Films by Börres Weiffenbach

Germany 2021, 90 min
by Daniel Andreas Sager

Two years after exposing the Panama Papers, the investigative journalists at Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung are facing new challenges: the political murder of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galicia and a mysterious arms dealer linked to the Iranian nuclear missile programme. Then a secret video is leaked to them in the spring of 2019, uncovering a new scandal involving Austrian Vice Chancellor HC Strache. For the documentary film BEHIND THE HEADLINES/HINTER DEN SCHLAGZEILEN, Germany's largest daily newspaper opens the door to its world-renowned investigative department for the first time, providing insight into work processes that are otherwise strictly confidential. With: Bastian Obermayer, Frederik Obermeier, Edward Snowden a.o.

Germany 2020, 30 min
by Jens Schanze

Asude lives in Lower Bavaria. Her grandparents came over from Turkey in the 1970s but have since returned back home. She's currently studying for her school-leaving examinations, but first she wants to become a kickboxing champion. Unreservedly supported by her sisters, Asude competes in the European Championship in Skopje. In her first match she meets an opponent from Turkey.

Germany 2020, 110 min
by Marc Bauder

A cinematic essay - inspired by the book "who we were" by Roger Willemsen We may think that we're simply not capable of understanding the increasingly complex problems of our planet, but for these charismatic scientists, that's not enough. Whether it's on the top of the world, in the depths of the ocean, inside the human brain, at the G-20 summit, or in the heart of the International Space Station ISS, they are searching for practical ways to save our world. Considering their drive, we have to ask ourselves if, we as citizens of the planet, are finally ready to take on responsibility – if only for the sake of those who will come after us and ask: "WHO WE WERE"? With Alexander Gerst (astronaut), Sylvia Earle (deep sea researcher), Mathieu Ricard (buddhist monk), Dennis Snower (economist), Felwine Sarr (philosopher) und Janina Loh (critical post- humanist).

2019, 96 min
by Evelyn Schels

Artists Marina Abramovic, Sigalit Landau, Shirin Neshat & Katharina Sieverding have been politicized by experiences with war, violence and suppression and integrated them into their work, using the most personal feature available: their own bodies. We accompany them on an emotional journey, reexperiencing the conflicts that have shaped their consciousness. The 4 women originate from different cultures, whose struggles epitomize the grand conflicts of our time. (auTLOOK)

Germany 2019, 128 min
by Anne Andersen

An essayistic approach to the rural beekeepers‘ fight for survival and the endurance of a lively culture that has largely disappeared from view. The filmmaker, who has kept bees herself since childhood, follows the daily working life of beekeepers in the countryside of West Mecklenburg.What is often overlooked, ignored, forgotten, comes into play in Heiner Müller‘s comedy ‘The Resettled Woman’, rehearsed by stage director Armin Petras with actors, farmers, beekeepers in Ludwigslust. The play, which was initially banned in East Germany due to its criticism of agricultural reforms, shows parallels with the problems of today. The film is a polyphonic essay on the creativity of the area‘s remaining inhabitants, and the rural living experiences.Armin Petras‘ staging of Heiner Müller‘s “The Resettled Woman” among others with Ute Kämpfer, Anja Schneider, Amos Detscher, Marlene Eiberger, Mervan Ürkmez, Christoph Goetz

Germany, Austria 2019, 218 min
by Thomas Heise

The film picks up the biographical pieces of a family torn apart through the end of the 19th and into the 20th century.The used material is what remained of Thomas Heise’s family.It is about people who by chance found each other, only then to lose each other.Now it is their descendants, their children and grandchildren who are beginning to disappear.Fathers and mothers, sons and brothers, the affairs, the hurt and the joy in landscapes of transition – each bearing the intertwining, hallmarks of their times. A collage of images, sounds, letters, diaries, notes, voices, fragments of time and space.

Germany, Austria 2018, 85 min
by Lilian Franck

We lack knowledge when it comes to our health. There are a very few institutions we can rely on for competence and independence in this area. Doctors, of course, and the Ministry of Health, as well. They, in turn, rely on the World Health Organization. What if the trust and responsibility that billions of people around the world relinquish and transfer, are not justified?This personal investigation tells the story of how the WHO has been infiltrated and influenced by industry, and how the member States misuse the UN-organization for their own national economic interests. Whether dealing with the tobacco scandal, swine flu or Fukushima - the WHO plays a daunting role. It lacks funding, power and transparency. And its decisions end up helping the pharmaceutical companies and the nuclear energy industry more than the victims. The WHO was created as a guardian of world health, but it has become the plaything of individual interests. Lilian Franck shows a frightening portrayal of our present society, in which governmental politics is becoming obsolete.

