Films by Andrew Bird

Germany 2024, 115 min
by Andres Veiel

A captivating insight into the private estate of Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous with her Nazi propaganda film TRIUMPH OF THE WILL but kept denying any closer ties to the regime.Leni Riefenstahl is considered one of the most controversial women of the 20th century as an artist and a Nazi propagandist. Her films TRIUMPH OF THE WILL and OLYMPIA stand for perfectly staged body worship and the celebration of the superior and victorious. At the same time, these images project contempt for t

Germany 2020, 180 min
by Volker Heise

Berlin 1945 time-travels in cinematic style into the city’s most fateful year through the eyes of those, who experienced it: the German population and Allied soldiers.Berlin 1945 tells the story of liberation, defeat, and reconstruction in a city transformed from a theatre of war into a field of ruins. Through the eyes of the victors and the vanquished, Berlin 1945 reveals a multi-layered transformation of a city and its inhabitants. With surprising, never before seen archival footage, we recons

USA, France, Germany 2019, 93 min
by Alla Kovgan

The iconic Merce Cunningham and the last generation of his dance company is stunningly profiled in Alla Kovgan's 3D documentary, through recreations of his landmark works and archival footage of Cunningham, John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, and more.Even for those who know little about dance, Merce Cunningham is a recognizable name — an iconic figure in his field. His mid–20th century collaborations with composer John Cage (his lifelong partner) and visual artist Robert Rauschenberg were central t

Germany 2018, 96 min
by Uli Gaulke

At the end of Mulholland Drive lies the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Its residents were once the backbone of the Dream Factory: actresses, producers, writers. The spry seniors still burn for movies and entertainment. And so, they share their best personal and professional anecdotes with us.A touching and lighthearted documentary about the glamourous residents of a very special retirement home, including actress Connie Sawyer (“Dumb and Dumber”, “When Harry Met Sally…”) three-time Emmy® Awar

Germany 2012, 90 min
by div

GOLDRUSH tells the story of the Treuhandanstalt - the most expensive experiment and the greatest white-collar-crime since Worldwar II. It’s a film about greed as the driving force of economic development. The trust agency 'Treuhand' was established to privatise the state owned enterprises of the GDR. Never before had there been an enterprise like the Treuhand that temporarily ran and speedily privatised 8,500 companies. With four million jobs at stake in East Germany, this was a novel and unique

Germany 2012, 92 min
by Fatih Akin

The mild moist breeze sweeping in from the Black Sea feeds the evergreen, precipitous land that its inhabitants have transformed into a garden: A carpet of lush green, round tea bushes stretching out between pines and rhododendrons; the livelihood of the 1700 inhabitants of Camburnu. For generations the village in the northeast of Turkey has lived on tea cultivation on the slopes and fishing in the sea. But this peace has been threatened since the government decided to build the largest garbage

Germany 2005, 90 min
by Fatih Akin

A European musician and composer sets out to capture the musical diversity of Istanbul. A lover of experimenting with sound, Alexander Hacke (of the German avantgarde band Einstürzende Neubauten) roams the streets of Istanbul with his mobile recording studio and "magic mike" to assemble an inspired portrait of Turkish music. His voyage leads to the discovery of a broad spectrum ranging from modern electronic, rock and hip-hop to classical "Arabesque". As he wanders through this seductive world,

Germany 2001, 90 min
by Monika Treut (Hyena Films e.K.)

WARRIOR OF LIGHT shot on location in Brazil is a feature-length documentary on Yvonne Bezerra de Mello, award-winning artist and human-rights activist who has gained international recognition for her work with street children in Rio. The film recounts how a woman turned her back on a wealthy lifestyle, driven into action by the execution of 8 streetkids by military police in 1993. In subsequent years Yvonne’s struggle to better the lives of endangered and abandoned children has led her to found

by Christian Bau

After the catastrophe of Fukushima a new term appears in the Japanese language: Genpatsu-Rikon, incalligraphy composed of the characters for ’atomic’ and ’divorce’.In 2011 the filmmaker Christian Bau travels to the east cost of Japan and tries to find out more aboutthe background for this word creation.What did he see?“I’ve seen everything”.“You saw nothing, nothing at all”.