Independent

  • Digital Life

    Digital Life

    2023

    1h.31min

    16+

    A digital flat share in the middle of the pandemic. Everyone is always reachable. Love and hate are close together. A comic nightmare by Malte Wirtz.


  • Disappearing

    Disappearing

    2022

    1h.38min

    16+

    In her documentary, Mračnikar formulates a political urgency in a personal way: What happens when your mother tongue is taken away from you?


  • The Third Guest

    The Third Guest

    2024

    1h.12min

    16+

    A lonely hostel hides more than just silence - a secret that needs to be uncovered.


  • Kick It Like a Girl

    Kick It Like a Girl

    2023

    16+

    "Girls can't play soccer" - Pauline, Chayenne, Eriona and Liv prove that this is obviously nonsense in this documentary series.


  • Adam Ondra: Pushing the Limits

    Adam Ondra: Pushing the Limits

    2022

    1h.17min

    16+

    Climber Adam Ondra, best in his field, is known for his fearless, record-breaking ascents. An intimate portrait explores his life beyond the headlines


  • Europa Passage

    Europa Passage

    2022

    1h.29min

    16+

    A movie about people who have no chance but still try to make the best of it. And about the price they have to pay for it.


  • Uncanny Me

    Uncanny Me

    2022

    44min

    16+

    Lale creates a digital clone to escape the stressful world of fashion. UNCANNY ME explores identity, technology and the nature of reality.


  • It Works II

    It Works II

    2022

    1h.43min

    16+

    IT WORKS II shows the lives of three people with disabilities - grown up and self-determined, 20 years after the first film.


  • Signs of War

    Signs of War

    2022

    1h.20min

    16+

    To document the imment conflict in eastern Ukraine, photographer Pierre Crom traveled to the Donbass in 2014.


  • Reihe 6

    Reihe 6

    2023

    25min

    16+

    This documentary shows the consequences of the 2008 war for displaced Georgians in a refugee settlement and their struggle to find a new home.


  • Good Life Deal

    Good Life Deal

    2022

    1h.13min

    16+

    Gerhard goes all in: He leaves his previous life behind for the Thai girl Amy. Romance and thriller begin to intertwine.


  • Infinity According to Florian

    Infinity According to Florian

    2022

    1h.10min

    16+

    Before the war, one of Kyiv's hottest subject was one of Trump’s cronies turning a masterpiece concert hall into a shopping mall.


  • Living Together

    Living Together

    2022

    1h.30min

    16+

    An integration course teaches people the finer points of Viennese culture in Chinese, Arabic, Russian and German.


  • Somehow

    Somehow

    2022

    1h.42min

    16+

    "Don’t become like my father" - a credo that will drive Alex, a man on the run from himself, to the edge of reason.


  • Make Up the World

    Make Up the World

    2024

    1h.39min

    16+

    Props play a crucial role in every movie, yet they are rarely consciously noticed - the big and small things on the set.


  • In Between Fridays

    In Between Fridays

    2023

    1h.37min

    16+

    Somewhere in the Monchique mountains of Portugal, the Fridayhappiness Associação balances sustainable living with their economic lifeline.


  • Janine F.

    Janine F.

    2004

    1h.20min

    16+

    The tragic story of an artist who was torn between passion and obsession and died under mysterious circumstances.


  • Our Fathers

    Our Fathers

    2021

    1h.15min

    16+

    About the missing and the found. About the silent and the roaring. About cuddling and sneezing. Six stories about fathers.


  • Fortuna Valentyn

    Fortuna Valentyn

    2022

    1h.5min

    16+

    After the 2014 revolution in Ukraine, Valentyn decided to become politically active and run for city council in his home town.


  • Allesandersplatz

    Allesandersplatz

    2021

    53min

    16+

    In the heart of Berlin, a GDR ruin is given a new lease on life and becomes a center for art, culture and community.


