Films

2024, 103 min
by Carmen Kirchweger

Six young women defy gravity and open up new climbing routes on the steep inclines of Greenland’s mountains. They prepare fervently for their expedition and test their limits. 'Somewhere in the middle of nowhere' takes on a different meaning when life hangs in the balance hundreds of metres above the ground – dependent on ropes, physical strength and decision-making skills. A film about strength and confronting danger. [39. DOK.fest München, Morgane Remter]

2024, 90 min
by Jens Becker, Dorothea Braun

JOSEPHINE PEARY, wife of North Pole conqueror Robert Peary, promoted his work and contributed much to his success.ADA BLACKJACK, the sole survivor of a terrible expedition to Wrangel Island during the early 1920s.LOUISE AMER BOYD, a millionaire and the first woman to finance her expeditions to map East Greenland and a (part-time) secret agent. Three extraordinary stories of women, risking life, health, and money to explore the Arctic deserts – but in our days forgotten. We also aim to highlight contemporary women’s involvement in Arctic research, such as those aboard an icebreaker in Greenland or preserving Inuit culture and language in Alaska and Greenland.

2023, 60 min
by Ben Blaskovic

A young sailing crew sets out to find the enigmatic personality of Karl-Heinz Beständig, an experienced sailor known for his famous harbor and bay guide in Croatia. A young crew led by actor and sailor Ben Blaskovic sets out through the harsh autumn weather on the waters of the Adriatic to meet Karl-Heinz in a remote bay in the middle of the Adriatic. With the weather not cooperating and the possibility of a chance encounter uncertain, their journey becomes an exciting exploration of the Croatian coast and the mysterious person behind the popular guide.

Germany 2022, 91 min
by Astrid Menzel

"Take care of grandma when I'm gone," says the grandfather to his granddaughter Astrid. When he dies, grandmother Carmen, who suffers from dementia, is sent to a retirement home where she feels abandoned. Astrid realizes that she has not fulfilled grandpa's last wish. Together with her brother, she takes Carmen on a canoe trip. The old woman enjoys their time together. But the daily changes of location get to her - and one night she decides to walk home.

Germany 2022, 108 min
by Michael Scheyer

German mountaineer Thomas Lämmle climbed Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. After a serious accident with his paraglider, however, he ended up in a wheelchair - with the suspicion that he would never be able to walk again. But he could not resign himself to that. He started training hard and set himself a goal: to climb his belovedKilimanjaro once again. "And if that's only possible with crutches, then so be it."

2022, 93 min
by Anna Baranowski, Michael Moritzen

2021, 82 min
by Franziska Von Stenglin

Liem belongs to the ethnic minority of the Sedang and lives in a remote region of Vietnam. The observing camera succinctly sketches a daily routine that’s marked more by surviving than by living. With his friends, he prepares for an expedition into the jungle, where the young men want to take time out, continue the tradition of their ancestors, become hunters and gatherers. The more twisting their paths, the deeper the film seems to enter into a different sphere.We get to know Liem doing everyday activities. Carrying the baby in a sling, he cooks, hangs out the laundry, goes to the field. The giant loudspeakers fixed to the streetlights fill his village with official news and advertising. In his stilt house, Liem prefers to listen to Vietnamese pop music. Soon we feel the rhythm, the unique beat of this life. When Liem and his friends set out in rubber sandals and carrying backpacks, the camera follows close behind, takes their perspective. Shot on Super 16, the film captures the green tones of the Vietnamese Central Highlands, the images develop a mesmerizing depth. The rustling of leaves, the buzzing of insects, birdsong and permanent rain come together in a melodious soundscape. Suddenly time seems to stand still, the separation between screen and auditorium is lifted. (64 DOK Leipzig, Anke Leweke)

Germany 2021, 53 min
by Johanna Seggelke

“I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” Even though Sky and Johanna definitely did not have this quote by Mark Twain in mind, it’s written in the stars of the two young women’s journey through South Africa. A chance acquaintance turns into a relationship that shimmers in all the colours of love. Between Marmite toasts, joints, selfies and music they explore each other inside out. But what happens when the journey ends?In this deeply personal piece, filmmaker Johanna Seggelke chooses a very different approach to its predecessor, “Bibi Must Go” from 2020. She questions herself, her feelings and memories and almost casually unfolds an enchanting coming-of-age story about a love that emerges and fades in the seemingly endless summer. With a light hand, the film maintains the delicate balance between shimmering beauty and incidentality and manages to make the complicated dialectics of intimacy and strangeness palpable. The outstanding montage interweaves feathery holiday videos with an extraordinary score and the director’s sometimes wonderfully quirky, sometimes wise reflections. A delightfully direct film which preserves the rough edges of the moment and at the same time tries to outwit the undeceivability of one’s own emotions – at least for the time it takes to smoke a cigarette. (64 DOK Leipzig, Luc-Carolin Ziemann)

