Outside Time

Karambolage(de)

Dr. Philipp Achtermann, a microbiologist from the GDR, was attending a conference in Frankfurt on business. On the return journey with his wife Nina, he allows himself a deviation from the prescribed route. On a side road near Lake Chiemsee, Achtermann's Wartburg collides with a West German BMW. At the wheel is Tom Maiwald, an architect.

Two to One(de)

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, a communist family discovers a bunker full of money soon to be worthless. With the help of their neighbors, they embark on a race against time to enter the capitalist world in style.

Hamletmachine(de)

Hamlet and Ophelia reckon with their doomed narratives against the backdrop of the similarly doomed pre-Wende Germany and 2020s United States. A short-film adaptation of the 1977 East German Heiner Müller play of the same name.

The Meds(de)

A tragi-comedy telling the story of the adventures of Robin, Anna, Jost and Leo - the meds - who want to be anything but healthy, happy and mediocre. They all live in a large city in West-Germany and are "Westies" to the core. Precocious, disillusioned, morally eroded, politically bored and sexually sated. Always on the run from the next compromise, they are big kids caught up in their mid-twenties crisis. One day in the midst of all this depression the suspicion arises that one of them is in fact a closet "Eastie", a liar and betrayer, an undercover agent, a neo-Nazi or at least a Stalinist...

Sieg im Osten(de)

The army of the GDR, called NVA had not survived the reunification of Germany, it was completely absorbed by the Bundeswehr and scrapped subsequently. But what apparently went on so smoothly as a peaceful unification of hostile brothers quietly left deep scars in the East German landscape.

Money for Bread(de)

Women from Turkey and Mecklenburg are working together side-by-side at a fish-processing factory in Lübeck. As they work, they share stories about their lives, including their sorrows, griefs, hopes, and dreams, while expressing their longing for home and feelings of being lost in a foreign place.

The Hell of Ueckermünde(de)

This report was broadcast on ARD in 1993. In 43 minutes, the development of psychiatry "in the third year after reunification" is shown using two institutions in the new federal states as examples. A touchstone for all of psychiatry and disability care to this day. The film shows a shocking way in which disabled people are treated. The commentary uses the perspective of those affected. 50 years after euthanasia in Germany, this documentary reminds us of this once again.

Der Reichstag(de)

Docudrama telling the story of a building with a breath taking career that began in the empire, flourished in the Weimar Republic, perished in the Nazi dictatorship, and was rebuilt after its partial destruction.

Reunification in the Ice: The Story of the Last GDR Antarctic Explorers(de)

In 1989, thirteen GDR scientists and technicians set off from East Berlin to the Georg Forster research station in the Antarctic. During their expedition the Berlin Wall fell on November 9th. Cut off from the images that go around the world, the men can only experience the historical events passively. When they returned in the spring of 1991, their homeland was a foreign country. The documentary reconstructs the thoughts and feelings of the East German researchers on the basis of eyewitness accounts, diary excerpts, letters, film material, grandiose landscape shots from the location of the action and unique photos to make the consequences of the events tens of thousands of kilometers away on the small GDR expedition in the middle of the eternal ice tangible.

Der größte Geldtransport der Geschichte - Wie die D-Mark in den Osten kam(de)

Early summer 1990: West German money transporters carrying billions of Deutschmarks roll towards the former GDR. From the inner-German border, the People's Police and the heavily armed National People's Army take over guarding the transports. Over 25 billion Deutschmarks are transferred from West to East within a few weeks. On July 1, 1990, the German-German monetary union takes place. The citizens of the former GDR were to hold the D-Mark in their hands from this point onwards, but a huge amount of work had to be done before this could happen. 441 million banknotes had to be printed and 102 million coins minted. This is because the organizers of the Bundesbank barely had time to prepare for the largest money transport in history. Many contemporary witnesses describe their experiences in the documentary, which gives an insight into the exciting months before monetary union, the consequences of which still have an impact today.

Erzähle deine Geschichte - Die DDR in 30 Begriffen(de)

Märkische Heide, Märkischer Sand(de)

Volker Koepp revisits Zehdenick and Grüneberg, East Germany. People are struggling with the new political and economical conditions shortly before the German Reunification.

The Last Summer of the GDR: Freedom and Anarchy(de)

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, citizens of East Germany had to get used to a new way of consuming, working, and living. New-found freedoms were a breath of fresh air for many but in the chaos leading up to reunification with West Germany, the experience was also disconcerting.

