On/Off The Record

In 1968, the young Edgar Reitz teaches filmmaking at a girls’ school – a ground-breaking educational experiment. Fifty-five years later, there is a class reunion.

When Peter Wohlleben published his book "The Hidden Life of Trees" in 2015, he quickly entered bestseller lists. The forester wrote vividly about his experience that trees are able to communicate with each other, a thesis explored here.

Director Jörg Adolph accompanies ornithologist Dr. Norbert Schäffer, chairman of the Bavarian Society for the Protection of Birds (LBV), on his mission to save bird life. We embark on an emotional and diverse journey of discovery into the fascinating world of birds and experience species and nature conservation in action.

For 40 years, Gerhard Steidl has combined the roles of printer and publisher, resolved to personally check each sheet leaving his printing shop in Göttingen. This perfectionism, combined with an unconditional love for books, for the traditional printing craft, and a commitment to the quality standards of manufacturing (in the original sense of the word, made by hand), has gained worldwide attention. The most internationally renowned photographic artists vie for the opportunity to collaborate with Gerhard Steidl, to conceive and produce the perfect publication with him.

Documentary film.

The film follows the Spanish film director as he publishes a book of his mostly unknown photography. His intimate and often surprising photos create a striking portrait of daily life in 1950's Spain that contrasts with dictator Francisco Franco's propaganda. The documentary follows the two-year process of narrowing down the collection and designing the book.

Jörg Adolph’s playful On-the-road documentary follows the face-off of two bands that are both quite fond of experimentation. The Notwist and the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra ignore genre boundaries as they hop from style to style, channeling their way through polymorphic soundscapes, wild and beautiful. From the recording of Notwist’s “The Devil, You + Me” album, via collective rehearsals in Berlin, to concerts in Hamburg, Amsterdam and Munich: these kindred spirits always try to improve, try to refine the patterns and arrangements. It seems as if the musicians main concern is to keep the songs in constant motion – Music Not Music.

Documentary film.

A documentary film in the style of Direct Cinema about the legendary Oberammergau Passion Play. From the preparations in 2008 to the last performance in the fall of 2010, the focus is on Christian Stückl, an obsessed theater maker who struggles with a centuries-old tradition and the challenges of the reality of a Bavarian village. The film shows the life behind the façade of the biblical spectacle in the field of tension between commerce and art, the provinces and the wider world, God and people.