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.
Our blue planet is running out of drinking water. Researchers around the world are trying to find ways to save drinking water. New technologies, ideas inspired by nature and prehistoric knowledge give us hope. The journey takes us from Swiss alpine glaciers and the seabed off Malta to Peru, where Incan knowledge about water is being rediscovered.
An artist couple from Tehran has made it their mission to revitalise the traditional Iranian art of weaving to save Persian patterns from being forgotten. A journey through the history and art of silk production in Iran, from silkworm cocoon to finished woven fabric – a living testimony to Iran’s cultural diversity.
Ai Weiwei’s middle finger – deleted. Pillar of Shame – removed. The film Revolution of Our Times – banned. Bit by bit, critical art is being eliminated in Hong Kong. How are the creatives reacting? Are they giving in or fighting back? Based on the examples of various artists, the film shows how protest and art are still possible despite censorship.
Immanuel Kant was already an important philosopher during his lifetime. Three hundred years after his birth, the film shows for the first time Kant’s close connection to his native Königs-berg, a place he never left. Everything he knew came from books or everyday observations. Using sophisticated animation techniques, the film takes us back to 18th-century Königsberg between Europe and the Russian Empire.
Switzerland at night is fascinating and anything but dark. And lots of people are still awake. On our journey from dusk to dawn, we take viewers on helicopter and drone flights from the Engadin to Lake Geneva, and we visit people still out and about deep into the night.
They are refuges for animals and humans, have aesthetic value and are the source of numerous myths and legends: Europe’s great lakes. From Finland to the Anatolia, we learn more about the special features of European lakes and their importance for the ecosystem. Many of these habitats are at risk. What strategies are there to preserve these bodies of water?
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?
In 1693, a huge earthquake destroyed the city of Noto in south-eastern Sicily. The decades that followed saw the emergence on a new site of a unique Baroque city influenced by styles from all over Europe. Five citizens of Noto introduce us to the city’s artistic and cultural treasures and take us to the origins of the “barocco siciliano”.
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?
Africa’s fashion avant-garde is diverse and thriving. In the continent’s major cities as well as in the African diaspora, creatives are setting trends with provocative, visionary designs and transforming the world’s often clichéd perception of Africa. Eight exciting designers offer us a glimpse of the creations of tomorrow!