Germany 2018, 90 min
by Esther Zimmering

Actress Esther Zimmering's directorial debut covers three generations of German-Jewish life in Germany, the GDR and Israel. Using archive footage and interviews with her family members, Zimmering uncovers the secrets and inconsistencies in her family's history. A history which saw Esther's grandmother Lizzi and her cousin, great-aunt Lore, being the only ones in the family to survive the Holocaust and then become involved in the creation of two new states – constructing Socialism in the former GDR or as part of the Kibbutz movement in Israel. Are those ideals still kept alive in their descendants today?

Germany, France 2018, 99 min
by Margarethe von Trotta

Internationally renowned director Margarethe von Trotta takes a closer look at Bergman’s life and work and explores his film legacy with Bergman’s closest collaborators, both in front and behind the camera, as well as a new generation of filmmakers. The documentary presents key scenes, recurring themes in his films and his life, and journeys to the places at the center of Bergman’s creative achievement and the focal points of his life such as the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, locations and landscapes from his masterpieces, and the stations from his career in Sweden and Germany. Explore the many layers of Bergman’s work and life with “Searching for INGMAR BERGMAN”.With: Liv Ullmann (Persona, Cries and Whispers), Daniel Bergman, Ingmar, Jr Bergman, Olivier Assayas, Ruben Östlund, Stig Björkman, Mia Hansen-Løve, Katinka Faragó, Carlos Saura (Carmen, Cria Cuervos), Jean-Claude Carrière (Belle de Jour), Gabiy Dohm, Rita Russek, Gunnel Lindblom, Julia Dufvenius"I am often asked whether I have a particular role model. Who is my favorite director? My answer is always the same: Ingmar Bergman. Of course, there are many film directors who are important to me, but he was the first whom I perceived as an ‘artist’ and who sparked the wish within me to make films myself.” Margarethe von Trotta40 years later and after having directed some 24 of her own films, von Trotta set off to explore the trail left by Bergman in the world of film. She still has tremendous respect for the master, but she embarks on a personal journey through the Bergman universe, his films and his life, visiting original locations and places to find out what was typical of Bergman. And she talks to members of his family and companions, who worked with him for many years. His female characters and a fresh interpretation of his masterpieces are key elements of this quest.But what significance does Bergman have for today’s generation of filmmakers? Aside from his internationally renowned actresses (Liv Ullmann, Gunnel Lindblom, Julia Dufvenius), his working companions and Bergman experts, von Trotta also met with different generations of directors from different countries: from Carlos Saura and Olivier Assayas, to Ruben Östlund and Mia Hansen Løve. During the talks with her colleagues, von Trotta asks: “Which films and which scenes inspired you? And what remains of Bergman – of his thoughts, his characters and his significance to the history of cinema?

2018, 91 min
by Bettina Borgfeld

Two billionaire brothers buy themselves into the island of Sark, where only 600 inhabitants live - till then in harmony with nature and with a strong sense of community.  A battle begins that unfolds a conflict in an idyllic setting. The brothers remain phantoms in the film as they never enter the battlefield themselves.

2017, 91 min
by Judith Keil, Antje Kruska

Der Film begleitet den Imam bei seiner täglichen Arbeit, in der er für Familienprobleme Rat geben soll und zugleich Stellung beziehen zu politischen Fragen der Öffentlichkeit. Dabei führt er ein offenes Haus, indem er immer wieder zu Diskussionen einlädt. Während er in seiner muslimischen Gemeinde oft gegen eine zu strenge Auslegung der Religion ankämpft, steht er in der deutschen Öffentlichkeit unter Verdacht, zu konservativ, wenn nicht sogar radikal zu sein."Dabei entwickelt der Film eine stimmige Dynamik und umgeht mit beschwingter Leichtigkeit die Gefahr, zum Problemstück zu werden." (FilmDienst)

2017, 86 min
by Filip Antoni Malinowski

After 21 years of continuous failure in UN climate change negotiations 195 nations, 20.000 worldwide negotiators meet at a private airport shielded by the military in the north of Paris for a last attempt to save our planet. Behind closed doors these delegates have to agree on the first global climate change agreement that shall operate for the next decades and be a milestone in multirateral diplomacy. An agreement that will impact each human on earth, born or unborn. A negotiation that will decide if we as a species can survive. “Guardians of the Earth” shows the battle towards this monumental agreement through the perspective of major players as the head of the UNFCCC, the fossil fuel exporting countries and the most vulnerable states to climate change. Unreleased footage gives insight into the process behind closed doors and reveals the conflict of a globalized society: the dilemma between solidarity versus national self-interest – a fight between economic growth and massive loss of lives. As sea levels keep rising, glaciers are melting, heat-waves, droughts and Super-Typhoons become more frequent – time is running out to act – climate change is our reality. While showing the complex progress to the final success of the agreement, the film also exposes the crucial question for the viewer: Can mankind unite to challenge the biggest threat of our times?The film will also go along with a Cross-Media platform and already has participated in X-Media Lab & Dok Leipzig Net Lab. Cross Media development funding by: bmu:kk

