HANFGARN & UFER Filmproduktion GbR

2024, 95 min
by Petra Hoffmann

On July 19, 1979, the Sandinista People’s Revolution in Nicaragua overthrew the brutal dictator Somoza and made the world dream. The construction of a new, more social and just society “between the blocks” seemed possible. Tens of thousands from all over the world travel to the small Central American country to support the young government and rebuild the plundered country.From what was then West Germany alone, over 15,000 supporters made their way to the small Central American country. In international brigades, they harvested coffee and cotton, built schools, kindergartens and health centers to rebuild the maltreated country. The purchase of “Nica coffee” becomes a symbol of international solidarity with the country. The Contra, which is supported by Somoza supporters and the USA, attempts to overthrow the revolution and restore the old balance of power. The civil war costs the lives of 50,000 Nicarguans and German “reconstruction helpers” are also kidnapped and killed by the Contra in the 1980s.And then the unbelievable happens: in April 2018, students protested against the former revolutionary hero and current president Daniel Ortega. Over 400 people were shot dead by paramilitaries. The country sinks into a bloodbath. Ortega’s international supporters are also increasingly being targeted. They have been collecting money for projects in Nicaragua for 45 years. Today, they fear for their lives and are fleeing the country. Those who remain no longer dare to raise their voices against the former revolutionary hero.

2023, 90 min
by Dieu Hao Do

Director Dieu Hao Do examines the fragmentation of his family. The American War in Vietnam scattered them across three continents. Almost 50 years after their escape, contact between the seven siblings has all but broken off. How did trauma from persecution and violence inscribe itself in the bodies and souls of the survivors and their children? What has life in exile done to them over the years? Is communism to blame for the fact that they no longer speak to each other? After the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, more than 1.5 million people fled the communist regime, many of whom - including the director's family - belonged to the Chinese minority there.

Germany 2023, 94 min
by Lia Erbal

Brutal images show the history of the democracy movement in Hong Kong and its suppression. Activists in Hong Kong and in their Berlin exile explain the current political dispute between China and democratic states.The fight for democracy in Hong Kong has long been a battle of systems, as well as a brutal game of economic dependencies. With a collage of found footage, interviews with experts and sketches of the thoughts of young activists, the filmmaker paints a picture of a city between wild hope for change and resignation to the Chinese regime. [38 DOK.fest München, Helga-Mari Steininger]

Germany, Austria, Switzerland 2023, 100 min
by Katrin Rothe

Bertold Brecht called him one of the most important European artists. Rosa Luxemburg personally handed over the party book to the communist of the first hour in 1918. George Grosz and Kurt Tucholsky are among his closest friends and artistic companions. He gave himself an English name in protest against German warmongering. For the Nazis, however, the father of political photomontage John Heartfield quickly became one of the most dangerous enemies of the state. For years he is a fugitive in Europe, and later finds no safe home even in the socialist GDR.The graphic artist Stephanie, plagued by a creative crisis and self-doubt, is fascinated by John Heartfield‘s work, which she discovers in an exhibition. Through a time tunnel, she ends up in a studio where the artist, who has become a cartoon figure, takes her on a journey through his eventful life. A loving friendship develops between the two colleagues. And Stephanie takes up scissors and paper again.Graphic designer Stefanie is having a creative crisis with boring advertising assignments and a boss who does not value her work. During a visit to a museum, she is magically attracted to the satirical photomontages of the world-famous colleague and Nazi opponent John Heartfield. Then a miracle happens, she suddenly turns up in his studio.

2023, 208 min
by Sebastian Saam

From Finland to Anatolia, we learn more about great lakes and their importance for the ecosystem. These habitats are often at risk. What strategies are there to preserve these bodies of water?They are thousands, sometimes even several million years old, some are even made by man. They provide refuges for animals and humans, are important for biodiversity, have aesthetic value and have inspired numerous myths and legends: Lakes. But although their discovery has only just begun, these wonderful water worlds are threatened by pollution, sewage and waste, overfishing and illegal development. In the far north of Europe (Finland's Lake Saimaa), in the central European lowlands (Hungary's Lake Balaton), in Europe's southwest (Alqueva reservoir in Portugal) and in the highlands of Anatolia (Lake Van), we find out more about the special features of various large lakes and their importance for the ecosystem. The series highlights the problems these habitats face in the 21st century, but also the strategies that are being employed to preserve them. This is a captivating four-part series full of stunning landscape shots and unusual discoveries and insights into unique natural wonders far from the tourist hotspots.

