German Documentary Movies

Documentary about the football ultras subculture in Germany.

In 2007, the Berliner Philharmoniker celebrated their 125th anniversary. Film director Enrique Sánchez Lansch took this occasion to tell a hitherto unknown chapter in the history of the Berliner Philharmoniker: the years of National Socialism from 1933 to 1945. The film, “The Reichsorchester”, made in collaboration with musicians of the orchestra and its archive.

This documentary tells the story of great love, bitter disappointments and self-doubts - but most of all of courage. The courage to take risks, try something new and be yourself - no matter what age. The film dives deeply into the exceptional and heart-warming stories of a group of transsexuals and drag queens in their sixties and seventies, who summon up their bravery to take to the stage one last time. For two years they have been touring in five continents, basking in the success of a spectacular show called "Gardenia", directed by Alain Platel and Frank Van Laecke. Now, as the show comes to a close, the glamorous aging performers must leave the limelight and go home to the quiet lives they left behind.

A documentary with fictious elements. Ms. Elisabeth (Lieschen) Müller from Austria comes to Bonn, Germany to find herself a man. During the search she investigates the connections between neckties, political power and prostitution, and tries to look for the influence the german feminist movement had on the men in Germany's capital.

When friends and longtime climbing partners Kurt Albert, Holger Heuber and competitive climbing’s first superstar Stefan Glowacz embark on an expedition to Mount Roraima, a table mountain shrouded in legend, this group of experienced climbers have no idea what they got themselves into. A tragic accident back home adds to the drama which unfolds set against the backdrop of Guyana’s tropical rain forest and the steep walls of this breathtaking mountain.

Exclusive Interivew with 'The Cannibal of Rotenburg': Armin Meiwes.

Documentary made in two parts by Luciano Berriatúa. This first part focuses on childhood, personal life and the early works in films by German director F.W. Murnau.

A knife in the pocket, adrenaline in the blood and only one dream in mind: to be a gangster - and the biggest one at that. Yehya was 15 years old and close to realizing his dream when he met the filmmaker Christian Stahl in the stairwell. Yehya wasn't just the nice boy from next door, he was also "the Boss of Sonnenallee" - one of the gangster runners of the Berlin borough of Neukölln. And gangster runners want to make it in the gangster world. In the eyes of the authorities, he is an "intensive offender"; in his own eyes, Yehya is "one of the top ten of Neukölln. I got my own prosecutor!"

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Footballer, entrepreneur, fan favorite and true community hero — Lukas Podolski reflects on his journey and what comes next in this intimate documentary.

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The Grüninger case from Switzerland. This is a documentary about a police officer who showed civil courage back in the forties when he led many refugees fleeing German Nazi terror immigrate to Switzerland, although he was advised not to do so. Grüninger later was sued by the state of Switzerland, lost his job and died in the early seventies. The film constructs a just lawsuit with eye-witnesses and thus fully legitimates what Grüninger did.

A documentary following the day life of fans in Brazil on July 13, 2014: the day when Germany and Argentina met up in the finals of FIFA World Cup.

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What is the vocal alchemy that propels pop singers to the pinnacle of success, decade after decade? Can we identify common characteristics in the immense diversity of voices from pop music, past and present?

This film undertakes a journey into the amazing parallel universe of East Berlin’s fashion designers and experts in the art of survival. For, in the midst of the constraints of life in the GDR, there existed a fantasy world where it was possible to dance to another tune, be individual and even provocative. The most important characteristic of this bohemian scene was one’s per- sonal style. But this certainly wasn’t something that could be bought off the peg in the GDR. In this parallel universe it was up to you to create your own individual image – with your own hands. This film tells the story of the desires, the passion and the dreams that were tried and tested, lived and performed in the shadow of the Berlin Wall.

How the class community is formed. The children's environment and the experiences and discoveries that the school gives them. They are reflected in the lessons. At the end of the school year they receive their first report card and are "Young Pioneers".

A class reunion of the twenty-somethings in the old school. What one remembers, what the individual has new to tell. One of them: Marieluise. Her love, her work, her demands on herself and the world into which she is coming of age.

This lesson in political revelation focuses on the shooting down of the Malaysian passenger jet MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. A meticulous, investigative exposé that lays bare the mechanisms of Russian warfare.

Set by a beautiful river canyon in Western Ukraine, a pacifist community with unique religious beliefs, sees their peaceful way of life gradually distressed by regular floods and eventually an unexpected war.

The three siblings Hassan, Lial and Maradona are successfull dancers and musicians. But their family is in danger of being deported out of Germany. The teenagers plan to use their artistic talents to save the family. However the pressure has put a strain on their relationships, and the way to success is long and uncertain.

Still today, people say that during the stormy night from March 31st to April 1st, 1922, the devil had come to Hinterkaifeck. On the farmstead near Schrobenhausen, all 6 inhabitants – 4 Adults and two children – are struck down bestially. The police did not manage to seek out the murderer(s). As the case is still unsolved as of today, the story still lives on in the minds of the people. Motion pictures, theatre plays, and the bestselling novel “Tannöd”, behind all of them stands Hinterkaifeck. Aspiring police investigators and a self-declared “Internet – special commission ‘Hinterkaifeck’” have now once again taken up the trail of the case. This exciting search for traces is followed by the film, and its findings are recreated in elaborate play scenes. Thereby, a picture of an era thought to be bygone and an idea of what really happened back then comes into existence. More precise than any fiction, the docudrama manages to get closer to the truth.

