Lothar Kurzawa

For Cologne newspaper journalist Michael Heinrich, a year-long posting as Itally correspondent is a dream coming true. His lawyer wife Susanne agrees to take her long-postponed sabbatical year there, but janitor Filippo and his hunky cousin Toni still hasn't finished the apartment in Principe Ercole's 'palazzo'. Angelic son Tobias and pubescent brat Caroline object being torn away from their world, but soon take to welcoming Romans. Roman utilities and Vatican bureaucracy test Michael's patience as well as Ercole's frisky niece Maria and Susanne's visiting parents. Controversial archaeology professor Neri offers Michael a 'steal' scoop on the missing main Etruscan sanctuary. Written by KGF Vissers

Open details →

Open details →

Author Steffen Teuffel moved from Berlin to sleepy, 'dying' Brandenburg (ex-GDR) small-town Krummenwalde with his wife Beate, who runs the local beverage firm, and their kids: smart son Kai opted out of college and happily works in the only pub; his shallow sister Lisa lets a classmate obsess over losing her virginity to farm boys; kid sister Sophie attracts kids' attention by waving a gold coin she found diving into the town lake, until Lutheran vicar Juchem, who needs to pay for a new church roof, snaps it up and enlists Steffen's research skills plus knowledge of French to help him and bossy mayor Gerd Jänicke, who wants to revitalize the town, research the local archives concerning a legend about a Napoleonic regimental treasure being lost in that very lake the golden Napoléon came from and split it three ways.

Open details →

On February 20, 1953, the Nordwestdeutsche Rundfunk broadcast the first cooking show of German post-war television. Clemens Carl Hahn became the TV chef Clemens Wilmenrod. When the "request in ten minutes to table" on the screens flickered, went for the presenter of the show a dream come true: He had designed the cooking show not only the first TV format that was aimed at women, but also a new self invented.

Open details →

Berlin 36 is a 2009 German film telling the fate of Jewish athlete Gretel Bergmann in the 1936 Summer Olympics. She was replaced by the Nazi regime by an athlete later discovered to be a man. The film is based on a true story and was released in Germany on September 10, 2009. Reporters at Der Spiegel challenged the historical basis for many of the events in the film, pointing to arrest records and medical examinations indicating German authorities did not learn Dora Ratjen was male until 1938.

Open details →

The German lightship (permanently anchored floating 'lighthouse') Borkum Riff is about to be decommissioned. For his last tour of duty, Captain Johann Freytag brings along his near-adult, estranged son Fred. The ship picks up three men stranded in a broken-down boat--who are armed. The captain tries to avoid trouble, but the crew, his son, and the trio of violent robbers on the run keep rejecting his nonviolent advice, which leads to repeated bloodshed.

Open details →

Open details →

A recalcitrant, low-energy boy causes problems for both his stepfather and his biological father.

Open details →

Jan Hinrichs is an experienced ship and salvage inspector. After the bankruptcy of his last employer, however, he is not above working as a simple diver. The widower has two children to support and soon a third eater is on board, as his daughter Lena is pregnant. The only problem is that Hinrichs is 55 and, in the eyes of the shipowners, too old for this job that requires bones and fitness. And so he pretends to be 10 years younger at a job interview. He falsifies his diving book and gets himself a fake passport. The world wants to be deceived. Now things are suddenly working out: Hinrichs does his job, he does it well and his boss is happy with him - for the time being.

Open details →

The crook Vincent loves Mona, the daughter of a policeman. When Mona's father finds out what Vincent does for a living, he puts him behind bars. After Vincent is released from prison after a year, he meets up with the pimp Siggi for a poker game and gambles away DM 60,000. Unfortunately, he has used his girlfriend Mona, whom he has posed as a prostitute, as collateral. Siggi now wants to get either 60,000 DM or Mona within three days. Vincent now tries on the one hand not to let Mona find out about her fate, and on the other to get the money as quickly as possible...

Open details →

Diesel, Sheriff and Hopper are not only avid Borussia Dortmund fans, they are also best friends. After a game of their hobby team, one of their teammates takes his own life. While still in mourning, the three buddies discover that the deceased had stashed millions of dollars in a hiding place at work. In the midst of their joy over their unexpected wealth, however, they realize that these are flowers, albeit well-made ones. But that doesn't stop the Ruhr Valley couple from having the bills exchanged for real Deutschmarks.

Open details →