  • Re-Destruction

    Re-Destruction

    2021

    45min

    16+

    Acclaimed Lebanese director Simon El Habre paints a vivid portrait of Beirut post-Civil War, highlighting the impact of the 2020 port explosion.


  • The Red Mountain

    The Red Mountain

    2022

    1h.50min

    16+

    Is it fact or is it fiction? A documentary-fiction hybrid about the Red Mountain near Trier and the people who dwell there.


  • Joker

    Joker

    2019

    1h.30min

    16+

    Three solo entertainers share a passion for entertaining. For them, it is not just a profession, but a vocation to which they subordinate everything.


  • Seelenlandschaften Schottland

    Seelenlandschaften Schottland

    2023

    56min

    16+

    After England and Wales, Rüdiger Sünner explores the spiritual side of Scotland's breathtaking landscapes in the second part of his trilogy.


  • Ramba Zamba

    Ramba Zamba

    2023

    1h.29min

    16+

    To live inclusion and not just to play it is the declared goal of the Theater Rambazamba from Berlin.


  • Little Big Fighters

    Little Big Fighters

    2019

    1h.22min

    16+

    Looking to breathe new life into the sport of rugby in Germany, a man has launched an inclusive rugby team.


  • Bastard in Mind

    Bastard in Mind

    2022

    1h.26min

    16+

    A chance examination delivers the frightening diagnosis of brain aneurysm. The director himself documents the months leading up to the operation.


  • From the Ashes

    From the Ashes

    2019

    19min

    16+

    In a former German coal region, a mine gives way to a ghost train, including undead miners.


  • Talk Straight – The World of Rural Queers

    Talk Straight – The World of Rural Queers

    2003

    1h.39min

    16+

    How is life as a gay in the Swabian province? An intimate insight into a hitherto unknown terrain between church and Stammtisch.


  • Prima Mallorca

    Prima Mallorca

    2019

    1h.30min

    16+

    A new start to a better life? Forty Germans on welfare fly to Mallorca to do internships.


  • Ostravaganza

    Ostravaganza

    2022

    1h.43min

    16+

    Pittiplatsch, star of GDR children's television has a dark secret. Pitti was an avant-garde artist and informer for the state security service.


  • Me Time

    Me Time

    2022

    1h.26min

    16+

    Self-determination, women's rights, taboos: ME TIME focuses on child-free life and expectations of mothers.


  • Looteyo

    Looteyo

    2022

    1h.23min

    16+

    A powerful film about the struggle of a naive boy with good intentions in the harsh environment of Irans drug stronghold on the Island of Hormuz.


  • Seelenlandschaften - England und Wales

    Seelenlandschaften - England und Wales

    2022

    53min

    16+

    Poetic film essay which conveys a sense of the lived spirituality of the British Isles.


  • Barricade

    Barricade

    2021

    1h.23min

    16+

    A striking documentary by renowned photojournalist David Klammer about protesters fighting to stop the clear-cutting at the Dannenröder Forest.


  • Motorcity

    Motorcity

    2021

    1h.27min

    16+

    A compelling exploration of the complexities of American life, history, and society through the lens of the unique and fascinating sport drag racing.


  • Soldier Ahmet

    Soldier Ahmet

    2021

    1h.16min

    16+

    Ahmet, a champion boxer and professional soldier, starts taking acting lessons. On stage he comes face to face with his own internal battles.


  • Zwischennutzung

    Zwischennutzung

    2022

    1h.35min

    16+

    Discover the hidden world of the former meat factory in Vienna's Sonnwendviertel through the lens of filmmaker Dariusz Kowalski.


  • Room Without a View

    Room Without a View

    2021

    1h.13min

    16+

    Slavery has never ended. It has just assumed other names and ways to conceal itself.


  • The Dust of Modern Life

    The Dust of Modern Life

    2021

    1h.21min

    16+

    To honor the archaic lifestyles of his ancestors and to preserve tradition, Liêm spends several days each year in the Vietnamese jungle.


