Films by Oliver Stahn

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 generations and how repression and speechlessness about the Nazi era and a divided Germany have been passed on.

2023, 86 min
by Britt Beyer

Coal mining has shaped Lusatia for generations. In the GDR it was still an important industrial location but, after the fall of communism, companies shut down and livelihoods were destroyed. With the planned phase out of coal, the region is facing another upheaval. Britt Beyer takes a sensitive look at the people who must deal once again with the collapse of existing structures and points of reference. [38 DOK.fest München, Ina Borrmann]

Germany, Canada, Finland 2022, 99 min
by Rick Minnich

A 76-year old engineer is on a mission: to connect the United States and Russia with a 100-kilometer long train tunnel beneath the Bering Strait.THE STRAIT GUYS follows Czech-born mining engineer, George, and his fast-talking protégé, Scott, along the proposed route of the InterContinental Railway through Alaska, to the Bering Strait and onward to Russia. The “Strait Guys” endeavor to convince international governments, corporations, and indigenous tribes to green-light their $100 billion railway project—with the promise to become the Panama Canal of the 21st century. As they struggle to keep their monumental vision alive in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, the Strait Guys leave us wondering: What is really preventing the US and Russia from being connected?Since Russia's attack on Ukraine, the tunnel plan seems absurd. But the Strait Guys are more convinced than ever that their mega-project is exactly what the world needs to finally leave wars behind and create "peace, progress and prosperity" for all.

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 find out which role her Ghanaian side is to play in her life – and whether or not she wants to succeed to the throne someday. KING BANSAH AND HIS DAUGHTER is a film about clichés and roles, expectations, boundaries, definitions of belonging – and challenging all of the above. It is a film about the search for an inner home.

2018, 91 min
by Bettina Borgfeld

Two billionaire brothers buy themselves into the island of Sark, where only 600 inhabitants live - till then in harmony with nature and with a strong sense of community.  A battle begins that unfolds a conflict in an idyllic setting. The brothers remain phantoms in the film as they never enter the battlefield themselves.

Germany, France 2015, 93 min
by Ayat Najafi

In Iran, since the revolution of 1979, women are no longer allowed to sing in public as soloists - at least in front of men.Defying censorship and taboos, the young composer Sara Najafi is determined to organise an official concert for solo female singers. In order to support their fight, Sara and the Iranian singers Parvin Namazi and Sayeh Sodeyfi invite three female singers from Paris, Elise Caron, Jeanne Cherhal and Emel Mathlouthi, to join them in Tehran and collaborate on their musical project, re-opening a musical bridge between France and Iran.But are they going to succeed and finally be gathered in Tehran, sing freely, side-by-side, in front of a mixed audience and without restrictions, and to open a door towards a new freedom of female voice in Iran?

Germany 2015, 93 min
by Andrea Roggon

Helge Schneider is one of the most extraordinary German artists: Jazz musician, entertainer, film director, actor and clown. His exceptional talent is his improvisational skill. This is where he shows his bubbling creativity. “I make the everyday grey colorful,” is what he says about himself. In his world, the fantastic coexists with the everyday and it is difficult to define the boundaries between reality and fiction. Even in his communication with his audiences, this element of disguise is used, humorously conveying his attitude toward the world. But how does Helge Schneider react to a filmmaker who approaches him to make a portrait about him when he doesn’t like for people to know too much about him?