2016, 96 min
by Till Harms

687 candidates, 10 places, 9 instructors in 10 days. Year for year, the entrance exam at the National Acting School in Hanover is a special challenge for the candidates, but it is also an extraordinary endurance test for the staff. In the battle for the best talent, the examiners are just as passionately involved as the candidates themselves in filling the few coveted admissions. Up close and personal with the instructors and professors, the film focuses on an unknown side of the process, that of the examination committee. The viewers have the opportunity to form their own opinion of the selection and assessment criteria. Conventional perceptions of the examiners and the candidates are shaken and the viewers get to know the members of the commission as human beings, who constantly question themselves and their standards and fight for their personal favorites.For the first time in Germany, such a committee opens up to the camera. Three years of preparation were necessary before all academy doors were opened to filmmaker Till Harms. A unique behind-the-scenes look at university operations, an unfiltered view of the dream job of an actor in a microcosm of hope, professional demands, and pugnacious colleagues.

Germany, Switzerland, Colombia 2015, 97 min
by Jens Schanze

Jairo Fuentes is the young leader of the community of Tamaquito, a village in the forests of northern Colombia. For centuries, they’ve hunted in the mountains, foraged for fruit and reared hens, sheep and cattle.But the Wayúu community’s way of life is being destroyed by the El Cerrejón coal mine. This vast chasm extends for 700 square kilometres, making it the world’s largest open-cast coal mine. The coal is exported all over the world. In Germany, the United Kingdom and Israel, in the Netherlands, Turkey, Japan and the USA, coal from El Cerrejón feeds the power stations which generate the electricity to keep our lives fast-paced, bright and warm. Determined to save his community from the forced displacement which has already swept away other villages, Jairo Fuentes sets out to negotiate with the mine’s operators.

Germany 2012, 93 min
by Dirk Uhlig, Leopold Grün (freier Filmemacher)

A small one-street village in the open landscape of East Germany, marked by the political changes of the past decade and long forgotten by the rest of society.FAR END OF THE MILKY WAY (aka RANDLAND) is a trip to the periphery of society. How do people like Maxe the farmer, mother-of-five Gabi or technician Harry, who dreams of travelling to Norway’s North Cape in his camper van and experiencing one white night there, actually live?Wealth and jobs are scarce around here, but people want to stay regardless. With stubbornness and a sense of humour, they make the best of their situation.FAR END OF THE MILKY WAY is a film about work and love, your garden as your pub, ashes in the snow and slaughtering pigs…

Germany 2011
by Bettina Borgfeld, David Bernet

The ground in Paraguay is perfect for the cultivation of soy. In recent years, countless acres of forest have been chopped down to make room for the growing of this protein-rich bean. The land of a farmer named Geronimo is now completely surrounded by soy plantations. These are generously sprayed with pesticides - poison that only the genetically modified soy plants are immune to. Unfortunately, the pesticides spread farther than the boundaries of the soy fields. So not only is there less and less land for the campesinos, or local farmers like Geronimo, but it also becomes impossible for them to cultivate healthy crops themselves. In Raising Resistance, Bettina Borgfeld and David Bernet capture the campesinos as they revolt against the enormous soy business in their country. Led by the ever-friendly Geronimo, they squat a section of farmland, try to stop the spraying of pesticides, and make their voices heard in the media. The filmmakers also give the floor to the large landowners.

Germany, Switzerland 2011
by Bettina Borgfeld, David Bernet

The ground in Paraguay is perfect for the cultivation of soy. In recent years, countless acres of forest have been chopped down to make room for the growing of this protein-rich bean. The land of a farmer named Geronimo is now completely surrounded by soy plantations. These are generously sprayed with pesticides - poison that only the genetically modified soy plants are immune to. Unfortunately, the pesticides spread farther than the boundaries of the soy fields. So not only is there less and less land for the campesinos, or local farmers like Geronimo, but it also becomes impossible for them to cultivate healthy crops themselves. In Raising Resistance, Bettina Borgfeld and David Bernet capture the campesinos as they revolt against the enormous soy business in their country. Led by the ever-friendly Geronimo, they squat a section of farmland, try to stop the spraying of pesticides, and make their voices heard in the media. The filmmakers also give the floor to the large landowners.

