Films

2025, 74 min
by João Pedro Prado, Anton Yaremchuk

2025CPH:DOX2025DOK.fest München – German Competition2025Kraków International Film FestivalA warm film about a hot topic. Is nuclear power the future, or...? The locals of two small European towns throw themselves into the discussion in a film with humor and heart, even though the stakes are high.The climate crisis, Germany’s nuclear phase-out and Russia’s war against Ukraine are just three of the heavy pieces in the dramatic game about the future of energy. A game with global and unpredictable consequences far beyond where the electricity will be coming from tomorrow. And in the middle of the game we find two small European towns with barely a thousand inhabitants each.Gundremmingen in Bavaria is located around a deactivated nuclear power plant, while the small Polish town of Choczewo will open its first nuclear power plant in 2033. What do the good people on the ground think about it all? ‘Fission’ is a stylish film with humor and heart, all of which is a rare sight in films about science, big politics and – ultimately – the future of the planet.Directors João Pedro Prado and Anton Yaremchuk waste no time in their joint debut, which takes a multi-faceted look at the deeply divided debate on nuclear power in particular, fueled by decades of pent-up emotion.

Germany 2024, 92 min
by Johannes Blume

Berlin is teetering on the edge of complete gentrification. The punk movement is fading, and the remaining left autonomous and anti-fascist spaces are facing an existential threat. Gentrification jeopardizes their very existence, eradicating the once vast diversity in Berlin’s urban landscape.The capitalistic structures driving gentrification prioritize individual wealth and financial growth, undermining the importance of solidarity. The squatter scene — or the heritage of it — is the antidote. House communities live in and share what would normally be considered personal possessions: the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room — everything is communal. Activities and conflicts are resolved through consensus, and interaction with others is inevitable. Living in a house community is a full-time commitment, a synthesis of people, work, materials, and history.BERLIN EVICTION aims to rediscover the relevant values of the subculture for today’s society. We engage with people who have a rich history and are willing to speak candidly on camera, free from masks and control. We explore places and individuals that have repeatedly captured the attention of the national and international press due to their fight against the system and eviction, such as Rigaer Straße, Liebig 34, Syndikat, Drugstore, and many more. The imminent evictions of Potse and Köpi Wagenplatz, both iconic symbols of the autonomous and punk scene, serve as the pivotal narrative structure of the film, emphasizing the scene’s ongoing struggle throughout the years.MAX OPHÜLS PRIZE: BEST FILM MUSIC"Quotation from the film: "We had our time and now it's over." Music plays a very important role in this film, it is an expression of protest, anger, sadness and transports the content of the film. With a convincing interweaving of original music and film score, the film tells of the almost lost struggle for freedom beyond conventions and beyond capitalist constraints." say the members of the jury Jide Tom Akinleminu, Wolf-Maximilian Liebich, Andrina Mrancikar

Germany 2024, 52 min
by Herbert Ostwald

Up to 150 species are disappearing every day. Species extinction could be even more decisive for the survival of humankind than climate change. But what was once considered science fiction is no longer out of the question. We accompany ambitious scientists worldwide in their attempts to revive extinct animals or to give those on the brink of extinction a new chance using state-of-the-art genetic engineering. What is driving the human ambition to bring back extinct species? Should it be allowed or are we playing God with unpredictable consequences for our entire planet?

Germany, France 2024, 216 min
by Guillaume Cailleau, Ben Russell

Taking its title from the tactical protest strategy of the same name – "an action that seeks to achieve an end directly and by the most effective means" – DIRECT ACTION is a contemporary portrait of one of the most important militant activist communities in France – a 150-person strong rural collective that survived multiple violent eviction attempts by the French state, successfully resisted an international airport expansion project, created an autonomous zone from 2012-2018, and spawned a remarkable new ecological movement in 2021. Through a collaborative and uniquely immersive observational approach, DIRECT ACTION documents the everyday of a diverse ecosystem of activists, squatters, anarchists, farmers and government-labeled 'eco-terrorists' – so as to better understand how the success of a radical protest movement can offer a path through the climate crisis facing us all."The jury wants to salut the very patient and non judgement dedicated approach. We deeply enjoyed the quality of observation of this radical film." Tizza Covi, member of the jury said at the award ceremony.

Germany, Turkey, France 2024, 97 min
by Asli Özge

Faruk, a man in his nineties, increasingly becomes the protagonist in the film his daughter is making about the impending demolition of his block of flats in Istanbul. In the hope of delaying the demolition of a building he has been living in for decades, Faruk regularly attends building management meetings. As the daughter films her father, the boundaries between reality and fiction begin to blur. Shot in authentic locations and based on real characters and events, Aslı Özge’s new film offers an insight into the life of an elderly man in the bustling metropolis of Istanbul. Alongside exploring the implications of gentrification, the work also delves into the complexities of a father-daughter relationship.

