Stasi: A State Against Its People

Stalin's Last Plot(fr)

January 1953: On the eve of his death Stalin finds himself yet another imaginary enemy: Jewish doctors. He organizes the most violent anti-Semitic campaign ever launched in the USSR, by fabricating the "Doctors' Plot," whereby doctors are charged with conspiring to murder the highest dignitaries of the Soviet Regime. Still unknown and untold, this conspiracy underlines the climax of a political scheme successfully masterminded by Stalin to turn the Jews into the new enemies of the people. It reveals his extreme paranoia and his compulsion to manipulate those around him. The children and friends of the main victims recount for the first time their experience and their distress related to these nightmarish events.

On Rubik's Road(lv)

Rubiks’ Road is a bicycle path built in the 1980s and named after Alfreds Rubiks, leader of the Latvian Communist party at the time. One of the most ferocious opposers to Latvia’s independence in the early 1990s and later elected to the European Parliament.

The Wall(de)

A documentary about the deconstruction of the Berlin Wall which makes no use of vocal commentary but instead focuses on visual elements. From the Potsdamer Platz to the Brandenburg Gate, the camera captures the historic events from all sides and different angles: on the one hand there are news reporters and tourists from all over the world taking pictures, children selling pieces of the wall to passers-by, and people celebrating New Year's Eve, on the other we see abandoned subway stations and officials with blank looks on their faces.

Eastern Cross(de)

15-year-old Elfie literally and metaphorically inhabits a no-man’s-land between the two Germanies shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The film deploys a neorealist aesthetic to reinforce the difficulties confronting the girl, and by inference, Germany.

Final Warning(en)

Host Grant Jeffrey discusses how technology and government activities are changing the way our information is handled. How is this shaping our lives?

Standard Operating Procedure(en)

Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Revolver(en)

Nick Suster, a secret intelligence agent paralyzed by an assassin's bullet, sets out to track down his assailant and in the process, uncovers a major arms-smuggling operation that threatens international security.

God Does Not Believe in Us Anymore(de)

After his father is murdered by the Nazis in 1938, a young Viennese Jew named Ferry Tobler flees to Prague, where he joins forces with another expatriate and a sympathetic Czech relief worker. Together with other Jewish refugees, the three make their way to Paris, and, after spending time in a French prison camp, eventually escape to Marseille, from where they hope to sail to a safe port.

The Russian Revolution(en)

Starting in 1881 this film shows the personal battle between Lenin's Ulyanov family and the royal Romanovs that eventually led to the Russian revolution.

Grenze(de)

In February 1986 they received the call of a fatherland that no longer exists: four young GDR citizens on the verge of adulthood see themselves forced, like so many others in East and West Germany, to do their one and a half years of military service. What is special: Their service area is the border system, an anti-imperialist protective wall according to their superiors, death strips and prison bars for a population incapacitated in naked reality. Now, seventeen years later, there is a reunion with the comrades and the old post. This feature film, which was the first in reunified Germany to deal with the inner workings of the GDR border troops, tells of life on the fence, the associated contradictions and some hot phases in the Cold War.

Der Direktor(de)

The school authorities want to read success stories in director Joachim Faber's reports. But they cannot simply be produced on an assembly line. Pupils, for example, use the wrong tone. The matter draws circles until the superiors finally talk about refusal to work. Director Faber is caught between the efforts to resolve the conflict with pedagogical means and the pressure from above.

Kymatica(en)

Ben Stewart, the bright young musician and philosopher who brought us the sleeper hit "Esoteric Agenda", unveils his new work, Kymatica!. Kymatica will venture into the realm of Cymatics and Shamanic practices. It will offer insight into the human psyche and discuss matters of spirituality, altered states of consciousness and much more! Not to be missed!

Two Towns of Jasper(en)

Using two separate filmmaking teams (an all-white crew filming white residents and an all-black camera crew filming black residents), TWO TOWNS OF JASPER captures very different racial views by townsfolk in Jasper, Texas, the location for a racially motivated murder of an African American man in 1998.

The Girls(es)

Four lucid grandmothers tell their story forgotten by history: the militancy and resistance of the young women of the leftist youth against the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez.

Sugar Sand(de)

End of the 1970s in East Germany: Fred and Jonas are close friends. The 10-year-olds live near at the German-German frontier. After the mother from Jonas has made an exit application, the boys have to recognize that they are soon separated from each other. But they want to dig a tunnel to Australia to meet there themselves again. When Jonas should leave the country with his mother this night changes everything.

Schutzwall(de)

The 5th anniversary of the inner-German wall to West Germany and West Berlin is on the agenda. The necessity of erecting the border is illustrated by comparing the situation in 1939 and the situation in the summer of 1961 with regard to the "threat of intervention" by the Western powers. Berlin people and GDR border guards are interviewed.

Backwoods(en)

A group of friends embark on a camping trip for a ten-year high school reunion. Their celebration soon turns into a battle for survival when they realize that the locals, who are not what they seem, are hunting them down.

Im Osten geht die Sonne auf(de)

Energie Cottbus, a small soccer club from the periphery of the republic, got promoted to the first division of the Bundesliga. Everyone was sure: They will get relegated immediately again! But everything turned out differently! The underdog club gave Cottbus — which was to many only known from scare stories about lack of prospects and unemployment – joy, hope, and pride. The film looks behind the scenes and shares the thrill of the people for the finale of the season.

Waltz's Veil(it)

A woman retraces a violence she suffered was born.

