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 hop

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 railwa

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 t

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 th

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 use

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 system