  • t=E/x²

    t=E/x²

    2020

    1h.22min

    16+

    In this unusual time travel film with a steampunk touch, the protagonists have to escape a time loop, with 90's Pop-Star Jasmin Wagner and Götz Otto.


  • Evil in the Woods

    Evil in the Woods

    2022

    1h.19min

    16+

    The "German indie machine" Malte Wirtz turns to horror and does it so successfully that the audience left the cinema hall in fear.


  • Thirty

    Thirty

    2019

    1h.54min

    16+

    A senistive drama that authentically and lovingly captures the lifestyle of a group of young urbanites on the brink of a quarter-life crisis.


  • Bungalow

    Bungalow

    2002

    1h.24min

    16+

    The Bundeswehr is looking for him, his girlfriend Kerstin breaks up with him, and unexpectedly his older brother Max shows up


  • Another Way to Make a Living

    Another Way to Make a Living

    2022

    1h.4min

    16+

    In a small German town, local journalist Eric investigates the drug scene on his own initiative and at great personal risk.


  • Unsere Geschichten

    Unsere Geschichten

    2020

    1h.46min

    16+

    Young people from the former border region use smartphones to film stories from their personal environment about the topic of German division.


  • Away You Go

    Away You Go

    2018

    1h.16min

    16+

    Compassionate mumblecore-style drama about a young woman's struggles with the expectations placed on her by her partner and friends.


  • For the Glory

    For the Glory

    2022

    1h.15min

    16+

    This documentary follows full-contact athlete Lukas Kroiss on his cinematic path to the K1 European Championship title.


  • Face the Wall

    Face the Wall

    2009

    1h.25min

    16+

    Victims of the repressive system in the former East German state give powerful testimony about the cruetly of the dehumanizing regime.


  • The Family

    The Family

    2014

    1h.32min

    16+

    Survivors can also be victims in countries where injustice was the norm. Their compelling testimonies are featured in this insightful documentary.


  • Homeopathy Unrefuted?

    Homeopathy Unrefuted?

    2021

    1h.26min

    16+

    Is homeopathy a hoax or medicine? Here, homeopaths are allowed to share their very different views.


  • 37

    37

    2018

    1h.29min

    16+

    Marc is a surfer and lives his life one day at a time. But after many strokes of fate, he dreams of turning back time, and starting all over again.


  • The Presence

    The Presence

    2014

    1h.23min

    16+

    New spin on the found footage genre: three friends spend a week in a haunted castle to investigate supernatural phenomena.


  • Ciao Aracà

    Ciao Aracà

    2019

    1h.2min

    16+

    Globalization, and rural exodus: despite a gloomy outlook, the people still living in Aracà , a small Italian village, are bravely facing the future.


  • Not in my Backyard

    Not in my Backyard

    2011

    1h.27min

    16+

    One of the biggest taboos in society is the rehabilitation of sex offenders. This film takes the offender perspective.


  • Freakstars 3000

    Freakstars 3000

    2003

    1h.15min

    16+

    Christoph Schlingensief's answer to "Pop Idol" was "Freakstars 3000".


  • No News

    No News

    2021

    1h.21min

    16+

    The shocking story of the sea rescue ship Lifeline, which was denied entry to a safe port for months.


  • Moments of Resistance

    Moments of Resistance

    2019

    1h.39min

    16+

    This film places acts of resistance against National Socialism and current struggles in a historical continuity.


  • Where to, Miss?

    Where to, Miss?

    2016

    1h.23min

    16+

    A Delhi woman's rocky road to her own cab license.


  • Der Stoff, aus dem Träume sind

    Der Stoff, aus dem Träume sind

    2019

    1h.16min

    16+

    Housing is a human right. How can we guarantee housing in the increasingly difficult real estate markets in Europe's major cities?


  • Eleven Uncles

    Eleven Uncles

    2010

    1h.41min

    16+

    Volksbühnen actor and director Herbert Fritsch and celebrity cast transform the classic Hamlet tale into a hilarious, multimedia fever dream.