Germany 2024, 90 min
by Klaus Tümmler

One of the largest forest fires in Germany in recent decades raged near the town of Treuenbrietzen in August 2018. The fire destroyed almost 350 hectares of forest. Climate change and drought have long been making themselves felt in Brandenburg's monotonous pine forests. Over five years, from the first day of the fire, the camera follows various events on the land. The central question for the future is: What should the forest of tomorrow look like here, but also elsewhere? The Pyrophob scientific research project is launched with the aim of developing more fire-resistant forests. The wolf and other animals reclaim their former habitat over time. Will everything be okay?

Germany 2024, 15 min
by Bernadette Hauke

There is a lot of garbage on the bottom of the sea. Freddy has seen this during his dives. He wants to salvage the old nets that fishing boats have lost in the Baltic Sea, because they are a danger to marine animals, which get tangled up in them and die. Freddy trains to salvage these ghost nets so that he can clean up a piece of the sea aboard the special ship SEEKUH with diving professionals.

Germany 2024, 90 min
by Andreas Pichler

Steel giant Thyssen Krupp in Germany and cargo ship operator Maersk in Denmark are investing huge sums of money with public support to convert their huge and dirty energy consumption to ‘green’. Hydrogen plays a central role in this. At the same time, countries in Africa such as Morocco and Namibia are gearing up to become giga-suppliers of the new energy source. But does it all make sense? Why not just produce green steel in Africa? And what's the story behind the blue hydrogen that is supposed to come from Norway via pipeline? The film follows pioneers on breathtaking projects and shows that the energy transition is more complicated than expected and holds many surprises in store.

2024, 94 min
by Paul Raatz

Demographic change hits the small town of Loitz [lø:ts] in Western Pomerania with full force. Since 1990, the once thriving community has lost a third of its population – by 2030, it will be half. A future-project led by the Berlin couple Annika and Rolando now aims to counteract the town's demise by creating a place for encounters. A group of music enthusiasts is also trying to see the vacancy as an opportunity and set up a festival. Does it need external impulses like these or has a decisive process of encounter already begun? Infinite Place tells the story of people who fill a dying town with their lives – a cinematic examination of a development that can be observed in many places in Germany and around the world.

2024, 93 min
by Emerson Culurgioni, Stefanie Schroeder

Who owns the land? Legend has it that ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi stole a dune in Sardinia, while the locals are fighting for their land and struggling with their dependence on tourism. La Duna is an irresistibly cathartic and humorous documentary that intertwines a portrait of a community with absurd almost-fairytales. [55VdR]

2024, 104 min
by Doris Metz

Petra Kelly was one of the most influential political personalities of the 20th century, a figurehead of the peace movement and co-founder of the first green party to find success. Her life was one of achievements, its end a tragedy.Petra Kelly was one of the most influential political figures of the 20th century. In 1980, she co-founded the German Green Party, the world’s first green party to rise to prominence. She fought relentlessly for radical social change, disarmament and a society at one with nature. For Kelly, environment, peace and human rights issues were one. At the age of 44, she was murdered by her long-time friend and political companion. Raised by her mother and grandmother, she grew up in 1960s America and campaigned for Robert Kennedy’s election in the months before his assassination. Petra Kelly was convinced that a single person could change the world. Influenced by the American civil rights movement and Martin Luther King’s concept of “civil disobedience”, she campaigned to protect the environment and ban uranium mining, demonstrating solidarity with the peace movements in both the East and West. Today, her spiritual legacy is continued by many young climate activists. The issues that concerned her are more topical today than ever before. Close friends and companions talk about Kelly’s personal and political life for the first time. With previously unseen international film footage, the film paints a picture of a sensitive, unwavering woman who let no one -stand in her way. [NEW DOCS catalogue]

