André Schäfer

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The biography of Hildegard Knef – born in Ulm in 1925, died in Berlin in 2002 – reflects post-war and divided Germany. It also reflects the vitality, hypocrisy, and sensationalism of our society and the media that feeds it. The film features numerous original interviews with Knef, excerpts from feature films, concert recordings that testify to her stage presence, which is still incredible today, as well as TV reports from Berlin, New York, and elsewhere. In addition to her, friends and relatives, contemporary witnesses, colleagues, and journalists also have their say.

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Race tracks are places of longing. But only the Nürburgring in the Eifel is truly spectacular and idyllic at the same time. Loved by fans, feared by drivers: Dozens of bends, many of them with illustrious names: Schwedenkreuz, Karussell, Fuchsröhre, Bergwerk, Brünnchen. To mark the 100th anniversary of the ground-breaking ceremony in 1925, this documentary tells the story of the ups and downs of the Nürburgring.

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To mark the 60th birthday of the multi-talented comedian, singer and author Hape Kerkeling, the two documentary filmmakers André Schäfer and Eric Friedler have created a quiet, thoughtful and entertaining portrait of this often anarchic humorist. The film tells of his rapid rise as a teenager, his time and the blows of fate during the AIDS epidemic, the controversial forced outing, his confident exit from the show business and his new beginning. The film is a sensitive insight into the family history and a fast-paced journey through the career stages of a formative figure in German TV entertainment.

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A feature film that traces the 50-year journey behind Confessions of Felix Krull, revealing the writer’s hidden struggle with his homosexuality. Though a literary superstar with a polished, upper-class façade and a married life with six children, Mann’s diaries expose an insecure man suppressing deep desires. The film follows Mann’s creative and personal exile—from Eltville to Paris and Lisbon—using archival letters and diary entries alongside dramatized scenes. It blurs the lines between Mann and his seductive alter ego Felix Krull, both masters of deception navigating identity, longing, and survival amid exile and political upheaval. This hybrid documentary unveils the fragile, often hidden man behind the myth.

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An analysis of The Magic Mountain, a novel by the German writer Thomas Mann (1875-1955), published in November 1924.

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Documentary about German comedian Loriot alias Vicco von Bülow, who would have been 100 years old in 2023.

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The story of a powerful political and economic dynasty, fundamental to understanding the turbulent destiny of the United States of America throughout the 20th century; of nine brothers who had truly extraordinary lives, marked by both greatness and tragedy: the story of the Kennedy family.

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The Brooklyn Bridge spans the East River and connects Manhattan and Brooklyn, the two centers of the port city of New York. Its architect Johann Roebling was one of the great inventors and master builders of his time. The wire rope: his product. The suspension bridge: his dream. The film tells the amazing story of the Roebling family and the spectacular history of the Brooklyn Bridge.

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This film is not a classic portrait but a documentary using fiction to bring Martin Suter’s novels to life while introducing us to the author behind the stories on a whole new level. ‘Fantasy is usually more true than reality itself’ says Suter.

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In the 19th century, Baden-Baden was the summer capital of Europe. The city is particularly attractive to Russians. With Dostoyevsky and Turgenev come two authors who share a deep dislike for each other: Turgenev loves the West; Dostoyevsky hates him. He is passionate about playing roulette, a game that is banned in his homeland...

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The extraordinary story of Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940), creator of Nils Holgersson, a memorable and legendary literary character, and the first female storyteller to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (1909); a woman as pioneering in her life as in her remarkable work.

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His opponents accused him of being homosexual. The male favorites he gathered around him during his short life gave those malevolent enemies solid arguments to do so. He would not have failed if he had proved himself to be an energetic king. But Edward II of England (1284-1327) never was a king like Edward I Longshanks, his father, or Edward III, his son, were. And his end is shrouded in myth and mystery.

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Fifty years after gays and transvestites resisted police harassment and the LGBTI movement began in June 1969 on Christopher Street in New York, homosexuals are legally equated almost everywhere in the western world. Homophobia is omnipresent not only in countries with rigid oppression, but also in our country. And that, although Parshippen, getting married and having children has also arrived in the LGBTI world and bars like the Stonewall Inn have outlived themselves. An inventory of our society 50 years after Stonewall.

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Documentary about Jewish entrepreneur and art collector Max Emden and his grandson's fight for restitution and compensation for losses suffered during the Nazi era.