  • Thing I Don't Get

    Thing I Don't Get

    2018

    1h.11min

    16+

    Growing up in a rural idyll on his father's farm, teenager Johannes searches for his place in life.


  • Chasing Paper Birds

    Chasing Paper Birds

    2020

    2h.3min

    16+

    Driven by their obsessions and fears, three Berliners lose themselves in the urban jungle.


  • Come Closer

    Come Closer

    2021

    1h.15min

    16+

    The focus is on the relationship between the two directors Bella and Andreas, who explore themes of love, sex, friendship and desire.


  • Fall Pinguin

    Fall Pinguin

    2021

    59min

    16+

    The penguins encounter Swiss alpine cows, swim in the river, walk leisurely through the city center... they are everywhere. An adventure begins.


  • The Mouth - Our Ultimate Prison

    The Mouth - Our Ultimate Prison

    2017

    1h.27min

    16+

    Jakob Fisch confesses to a murder he did not commit. Police psychologist Dr. Alea Anzu then tries to convict him of lying.


  • Glory to the Queen

    Glory to the Queen

    2020

    1h.23min

    16+

    A film about victory and defeat, on the chessboard and in life, and a cinematographic reflection on the struggle for female self-determination.


  • Masala Chai

    Masala Chai

    2018

    1h.2min

    16+

    Whether in Delhi, Pune, Mumbai or Kolkata, street vendors from very different backgrounds sell the country's most popular drink, masala chai.


  • Not Yet Over

    Not Yet Over

    2016

    1h.3min

    16+

    A position-finding exercise: where does feminism stand today in relation to reproduction?


  • This Movie is a Gift

    This Movie is a Gift

    2019

    1h.12min

    16+

    Daniel Spoerri is one of the most important representatives of object art, co-founder of the artist group Nouveau Réalisme and inventor of Eat-Art.


  • You will never understand

    You will never understand

    2003

    52min

    16+

    Anja Salomonowitz portrays three women from her family who as children lived through WWII but whose memories of that time diverge.


  • Jobcenter

    Jobcenter

    2009

    1h.19min

    16+

    Unemployment... Helmut and Sieglinde are over fifty and already considered unemployable. What about young people trying to find work?


  • Natasha

    Natasha

    2008

    1h.24min

    16+

    Who are the (presumably) Eastern European panhandlers working the streets? Filmmaker Ulli Gladik finds out.


  • Yugoslavia – How Ideology Moved Our Collective Body

    Yugoslavia – How Ideology Moved Our Collective Body

    2013

    1h.2min

    16+

    The film looks at how ideology performed itself in public space through mass performances in socialist Yugoslavia.


  • Mass Ornaments

    Mass Ornaments

    2013

    1h.19min

    16+

    This work investigates a controversial mass performance from the late Yugoslav era – the Youth Day celebration (“slet”) in 1987.


  • Swimmers

    Swimmers

    2015

    1h.17min

    16+

    The doc about the cult surrounding a Soviet physicist Boris Zolotov was awarded the ARTE documentary award.


  • On the margins

    On the margins

    2015

    1h.22min

    16+

    We accompany a Roma family in Macedonia in their laborious everyday life, marked by deprivation, humiliation and racism.


  • Alive

    Alive

    2019

    1h.34min

    16+

    Sophie and Wolfram meet in the hospital and set off together on their final journey. Both are terminally ill with cancer.


  • No One Misses Me!

    No One Misses Me!

    2016

    28min

    16+

    Filmmaker Erik Lemke (BERLIN EXCELSIOR) portrays his great-aunt Evelin: she was born a man, in a country that no longer exists.


  • Meuthen's Party

    Meuthen's Party

    2017

    1h.32min

    16+

    Follow Jörg Meuthen, candidate for Germany's right-wing party AFD, on his election tour 2016.


  • For the love of survival

    For the love of survival

    2019

    1h.26min

    16+

    To prevent the ecological collapse of our planet, these 8 courageous people envision a new kind of agriculture.


