Films by Max Preiss

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 art and social adventure...

Germany, Brasil 2018, 88 min
by Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck

When you post something on the web, can you be sure it stays there? Enter a hidden shadow industry of digital cleaning where the Internet rids itself of what it doesn’t like.. violence, pornography and.. political content. Who is controlling what we see and what we think?

Germany 2018, 90 min
by Christin Freitag

Championships, the ticket to the world of pro-boxing. When he almost loses his first fight, his dreams are suddenly questioned. Malcolm's coach Jessie, still mourning his own shattered boxing career, fears to fail a second time. They intensify the training drastically, almost heading towards a path of destruction. It becomes clear that talent, passion and even hard work sometimes are not enough to succeed. It’s the family around you - nobody can make it alone. In LET THE BELL RING the classical story of a boxer’s dream becomes a generation’s tale about first and last hopes, set against the backdrop of Los Angeles. It´s about lonely roads that cross each other and creating something out of nothing. (zff)

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.