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British author Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the world's most translated author: her heroes, private detective Hercule Poirot and amateur sleuth Miss Marple, are known the world over. But who is the woman behind her bestsellers? A biographical search for clues, the unraveling of an iridescent personality whose existence and works were shaped by the tragic history of the 20th century: the eventful life of the Queen of Crime.

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From airport novels to literary classics, an exploration of all facets of a timeless genre: the love story.

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The story of the Bugattis of Milan and Molsheim, the eccentric family behind the brand: Carlo, the patriarch and furniture designer; Rembrandt, the troubled sculptor; Ettore, the gifted engineer; Jean, the unfortunate heir. Art and design. Beauty and luxury. The fastest cars. Races. The need for speed.

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While the First World War and its battles on the Western Front are still very much anchored in our memory of history, the simultaneous battle in the East appears now to have been largely forgotten. During the course of this military action, a peculiar, state-like entity was created, a German colony in Eastern Europe, a military utopia: the Land of Ober Ost. The occupied region was to become a productive state, completely under military command; a state that was to serve not least as a deployment zone for the impending war.

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A funny walk through the life story of Billy Wilder (1906-2002), a cinematic genius; a portrait of a filmmaker who never was a boring man, a superb mind who had ten commandments, of which the first nine were: “Thou shalt not bore.”

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Documentary about the song “You'll Never Walk Alone,” the most famous sports anthem of the world.

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From 1957 —the year in which the Soviets put the Sputnik 1 satellite into orbit— to 1969 —when American astronaut Neil Armstrong walked on the surface of the moon—, the beginnings of the space conquest were depicted in popular culture: cinema, television, comics and literature of the time contain numerous references to an imagined future.

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The story of the last offspring of a powerful German family, whose cannons killed countless people in two world wars: Arndt von Bohlen und Halbach, the last Krupp. Unwilling to fulfill the expectations of both his family and their company, this homosexual son of an industrialist waived his inheritance of around three and a half billion marks. Or, to see it differently, was pushed into relinquishing a world dynasty because he was unable to lead it.

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The man who invented James Bond: The story of Ian Fleming, real-life spy, ladies' man and sportsman, who was there at the birth of MI-5 and the CIA, and gave the world one of its most enduring and iconic heroes: Bond. James Bond.

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On June 28th, 1969, the New York Police Department conducted a raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. To the surprise of the policemen, the partying bar patrons decided to defend themselves and fought back. Today, this incident is celebrated in a series of colourful and flamboyant parties in cities all over the world. Everywhere, people are remembering the pioneers of the gay and lesbian movement 45 years ago. Five Days in New York takes viewers back to the origins of the gay pride movement in New York City.

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Out of hip West Berlin and into the wild East. That's where Moritz von Uslar wants to find him: the Superproll. Jackboots, beer, cigs, spit - the full program. But the city dweller gets to know the country and its people, the members of the rock band "5 Teeth Less" become his boys. And while we learn that body tune-ups such as waxing, tattoos and eyebrow trimming are serious business, the reporter realizes: Germany is a fine guy!

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As Governing Mayor of West Berlin, as Foreign Minister of a grand coalition, as Chancellor of the Bonn Republic and as SPD Chairman for many years, Willy Brandt played a decisive role in shaping German and European post-war history. He helped shape German society in the 1960s and 1970s and gave political life a new direction. The documentary shows important stages of his life and gives him himself - in archive footage - as well as many friends and political companions a chance to have their say.

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Yekaterinburg, Russia, July 17th, 1917. Czar Nicholas II Romanov and his entire family are brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks. This tragic event puts an end to the long dynasty that had ruled the country with an iron hand since the coronation of Michael I Romanov in 1613.

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The biography of Hildegard Knef – born in Ulm in 1925, died in Berlin in 2002 – reflects post-war and divided Germany. It also reflects the vitality, hypocrisy, and sensationalism of our society and the media that feeds it. The film features numerous original interviews with Knef, excerpts from feature films, concert recordings that testify to her stage presence, which is still incredible today, as well as TV reports from Berlin, New York, and elsewhere. In addition to her, friends and relatives, contemporary witnesses, colleagues, and journalists also have their say.

Open details →

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Race tracks are places of longing. But only the Nürburgring in the Eifel is truly spectacular and idyllic at the same time. Loved by fans, feared by drivers: Dozens of bends, many of them with illustrious names: Schwedenkreuz, Karussell, Fuchsröhre, Bergwerk, Brünnchen. To mark the 100th anniversary of the ground-breaking ceremony in 1925, this documentary tells the story of the ups and downs of the Nürburgring.

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