In the Splendour of Happiness(de)

Citizens of East Germany talk about their experiences and feelings in the face of upcoming elections that will lead to reunification with the West. The past is tinged with regret, frustration and anger, while the future is uncertain.

Locked-Up Time(de)

Filmmaker Sibylle Schoenemann, imprisoned by the GDR in 1984, was released to the FRG after having West Germany literally buy her freedom. In 1990 she went back and questioned those responsible.

Vor Zurück Zur Seite Ran(de)

Time Loops - A Conversation with Christa Wolf(de)

Journalist Daniela Dahn interviews the East-German author Christa Wolf during the German reunification: reflections on history, changing politics, life and work.

Wir Ostdeutsche - 30 Jahre im vereinten Land(de)

Explration of today’s East German identity, shaped by history, hopes, and upheaval. Through multimedia storytelling, it explores lives between the Elbe and Oder, intergenerational socialization, and self-perception three decades after reunification. Are the new Länder lost to nostalgia and extremism or still salvageable?

March Brandenburg, Inc.(de)

In late 1990 times are changing in Zehdenick, Brandenburg: Russian troops are leaving, the German Reunification brings euphoria and new hope, but unemployment rises steadily.

Entlassen(de)

Children from socially disadvantaged families, either placed in care or admitted voluntarily, tell their stories and share their hopes. After reunification, they are released into the harsh reality of East Germany.

Return(en)

Back from a tour of duty, Kelli struggles to find her place in her family and the rust-belt town she no longer recognizes.

Finsterworld(de)

The film tells different stories in a kind of parallel Germany about love, affection and hatred.

Eleanor the Great(en)

94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.

Tigertail(en)

A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

The German Lesson(de)

In a small North German village a drama played out during and shortly after the Second World War about duty versus individual conscience and morality.

Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything(de)

Set in a warm summer in 1990 in former East Germany, it follows a young woman who begins a relationship with a charismatic farmer who is twice her age.

The Visit(en)

Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...

Nothing Like the Holidays(en)

It’s Christmastime and the far-flung members of the Rodriguez family are converging at their parents’ home in Chicago to celebrate the season and rejoice in their youngest brother’s safe return from combat overseas.

Supercross(en)

Faced with the suspicious death of their father, two brothers must motivate one another to get back on their bikes and take the Las Vegas Motocross Championships by storm.

Come Sunday(en)

Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.

7th & Union(en)

Ex-fighter Raymundo forms an unlikely bond with a disgruntled man whose life and relationship with his daughter are unraveling. The men join forces to win a fight that could very well save Raymundo, his wife and their child.

Scandalous Sex(en)

A daughter seeks to restore the reputation of her disgraced father, a wronged college professor. With help of a professional student, she must overcome an ambitious sorority bitch and corrupt college dean.

Until the End of the World(de)

In 1999, a woman's life is forever changed after she survives a car crash with two bank robbers, who enlist her help to take the money to a drop in Paris. On the way, she runs into another fugitive from the law — an American doctor on the run from the CIA. They want to confiscate his father's invention – a device which allows anyone to record their dreams and visions.

Berlin Express(en)

In post-war Europe, a diverse group of passengers aboard a U.S. Army train to bombed-out Frankfurt becomes involved in a Nazi assassination plot.

The Return(en)

A former alcoholic returns home after ten years in prison for the murder of her husband. As her recollection of the murder returns, things take a different turn.

Electricity(en)

A woman leaves her seaside hometown to search for her long-lost brother, experiencing hallucinations brought on by her epilepsy during her trip.

25 km/h(de)

A road movie about two very different brothers who have not seen each other for 20 years: city manager Christian and cabinetmaker Georg, who never left their hometown and took care of their father until his passing. After their fathers funeral, the brothers decide on a whim, and with some help from the alcohol, to fulfil their old dream: travel trough Germany together on their mopeds.

The Unforgivable(en)

A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.

My Neighbor Adolf(en)

South America, 1960. A lonely and grumpy Holocaust survivor convinces himself that his new neighbor is none other than Adolf Hitler. Not being taken seriously, he starts an independent investigation to prove his claim, but when the evidence still appears to be inconclusive, Polsky is forced to engage in a relationship with the enemy in order to obtain irrefutable proof.

Paula(de)

Painting is an unacceptable vocation for a woman in provincial Germany in the year 1900, but budding artist Paula Becker is determined to make her own rules.