HUMAN INTEREST

  • BLUE/RED/DEPORT

    BLUE/RED/DEPORT

    One year into his life in the refugee camp of Moria in Greece, Afghan filmmaker Talib Shah finds himself on the verge of losing hope. But instead of giving up, he decides to make a film. It is an insider’s look at the lives of thousands of refugees stuck in the camp, a place often described as a humanitarian disaster.

  • THE SEAWEED FARMERS OF NUSA PENIDA

    THE SEAWEED FARMERS OF NUSA PENIDA

    Indonesia is the second largest seaweed producer in the world. But climate change and pollution are making farming increasingly difficult for traditional family businesses. Since the start of the pandemic, however, the seaweed sector has experienced a revival because tourists are staying away and islanders are rediscovering the miracle plant.

  • THE EL-MASRI CASE

    THE EL-MASRI CASE

    In 2004, European citizen Khaled El Masri was illegally abducted by the CIA and taken to a secret prison near Kabul. His case brought the CIA’s worldwide so called “rendition program”, whose agents were forcibly taking suspected terrorists to secret locations and torturing them, to light. In this political thriller we tell his story for the first time.

  • BEHIND THE HEADLINES

    BEHIND THE HEADLINES

    In 2019, the renowned investigative editorial department of Süddeutsche Zeitung received a secret video, which made international headlines when it was published and plunged the Austrian government into a crisis. The film provides an intimate insight into the journalists’ highly sensitive work – from the moment they received the video to its publication.

  • THE PRESIDENTS’ TAILOR – FROM AUSCHWITZ TO THE WHITE HOUSE

    THE PRESIDENTS’ TAILOR – FROM AUSCHWITZ TO THE WHITE HOUSE

    Martin Greenfield survived the Holocaust to become America’s most celebrated tailor. Now, at 92, his legacy is at stake. Can his sons Jay and Tod modernise their father’s bespoke menswear empire without sacrificing his legendary craftsmanship?

  • UNKNOWN KARELIA

    UNKNOWN KARELIA

    Forests and tens of thousands of lakes – that’s Karelia, a region in north-eastern Europe. Part of it belongs to Finland, a larger part, known as the Republic of Karelia, belongs to Russia. Only seven percent of the inhabitants identify as Karelians, the majority are Russians. Many Karelians are concerned about the survival of their culture and fight to keep it alive.

  • WOMEN OF ISLAM

    WOMEN OF ISLAM

    Can feminism be Islamic? The role of women in Islam is a constant subject of controversy. We introduce female scholars of Islam, artists and authors who have set themselves the goal of finding their own path to emancipation.

  • MUAY THAI – STRONG WOMEN, TOUGH FISTS

    MUAY THAI – STRONG WOMEN, TOUGH FISTS

    Muay Thai: the martial art of the kings. In Thailand this popular national sport is still a male preserve. However, more and more young girls and women aspire to a professional career in the ring and are questioning centuries-old traditions. They call for social change, insisting that Thai boxing is a sport for everyone.

  • LOST IN FACE

    LOST IN FACE

    Carlotta cannot see faces, not even her own. For her, human faces are no bastion of trust, but places of fear and confusion. Filmmaker and neuroscientist Valentin Riedl travels through Carlotta’s universe, full of anthropomorphic animals, lucid dreams and bumpy false paths. Her never-ending search for answers leads her to art—and thus an avenue to her own face and back to humanity.

  • THE ART OF LIVING IN DANGER

    THE ART OF LIVING IN DANGER

    This author-driven documentary starts with the personal story of Mina, the director of the film. She unveils a family secret by telling the story of her grandmother, a woman she never met who died under mysterious circumstances. Her personal story and other women who share their experiences shows how Iran’s patriarchal system instils fear in women in public spaces and in the home.

  • SPIRITS I’VE CALLED – THE JOURNEY OF STEEL

    SPIRITS I’VE CALLED – THE JOURNEY OF STEEL

    Gigantic opencast mines in Brazil, Europe’s biggest steel mill in southern Italy and landscape parks in western Germany: exploitation and pollution on the one hand, slow recovery from decades of industrial use on the other. The film gives an idea of the massive impact of the global steel industry on people and the environment

  • THE INVISIBLE GIRL

    THE INVISIBLE GIRL

    A 14-year old Moroccan girl, Fatima Osaadan, is tortured to death by the family she was working for as a housemaid. We enter the background of a cruel murder and give an insight into Moroccan society from two opposing perspectives: The archaic, penurious world from which the young servants come and the world of the urban social climbers.