Germany 2010, 91 min
by Dörte Franke, Marc Bauder

“You have no chance, but use it!” That’s roughly how the power structures in East-Berlin in December 1989 could be described. On one side the apparatus of the state, which desperately clung to power. On the other side a heap of fragmented opposition groups, from the Neues Forum to Demokratischer Aufbruch - estimates assume there were 600 activists at the time - and a population who were only just beginning to see themselves as a people. Representatives of both sides faced each other at the Round Table. Previously unpublished material in this film shows how they struggled for every inch of power, every word. After all, the subject matter was nothing less than basic political legitimisation, the state’s power monopoly and the National Security Agency. To create a chance for a “third way”, as the opposition groups hoped, they would have had to implement their own constitution. Three former member of the opposition groups reflect on this four month power vacuum as a period of time when utopia was within their grasp.

Germany 2009
by Bernhard Sallmann

Germany 2009, 90 min
by Jens Schanze

Will man go beyond biology? It's an age-old dream to create intelligent machines that equal their human creators. Computer experts all around the world, like Raymond Kurzweil and Hiroshi Ishiguro, strive to fulfill their bold visions. Meanwhile, of all people one of the pioneers of the computer age, Joseph Weizenbaum, strives against the limitless faith in the redemptive powers of technology.A fascinating yet uncanny and sometimes grotesque journey into science reality.90mins or 58mins (on request) | 35 mm | DVD | original version with English or French subtitles

Germany 2007
by Jens Schanze

Germany 2007, 73 min
by Dörte Franke

The documentary STUMBLING STONE (73 min) is a portrait, a road movie and the story of the largest decentralized memorial in the world. The focus is on the conceptional artist Gunter Demnig, who has set 12 000 names of forgotten Nazi victims in concrete of Germany's and Europe's pavements. The project is declined by members of the Jewish community, Neo-Nazis are fighting it, and in some cities it is illegal. But behind every stone stands a committed helper and private donations. They see a possibility in Demnig's brass-plated stones, to bring history back to people's minds. The restless artist still manufactures and lays every single stone, because he is convinced that this is the only way to take every individual fate back home.STUMBLING STONE is produced by TROIKA Entertainment GmbH, Cologne, and HANFGARN & UFER Filmproduktion, Berlin, and co-produced with NDR/ARTE, WDR and ORF; funded by nordmedia.The documentary was developed at Discovery-Campus Masterschool. The film will be released theatrically in Germany by Film Kino Text on November, 13th, 2008.

Germany 2005
by Jens Schanze

Germany 2001
by Jens Schanze

By 2045, twenty localities in Germany will be resettled because of brown coal open pit mining. The film Waste Land follows the inhabitants of three villages in the Rhenish coal-mining district during their last years in their old home and documents how an entire region prepares for its collective relocation. “I wish you much joy planning your new house!” That is what the director of the Rheinbraun AG calls out to several dozen people in the gym of a small town near Cologne. Floor plans for one-, two- and multiple-family houses hang on exhibition walls. Rheinbraun AG, a subsidiary of RWE-Energy, has big plans. It wants to relocate 17 Rhenish localities in order to mine the brown coal lying below. The coal will produce power, which will contribute to the energy supply of the Federal Republic of Germany for decades to come. For 12,000 people, that means the loss of their home. Brown coal open pit mining has a long tradition in Rhineland. Since WWII, 30,000 people have already been resettled as a result. The largest of three Rhenish coal mines is named Garzweiler I. Garzweiler was one of the towns that had to yield to the pit mine in the 80s. In November 1998, the North Rhine Westphalia state government issued the permit for a subsequent pit mine, named Garzweiler II. Preceding that was a 14 year ongoing fight between opponents and supporters. During the project, 50 square kilometres will be stripped away to a maximum depth of 210 metres – with everything that lies on top of it. The mining will be finished in 2050. Another 50 years will be needed for the complete re-cultivation of the area. At the very end, around the year 2100, a 23 km²so-called “residual-lake” will remain. Statement of the jury for the 38th Adolf Grimme Award: “A beguilingly beautiful film, simple and stringent and black & white. Understandably, there is much attention to a suitable format: because it requires stillness and room to experience what it looks and sounds like, when entire towns disappear. The film – brilliantly captured by cinematographer Börres Weiffenbach – lays out a mental map with unusual depth of insight and clearly contoured perspectives. Here, the descriptions, the memories, the outlooks of locally rooted lives. There, the, completely non-sarcastic, formulas of the planners. And in between, up front, the almost abstract industrial beauty of the huge excavators. Schanze does not simply take advantage of this tension by choosing sides. Instead, he uses it as an energy field for exact observation. Of people, who do not recklessly distort the idea of home, but simply live it. And of landscapes which are often more foreign to us than exotic worlds – as living space for an unagitated and undenounced province.”