Neuer Deutscher Film Report

End of the Commune?

A documentary about Fassbinder and the early years of the legendary Antiteater, the group he was a member/leader of. You can here see and hear some of the actors he was going to use in his movies for the next years. The movie shows rehearsals for his play "The Coffeehouse," which also became a television movie, and you can watch unique footage from the 19th Film Festival in Berlin (1969) where "Love is Colder Than Death" was shown. As told in this documentary, his first feature movie was given a cold shoulder by many of the journalists and visitors at the festival. You can in "End of the Commune" watch Fassbinder and actor Ulli Lommel walk out on stage after the opening of "Love is Colder Than Death,” while a man in the audience is shouting "Out with the director!” In this documentary, Fassbinder also talks a lot about his father, who was a respectable doctor.

I Don’t Just Want You to Love Me

A documentary about the life and work of director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Tobby

Fictional film with documentary elements about a jazz musician in Berlin.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God

A few decades after the destruction of the Inca Empire, a Spanish expedition led by the infamous Aguirre leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon River in search of the lost city of El Dorado. When great difficulties arise, Aguirre’s men start to wonder whether their quest will lead them to prosperity or certain death.

Stroszek

Bruno Stroszek is released from prison and warned to stop drinking. He has few skills and fewer expectations: with a glockenspiel and an accordion, he ekes out a living as a street musician. He befriends Eva, a prostitute down on her luck and they join his neighbor, Scheitz, an elderly eccentric, when he leaves Germany to live in Wisconsin.

Effi Briest

When 17-year-old Effi Briest marries the elderly Baron von Instetten, she moves to a small, isolated Baltic town and a house that she fears is haunted. Starved for companionship, Effi begins a friendship with Major Crampas, a charismatic womanizer.

The Tin Drum

In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.

The Marriage of Maria Braun

Maria marries a young soldier in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. She must rely on her beauty and ambition to navigate the difficult post-war years alone.

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

Emmi Kurowski, a cleaning lady, is lonely in her old age. Her husband died years ago, and her grown children offer little companionship. One night she goes to a bar frequented by Arab immigrants and strikes up a friendship with middle-aged mechanic Ali. Their relationship soon develops into something more, and Emmi's family and neighbors criticize their spontaneous marriage. Soon Emmi and Ali are forced to confront their own insecurities about their future.

The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum

After a chance encounter with a wanted man, a woman is harassed by the police and press until she takes violent action.

The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick

Goalkeeper Josef Bloch is sent off after committing a foul during an away game. This causes him to lose his bearings, and he wanders aimlessly through the city streets and spends the night with the box-office attendant of a movie theatre.

The Kids Turned Out Fine

This anti-coming-of-age film follows Generation Y characters as they chase the desire for radical self-realisation.

BIPED

One night, bedridden Bianca finds herself in a terrible scenario. As it plays out, she must venture through the catastrophe that once was her home in search of a way to escape. In the different rooms she each will be faced with a different obstacle in front of her. May it be mysterious figures, lunatic faucets, or this heat which seems to come from somewhere...

Flood

When Jonas loses his job at a Hamburg startup company, he doesn’t have the heart to tell his girlfriend Katharina, as her nerves are already on the edge with her final law exams coming up. Every morning he leaves their flat and drift aimless through the metropole on endless underground rides. After a chance meeting with his former boss Marc, Jonas starts to observe the young manager. His curiosity gradually turns into obsession, small and bigger everyday lies become a kind of survival strategy for Jonas. While Katharina notices his increasingly odd behavior, Jonas is losing control over events more and more. Flood deals with feelings of powerlessness of the individual facing a growing competitive and performance pressure. The fear of failing in a perceived competition of life kicks off a spiral of wrong decisions, with no apparent way out. Georg Pelzer’s debut was shot basing on a 20-page plot description, dialogues and actions where improvised with the actors on location.

Yesterday Girl

A young German woman searches for happiness, liberation, and independence in the illusive wake of a transformative national recovery.

Paris, Texas

A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.

The City Tramp

A tramp finds a gun lying in the street.

Der Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels

The Serial Killer's Apprentice

Dr. Katherine Ramsland interviews Elmer Wayne Henley, the sole survivor of the 1973 Houston Mass Murders, to unravel his chilling journey from manipulated teen to convicted killer — and the terrifying truth behind the line between victim and predator.

Hezbollah: The Untold Story

Born from war and shaped by conflict, the Lebanese resistance has endured decades of battles, invasions, and geopolitical shifts. This documentary traces its rise, its defining moments, and the sacrifices that kept it standing. But with the region in turmoil and Syria fallen and one question remains—how much longer can the resistance hold its ground?