Germany, Switzerland 2024, 88 min
by Tobias Nölle

An android, parachuted into western Germany from a future in which humans no longer exist, discovers the sad fate to which machines – its fellow beings – have been reduced. Through the eyes of this science-fiction-accented character, we explore the surroundings of the real-life village of Lützerath, the open-pit mine of Hambach and its adjoining forest. Spectacular imagery lends a glorified quality to the sight of colossal diggers excavating lignite, a highly polluting type of coal. Supplied and owned by RWE – an acronym to watch out for like an ironic cameo – 'Hitachi,' 'Gordon' and '258' tear up trees, gouge out earth and sink their teeth into a church steeple. Against this terrifying backdrop, Tobias Nölle takes a fairytale-esque approach to documenting the struggles of activists defending the Lützerath ZAD [zone à défendre], the eviction of residents and farmers by the police, ending in a heartbreaking conclusion. The thoughts of the dumbfounded visitor, conveyed through voice-over, open a philosophical window onto the spiral of self-destruction at work. [55VdR, Cloé Tralci]

Germany 2024, 55 min
by Barbara Trottnow

Purple is probably the most precious colour and was long reserved for the rich and powerful. It is extracted from sea snails. In Mexico, a small number of Mixtec people still know how to dye purple right onsite at the Pacific coast. In the south of France, German artist Inge Boesken Kanold has discovered how to extract a purple pigment and paint with it. These two films continue our series 'Colours as bright as nature'. We introduce people who are ensuring the knowledge of ancient natural dyeing techniques is not lost. It is nice to watch the films in a row, but they also work on their own.

Germany 2024, 103 min
by Lea Hartlaub

sr draws a panorama of human activity in which the giraffe emerges as a recurring motif. 91 narrative tableaus lead to 30 sites such as an island in the Western Pacific, a reading room in New York, a runway in central Niger. In 16 fragmentary episodes sr reports of political and societal conditions, of theoretical discourses, human creations and realities of everyday life. Traces of exoticism, colonial relics, relations of power, cultural artifacts and the relativity of knowledge appear. sr is an invitation to contemplate on what the film depicts.

Germany, Greece, Portugal 2024, 90 min
by Elke Sasse

Do you ever wonder how the fruits we consume make their way from the farm to our table, who harvests the oil we put in our salad, or the oranges we derive our juice from each morning? In an era during which words such as 'organic' and ideas such as 'farm to table' are promoted as the cornerstone for healthy living in the west, nearly nobody chooses to question who the people working the earth are today. The Pickers provides the answers while primarily posing some difficult questions in regards to the reality irregular migrants have to face while, at least in the countries of the European South, they are the ones bringing agricultural products into our homes. A must-see documentary, especially for a country like Greece – and each of our neighboring countries – where there are countless cuisines with fruits and vegetables as necessary ingredients, but only a handful of people willing or able to round them up, creating a scale of inequity, that is nearly impossible to balance. [26 TiDF Thessaliniki]

Italy, Germany 2024, 83 min
by Michele Cinque

Brave cattle ranchers in an increasingly arid part of Italy have changed course: this couple with two children have imported heat-resistant livestock from the United States, invested in an inventive breeding program, and introduced an ecologically responsible grazing plan.But the costs are high, as are the risks. Wolves have made their home around the ranch, and regulations and shareholders prove to be as forbidding as the landscape on which these ranchers herd their cattle, like archetypal cowboys complete with lassos, cowboy hats and western saddles.Michele Cinque followed the family over an extended period. He shows their lives without commentary, in wide, stylish shots—down to the microcosm in the rugged landscape. In voice-over, the mother and daughter talk about the ranch, the family history, the maverick choices of the parents, and their dreams and worries. They also discuss their vision of life, in which all animals, including the threatening wolves, and human beings themselves, are part of the natural cycle. [IDFA]

Germany 2024, 73 min
by Eva C. Heldmann

Free-floating yet rigorously structured, this essay film presents botanist and educationalist Catharina Helena Dörrien and her time in Orange-Nassau in the 18th century. Via regulations and floral formulas, nature philosophy and social policy converge. [74 BERLINALE – Forum]

Germany 2024, 83 min
by Matthäus Wörle

Valeria is the sole inhabitant of a small Romanian village, deserted due to the tons of mud from the nearby copper mine that have flooded the area, raising the level of the polluted local lake and drowning everything in their path. Only the church spire is now visible, strongly reminiscent of our own “weeping meadow.” With fortitude, stoicism, and courage, the elderly woman, accompanied by her few animals and some citizens who ask her to do what seems reasonable, refuses to leave her land, which now resembles a dystopian thriller. A disturbing socio-ecological documentary that revolves around its central protagonist, who literally gives lessons in life, dignity, and perseverance, standing tall in the face of utter destruction. The landscape photography is stunning, with the camera capturing images that balance between eerie beauty and total devastation. [26TiDF]

Germany 2023, 106 min
by Jörg Adolph

A documentary- and nature-film with Dr Norbert Schäffer, Chairman of the Landesbund für Vogelschutz in Bayern (LBV). Through his work we get insights into the fascinating world of birds and experience how it works: species and nature conservation in action. Birds have always fascinated people, and Norbert Schäffer knows them better than anyone else. He is a special kind of conservationist: with focus and persistence he heads one of the largest nature conservation associations in Germany, the LBV. We take a look behind the scenes of environmental policy with a doer, travel to exemplary conservation projects, meet ornithologists all over the world and see the diverse bird life in the fascinating aesthetics of nature films. A lively bird show and also the portrait of a conservationist in times of great challenges.