Germany 2021, 260 min
by Marita Neher 

The most dangerous railway lines in the world are breathtakingly beautiful, fascinating and lead through extreme landscapes.They touch the sky and for some they go straight to hell afterwards, leading over extreme heights, across oceans or savannahs and braving hurricanes. A challenge for intrepid engineers and railway builders who have been conquering nature with state-of-the-art technology for almost 300 years. Railway lines are not only legendary carriers of myths, people and machines. They are also the proof of high engineering skills and witnesses to the indomitable will of humankind to open up new routes into the unknown in order to conquer nature and its treasures. Railway lines on all continents tell the story of industrial culture, of progress and the art of travel.

Germany 2020, 111 min
by Christian Vogel, Lukas Roegler, Paula Flach

When plans collapse things start to get interesting…! Welcome aboard the Ural 650: A charming yet moody Russian motorcycle which will take us over land to New York city. For the next 40.000 kilometers we’ll keep pushing, pulling and fixing looking for the point where we can’t go on…Through our Breakdown Theater we come in contact with the strangest mix of people around the globe. Pulled, pushed and towed – with their help we always get a bit further… until the next breakdown!Alongside director, Daniel von Rüdiger, we have spent the last year puzzling together 500 hours of raw footage: Canons, GoPros, drone shots, handmade animations, typography, narration, subtitles… the whole package! 972,000 decisions later, our production journey has reached its end. A total of 165,500 film frames have been chosen in an attempt to turn cinema seats into sidecars, taking visitors on a 43,000 kilometer journey across the world! And as you may have noticed, we really love numbers… which is also fitting our choice in working with the band 0101 for our soundtrack! Imagine the rhythm of an old and lousy kickstarter, constantly hitting the exhaust pipe … Imagine the >>click click

Germany 2020, 101 min
by Roberto Fischer

It is one of the most unknown and poorest countries in the world, and yet full of wealth: Niger. Rich because of the smiles of its people, the vastness of its deserts and the mysticism of its peoples. The film accompanies one of the rare expeditions through Niger. Protected from raids and kidnappings by a military convoy, we encounter two of the last nomadic tribes: the Woodabe and the Tuareg. The first part of the documentary takes us from the capital Niamey to the Woodabe tribe, their school for nomadic children in Abulbal and the courtship dances of the Guérewol. The second part of the documentary takes us to Agadez - the gateway to the desert - through the Aïr Mountains and the Ténéré desert, and finally to the Tuareg festival in Iférouane. Niger: The Real Africa.

2020, 208 min
by Erik Peters

The daredevil journey of two free spirits who explore monumental landscapes on their motorcycles and discover the magic of foreign cultures. In six months they cover 28,000 kilometres, from Germany to India. Imagine getting on your motorbike and just taking off. From Germany. To India. By land. Before you lie thousands of kilometres of uncertainty as your home fades away in the rear-view mirror. A crackpot idea? Maybe. A hell of an adventure? You better believe it! Erik and Alain dared to do just that. The two are masters at escaping their comfort zone in a cloud of dust. But this trip has plenty of surprises in store for even the most hardened bikers. Through Turkey, across the Caucasus and on towards Central Asia... Erik and Alain conquer the endless expanses of the Kazakh steppe and balance on their Yamahas along bottomless chasms all the way up to the snow-covered roof of the world. Violent and changeable weather in thin air, oil filters full of holes and pothole-lined trails test the adventurers’ mettle before they plunge into the chaotic Indian traffic. After just under six months, 28,000 kilometres and 14 countries, their journey ends under the palm trees of Goa. A gripping road movie that follows two free spirits on a daredevil journey as they explore monumental landscapes on their motorcycles, discover the magic of foreign cultures, and laugh in the face of the toughest of trials.

Germany 2020, 81 min
by Francesco Catarinolo

THE RED HOUSE is the project of the Italian adventurer Robert Peroni, who is helping the last hunter and gathers of Europe to find a future in Greenland. Since seal pelts are no longer allowed to be traded, people in the far north have lost their livelihood. Many of the young generation are committing suicide. Peroni offers a solution. The film plot, in which all protagonists act to the best of their ability, but fail, accompanies Robert Peroni in his mission and embodies the importance of giving back.

