Films by Hajo Schomerus

2023, 118 min
by Regina Schilling

At 34, Igor Levit is an exceptional artist in the world of classical music. A young rebel, who - at the piano - transforms into a mature musician. At age nine he arrived in Germany, a Jewish immigrant of Russian descent. Having an opinion and publicly expressing it, is not a choice, it is a survival strategy. The film follows the artist over two years as Levit explores his “life after Beethoven“, as he searches for his next challenge, his identity as an artist. We observe him recording new piece

2023, 87 min
by Rubén Abruña

When sewers were built in the 19th century, they were regarded as a blessing. Deadly epidemics that wiped out millions of people became a thing of the past in the Western world. However, sewers also abolished the millennia-old tradition of using our excrement as fertilizer, and broke the nutrient cycle of grow-eat-excrete-compost-to grow food again. The modern flush and forget toilet discards our excrement as waste, while agriculture uses more mineral fertilizers to produce food. Mineral fertili

Switzerland, Germany 2020, 104 min
by Luzia Schmid

Prosperity on the one side, misery on the other: just how directly the two can be connected comes to light in Luzia Schmid’s film about the meteoric rise of her hometown of Zug upon becoming a tax haven.Swiss filmmaker Luzia Schmid traces the rise of her hometown of Zug and its townspeople, who have succeeded in becoming very rich by converting their town into one of the world’s leading tax havens. Even her immediate family is implicated in Zug’s politics and economy. And yet a tax haven is also

Germany 2019, 96 min
by Dominik Wessely

When Mario Adorf enters a room, one senses his presence, his vitality, his charisma and his elegance. The grand master of movie, born in 1930, is still rated as being one of the most popular actors in Germany.“ES HÄTTE SCHLIMMER KOMMEN KÖNNEN - MARIO ADORF” portrays the film star Mario Adorf and his passion for acting, the stage, the cinema, singing and writing. Together with the director Dominik Wessely, the film comes closer to Mario Adorf as a person and highlights important stations of his p

Germany 2016, 92 min
by Andreas Maus

Wednesday afternoon was deliberately chosen. There were a lot of customers in front of and in the brothers Özcan and Hasan Yildirim’s barbershop on 9 June 2004, when 700 three-inch carpenters’ nails turned into projectiles with a 250 metre range. 22 people were injured. The attack was infamous; the course of the investigations was equally scandalous: the victims were suspected. CCTV material was not analysed and Federal Minister of the Interior Otto Schily decisively ruled out a right wing backg

2016, 83 min
by Hajo Schomerus

It begins quite harmlessly with the filmmaker’s memories of his great uncle Menko, who lived in Madagascar for many years and told enchanting stories of myths, magicians and crocodile spirits. The strangest thing, however, was the elephant bird’s egg he brought home which has disappeared. It’s the occasion of an elaborate research around the globe, into the cellars and storehouses of auctioneers, archives and natural history collections. Hajo Schomerus is almost magically attracted to these unsp

Germany 2014, 40 min
by Georg Nonnenmacher

Hand-luggage is packed in a cloth shopping bag, one last cigarette before there is a knock at the door – inmate Rene is being transported. For a court hearing, he is traveling in a prison bus to another institution in another city. SPACEMEN accompanies him and shows the tedious procedure of the transport from his point of view – an exhausting route full of controls, constant stop-and-go at locked doors and gates, and endless waiting. When the bus is en route, the world passes by through the wind

Germany 2014, 100 min
by Valentin Thurn

In this century alone the world population will increase to 10 billion. Where do we get enough food that each individual needs to survive? How do we stop mankind from destroying the very foundation of ist food source?Valentin Thurn travels the world over to study the essentials of food production, during which he encountered diverse interest groups. He meets organic farmers and agro industry speculators, visits urban gardens and commercial slaughterhouses. The film makes a point of showing susta

Germany 2012, 81 min
by Carolin Schmitz

BEAUTY is a film about hopes and dreams of people. People in this film are united by the fact that they have been operated upon. How do people live their lifes, if their wish for beauty surpasses the physical integrety of their own bodies?

Germany 2011, 81 min
by Carolin Schmitz

The full length documentary BEAUTY describes people’s conceptions of life. Having cosmetic surgeries ist the common thing of the protagonists in this film. What is the way of life for people, whose desire for beauty exceeds the physical integrity of their bodies?

Germany 2011, 90 min
by Hannes Lang

The Alps are an ancient region of natural beauty that is changing as a result of climate change. Snow is no longer guaranteed. PEAK shows how the tourist industry is dealing with the problem. Millions are invested into massive technology to produce the perfect landscape independent from nature. High-altitude water reservoirs replace melting glaciers, excavators rip up the earth, a computer operated switch room lies deep in the mountain, pipes and cables are laid in the ground, snow machines cont

Germany 2009, 90 min
by Hajo Schomerus

Brother Jay recently moved into the world\'s most unusual flat share.Nestled in the center of Jerusalem lies the heart of Christianity, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Under its roof six Christian denominations live door to door. The young Franciscan`s gentleness is severely challenged by the conflicts in this multi-cultural collective. As Father Samuel, Prior of the Armenian community, defends his brothers`s rank in the pecking order with ploy and passion. Patriarch Theophilos III., on the ot