Documentary movies

Between 1904 and 1908, when Namibia was still called German South West Africa and a German colony, up to 60,000 Ovaherero and 10,000 Nama died at the hands of German colonialists. The crimes of the German colonial rulers went down in history as the first genocide of the 20th century. The Afro-German presenter and influencer Aminata Belli travels to the African country to investigate the extent to which the legacy of the German colonial era affects the present day of Namibian society. She pays particular attention to the involvement of the Protestant Church in the subjugation of the indigenous people and the sense of guilt of the descendants of the German settlers as well as the Germans themselves. To do this, the fashion journalist interviews various people on site and pretends to be interested in the following questions: Were the missionaries of the time guilty? How does a country heal when horrific things have happened there? And is reconciliation possible?

When luxury invited itself to the paradise of socialism... For three decades, East Germany rewarded its exemplary citizens by putting them on a boat.

Philipp Jedicke’s second feature documentary presents itself as a cineast eulogy for the Viennese pop scene as a curious and heterogeneous bunch with an extremely idiosyncratic radiance.

Filmmakers talk about their experiences - about success, failure and social participation. Who is seen, and who can show themselves?

Documentary feature about Swiss media pioneer François-Henri Lavanchy Clarke - the man who brought film to Switzerland ... film ... and Sunlight soap!

The follow-up film to “Barstow, California” takes us to the mountains of Miyama, a remote forest and tourist area north of Kyoto. Uwe Walter, a shakuhachi player from Germany, lives there with his wife Mitsuyo for 30 years. Together with the villagers he prepares the annual Gion Festival. On the eve of the festival, the village representatives tell him that his self-built studio is to be demolished. This brings back memories for him of earlier times and his first steps as a Nō actor. In the manner of a fresco, the film interweaves rural depictions of everyday life with the story of its German protagonist. In the village community with its togetherness of generations, Uwe shares life with his neighbours, with farmers, hunters, woodsmen, poultry farmers and anglers, tills his kitchen garden, and like other tradition-conscious villagers, he also grows his rice. The film shows them in a harsh mountain landscape between the rainy season and the first snow.

Ramba Zamba: a theater with handicapped and non-handicapped people/actresses and actors, which has been living and working on inclusive integrative togetherness impressively every day for thirty years now. The film accompanies the mentally and physically impaired actresses and actors for six months through the theatrical production of the play GOLEM, from the beginning of rehearsals to the premiere. In doing so, the film is also partly influenced by the portrayed persons themselves, quasi inclusively co-determined, by them capturing their own view and perception, their view of reality itself on film.

Hammer and compass in Mozambique. We see a GDR flag waved at a rally in Maputo, carried by "Madgermanes", contract workers who once toiled in eastern Germany. Some of them founded families there, like Eulidio. His daughter Sarah grows up with her mother in Berlin. The relationship with her "second home" is slow in growing, partly thanks to Luana, Sarah's baby, whose father, Eduardo is also from Mozambique.

Citizens across Europe who used to belong to the lower middle class have fallen into poverty. An in-depth investigation into the precariat, a new social class of financially insecure citizens who, although they are employed, find it very difficult to make ends meet.

Queer people from all over the world have made Berlin what it is today. Many leave their home because they want to, others because they have to. This film follows a few of them. The queer universe of Berlin mirrors the movements of the world and is constantly evolving. In recent decades, a multitude of identities have made themselves heard. Today, gay and lesbian are only two terms among many.

The young political movement Operation Libero wants to stir up Switzerland's National elections with cross-party issues, progressive candidates and a targeted campaign. Will the movement succeed in asserting itself against the established forces and bring about change?

"Soup, soap, salvation." True to this motto, the Salvation Army cares for the marginalized and needy. Officer Fredi Inniger also visits homeless and lonely old people in the city of Zurich. Director Thomas Thümena accompanies Inniger in his busy everyday life with his camera.

A punk documentary about the life and death of the GDR punk Dieter "Otze" Ehrlich and his band Schleimkeim aus dem Schweinestall. With the fall of the Wall, Otze loses not only his enemy images, but also his life at the price of freedom.

A tracking shot along the objects on the shelves of a film prop warehouse will trigger stories in our minds. The orange-coloured telephone takes us to the futuristic 1970s, plastic salmon canapés on artificial lemon slices invite us to a party, cut and thrust weapons herald mortal danger.

As so many times in the last 35 years, we are once again faced with a difficult choice. In our fragile democracy, searching for a president in a pool of candidates far from living up to the office has never been easy. But it becomes even more complicated if we take a good look at Romania today – a country of wasted hopes, mistrust and apathy. Whatever his name will be, the new president is, inevitably, the consequence of a decade not yet finished - the Iohannis decade.

A documentary about a young farmer’s experience of being kidnapped by extraterrestrials.