Switzerland, Germany, Polen 2020, 94 min
by Eliza Kubarska

When a Sherpa family is asked by a group of westerners to lead a trek up the never-conquered east wall of the imposing Kumbhakarna Mountain in Nepal, they’re confronted with a dilemma. Not only is the summit reputed to be more challenging than Mount Everest, but according to the local Kirant religion, it’s a sacred mountain that is not supposed to be ascended. While the father would like to earn the money necessary for his son’s education, the mother, a fierce woman who supports her boy’s dream of becoming a doctor, is adamant that they shouldn’t hike God’s body. Director Eliza Kubarska follows the expedition after the family agrees to guide the three foreigners, negotiating as best they can the pressure to finish the climb, the dangerous conditions and their own religious beliefs. Herself an experienced alpinist, Kubarska captures breathtaking images of the majestic landscape, honouring the spiritual dimension of the environment. (Charlotte Selb)„Kubarska knows that the grandeur of the mountain is but a hill of beans compared to the human drama in the camp. The film is all the better for it.“ Pat Mullen, Point of View Magazine

2019, 45 min
by Andre Hörmann

In a small village in Pakistan, in the middle of the Karakorum, one of the world’s highest mountains, women have started training as mountain guides for the first time. We accompany them on their way up.Shimshal is a small village 3100 metres high up in the Karakorum, one of the world’s highest mountain ranges, in northern Pakistan near the border with China. Known among climbers as the 'village of mountaineers', there is an average of at least one mountain guide, climber or porter in each household – occupations that were previously the preserve of men. But for a number of years, climber Qudrat Ali has been training women as mountain guides for the first time at the Mountaineering School. A great opportunity for women from Shimshal to earn an income and significantly improve their own lives and those of their families. But first of all, they have to complete a challenging course which trains not only their mountaineering skills, but team leadership, conflict management and decision-making skills in extreme situations. The final examination then involves climbing the 5300-metre-high Shifkteen Sar. But their mission is greater than any mountain. If they manage to conquer the peaks of the highest mountains in the Karakorum, every woman in Pakistan can take her life into her own hands. We accompany a group of young women on their way up and into a new life.

Germany 2019, 44 min
by Maryna Dymshyts

Ice of Chernobyl is the treatise on the thrill of the forbidden: entering the restricted zone of a damaged nuclear power plant. 33 years after the disaster.5 days and nights illegally in the restricted area, in Pripyat and on the Duga-1 antenna.The restricted area from a completely different point of view. No cellphone connection, no help from outside. Together with STALKER we move illegally into the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. We walk at night, stay in abandoned villages until we reach Pripyat. A journey that becomes more than just the illegal entry into the death zone!

Germany, Switzerland 2018, 80 min
by Arjun Talwar, Bigna Tomschin

There is a beautiful island in the Baltic Sea, where a group of sailors built their own kingdom. They had it all: seventeen acres of land, endless freedom and a donkey called Geronimo – until their community fell apart. Awoken from a utopian dream, the sailors return to the mainland. Now they live on rusty ships parked in a harbor town, almost within sight of their old home. At night they meet on deck, drinking and telling each other the same old stories. Each of them is haunted by the island's dark and compelling promise. Can they ever break through the spell it cast on them?

Germany, Denmark, Great Britain 2018, 90 min
by Victor Kossakovsky

AQUARELA takes audiences on a deeply cinematic journey through the transformative beauty and raw power of water. Filmed at a rare 96 frames-per-second for 96 frames-per-second projection, the film is a visceral wake-up call that humans are no match for the sheer force and capricious will of Earth’s most precious element. From the precarious frozen waters of Russia’s Lake Baikal to Miami in the throes of Hurricane Irma to Venezuela’s mighty Angels Falls, water is AQUARELA’S main character, with director Victor Kossakovsky capturing her many personalities in startling visual detail. A documentary by Victor Kossakowsky. Produced by Ma.ja.de. Filmproduktions GmbH, Aconite Productions Ltd. and Danish Documentary. In co-production with Louverture Films and RBB in association with arte, Cactus World Films, Rio Negro Produccione and Ánorâk Film. Supported by Mitteldeutscher Medienförderung, Creative Scotland, British Film Institute, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, DFFF, Danish Film Institute, The Government of Greenland. Developement supported by Eurimages, Sundance Documentary Fund and Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund.