Germany, Canada, Finland 2022, 99 min
by Rick Minnich

A 76-year old engineer is on a mission: to connect the United States and Russia with a 100-kilometer long train tunnel beneath the Bering Strait.THE STRAIT GUYS follows Czech-born mining engineer, George, and his fast-talking protégé, Scott, along the proposed route of the InterContinental Railway through Alaska, to the Bering Strait and onward to Russia. The “Strait Guys” endeavor to convince international governments, corporations, and indigenous tribes to green-light their $100 billion railway project—with the promise to become the Panama Canal of the 21st century. As they struggle to keep their monumental vision alive in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, the Strait Guys leave us wondering: What is really preventing the US and Russia from being connected?Since Russia's attack on Ukraine, the tunnel plan seems absurd. But the Strait Guys are more convinced than ever that their mega-project is exactly what the world needs to finally leave wars behind and create "peace, progress and prosperity" for all.

Germany 2021, 90 min
by Maria Teresa Curzio

The internet giant Wikipedia just turned 20. We take a look at its background and the future of the online encyclopaedia. In 2021, the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia celebrated its 20th anniversary. With its philosophy of "knowledge by all, for all", Wikipedia has pushed aside all printed encyclopaedias. In total there are about 50 million articles in almost 300 languages. Anybody can contribute. But little is known about the individual creators of this vast pool of knowledge. What drives them to spend unpaid time at the service of human knowledge? And what happens when authors with a hidden agenda infiltrate the collective by order of states or industrial giants? Why is 85 % of the content provided by the so-called old white men contributing what they consider relevant for the planet? And will artificial intelligence soon take over? A look at the current state of the online encyclopaedia.

2020, 102 min
by Frauke Sandig, Eric Black

What is consciousness? Is it in all living beings? What happens when we die? And why do we seem to be hardwired for mystical experience? In these times of existential crisis, there has been an explosion of research into consciousness - and scientists are confronting the Big Questions. AWARE follows six brilliant researchers, approaching the mystery from radically different perspectives, from within and without: through high-tech brain research and Eastern meditation, by scientifically exploring inner space through psychedelic substances and by investigating the consciousness of plants.with: Richard Boothby, Monica Gagliano, Roland R. Griffiths, Christof Koch, Josefa Kirvin Kulix, Matthieu Ricard, Mary Cosimano, Justine Fritz and special guest Mingyur Rinpoche

Germany 2020, 104 min
by Jana Matthes, Andrea Schramm

Yaar is a young Jewish Berliner who dreams of being a game designer someday. He associates nothing with Judaism but lambs being led to the slaughter house. He accuses his father of suffering from the Holocaust despite never even having experienced it firsthand. Yaar rebels by developing a computer game: "Shoah. When God was asleep". He creates a virtual Germany of the 1940s where Jews can defend themselves and Nazis don't necessarily have to be bad guys. Then, his own family's history turns his plans upside down.TACHELES - The Heart of the Matter - shows how the traumas of the survivors can even make their ways into the third generation's lives. The film asks the burning question from the perspective of a 21-old: What does Holocaust have to do with me today?

2019, 135 min
by Sebastian Saam

The unique eco-system along the shores of the Paraná River in South America is under threat. We travel to South America and meet people who are fighting for their future and the conservation of the Paraná region.A river like the sea – this is how the indigenous people used to refer to the giant stream shaping their homelands. In their language this translates to “Paraná”. Over 3,000 kilometres, the Paraná flows from Brazil to Argentina via Paraguay, along the mythical Iguazú Falls and the breathtaking Iberá wetlands of Northeast Argentina, all the way to Buenos Aires. The Paraná region hosts a unique eco-system, with abundant flora and fauna and stunning natural beauty. But this river paradise is under threat. Ambitious construction projects, contamination, deforestation and ruthless hunting are just a few of the factors endangering the entire region. We discover here a part of South America largely unknown to outsiders and get to know its people, who share their passion for the river and their worries about its future. Through their actions and beliefs, they want to show that a different future is possible, a better life along the river, while preserving its unique and vital eco-system. Innovative fishermen, biologists, environmental activists, indigenous people, photo models, ship captains, or old-fashioned gauchos – they all are part of this journey into the unknown, one that inspires and sends a message of hope and change.

Germany 2017, 96 min
by Sandra Budesheim, Sabine Zimmer

It is the culmination of every refugee story that is supposed to end with official asylum and resettlement in Germany: the personal interview with a case officer at a branch of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). The applicant and case officer meet on only one occasion. Asylum-seekers have to provide credible proof that they were persecuted in their home country. BAMF staff are responsible for deciding who stays and who leaves. They rely on the law, their common sense and their conscience. For the first time, BAMF decision-makers in the asylum proceedings offer us an insight into their day-to-day work and allow viewers to witness the asylum interviews which usually take place behind closed doors. They do their job in the eye of the storm of daily media coverage about mass migration and heated debates about the permeability of our borders. They have to find out what is true and what is false, and it is up to them to decide who is still allowed to stay in Germany for humanitarian reasons.

