Films by Gunter Hanfgarn

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, 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.

Germany 2013, 25 min
by Carmen Butta

The 14-year old Akram is a fisherman from Gaza. He had to leave school with 12 years, because his father was sick and someone had to feed the family. He would have loved to continue school, but now he likes to be a fisherman. He belongs to a typical Palestinian family with 54 members, who all live in a big house in the centre of Gaza. His dream is to  steer a big fisherboat. But like all other children in Gaza he also dreams of a life without war, bombs and destroyed houses.

Germany 2010, 90 min
by Maria Mohr

A film dedicated to the brothers and sisters who leave and those who stay – „on earth as in heaven“. BROTHER SISTER is a film about a German nun loving a Spanish saint to-be: Rafael Arnaiz, who died 3 years before Sister Ingrid was born. She only has a piece of his rib as an official relic – and his complete works, that she had translated from Spanish into German. But why a german nun loves a Spanish saint? Sister Ingrid is the filmmaker’s aunt. This allows an intensive look into the world of the Roman-Catholic Church, where she learned to follow her ideas of a rather independent life. Rafael Arnaiz who was suffering from Diabetes already died at the age of 27 lead a life between culture, arts, music, good food and fast cars and his sober Trappist abbey. He was a young, attractive and charismatic young guy who nowadays seems to be a the perfect role model of a “modern” saint. BROTHER SISTER is a very personal reflection on the tightrope walk between wishes and must, between christian humility and the longing for freedom. A film for “happy prisoners” and brotherly/sisterly lovers.

Germany 2009, 88 min
by Jean Boué

Helmut Kohl is a great man. Helmut Kohl has achieved al lot for the Federal Republic. Helmut Kohl brought unification upon Germany. Yet what did the unification bring for Helmut Kohl? In Germany live several men bearing this name. For instance at Wolfen: Helmut Kohl has lost everything from back then, but it could have been worse even. The GDR pensioner says farewell to his old homeland. Or take Crimmitschau: For Helmut Kohl it’s not been a bad time since the 1989 turnover, yet before things used to be better altogether. Though the innkeeper has changed the system, his attitude did not change. Helmut Kohl in Lorscheid says, it’s all good in Germany, but actually it could be better still. The hard-working Westerner feels cheated of the fruits of his labor. Unlike Helmut Kohl from Duisburg: His life he managed in every regard, only in the other Germany something finally went awry. The architect, upright, noble, a good soul, loses his face in the East. And then on to Heidelberg: Still Helmut Kohl feels fine with it all, but all too soon Germany will be in dire straits. The German of Polish descent sees youth and foreigners ruin his beloved fatherland.

2005, 90 min
by John Burgan

In August 2001 a Norwegian captain rescues 400 Afghan refugees from a sinking ferry and tries to take them to Christmas Island. Australian Special Forces are sent to prevent the ship from landing. Four years later many of the refugees are still locked away. Sixty years earlier the prison ship HMT Dunera left Liverpool with 2.542 Austrians, Germans and Italians on board. Refugees from Hitler, they had been told they were going to Canada, but 8 weeks later they arrived in Sydney having been systematically robbed and beaten by their British guards. After a further year imprisoned, Churchill admitted a mistake and set them free. The case was so sensitive that the files were sealed till 2041. "Friendly Enemy Aliens" in a time of war: where do they belong, whose purpose do they serve?