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In the early 1970s, Otto Schily and Hans-Christian Ströbele were part of the group of attorneys of the left-wing extraparliamentary opposition in Germany. In this function, they, for instance, represented the militant Horst Mahler in court. One thing that united all three of them was their goal to create a new and different republic. They viewed Federal Germany as an oppressor of political freedom and as a vassal of the United States. Today, Schily is a former Federal Minister of the Interior with a firmly conservative stance and Ströbele is a well-respected member of the left wing of the Green Party in the German parliament while Mahler has again come into conflict with the law because of his extremist right-wing activities.

Alcohol: No substance in the world seems so familiar to us and is so incredibly diverse in its effect. Alcohol is available everywhere and this particular molecule has the power to affect all 200 billion neurons of our human brain in completely different ways. But hardly anyone calls alcohol a drug despite its psychoactive and cell-destroying effect. Why do we tolerate the death of three million people every year? Have we turned a blind eye to the dangers and risks for thousands of years? What role does the powerful alcohol industry play with an annual turnover of 1.2 trillion euros in this on-going concealment? The author, who himself enjoys having a drink, looks into the question why we drink at all, what alcohol does to us and to what extent the alcohol industry influences society and politics.

Made from images filmed by the Syrian artist Amel Alzakout after the boat on which she was fleeing Syria sank off the coast of Lesbos, Purple Sea reports on the moment in which the co-director and the other passengers are floating in the sea in their lifejackets, waiting to be rescued. Her voice-over accompanies this extremely poignant experience.

Documentary about Leipzig artist Neo Rauch, who is considered to be one of the seminal painters of his generation. Born in 1960, Rauch lost his parents in an accident while he was still a baby. He studied at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig, and rose to international fame in the 1990s. Rauch, whose paintings often revolve around notions of home, is one of the most eminent figures of the Leipzig New School.

A documentary about the left revolution in Munich and Bavaria as well as the republic following governing for several months. The movie consists mostly of eye witness interviews of the peaceful change of government.

The true life story and adventures of László Almásy, the 'English patient', who crossed Africa in 1929 with the father of filmmaker Kurt Mayer: These events provide the motivation and outline for a critical journey through 'men's domains' in Cairo, London and Vienna. Navigation in the expanses of the memory - the dream of flying, documents from the war and of an unrequited love...

Five cave climbers dive into Germany’s deepest cave.

The old paternal house of the Le family, set in a rural scenery at the fringes of the small town of Ninh Hoa, close to the southern coast of Vietnam: A household dominated by women, neither rich nor poor, with chicken behind the kitchen and rice paddies bordering the plot. Through the everyday life of the inhabitants of the house, the constellation of the extended family becomes visible. A constellation that is fundamentally marked by the course that history took in the second half of the 20th century, and that has made Germany a substantial reference point in the life of the Le family.

It was the biggest escape in the history of the Berlin Wall: in one historic night of October 1964, 57 East-Berliners try their luck through a tunnel into West Berlin. Just before the last few reach the other side, the East German border guards notice the escape and open fire. Remarkably, all the refugees and their escape agents make it out of the tunnel unscathed, but one border guard is dead: 21-year-old officer Egon Schultz.

Documentary about the audition process at an acting school in Hannover, Germany.

Helge Schneider's extraordinary talent is his ability to improvise which shows his unfailing creativity. "I paint the everyday-life in the brightest colors myself", he says about himself. Reality and fiction are tough to tell apart in his life. How does a man like him, who doesn't want his audience to know too much about himself, react on a documentary portraying him as a person?

We Were Kings is a documentary about the legendary German grunge band Union Youth. 15 years ago they made it from the province to L.A., and then failed in the most brutal way. Now attempting a comeback as the band "Pictures" with some new members, they face their demons in order to make music once again. A gripping musical drama about drug addiction, responsibility and the power of friendship.

In Germany’s big cities, members of families involved in crime live in a parallel world. Young men with well-kempt beards, bulging muscles and big cars let us into their homes and share their dreams. Gangsta rap and a different kind of integration. Better than any fiction.

Deep Blue is a major documentary feature film shot by the BBC Natural History Unit. An epic cinematic rollercoaster ride for all ages, Deep Blue uses amazing footage to tell us the story of our oceans and the life they support.

ABBA, Michael Jackson, Boney M., Chic, Edwin Starr, Lio and Gloria Gaynor: the biggest stars of the 1970s and 1980s took turns appearing on the German TV programme “Musikladen”. Here’s a selection of these cult moments to let loose to classic disco hits!

Creating bonds, experimenting new places, reflecting from love, embracing the pain, seducing the bodies, deconstructing the looks, giving up guilt, creating identities, inhabiting the empty places, strengthening the conscience, finding yourself, letting the bonds go.