Films by Marcus Winterbauer

2024, 99 min
by Enrique Sánchez Lansch

A star dancer at the Cambodian royal court lovingly raises her husband's little brother as her own son. Decades later, as a forced labourer under the Khmer Rouge, she discovers that her foster son is Pol Pot.Chea Samy was an outstanding soloist in the royal dance ensemble at the Cambodian Royal Palace in the 1930s. But she was also Pol Pot’s foster mother. After marrying Pol’s older brother, a low-level official at the royal court, she looked after the boy as if he were her own. They lost contac

Germany 2024, 110 min
by Kathrin Jahrreiss

In her father's basement, the director finds letters and photos from her German-Jewish family history, in which three brothers are torn between the fronts of political ideologies from the Third Reich to divided Germany. DER DRITTE BRUDER is the grandfather of the filmmaker, who, in confronting her father, tries to understand where in the past the father's sense of family fell by the wayside.The cinematic journey also reveals how the third brother's decisions have shaped the family for generation

Germany 2023, 250 min
by Florian Opitz

The 5 part high-end documentary series CAPITAL B. WHO OWNS BERLIN? tells in an exciting and entertaining way how Berlin became what it is after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It has been a hip global metropolis for three decades, attracting artists, freedom lovers and young people from all over the world. But the way there was by no means preordained.And Capital B tells the story of how Berlin’s citizens have been fighting back ever since: against the sellout of their city, its displacement and ag

Germany 2023, 95 min

Since she was four years old, Sophia Flörsch has trained to fulfil her life’s dream – to be a Formula 1 racing driver. And she is good. Really good in fact. But what does that mean in an industry fixated on men, where only drivers whose families can provide them with start-up capital have a chance. But giving up is not an option for Sophia, despite all the setbacks. It means everything to her. [38 DOK.fest München, Ysabel Fantou]

2023, 90 min
by Moritz Springer

Far beyond merely offering an alternative model for agriculture, a collective of potato-growers straddles the line between an inspiring vision and sobering reality.Over a period of nine years, this documentary observes the Kartoffelkombinat, a collective of potato-growers in Munich, on its way to becoming Germany’s largest agricultural cooperative. The efforts of the organization’s two founders have been in service of a grander vision: finding an alternative to the capitalist mode of production.

2023, 90 min
by Nadine Neumann, Dietrich Duppel, Dana Wolfe

Examining the complexity of events in Ukraine since 2013, experts from all sides of the global political stage look at how the Maidan Square protests marked the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.EUROMAIDAN – DIARY OF A WAR FORETOLD examines the complexity of events that have unfolded in Ukraine since the Euromaidan protests in 2013/14. Ten years after the revolution that started in Kyiv, Russia invaded its neighbouring country. After years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, the entire c

Germany 2022, 108 min
by Torsten Striegnitz, Simone Dobmeier  

The Joy Of Singing is a music documentary about the beauty of singing together and the longing for community. It follows three choir leaders – star conductor Simon Halsey, vocal coach Judith Kamphues and upcoming Korean conductor Hyunju Kwon – during a time when the need for singing and community becomes their greatest challenge: In their personal lives, in their careers, but also in their tense relationship with the singers. The three take us on an entertaining and encouraging journey between a

2021, 92 min
by Stanislaw Mucha

The loneliest workplace in the world on a weather station on the edge of the Russian polar sea: A professional soldier who was retrained to become a meteorologist and traumatized in the Chechnya war, his young wife, whose previous life in the world of cities and money had brutally failed, a cancer patient who has returned to his place of birth Pensioner, the boss of the station - with a dubious if not criminal past and Jack the dog. Five traumatized souls who try in the loneliness of a hostile n

Germany 2020, 85 min
by Moritz Springer

Alternative life? Director Moritz Springer seeks answers to uncomfortable questions about the 68ers and the Nazi era in his own family. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, SZ.de)What exactly is family? In what way are we shaped by the fates of our forebears? "My Grandpa, Karin and I" is an intimate glimpse into the filmmaker's family life. His grandparents are old and needy. They live in a retirement home. The grandfather expects daughter Karin to take care of him now that grandmother can't manage anymore. An

Germany 2020, 86 min
by Agnes Lisa Wegner

Céphas Bansah is from Ghana and lives in the German city of Ludwigshafen on the Rhine river. In Ghana, he is the king to over 200,000 members of the Ewe, in Ludwigshafen he runs a car shop. His daughter Katharina, whose mother is German, is an artist, feminist, free spirit – and a king's daughter. Both of them feel that the social climate in Germany has changed. They experience racism and hostility. So for the first time after many years, Katharina accompanies her father to Ghana. She wants to f

Germany 2019, 52 min
by David Bernet

The inauguration of the Barenboim-Said academy in Berlin marked a new phase within the political and educational engagement of musician and pedagogue Daniel Barenboim. BEYOND THE MUSIC portrays this innovative academy whose mission it is to unite humanistic ideals, music and philosophy. Almost 20 years after the founding of the West-Eastern-Divan orchestra, another project of intercultural understanding is derived from the friendship between Barenboim and the Palestinian humanist Edward Said.