  • The Rojava Experiment - A Society On The Move

    The Rojava Experiment - A Society On The Move

    2019

    58min

    16+

    In northern Syria, an anti-hierarchical, multi-ethnic model of democracy was launched in the Rojava region under the leadership of the Kurds.


  • Sebastian Jumping Fences

    Sebastian Jumping Fences

    2020

    1h.10min

    16+

    From an early age, Sebastian had to be self-reliant. This film follows him through three stages of his life on the path to discovering his true self.


  • Small Planets

    Small Planets

    2018

    1h.41min

    16+

    A visit to four exceptionally isolated places and communities that never cease to amaze even the people who live there.


  • Datsche

    Datsche

    2018

    1h.34min

    16+

    A naïve New Yorker retreats to his dead grandfather's summer cottage (datsche in German) but instead of peace he finds Adam, a refugee in hiding.


  • Im inneren Kreis

    Im inneren Kreis

    2017

    1h.23min

    16+

    Iris P. was an undercover investigator who maintained close friendships and had intimate relationships with the people she spied on.


  • Character One: Susan

    Character One: Susan

    2020

    1h.24min

    16+

    Susan is a glamorous train wreck: a delusional drug-addict and psychotic who compares herself to the likes of Maria Callas and Romy Schneider.


  • Counting Tiles

    Counting Tiles

    2018

    1h.26min

    16+

    "Clowns without Borders" bring a bit of joy to the refugee camp in Moria, Lesbos.


  • Panoptic

    Panoptic

    2017

    1h.10min

    16+

    Panoptic is a letter from a daughter to her deceased father in an attempt to reconcile with Lebanon’s turbulent past.


  • Everything Always All the Time

    Everything Always All the Time

    2019

    1h.26min

    16+

    What happens when your girlfriend suddenly has a penis?


  • East/West – Sex and Politics

    East/West – Sex and Politics

    2008

    1h.35min

    16+

    A snapshot of the multifaceted life in the megapolis Moscow, with the focus on lesbians and gays who take to the streets for their rights.


  • The Bicycle

    The Bicycle

    2015

    1h.22min

    16+

    Mark and Antonia have a long-distance relationship and are taking a joint holiday in Paris. Their last visit was a long while back. How will it go?


  • Lord of the Toys

    Lord of the Toys

    2018

    1h.36min

    16+

    Max "Adlersson" Herzberg from Dresden, 20 years old, has over 300,000 subscriptions on YouTube and reviews knives and gangsta rap fan boxes.


  • Erased, Ascent of the Invisible

    Erased, Ascent of the Invisible

    2018

    1h.16min

    16+

    30 years after the end of the civil war in Lebanon, over 17,000 people who disappeared are still unaccounted for. An unnamed artist searches them.


  • The Demon Disease

    The Demon Disease

    2018

    1h.22min

    16+

    In some of West Africa's traditional societies, mental illness and epilepsy are still seen as demonic possession.


  • The Sound of Unexpected Death

    The Sound of Unexpected Death

    2019

    30min

    16+

    A sequence of everyday-scenarios develops in synchronisation across what seems like a regular night in the city.


  • For the Daemon

    For the Daemon

    2020

    1h.16min

    16+

    Cordt Hammer, a journalist, is possibly the last man on earth. He seems to be in the midst of a feminine revolution. Is this a dream?


  • Berlin Excelsior

    Berlin Excelsior

    2018

    1h.27min

    16+

    The anonymous Berlin concrete building "Excelsior" is only a temporary stop for its residents, yet some have been living there for more than 50 years.


  • This Land Is My Land

    This Land Is My Land

    2020

    1h.45min

    16+

    “What the hell is happening to my country?” After Trump was elected, filmmaker Susanne Brandstaetter investigates the growing divide in the USA.


  • CaRabA - Life Without School

    CaRabA - Life Without School

    2019

    1h.29min

    16+

    What would kids do if they didn't have to go to school? Five young people follow their interests in a world without compulsory education.