, but this provokes him to fight back and prove the boy’s existence.
Tamar, an attractive single mother, lives alone in a small village with her two daughters. Unsatisfied, she attempts to fill her many voids through meaningless sexual rendezvous.
A local guide takes a young couple through a twisted backpacking trip across the Georgian wilderness.
Dole Food Company wages a campaign to prevent a pair of Swedish filmmakers from showing their documentary about a lawsuit against the company.
Four college students travel to Europe to escape their routine faith and gain a radically new perspective on following Jesus.
The magical tale of a mouse who takes a walk though the woods in search of a nut.
An orphan boy in search of his origin. A young princess held prisoner in deadly Dragon City. Jim and his friend Luke discovering mysterious lands on the quest of a lifetime.
The film is based on a real story that happened in 1943 in the Sobibor concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. The main character of the movie is the Soviet-Jewish soldier Alexander Pechersky, who at that time was serving in the Red Army as a lieutenant. In October 1943, he was captured by the Nazis and deported to the Sobibor concentration camp, where Jews were being exterminated in gas chambers. But, in just 3 weeks, Alexander was able to plan an international uprising of prisoners from Poland and Western Europe. This uprising resulted in being the only successful one throughout the war, which led to the largest escape of prisoners from a Nazi concentration camp.
Uruguay, 1973. Having been crushed by the military dictatorship, surviving members of the Tupamaro guerillas are imprisoned and tortured. They must find a way to endure the coming 12 years.
Germany, 1945. Soldier Willi Herold, become a deserter of the German army, stumbles into a uniform of Nazi captain abandoned during the last and desperate weeks of the Third Reich. Newly emboldened by the allure of a suit that he has stolen only to stay warm, Willi discovers that many Germans will follow the leader, whoever he is.
A young writer tries to obtain romance letters a poet sent to his mistress.
A teenager prisoner awaits his release when two weeks before that happens he’s told that his mother is returned home. Meanwhile, he finds himself in love with a Sociology student, Ana, working in the penitentiary as an intern.
HAGAZUSSA is the dark legend of the young woman Albrun and her struggle to preserve her own sanity, and tries to explore the fine line between ancient magic, faith and madness at a time when pagan beliefs in witches and nature spirits spread fear and terror in the minds of the rural population.
When a retiring assassin realizes he’s the target of a hit, he winds up back in the game going head to head with an army of younger, ruthless killers.
A documentary focused on infectious disease outbreaks.
On the way from Berlin to Portugal in her rusty ‘303’ camper van, young biology student Jule picks up hitchhiker Jan. While having intense conversations about everything and the world, they try not to fall in love.
When Baldwin and Inga’s next door neighbours complain that a tree in their backyard casts a shadow over their sundeck, what starts off as a typical spat between neighbours in the suburbs unexpectedly and violently spirals out of control.
A documentary about the 20th century German sculptor and performance artist Joseph Beuys.