RBB

A lighthearted look at the opening of the border crossing of Bornholmer Straße in Berlin from the point of view of the confused border guards.

In 1937, amidst Stalin's Great Terror, a newly appointed prosecutor for the USSR is made aware of alleged corruption in the Secret Police, and takes it upon himself to investigate.

For 11-year-old Kattaka it's an escape: she's looking for her biological father, a Russian sailor whose ship is currently moored in Gdansk and whose existence her parents have kept secret until now. For 70-year-old Lena it's a journey back: back to her home in Masuren, from which she fled in the Second World War. And back to her suppressed pain of having lost both parents. Only together can the mismatched couple regain the ground beneath their feet, and themselves.

A former German Army officer, accompanied by his granddaughter, journeys to Ukraine to find the woman he once loved.

Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz 1992-2017. The end of the GDR gave rise to new artistic freedoms in reunited Berlin. Shortly after the fall of the Wall, rebel director Frank Castorf was appointed artistic director of the Volksbühne. His way of working altered the public’s perception of this theater. The chronological history of the Castorf era between 1992 and 2017 is told here in excerpts from the productions and in a series of conversations conducted on the long sofa in the theater's foyer.

Paul leaves home with his best friend Max on the first day of summer vacation. Following in the footsteps of Paul’s missing father, the boys venture into the forest of the Swabian Alb and into a mysterious cave. For the first time in their lives, they truly feel carefree surrounded by forest and mountains. But the adventure challenges that await them are much bigger than they thought.

Romek is a Polish railway worker and Guido is a German soldier. They are both 17, in love with jazz and the same pretty girl. But it's 1943 somewhere in German-occupied Poland, and their lives are bound to change soon.

Documentary about poet Sascha Anderson.

Gisela involuntarily ends up studying in the cosmopolitan city of Chemnitz. There she meets her friends Jana, Fred and Meryam, with whom she spends her nights out, fights with Nazis, eventually founds the band Superbusen and, through music, hopes to find answers to all the problems life throws at her.

In order to finally get that long-awaited promotion, Heinz Hellmich, an old white man, has to show his "wokest" side at work. When he invites his superiors to a private dinner at his home, his family's politically correct façade quickly begins to crumble and the evening takes a hair-raising turn.

Arthur & Diana are siblings. Together with Diana's 2-year-old son, they leave Berlin for Paris for a small, relaxed trip to do the annual safety inspection of their old rusty Renault. But the journey will not be relaxed, the direction not Paris and whether the car will go along is all too questionable...

Maik, a fourteen-year-old teenager, sets out on a road trip during summertime with Tschick, a new classmate, in a stolen car. The two share life changing experiences during the eventful journey.

A married couple retreats to a luxury, high-tech, fully automated house on a remote island. The house AI system goes rogue and turns against them.

Jens and Milena try to have an open relationship.

A documentary about Roland Emmerich, the most commercially successful German director in Hollywood, released on the occasion of his 70th birthday. It offers rare insights into his professional career and private life, covering his rise as a blockbuster filmmaker, his personal relationships, family background, and life in the US and Europe. The film also looks back at his early work, including his 1984 directorial debut The Noah’s Ark Principle, and reflects on themes such as dreams, identity, politics, and the rules of the film industry.

As Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger wanted to lead the Church back to its former strength, but instead he plunged it into a deep crisis. He reacted largely inactive to the revelations of multiple cases of abuse by clergy. In order to understand the thinking of this unconditional hardliner, documentary filmmaker Christoph Röhl delves deep into Ratzinger's past - but what really leaves us speechless are the testimonies of how the church, on a large and small scale, dealt with the crimes of its priests.

13-year-old Jessy can hardly remember that her father Miro used to be an important part of her life. His unexpected return after seven years in prison and his intrusion into the safe space she and her mother have built severely disrupts their symbiotic relationship. Forced to deal with this stranger to her, Jessy increasingly trusts Miro. She learns to open up and set new boundaries. Then she meets Max, who strengthens her urge for freedom. Stirred up by new relationships and feelings, she begins to listen to herself and enjoys a sense of independence.

In 1914 on a family estate, Oda helps a wounded anarchist, and as their illicit friendship deepens, a family turmoil erupts as the war closes in.

Wanting to start a new life, 40-year-old Heli has found an institution in which she can put her younger, mentally disabled sister. Her three egocentric brothers have agreed to the plan and come to share their sister's final weekend at the house where they all grew up on the outskirts of Berlin. They find that the "baby of the litter" has turned into an unpredictable "monster". The fallout brings them closer together than they'd expected.

Startups are using AI to create avatars that allow relatives to talk with their loved ones after they have died. An exploration of a profound human desire and the consequences of turning the dream of immortality into a product.