Films by Marco Wilms

Germany 2018, 88 min
by Marco Wilms

From rock star to politician: Freddy Lim is Taiwan's most political heavy metal singer, progressing from passionate stage performer to active member of parliament. We follow him during the early days of his political career and show him campaigning tirelessly for a democratic Taiwan.Shaking his long hair and yelling hoarsely into the microphone, Freddy Lim from Taiwan is in his element performing on stage as the lead singer of his heavy metal band. But he’s no less passionate about his political career. In 2015, he founded the New Power Party and just one year later was appointed representative of foreign affairs and national defence in Taiwan’s parliament. What happens when the heavy metal hero of the oppressed people hangs up his stage gear and slips into a made-to-measure politician’s suit? When he switches from tour bus to chauffeur-driven limousine? Or descends from the heady heights of rock stardom to lowly day-to-day politics? We spend a year accompanying the political newcomer as he struggles to find a new identity for a democratic Taiwan. Freddy finds inspiration in his idol, the Dalai Lama, and despite China’s protests, travels to the US for Donald Trump’s inauguration. Will he achieve his goal? Declared by China as a province, Taiwan is recognised by few countries as an independent state. Members of the Sunflower youth movement have managed to become members of Taiwan’s government and for the first time in the country’s history, the opposition is now the ruling party with a female president who fought her election campaign side by side with the voice of youth, Freddy Lim.

Germany 2016, 90 min
by Jeremy JP Fekete, Marco Wilms, Tuan Lam

In the ARTE-series “Gasoline Deluxe”, consisting of 10 episodes, the entertainer and gas station lover Friedrich Lichtenstein searches for the most beautiful and most extraordinary gas stations in Europe. His aim: he wants to convince the world that gas stations are the most romantic places in our present age.10x26mins or 90mins, French, German or English version available8x5mins web-series

Germany 2013, 74 min
by Marco Wilms

Jungle child Manop is nine years old and dreams of becoming a star in Thailand’s most popular folk opera LIKAY. He lives among the elephants in the middle of the jungle near the remote border to Burma, and performs in the LIKAY children’s group in his village school. Manop is a Burmese refugee. He does not have a Thai passport, is not allowed to leave his village and will not receive a school report despite his diligence. Manop’s mother cleans the school for free so her son may attend. The family live in the school’s converted chicken coop. Because he wants nothing more than to perform LIKAY, Manop writes a letter to Thailand’s LIKAY superstar Chaiya Mitchai, asking him if he may perform once in his show. When Chaiya Mitchai actually invites him, Manop is allowed to leave the border region for the first time and embark upon a great adventure. He meets Chaiya in a luxurious hotel in Pattaya, is allowed to rehearse with him, and wins over the hearts of the Mitchai LIKAY family. In the end, Manop gets to perform LIKAY with his idol on the big stage, and earns a lot of money for the first time in his life. A touching fairy tale told against an exotic and glittery backdrop – just like in a LIKAY show.

Germany 2013, 90 min
by Marco Wilms

Art is a weapon! This motto still holds true in Cairo. After 30 years of autocracy, President Mubarak was swept away by his people. Now the street belongs to them, the young rebels and artists. Graffiti sprayers and painters make the walls speak. They recount the days of fighting in blood-smeared portraits, the time of anarchy in wild collages, the attempts of liberation from a suppressed sexuality in obscene pictures. Walls become a chronicle of the rush of events; electro pop and rap supply a thrilling soundtrack. Euphoria is followed by overpainting and destruction. Snipers are at work, aiming at the protesters’ eyes. The revolution is no more romantic than this underground art, whose aim is to provoke and take risks, is accommodating.In one episode, director Marco Wilms draws a line back to the historic murals of the age of the Pharaohs. In a country with a high illiteracy rate, such traditions become a tried and tested medium of revolt. In a wild tour de force through the past two years of permanent and radical upheavals, ART WAR shows the dangerous dance on the volcano as a trip driven forward by the colours and rhythms of the Egyptian painters and musicians. (DOKLeipzig, Cornelia Klauß)

Germany 2010, 52 min
by Marco Wilms

„One life is not enough“, says Peter Weibel. This is the reason why he lives several lives at the same time in his „pluriverse“. He is a wild Viennese Actionist and lets his partner Valie Export lead him through Vienna on a dog leash. He studies mathematics, becomes a curator, rockstar, director of multimedia operas, author of hundreds of books and professor at several universities. Today Peter Weibel is 66 years old and amongst others the creative head and chairman of the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe, Germany – overseeing a double-digit budget that goes into the millions. His global fan community admires him mostly for his vanguard thinking and action. A matter of course in the industrial age of today,Weibel’s multimedia campaigns and theories were often ahead of their times. His legendary New Wave Song „Sex in der Stadt“ (Sex in the City) (1979) is so up to date that it was recently covered by the international post-feminist all-girl band „Chicks on Speed“. Director Marco Wilms accompanied the global nomad Peter Weibel on his restless journeys through the world. In Rome Peter Weibel curates a new ZKM exhibition, discovers works of art in Roman palaces and meets legendary Arte Povera artis Jannis Kounellis. In Paris he gives a lecture with author Umberto Eco at the Louvre and encounters his friend the philospher Bruno Latour at the Centre Pompidou. In Karlsruhe he receives the „Europäischer Kulturpreis“ (European Culture Price) and declares himself the Science Officer of the ZKM, Mr. Spock. And in Berlin he gives a lecture with wold-famous light artist Olafur Eliasson, whom Peter Weibel once discoverd. Weibel’s work is commentated by famous companions such as Bazon Brock or Boris Groys.

Germany 2009, 90 min
by Marco Wilms

Although the official colour of communism is red, real existing socialism in East Germany presented itself in shades of grey. The entire country was forced to dress in clothes that were twenty years behind western standards. How can a political system survive such a deficiency in taste? Well... history shows it didn‘t survive. Filmmaker and former GDR model Marco Wilms sets out on a journey into the heart of the GDR‘s Kafkaesque fashion scene and reveals what really made the Berlin Wall tumble down: The Socialist Party‘s lack of good taste.