Food for Profit(it)

The film exposes the links between Agrifood and politics. With a pool of international experts it analyses the many problems related to factory farming: water pollution, migrants exploitation, biodiversity loss and antibiotic resistance.

Lise Meitner: The Mother of the Atom Bomb(de)

To historians, physicist Lise Meitner deserves to be placed on a par with Einstein, Heisenberg and Otto Hahn. In the 1930s on the verge of World War II, she led a small group of scientists who discovered that splitting the atomic nucleus of uranium releases enormous energy. This extraordinary film tells the story of a woman who was far ahead of her time as a scientist and a pioneer of feminism.

Six Hours: Surviving Typhoon Yolanda(en)

In the middle of a broadcast about Typhoon Yolanda's initial impact, reporter Jiggy Manicad was faced with the reality that he no longer had communication with his station. They were, for all intents and purposes, stranded in Tacloban. With little option, and his crew started the six hour walk to Alto, where the closest broadcast antenna was to be found. Letting the world know what was happening to was a priority, but they were driven by the need to let their families and friends know they were all still alive. Along the way, they encountered residents and victims of the massive typhoon, and with each step it became increasingly clear just how devastating this storm was. This was a storm that was going to change lives.

Spring Like Lovers(ja)

Kazu becomes distrustful of his current partner Shin and goes to see his ex-boyfriend Takashi. But he finds out that Takashi has gotten married to a woman and feels that he is left with nowhere to go.

Stripped Down: The Making of ‘Anora’(en)

Making of documentary surrounding the production of ‘Anora’

The Johnstown Flood(en)

Re-enactment of the famous May 31, 1889 Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood where the dam broke and flooded out an entire town! In this version, the town is occupied by mice and dogs. But Mighty Mouse comes to the rescue after drinking a bottle of "Atomic Energy." He reverses the flood waters and puts everything back where it was. And in this cartoon, he uses magic lightning bolts coming off his hands like Merlin the Magician!

Gary Gulman: Born on 3rd Base(en)

Comedian, actor, and best-selling author Gary Gulman offers up his hilarious insights on a range of topics – from growing up poor to pretentious suffixes – all with a generous helping of his inventive humor and absurdism. Reflecting on his eccentric Jewish American family, Gulman chronicles his childhood experiences with free school lunch programs and questionable dental care, as well as incisive swipes at billionaire-ism.

The Wrong Mr. Johnson(cs)

To raise cash to spring thuggish b.f. Vaclav from prison, timid 20-something Veronika agrees to cover for prostie pal Lucy but picks up the wrong guy good-natured jazz drummer Jim Johnson at the airport. As they struggle with language issues and growing attraction, the “other” Jim Johnson, an overbearing sex tourist, makes whoopee with groupie Sonya and call girl Apollonia. Couples and newly sprung Vaclav eventually square off in the jazz club.

The great voyage of Captain Neptune(es)

Two madmen wish to avenge the historical Peruvian ship "Monitor Huascar" under the command of Capitain Grau: a hero, and a symbol of the 19th century war lost to Chile.

13(ja)

The film is a continuous time-lapse with multiple exposures of the sunset from the same angle and position on 16mm film. The shoot was done in a span of 5 years. The title 13 is because the time-lapse has a 13-second interval per frame.

Recital Jiří Suchý – Jiří Šlitr(cs)

The word recital was supposedly coined by the piano virtuoso Ferenc Liszt for a solo performance. In the introduction, lyricist Jiří Suchý emphasizes that although this program is dedicated to two artists, only one of them will perform, namely himself. He performs in songs that were set to music by his colleague Jiří Šlitr (1924–1969). The audience can thus once again be reminded of the enormous musical talent of this Czech composer, instrumentalist (an excellent pianist), singer, actor and artist, whose life ended prematurely at the age of just 45.

Not in Textbooks(ja)

The romantic comedy and drama follows the manga of the same name and follows the adventures of cute and coquettish schoolgirl Shirabaka Aya and nerd of a man Tairaku Arihiko. There is a problem or two. Aya loves Arihiko. Arihiko is a school teacher. Aya is a student at the school. Aya's father is a yakuza thug. Aya and Arihiko live in the same apartment. Aya is hot. Arihiko could lose his job.

Hope or The Devil's Prey(es)

La Gueule du loup(fr)

All About Mahmoud Darwish(ar)

Mahmoud Darwish was a Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as the Palestinian national poet. He won numerous awards for his works. Darwish used Palestine as a metaphor for the loss of Eden, birth and resurrection, and the anguish of dispossession and exile.

Chain Mail(en)

A usual chain mail is forwarded to a group of people. Some pass it while others ignore. One dies and is followed by series of sudden and unexplainable deaths of others. Soon after, a revelation begins to unfold, the chain mail is cursed and so she has to find the origin and mystery behind to stop the misfortunes it may cause to anyone who fails to pass it before another life perish again. Sandra also suspects Anne is behind the tragic incidents that happened to their friends. Will she break the curse before it's too late or will she become one of the victims?

Enemy of England(en)

Amidst nation-wide fears of the growing control of the European Union, a terrorist attack destroys a London school, killing children and anti-EU politician Dillon Tudor. With blame falling on an underground resistance movement, the English government calls a state-of-emergency and Europeans become outlaws overnight. In the aftermath, Sophia Tudor hunts those responsible for the death of her brother, as the head of the government's new enforcement agency. But when she is kidnapped and interrogated by the terrorists Sophia discovers that it can be difficult to separate your enemies from your allies.

Exposition nationale suisse. Palais des beaux-arts(en)

A tram passes by a couple of times.