2019, 82 min
by Hubertus Siegert

CHILDREN OF UTOPIA takes us into the Berlin lives of six young people on the cusp of adulthood, as they look back at their time at an inclusive school – a radical concept back then. Some would be described as disabled, but they reject that label. As they discover the new lives they’ve made in the 12 years that have passed, their focus is on the ups and downs of life: love, careers, doubt and determination. This sweet and entertaining coming-of-age movie shows how the respect fostered in Class 5D

France, Germany 2018, 82 min
by Philipp Jedicke

Chilly Gonzales is a Grammy-winning composer, virtuoso pianist and entertainer. Criss-crossing between rap, electro and solo piano music, he became the outrageous pop performer who invited himself to the ivory tower of classical music. Change seems to be the only constant in Gonzales‘ journey. The cinematic documentary Shut Up And Play The Piano follows Gonzales from his native Canada to late 90‘s underground Berlin, and via Paris to the world‘s great philharmonic halls. The playfulness of his c

Germany 2018, 84 min
by Martin Baer, Claus Wischmann

Who owns the image(s) of the world? We take more photographs in a single day than we did in the entire twentieth century. Our world transforms itself into its own image. It would be illegal if we were to show you everything we see around us. Because every single image is owned by someone.Copyright-owners of objects, buildings, trademarks and even landscapes claim money for the depiction of their property. The real moneymaker is the wealth of pictures of us all. Who do the pictures of ourselves a

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 stim

Germany 2017, 96 min
by Sandra Budesheim, Sabine Zimmer

It is the culmination of every refugee story that is supposed to end with official asylum and resettlement in Germany: the personal interview with a case officer at a branch of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). The applicant and case officer meet on only one occasion. Asylum-seekers have to provide credible proof that they were persecuted in their home country. BAMF staff are responsible for deciding who stays and who leaves. They rely on the law, their common sense and their

Germany 2015, 105 min
by David Bernet

Democracy offers an insight into a hidden world of political struggle for new data protection legislation in the European Union. Euro-MP Jan Philipp Albrecht and EU-Commissioner Viviane Reding attempt the supposedly impossible. They take on a hard-edged apparatus of political power, in which intrigue, success and failure are frequent bedfellows. After two and a half years following the legislative process, the documentary brings complex power structures to life and offers a snapshot of democracy

Germany 2014, 96 min
by Arne Birkenstock

A mesmerizing, thought-provoking yet surprisingly amusing documentary on the life and times of Wolfgang Beltracchi, who tricked the international art world for nearly 40 years by forging and selling paintings of early 20th-century masters. A larger-than-life personality who was responsible for the biggest art forgery scandal of the postwar era.

Germany, Switzerland 2013, 92 min
by Noël Dernesch, Moritz Springer

The German singer Gentleman and his Italian counterpart Alborosie are two of the most important reggae artists in Europe. In 1999, Alborosie went on a two-week trip to Jamaica. He's been living there for 14 years now and plays to enthusiastic Jamaican audiences together with Gentleman. Journey to Jah paints a varied picture of the importance and spiritual meaning of reggae on the Caribbean island, where music is used to fight violence, sexism and poverty. As Alborosie says, "God lives here, but

Germany 2012, 90 min
by Arne Birkenstock

Germany 2011, 79 min
by Branwen Okpako

Branwen Okpako’s „The Education of Auma Obama“ is a captivating and intimate portrait of the U.S. president’s older half-sister, who embodies a post-colonial, feminist identity.An academic overachiever, she studied linguistics and contemporary dance in Heidelberg, Germany, before enrolling in film school in Berlin, where she met Nigerian-born director Okpako in the nineties. After living in the United Kingdom for a short period, Auma Obama eventually moved back to Kenya to mentor a young generat

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 le

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 le

Germany 2010, 89 min
by Jan Peters

When Jan Peters' girlfriend accidently takes his wallet on a trip to foreign climes, she leaves the filmmaker standing in Frankfurt Airport without a penny to his name. The only capital he possesses is a group ticket for the public transport system. After hearing about people who supplement their inadequate incomes by “escorting” groups of tourists across the city, Mr. Peters decides to apply the same method to his own situation. The filmmaker starts a business as an "independent travel escort"

Germany, Austria 2010, 90 min
by Jan Tenhaven

The film tells the life-affirming stories of five senior athletes across the world who all have one goal – to take part in the track and field World Masters Championships in Finland. The biggest challenge is their age as all athletes are between 77 and 100 years old - a race against time and personal degeneration as they jump, run and throw the discus. In their long lives, they have fought many personal crises and losses, they have survived wars and other tragedies, some of them have won the bat

Germany 2008
by Rick Minnich

One week after a seemingly harmless car accident, a 45-year-old man suffers total amnesia. Christening himself the “New Richard,” he embarks upon a new life with a new wife far away from his family. Sixteen years later, his oldest son returns with a camera to investigate why his father’s memory never returned.

Germany 2006, 90 min
by Sung-Hyung Cho

Just as the church choir pipe up the chorus of "We praise you, dear Lord", a few hundred metres away on the Black Metal Stage, a loud rumble can be heard. The lead singer of "Kreator" is bellowing "Enemy of God" into his microphone, roaring out his visions of death and the immortality of evil, brimming over with hatred. At first glance, the cultural chasm that exists between the inhabitants of Wacken and the heavy metal fans who have travelled from all over the world to be here could not be gre

Germany 2004, 100 min
by Thomas Grube, Enrique Sánchez Lansch

This Box Office hit is about Marie, Martin, Olayinka and 250 kids and teenagers who never danced or listened to classical music when they faced their biggest challenge: to perform Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’ with Sir Simon Rattle and the legendary Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra! Berlin, one cold January day. Amazing things are happening in the Arena down at Berlin’s industrial harbour. 250 Berlin schoolchildren from 25 different nationalities and socially difficult neighbourhoods are dancing t