2018, 88 min
by Thomas Tielsch

They live at the fringes of the known world, the last indigenous communities – far away from civilisation but affected by its consequences nonetheless. The photographer Markus Mauthe visited these last indigenous peoples to capture the inherent beauty of their cultures, before they too fall victim to ever-advancing globalisation. The journey leads from South Sudan and Ethiopia to Malay sea nomads and Brazilian Indians in Mato Grosso, who have started to defend themselves against the destruction of their natural habitat.

Germany 2018, 91 min
by Oliver Schwehm

Elon Musk and his company SpaceX aren't the first private venture to attempt to make it into space. This is the amazing story of Lutz Kayser, an aerospace engineer from southwestern Germany, who founded a private company, OTRAG, to develop and produce a satellite launch vehicle. In search of a suitable launch area, OTRAG signs a lease with Zairean dictator Mobutu Sese Seko for an area of jungle the size of East Germany. Here the company builds its own spaceport, a "German Cape Canaveral" in the heart of Africa, complete with its own butcher shop and marijuana plantation. But what began as an adventure slowly turns into a nightmare.

Germany 2018, 52 min
by Rosie Koch, Roland Gockel

Part 1: The North - From the Coastal Metropolis to the Mountainous Desert OasesPart 2: The South - On the Frankincense Trail along the Sea of Humpback WhalesThe Sultanate of Oman is the home of the legendary Sinbad the Sailor. And even today, it seems like a magical country from the Arabian Nights. The film is a journey on the trail of the old trading caravans – far from the turbulence of war in the Arab world. We discover the magic of the Orient and its people, who inhabit a world suspended between tradition and the modern day world. Frankincense trading and silver smithies, caravans and Bedouin, traditional souks and strong mediaeval fortresses are all signs of the lively trading history that has shaped this country. But this journey into the interior of the country reveals more than just a nostalgic wonderland: Oman’s special regional climate and sparse population make it an ideal refuge for a unique plant and animal world.

Germany 2018, 14 min
by Simon Ostermann

Almost 30 Alaskan Huskies, three humans and icy temperatures in a wild, untouched countryside. Living in a pack (Rudel) doesn’t need many words. The key to success are clearly defined roles and mutual trust… which is sometimes even neccessary for survival.

Germany 2018, 92 min
by Stephan Talneau

Petra Nachtmanowa travels to the end of the world and at the same time into her heart. With her Saz on her back, the Berlin musician sets out in search of the origin of the mythical string instrument.She travels from Berlin to Istanbul, across Anatolia, over the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus to the dusty deserts of eastern Iran. She meets Bosnian instrument makers, music teachers who climb mountains in shirts and suits, and chain-smoking Persians who may have invented blues rock. Everyone asks them one thing: "Play me a song that I can take home with me.""Saz" is a film about the power of music and the vastness of the world, road movie and search for meaning at the same time, a breathtaking trip to the border region between Europe and Asia that shows that despite conflicts and crises there is something out there that holds us all together.

Sweden, Denmark, USA, Germany 2018, 97 min
by Marcus Lindeen

The In the summer of 1973, five men and six women embarked on a 101-day scientific sea-adventure, drifting on a small raft named ‘Acali’ across the Atlantic. In an experiment initiated by Mexican anthropologist Santiago Genovés, the project’s aim was to explore the origins of violence and the dynamics of sexual attraction. The eleven members of the crew were handpicked from around the world with the objective of mixing religion, gender and nationality to maximize friction on board. Genovés called the expedition a ‘Peace Project’ but it did not take long for the international press to rename it ‘The Sex Raft’, a nickname which still upsets some members of the crew. As leader of the experiment, Genovés had hoped that violent conflicts and sex orgies would result from the close quarters in which his human guinea pigs were forced to live, but what ultimately happened on that drifting raft was entirely unexpected. Instead of fighting or having sex, the group slowly turned against him. Mutiny was discussed and at one point there was even a plan to kill him. Today, more than forty years later, the surviving members of ‘The Acali Expedition’ reunite in a film studio where they climb onboard a stylized reconstruction of the Acali raft to tell the hidden story behind what has been described as ’the strangest group experiment of all time.’With support of Schwedisches Filminstitut, Film Väst, Nordisk Film & TV Fund, MEDIA, Det Danske Filminstitut produced by FASAD Productions AB, Bullitt Film, Sutor Kolonko, Motto Pictures.