Germany 2017, 52 min
by Marita Neher 

Equal opportunities and the distribution of power – what is the reality in European boardrooms today? In in-depth interviews, we look at the careers of three top female managers from Germany, France and Spain.Do women need a gender quota to achieve greater professional success? In Germany, legislation was passed in 2015 requiring 30% of top management positions to be filled by women. In France, a 40% quota has been legal reality since 2011 with fines of up to € 90,000 imposed for non-compliance. In the quota-resistant country of Spain, on the other hand, career women are still something of a rarity. Even now, there is no political party that would have introduced quota legislation. Quality, it is claimed, is what counts – not quotas. Clichés are rife: women lack ambition and drive and as a result fail to break through the notorious glass ceiling to reach the male-dominated executive floors. Three senior-level managers Anka Wittenberg, Senior Vice President of SAP Germany, Fanny Letier, Executive Director of investment bank Bpi France and Maria Luisa de Contes, Secretary General and General Counsel of Renault Spain, offer us an in-depth insight into their day-to-day life, both private and professional, and speak candidly about European society’s position today as regards equal opportunities and gender-based discrimination.

2016, 52 min
by Christoph Rüter

They have written crime novels about an era that until now has rarely been the subject of crime fiction: the Third Reich, itself the cause of inconceivable crimes and atrocities. Dominique Manotti, Philip Kerr and Volker Kutscher have broken an unspoken German rule that the Third Reich should not be the subject of entertainment literature. The crime novel is now engaging numerous readers in a subject they would normally avoid. The film shows the three writers at work in Berlin, New York, Paris, London and Cologne, and takes viewers to historically charged locations: Dominique Manotti shows us the headquarters of the French Gestapo in Paris, Philip Kerr researches for his new book in Babelsberg and the Wannsee Conference venue, while Volker Kutscher reads from his new novel in a former concentration camp in Berlin, then guiding us through Cologne. His protagonist Rath has arrived in the Third Reich and in 1933 witnesses a very different carnival procession in his home town. All the novels’ protagonists find themselves in a hellish world that challenges them with existential questions: How do you survive in a world that has become so insane that the fate of one person can determine the destiny of humanity?

Germany 2015, 90 min
by Güner Yasemin Balci

In Islam, as in many other religions, sex is forbidden outside of marriage. What does this mean for young Muslims who live in modern, western societies? How significant is virginity for young people from immigrant families? For young Muslims, sexual autonomy is a constant battle against the values handed down by their parents’ generation. This film focuses on psychologist Ahmad Mansour, lawyer and women’s rights activist Seyran Ateş, Femen activist Zana Ramadani and the young student Arife Yalniz. They have all struggled to achieve independence, and had to break with their families and friends – simply because they did not accept attitudes to morality which make sexuality punishable and are still preached in many mosques today, as they were 900 years ago. The film also shows that men are equally affected by these constraints. They are raised to uphold a perception of maleness that declares the man to be the guardian of the female members of his family and obliges him to reproduce these archaic role models. All this has its roots in the demonisation of female sexuality. “If the obsession with virginity could finally come to an end,” says Seyran Ateş, “then so too would this madness.”90min or 58min || German or English version available

Germany 2014, 92 min
by Mo Asumang

THE ARYANS is a personal journey of Activist Mo Asumang into the madness of racism during which she meets German neo-Nazis, the US leading racist, notorious Tom Metzger and Ku Klux Klan members in the alarming twilight of the Midwest. A documentary about right-wing movements worldwide - and their completely wrong interpretation of ‘aryanism’ - a phenomenon which began with French philosopher Arthur de Gobineau and went on with the Nazis. Filmmaker Mo Asumang sets out for a tour de force into the abyss of the political evil and finds out that the Aryans originally come from an area which belongs to Iran nowadays.4.500.000 clicks / watch a short Interview of Mo Asumang on BBC plus Film scenes of her film "The ARYANS"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiTXnKEyecg

Germany 2014, 80 min
by Michael Richter

DEFUNCT by Michael Richter tells the story of traumatized soldiers coming home from their mission unable to lead a normal life anymore. Their emotional disturbances are so serious that they are in need for psychiatric therapy. The disorders result from a war which we have emotionally avoided so far. The feature length documentary portrays also an armored regiment being trained for their operation in Afghanistan.