Films by Volker Armbruster

Germany 2020, 70 min
by Tim Ellrich, Thi Hien Mai

Bay and Tam are a Vietnamese couple who have been living in Germany for the past 30 years. They work as office cleaners by night and rarely come into contact with German society. By day they spend all their time online, maintaining a virtual connection to their homeland via Skype and karaoke chatrooms. But when a storm destroys their house in Vietnam, their virtual bubble bursts. Tam desperately tries to organize the repairs remotely, while Bay’s priorities begin to shift, and she studies German in anticipation of the birth of their grandchild in Germany. She sees her future forming there, while for Tam it becomes more important than ever to focus on his family in Vietnam. Is home a place or a state of mind? Mein Vietnam is a vivid illustration of living in two places at once, and that duality’s consequences on marriage, family and a sense of belonging. (Hot Docs, Angie Driscoll)

Germany 2019, 95 min
by Stefan Sick

Dementia, a diagnosis that changes everything for those who are affected and for their relatives. Accepting the disease can seem just as difficult as finding an appropriate approach. But perhaps it is much more about compassion than about understanding? In an observational way, THE INNER LIGHT explores the everyday lives of people with dementia and focuses mainly on positive situations and encounters. The film tries to offer a poetic interpretation of this special state of being and aims at reducing fears in dealing with people with dementia and at accepting each person’s humanity.www.theinnerlight-film.com

Germany 2018, 65 min
by Rebekka Kaufmann

In WE OWN THE CRISIS Rebekka Kaufmann accompanies a family from Athens in their everyday lives - as lone fighters and united as a family. But the only place they come together is now threatened with foreclosure: their apartment. The film reflects sensitively and personally the current situation of many citizens of Greece and gives an insight into the consequences of the Greek crisis.

Germany 2018, 70 min
by Caroline Reucker

LE CIEL, LA TERRE ET L’HOMME conveys impressions of the perpetually windswept Moroccan desert, as well as of the people living there. We encounter Ahmed, Yussef, Lahcen, and Idir, follow their stories and witness their daily lives, their desires and their sense of belonging.