Watching People Watching Birds

Documentary about the first German foreign deployment of German soldiers in Kosovo since the Second World War in 1995.

Scenes from the life of an aging homosexual couple - Wilfried Friedrich and Kurt "Kuddel" Schmidt. A relationship-comedy and at the same time, a trip into the German past and provincial life. The two men lead a life full of passion for trivial things, and they lead a pretty good marriage. Their story began before the fall of the Wall: one was a salesman in the west, the other was a waiter at a train station restaurant in East Berlin. The days of employment are long gone and the two men, both in their mid fifties, are confronted daily with the question of the meaning of life. They occupy themselves with various hobbies, like mini-golf, gardening, grilling, and above all, various well-maintained collections. For example, records, video cassettes, decorative plates, model trains, letters, and secret police files. Wilfried and Kuddel open closets to display their unbelievably well-organized collection of things and are themselves overwhelmed by all the memories.

Demolition West, reconstruction Far East: After only eight years of operation, the hypermodern Kaiserstuhl coking plant, which cost DM 1.3 billion, is shut down. 400 Chinese workers dismantle it in the Ruhr area and ship it back home. The last Dortmund cokers have to help the Chinese dismantle their own workplace. For a year and a half, filmmakers Ulrike Franke and Michael Loeken followed the dismantling of a gigantic industrial plant and documented stories along the way: how the cokers in the Ruhr region experience the arrival and working methods of the Chinese and what they feel when they see their pride disappear along with the world's most modern coking plant.

A view at two cities far from each other – Bochum and Detroit – which face huge challenges after the departure of the automobile industry. The industry disappears, what stays are the people. In the end there is a journey into the hearts of the citizens of both cities who, after the end of the industrial age, search for a new identity. What unites them despite all differences, is the desire for a dignified and happy life.