It’s the journey of her life: musician Petra Nachtmanova will travel for weeks on the roads from Berlin, through Anatolia, all the way to eastern Iran in search of the origins of her string instrument, which she discovered in Berlin Kreuzberg: the Saz. She will be always asking one question: “Can you teach me a song you think I should bring back home?”
Being an actress in Los Angeles is a demanding job on many levels. We take a look at the “working class” of actresses in L.A., the ones nobody ever sees because they are not (yet) famous. A portrait of five women who show us what it really means to “follow your dreams” and demonstrate that happiness and success are not necessarily related.
Of Polynesia’s once sacred sites, the stone temples, or marae, all that is left today are ruins, often buried under layers of vegetation and long since forgotten. The marae Taputapuatea in French Polynesia was recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We explore the secrets of the marae and their significance for Polynesian culture.
America’s history and culture through the lens of the African American experience: that’s the mission of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Since its inauguration in September 2016, the museum has been an overwhelming success. We take a journey through the spectacular building and its exhibitions.
The typographer Hermann Zapf’s career spanned seven decades. He designed over two hundred fonts and created a typographical bridge between the Renaissance and the digital age. He designed the typefaces Optima, Palatino and Zapfino which are installed on every Apple computer today. A film about the lifework of an extraordinary typographer.
Born in Italy in the 15th century, Andrea Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini were among the most important artists of the Early Renaissance, although they could not have been more different. The creative work of the brothers-in-law is closely interlinked and yet the artists remained rivals throughout their lives. Who were these two men?
Rinaldo Rinaldi is one of the last set painters to produce their huge backdrops in specially constructed spaces in old theatres. We accompany him during the preparation of the premiere of Figaro’s Wedding at the Teatro Bonci of Cesena in Italy. A documentary on a dying art that whisks us away into the magical world of the theatre.
Bugatti was a family of fanatics and artists, engineers and architects who built cars, created sculptures and designed extravagant furniture. We tell the story of Ettore Bugatti and his family which is still a myth today despite – or perhaps because of – its turbulent past.
Edgar Froese, electronic music pioneer and founder of the band Tangerine Dream, was on a lifelong mission to find the ultimate sound. His search brought the band international acclaim and took them to the studios of Hollywood. We trace the unique Tangerine Dream story: a tribute to the musician, who died in 2015, and to the era of electronic music.
From rock star to politician: Freddy Lim is Taiwan’s most political heavy metal singer, progressing from passionate stage performer to active member of parliament. We follow him during the early days of his political career and show him campaigning tirelessly for a democratic Taiwan.
When, almost 10 years ago, a kohl-eyed androgynous kid from East Germany and his teenage band TOKIO HOTEL cast a spell on German adolescents, no-one ever imagined this would be the start of a unique world career. A close-up portrait of a band that has grown up and follows its own, highly individual path.
To deal with their experiences during the Gaza war, a group of young people have written a play “The Gaza-Monologues”, which has been presented in over 40 countries. But with travel in and out of Gaza closely monitored, the play is usually performed by an ensemble from Ramallah. A film about living under occupation and the power of theatre and art.
