Films by Oliver Schwabe

Germany 2021, 22 min
by Christian Becker

Lydia filmed in the late 1970s and written down in diary sketches in 1992, the movie tells the story of the lives of Lydia and Wolfgang B. over two decades. She, translator of French literature, he, Romance studies professor. Between life crisis and "joie de vivre", full of passion and disciplined work, driven by convictions and doubts and the fear of a fatal second tumor, their film recordings and Wolfgang's diary texts fragmentary report about the beauty and the adversity of a symbiotic marriage and yet at the same time about a whole life.

Germany 2019, 92 min
by Oliver Schwabe

LOVE EATS UP LIVE retraces the work by Tobias Gruben, which 20 years after his death continues to be a nearly completely undiscovered diamond in the rough of German pop culture. The singer of CYAN REVUE and DIE ERDE inspires young bands like MESSER or ISOLATION BERLIN to perform cover versions of his songs.The film depicts not only an incomplete music career, but also describes the never-ending struggle of a son for recognition by his father. In interviews, music, some of which as yet unreleased, and letters, LOVE EATS UP LIVE takes us straight to the heart and mind of a musician nearly completely forgotten, who shortly before his commercial breakthrough died of an overdose and whose lyrics and songs continue to touch listeners today. (mindjazz)When Hamburg was cool: even 20 years after his death, underground musician Tobias Gruben is still seen as a rough diamond of German pop culture. A filmic rediscovery. To this day, his bands Cyan Revue and Die Erde inspire bands like Messer and Isolation Berlin, but during his lifetime Tobias Gruben remained an insider tip. At the heart of the music scene at the end of the 1980s, he got high on his love of music and all sorts of drugs. Besides success, he sought above all the recognition of his father. The film illuminates the path of a driven existence, talks to companions like Rocco Schamoni and FM Einheit and revisits the genius Gruben with amongst other things previously unseen footage. [Filmfest Hamburg]With: Imogen Gruben, Sebastian Gruben, Florian Langmaack, Heidrun Tuchenhagen, Horst Petersen, Felix Huber, Tobias Levin, Alfred Hilsberg, Peter Sempel, FM Einheit, Rocko Schamoni, Hendrik Otremba und Messer, Paul Pötsch, Timm Völker, Fee Kürten/Tellavision, Tom Schilling, Isolation Berlin

Germany 2017, 90 min
by Oliver Schwabe

With millions of records sold, the German band TOKIO HOTEL became a teenage sensation, first in Germany and then internationally. A close-up portrait of a band that has grown up and follows its own, highly individual path.At the age of nine, German twins Bill and Tom Kaulitz decided they wanted to become famous. By the time they were twelve, they had formed a band together with Gustav Schäfer and Georg Listing that went on to conquer the world as Tokio Hotel. They were admired, ridiculed, hated and adored… And they became a huge success: their albums went platinum in 60 countries, their concerts sold out and the androgynous Bill became a style icon. Rich and famous in their early twenties, the twins flew to Los Angeles in their private jet, leaving behind thousands of devoted fans and a life behind protective walls. They wanted their freedom back… but they had no idea what the future held. The film delves deep into the lives of the band members, accompanying Bill and Tom through Californian deserts and visiting Gustav and Georg in their hometown of Magdeburg. They talk about the price they paid for success, the inseparability of the twins, about love, sexuality, home and music. The band comes together in a Berlin studio to record their new album and prepare for their next world tour. With steely determination and a lifetime of experience, the musicians pursue their childhood dream: the pop fairytale that is Tokio Hotel…