NEW DOCS – Page 20

New Releases

FOREIGN CULTURE / HUMAN INTEREST / NATURE

THE STARS’ ROAD

Viewers experience the varying landscapes of south-western Africa from the perspective of its indigenous people, the San bushmen. When Xau and Ghabbo left their village and their families in the Kalahari Desert of Namibia, they did not know what to expect, how long they would be travelling, or what obstacles they would have to overcome in order to reach the legendary land of their forefathers. Taking his inspritation from the tale of an old bushmen, filmmaker Roman Teufel has recorded […]
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FOREIGN CULTURE / HUMAN INTEREST / SOCIETY

STREET PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KENYA

The film documents the work of mobile street photographer Samson in Kenya. His photos introduce us to the lives of modern Kenyans – in the city and in rural regions. Nairobi is one of the most vibrant metropolises of Africa. In the middle of Nairobi City Park, we have discovered and documented true historians: not priviledge but hard-working, Nairobi’s street photographers offer us intimate views of Africa. They have been roaming the parks and public spaces of the city since […]
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HEALTH / SCIENCE

CHRONOBIOLOGY

For thousands of years, people were able to live in sync with their “inner clock”. In our modern world, however, this is scarcely possible. Work, school or studies – for many people the day starts with the sound of an alarm clock. Still tired and sleepy, we try to get up to start the day. So why don’t we simply go to bed earlier the night before, despite having firmly decided to do so? Late risers have a […]
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CULTURE / HEALTH / HUMAN INTEREST / RELIGION

YOGA – THE ART OF LIVING

A journey into the heart of yoga. People of every cultural and religious background, age and ability practice yoga. Modern “lifestyle yoga” which is very popular in the West is generally limited to the physical asanas, while the original yoga teachings, which are more than 4,000 years old, combine physical and spiritual exercises into one holistic concept. This is the focus of our documentary: the source of yoga, far removed from modern commercial excesses. We accompany a group of Western […]
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SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

SCIENCES OF THE 21ST CENTURY – ENERGY STORAGE – POWER ON DEMAND?

Every power network requires some form of energy storage, because the consumption of electrical energy fluctuates constantly and power stations cannot adapt quickly enough. Many hydraulic power stations, for example, can dam up water and thus allow more or less energy to flow through the turbines as demand requires. The problem is that there are not enough water storage power plants. To save power from renewable energies, scientists are investigating new forms of energy storage. Some houses in Munich have […]
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SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

SCIENCES OF THE 21ST CENTURY – BIOMASS – THE KEY TO THE MOVE TO ALTERNATIVE ENERGY?

It will only be possible to cover all our power supply needs with renewable energies if we use a mix of different energy sources that supplement each other perfectly. These include wind energy, hydraulic power, photovoltaics and biomass. But what role will biogas power plants really play in the move to alternative energy? In these systems, bacteria break down biomass from agricultural waste to create biogas. However, the waste materials are not available in sufficient quantities, so a further renewable […]
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SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

SCIENCES OF THE 21ST CENTURY – HYDROELECTRIC POWER STATIONS

For more than 5000 years, humankind has harnessed the power of water. Today, too, hydraulic power is the most important renewable energy source in the world. Austria and Switzerland source more than half their electricity consumption needs from hydraulic power; in Germany this figure is around 4%. When it was built in the Alps in 1924, the Walchensee power station was the largest hydroelectric power station in the world. Nowadays it is still the largest in Germany, although with an […]
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SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

SCIENCES OF THE 21ST CENTURY – ELECTRIC MOBILITY

The Japanese have had electric cars on the market since early 2011. Peugeot, Nissan and Citroen too have been selling their electric models since 2011. Up until 2012 however, German manufacturers had delivered only show cars and promises. The Audi A1 Etron will not be launched until 2013. And BMW has announced that its first electric car will not be available before 2014. Its models I3 and I8 will apparently be proper electric cars and not just retrofitted petrol cars. […]
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CULTURE / DOCUDRAMA / HISTORY

BARON MUNCHAUSEN

The greatest liar of all times, Baron Munchausen, fell prey to a plot of lies himself. While his stories have become world literature and defined his public image as the ‚Baron of Lies‘, hardly anybody knows the real Munchausen and his tragic fate. Having experienced the splendid life at the Russian tsar’s court, the Baron – back in Germany – bemoans his fate as an aristocrat of rather modest means. The only comfort to him: his adventures, which he embroiders […]
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ART / CULTURE / MUSIC

MICHAEL JACKSON – A LIFE BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE

This documentary explores the phenomenon that was Michael Jackson and the factors that were critical in his rise from blue-collar boy from Gary, Indiana, to the biggest superstar of all time. We also discuss the fact that the colour of his skin, the very thing that made the public presence of coloured artists an issue, actually got lighter over the course of his career. His facial structure also changed dramatically. These transformations were always dogged by innumerable interpretations and much […]
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ART / CULTURE / HISTORY

THE NAKED SHAKESPEARE

Who was Shakespeare? We look at the stories and the controversy surrounding the identity of the greatest writer of all time. Over the course of the last centuries, a rumour has established itself as fact: that a merchant from Stratford-upon-Avon by the name of William Shakespeare is the author. However, no handwritten texts have survived, no letters, not even references to his writings from that time. Mark Twain, Henry James and Vladimir Nabokov did not believe that the man from […]
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CURRENT AFFAIRS / ECONOMY

THE SECRET BANK BAILOUT

Billions of euros were poured into European financial institutions to prevent them from failing. But where is this money really going? Who do the ailing banks owe? 50 billion euro to Greece, 70 billion to Ireland, 40 billion to Spain – one Euro state after another has found itself forced to prop up its banks by pumping in huge sums of money to cover the losses that the financial institutions themselves incurred from bad loans. But where are these billions […]
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