Lida Winiewicz

Viennese curator Dr. Martin Geiger has achieved honor and prestige in his career and has just been appointed Hofrat. In his private life, however, he is not so successful and still mourns the loss of his former holiday sweetheart. One day, the student Mariandl visits him. She is involved in the restoration of Countess Chiari's castle, who is supporting her art studies. When Martin looks through her portfolio of pictures, he unexpectedly sees a picture of her mother – Marianne, his holiday sweetheart. He is confused by the idea of ​​suddenly becoming a father, but does not want to reveal anything to his daughter before speaking to Marianne. The resolute, single winegrower reacts very coolly to the reunion. She thinks Martin is a playboy and holds a grudge against him for leaving her with the child.

The film presents the political events surrounding the Anschluss in March of 1938 through the lives of Carola Hell, a popular young actress at the prestigious Theater in der Josefstadt, and Martin Hofmann, the Jewish journalist she plans to marry. When we encounter the couple in the lovely springtime weather their future is full of promise. They are determined to stay clear of politics. Yet in the climate of the time, nobody of her prominence or his religion can remain apolitical. Although Martin's journalist friend, Drechsler, calls to inform them that the Nazis plan to take over Austria soon, they concentrate on their work and their private happiness and dismiss the warnings.

Styria in the second half of the 18th century: It's Christmas in the forest home of the poet Peter Rosegger. During Advent, Peter, a young forest farmer, first recites his dialect stories to an elegant crowd at the Reininghaus family home, becoming a major attraction in Graz. Hans, the hostess's nephew, befriends the young man, and a close relationship of trust develops, from which each benefits in his own way. During a winter sleigh ride, Peter recounts to his friend Hans the best Christmas experiences from his childhood. He recounts how he got lost in the forest, how he went to collect Christmas cheer, and his adventures with a quaint man named Bremer Sepp.

They are traveling on a rickety wagon, a crier and a storyteller with their wonder box. The view is sold into the peep-box stage, and the peep-box looks back: into the laughing faces of the young audience, who follow the story of Emperor Kanga Mussa on his golden pilgrimage with wide eyes. Accompanied by Gheorghe Zamfir's enchanting music and Attila Hörbiger's concise voice, a mixture of fairy tales and travel pictures unfolds, taking the audience to foreign and mystical places such as Timbuktu or Djenné, where the large mosque by architect Hagmüller is prominently featured.

An anthology of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short length, and which therefore attracted many writers who later became well known.