Simone de Beauvoir

A day in the life of the Belgian painter, Michaël Borremans.

Caravage - Dans la splendeur des ombres

The impact of Marx on the 20th century has been all-pervasive and world-wide. This program looks at the man, at the roots of his philosophy, at the causes and explanations of his philosophical development, and at its most direct outcome: the failed Soviet Union.

An account of the childhood and youth of the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel Prize for Literature in 2010, and how the hard experiences he lived during these formative years led him to write and publish his first major work when he was only 26 years old.

This film explains what James Ensor (1860-1949) meant for the development of art and makes palpable where he got his inspiration from.

Self-taught artist and independent mother Pia Antonia Klinkhammer engages in a conversation about art making and self expression with students from a German art school, who pay her a visit in her hometown. Sharing with them her life experiences, she sheds light on her unique painting style informed by her rebellion against the philistine upbringing in the suburbs of Cologne. By capturing Pia Antonia Klinkhammer's works on 16mm film, accompanied by her son's music, the students create what eventually becomes her only lifetime solo exhibition.

Documentary about war photographer James Nachtwey, considered by many the greatest war photographer ever.

L'Énigme Mylène Farmer

A portrait of Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo (1955-2017), a witness of the Tiananmen Square massacre (1989), a dissident, a woodpecker who tirelessly pecked the putrid brain of the Communist regime for decades, demanding democracy loudly and fearlessly. Silenced, arrested, convicted, imprisoned, dead. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2010, alive forever. These are his last words.

Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.

Lots of young tourists dive into the famous club and party life of the German capital. They’re looking for wonder, celebration, dancing and especially this particular Berlin spirit. OH YEAH. BERLIN. portrays artists inside of the Berlin alternative and club scene. Based on distinct motives and senses of individual freedom and creativity, they push and develop their projects. Money doesn’t matter, because there’s none. These folks characterize and reflect the peculiar but attracting lifestyle. An honest Berlin film, personal and real, partly filmed in places where no camera was allowed, yet. All artists share one thing: The love for art and their capital city Berlin with all it ́s freedom.

An account of the life and work of Irish writer James Joyce (1882-1941) narrated by US actress Anjelica Huston.

An intimate portrait of the superb actress Gena Rowlands, icon of independent cinema. Together with her husband, legendary director John Cassavetes (1929-89), she lived an unusual life beyond the dream factory, a life in which reality and fiction were so perfectly intertwined that it made possible films that still today seem incredibly real.

A portrait of the Spanish painter José Pérez Ocaña (1947-83), who used transvestism and performances as his calling card.

A documentary about the technological progress responsibility in employment destruction, analyzed by philosopher Zygmunt Bauman and others.

May Pang lovingly recounts her life in rock & roll and the whirlwind 18 months spent as friend, lover, and confidante to one of the towering figures of popular culture, John Lennon, in this funny, touching, and vibrant portrait of first love.

Multi-talented, Paul Newman is one of the greatest American actors of all time. With his silhouette of a Greek statue and his unreal blue eyes, he embodied the quintessential Hollywood star. But he never seemed satisfied. The son of a Jewish sporting goods retailer who despises him and a Catholic mother who adores him, driven by self-doubt and an inherited need for approval from his childhood, he has worked throughout his fifty-year career to break the image of the pretty boy. He made his first experiences in the famous Actors Studio. The breakthrough as a screen star came in 1958 with "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". From then on he preferred characters on the edge of the American dream. With archive images and film excerpts, the documentary paints a portrait of a socio-politically committed man with many facets and also pays tribute to the role of his wife Joanne Woodward.

Xavier de Maistre und die Harfe

For generations, we have believed that man is driven by ruthless self-interest. But over the past decade, this idea has been increasingly challenged. New research from fields as diverse as political science, psychology, sociology and experimental economics is forcing us to rethink human actions and motivation. ‘The Altruism Revolution’ examines the scientific reasons behind the call for a more caring society.

A documentary that focuses on Hayao Miyazaki’s deep connection to nature and the environmental themes expressed through his films.