Germany 2023, 90 min
by Daniel Ulacia Balmaseda, Ginan Seidl

A sensory film from the twilight between two worlds. In a village on Mexico’s southern coast, a small community lives in a complex, spiritual bond with nature’s animals.A human being is born with a spiritual attachment to one of nature’s animals – a ‘tono’ – in a lifelong bond. Where once a tono protected its human counterpart, they have increasingly become a risk due to the destructive encroachment on their natural territories. ‘Bruises’ is a hypnotic and immersive film from the animist belief system and practices of a small community in Costa Chica on Mexico’s southern east coast, where Daniel Ulacia Balmaseda and Ginan Seidl meet four people and their tonos: a female fisherman, a healer, a farmer and a 97-year-old midwife who roams the night in the shape of a jaguar. Nature is threatened, but its immaterial powers are unchanged. Rather than a journey into the twilight between two worlds, BRUISES / MORETONES is a film that is present in the reality that surrounds the people and animals of this small community. Through a sensory, but always lucid cinematography, we sense the contours of relationships beyond ourselves. [CPH:DOX]

Germany 2023, 180 min
by Dirk Schneider, Ariane Riecker

The Chernobyl disaster was the worst nuclear accident in history – and the end of a utopia: the achievements of the New Human. Those who worked there were chosen for their skills, and lived a dream that most of us today can hardly fathom. But this dream was torn asunder on April 26, 1986. With contemporary witnesses, high-end animations, previously unpublished archive and new footage from the nuclear exclusion zone, we immerse ourselves in the Atomic Age of the Soviet Empire. We uncover the whole true story from the early 1970s up to the harbingers of the current Russian/Ukrainian war.

Germany 2023, 14 min
by Lutz Stautner

The louder the glacier, the stronger the melt. The creaking, cracking and rippling is the voice of impermanence. Sound artist Ludwig Berger shows how important it is to listen to the world that surrounds us. The film follows him on one of his numerous visits to Morteratsch glacier in the Swiss Alps where he collects fascinating sounds that might disappear forever. "Climate change has always been visible to me, but had something abstract and not directly tangible. With the idea of recording the inner sounds of the glacier I got a much more direct reference."

Libanon, Germany 2023, 87 min
by Cyril Aris

On August 4th, 2020, the catastrophic explosion at the port of Beirut leaves a large part of the Lebanese capital in ruins. In the midst of the chaos, a troubled film crew faces an overwhelming decision: to continue the production of their movie or abandon it? As they face the aftermath of the catastrophe, they are torn between their firm belief in the transformative power of cinema and a deep sense of cynicism about its ability to effect change in a nation plagued by economic turmoil and societal collapse. Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano chronicles their struggles and highlights the crew's resilience as they strive to find meaning and purpose in their work amidst the devastation.

Germany 2023, 52 min
by Rosie Koch, Roland Gockel

Although garden dormice are at home in large parts of Europe, hardly anyone really knows these rodents with their Zorro mask and those beady eyes. Hence, only few people initially noticed when the animals began to suddenly and inexplicably disappear throughout the entire continent. But when even classic garden dormouse strongholds, like the Bavarian Fichtelgebirge, reported them missing, researchers and conservationists sounded the alarm. Hurriedly BUND Friends of the Earth, the Senckenberg Research Institute and the University of Giessen got together to form a task force of unprecedented size and scope. The Dormouse Detectives strive to find out how many, where and why the garden dormice are disappearing. In their effort to gather as many clues as possible, the investigators even enlist the help of the general population. While citizen scientists work with garden dormouse monitoring devices or report sightings, students equip garden dormouse undercover agents with transmitters to learn more about sources of danger in the daily lives of the nocturnal omnivores. While a veterinarian examines corpses of garden dormice, wildlife stations care for their orphans. And toxicology experts analyze tissue samples in search for environmental poisons and pesticides. Other special forensic units rifle through stomach contents for decisive clues or analyze genetic samples. Time is of the essence. Only if the Dormouse Detectives manage to solve this puzzling case fast, may they still be able to save the species.