Petra Kelly was one of the most influential political figures of the 20th century. She fought for a world without weapons and nuclear energy, for a society at one with nature. She was co-founder of Germany’s Green Party – the first green party to find success. In 1992, She was murdered aged just 44. The issues she addressed are today more topical than ever before.
On the vast plains of Kyrgyzstan, men have been practising the team sport of buzkashi, for centuries. The aim of the game is to steal the trophy of a dead goat from the rival team of riders while staying on horseback. Into this tough masculine world enters Atirkül, a woman with an enterprising spirit. Her ambition is to find local men to form her own team.
Anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide, driven to new extremes by the COVID crisis. This film documents the visual roots of this new anti-Semitism, taking a historical look at the visual propaganda of the Nazis.
Six-year-old Nila is the product of a temporary marriage, which allows a man in Iran to be married to a woman for a pre-determined time. Children born out of these relationships do not legally exist and cannot attend school. In a system that prioritises men’s rights over women’s, Nila’s mother Leyla fights relentlessly to win custody of her daughter and secure her future.
Graphic artist Stefanie is in the middle of a creativity crisis. In a museum, she is captivated by the satirical photomontages of the world-famous artist and Nazi opponent John Heartfield. Miraculously, she finds herself in his studio. She embarks on an adventurous journey through Heartfield’s extraordinary life 100 years ago.
Hambach Forest in Germany was supposed to be cleared to expand an open-cast lignite mine. In 2018, during a large-scale police operation to evict activists occupying the forest, film student Steffen Meyn was killed in a tragic accident. Based on his film footage, we chronicle Steffen’s journey and follow him into the activists’ world.
Sara Mardini, once a competitive swimmer in Syria, became Europe’s most celebrated refugee after saving 18 people’s lives. After working as a rescue volunteer in the Mediterranean, she is accused of people smuggling and faces a 25-year prison sentence. We follow her fight for justice and journey of self-discovery against the backdrop of Europe’s refugee ‘crisis’.
Pina Bausch revolutionised modern dance with her choreography. But what remains of her legacy? Two spectacular dance projects show how a young generation of dancers from all over the world is rediscovering Pina‘s choreography – A visually intense and emotional journey into the world of modern dance and beyond.
Algorithms decide whether we are creditworthy, entitled to social welfare and which partner is the right one for us. But what happens if algorithms make mistakes? We tell the stories of people whose lives have been turned upside down after algorithms misjudged their situations. Who is responsible if AI turns out to be a curse rather than a blessing?
His mother blames communism, his uncle an inheritance dispute, the others remain silent. Film director Dieu Hao Do examines his fragmented family, which has scattered across three continents since the Vietnam War. Is communism to blame for their estrangement?
Chea Samy, a celebrated dancer at the Cambodian Royal Palace, raises a boy as her own at her home on the palace grounds. Years later, as a forced labourer under the Khmer Rouge, she realises her foster son is Pol Pot. The film tells the almost unknown story of the history and reign of Pol Pot and its connection to classical Cambodian dance.
Civil society and the law system in Russia are under severe pressure from the state. Human rights lawyers have become the last frontier between state violence and society. Mikhail Benyash and a network of like-minded lawyers defend those who dare to speak up. They fight for justice in an increasingly suffocating dictatorship.
