Films by Rosa von Praunheim

Germany 2014, 88 min
by Oliver Sechting, Andreas Wolter

How I Learned to Love the Numbers is a New York film and at the same time the study of a young man suffering from an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).The Berlin filmmaker Oliver Sechting (37) and his co-director Max Taubert (23) travel to New York with the idea of documenting the art scene there. However, the project is quickly overshadowed by Oliver’s OCD, and the two directors fall prey to a conflict that becomes the central theme of their film.Encounters with such artists as film directors Tom Tykwer (Cloud Atlas), Ira Sachs (Keep The Lights On), and Jonathan Caouette (Tarnation) or the transmedia artist Phoebe Legere seem more and more to resemble therapy sessions. At last, Andy Warhol superstar Ultra Violet succeeds in opening a new door for Oliver.

Germany 2012, 78 min
by Rosa von Praunheim

Well-known director and frequent visitor to Panorama section Rosa von Praunheim will present his new documentary on Ralf König, KING OF COMICS, at this year's Berlinale. König, one of the most successful German cartoonists, became famous with his comic book THE MOST DESIRED MAN that was made into a film in 1994, starring Til Schweiger. Wittily playing with queer clichés, he also reaches a wide heterosexual audience. In KING OF COMIC Rosa von Praunheim portrays an unpretentious and modest man that with his brilliant observation skills has been leaving his mark on generations. Internationally represented is the film by Berlin-based m-appeal world sales that is also handling von Praunheim's previous titles.

Germany 2011, 83 min
by Rosa von Praunheim

Berlin stories behind sex for money Despised, stigmatised and suppressed to the fringe of society - this is the reality young, male prostitutes face in Berlin. Most of the hustlers are immigrants, a lot of them act out of necessity. Rosa von Praunheim acompanies the young adults at their work in bars, porn movie theatres and on the street. He shows their reasons, their stories and above all, their strong will to survive. with: Sergiu Grimalschi, Lutz Volkwein, Wolfgang Werner, Peter Kern, Master Patrick

Germany 2010, 89 min
by Rosa von Praunheim

20 years after his successful documentary "Survival in New York", Rosa von Praunheim returns to the city, in which he had the most exciting time of his life. Remembering his own experiences in the wild seventies, when New York City was characterized by sexual liberation and eccentric individuals, and recollecting the big changes in the eighties when AIDS started to take its toll, Rosa meets his former protagonists and goes on a personal journey to discover what has become of “his” New York.

Germany 2002, 90 min
by Rosa von Praunheim

Ichgola Androgyn, BeV StroganoV, Tima the Divine and Ovo Maltine are four headstrong drag queens who met in West Berlin in the mid-eighties and have been busy fertilising the cultural scene in both Germany and the rest of the world ever since. Director Rosa von Praunheim has been fortunate enough to work with each of them repeatedly in various films. They all share the fact that they are not mere performers but are also politically active – in AIDS awareness, events against anti-gay violence, the prostitutes’ movement, the struggle against the extreme Right and racism. At one time, they even lived together as a chosen family on a houseboat in Berlin, where they would often put their heads together over their shows, political activities and media appearances. They first performed at Berlin’s gay centre “SchwuZ” and went on to appear all over Berlin and Germany. Three of them are HIV positive which means they are engaged in a constant personal battle for survival. A portrait of four wilful, courageous queens that captures an important part of Berlin’s cultural scene. Their personal histories are as colourful as a sequin-studded gown, held together by the fabric of their lives as queens. They have meticulously collected endless numbers of photographs, television clips, posters and newspaper articles. The four spend their lives working, loving and fighting together; believing in themselves as one family, till death them do part. – Rosa von Praunheim, 2002 Source of Synopsis