Frank Arnold

Early German Romanticism was not only an era of great poetry, but also developed a spiritual world view that anticipated much of what people today seek in esotericism, shamanism and Far Eastern religion: the combination of thought and intuition, reason and emotion, science and religion, as well as a view of nature as a living organism that cannot be understood solely through rational dissection. In artistic independence, the early Romantics developed highly individual forms of spirituality that have lost none of their fascination and inspiring power to this day. With texts by Hölderlin, Novalis, Goethe, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff and others, we travel to magical landscapes in Germany to explore this side of European intellectual history that has been little illuminated to date.

A double portrait of two dictators who were thousands of miles apart but were constantly fixated on each other.

An unconventional essay film that interrogates the visual and ideological legacy of the Vietnam War. Blending staged scenes, archival footage, photographs, and philosophical dialogue, the film follows various characters — including an American soldier captured by North Vietnamese villagers — as they reflect on violence, memory, and image-making. Set partly in West Berlin and partly in reconstructed spaces representing Vietnam, the film avoids traditional dramatic narrative in favor of a fragmented montage of voices, documents, and reenactments. Interweaving love stories, political debate, and historical commentary, Farocki creates a critical reflection on how war is represented, seen, and imagined, both in cinema and in public consciousness. The result is a complex meditation on images as weapons and instruments of perception.

At 80 years old, German director and photographer Wim Wenders talks about his unwavering joy in creating and telling stories. From "Paris, Texas" to "Perfect Days" and "Wings of Desire," this is a tender and luminous portrait of the most European of filmmakers.

The Unanswered Ives is the first film about Charles Ives (1874-1954), an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. The 60-minute documentary sheds light on Ives' life and work in all its facets and inconsistencies. American singer and composer Frank Zappa included Charles Ives in a list of influences that he presented in the liner notes of his debut album Freak Out! (1966). Ives continues to influence contemporary composers, arrangers and musicians. Planet Arts Records released Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra. Ives befriended and encouraged a young Elliott Carter. In addition, Phil Lesh, bassist of the Grateful Dead, has described Ives as one of his two musical heroes.

German-made documentary about Claude Dornier, the aeronautical engineer and founder of Dornier GmbH which built warplanes for Germany in both world wars. Dornier's descendants are interviewed.

In September 2015, the world of science experienced a sensation: researchers in the USA succeeded in proving the existence of gravitational waves for the first time in the history of physics. A milestone. This proof opens up a completely new perspective on our universe - perhaps even on the birth of the cosmos itself, nothing less than the Big Bang. Gravitational waves are created when something gigantic happens in the universe: a stellar explosion, the merging of neutron stars or black holes.

Charlie Chaplin is still one of the most famous figures in film history, both in front of and behind the camera. However, one aspect of Chaplin's artistic work is little known: his work as a film composer. Dominik Wessely shows this side of the brilliant all-round talent in original visual and audio documents.