Lights from Afar

Helga Reidemeisters poetic documentary gives various residents of East and West Berlin a chance to have their say. They discuss their different ways of life and the nature of their divided city. All interviews are refreshingly sincere when they consider the future of the city, and none of them are even remotely pro-American.

The “Women in Black” have been protesting against the Serbian regime's war policy in the center of Belgrade for five years - in black clothing, silently and with banners. They support deserters from all former Yugoslav republics, organize aid campaigns for refugees and publish books and their own magazine. The film portrays some of these strong personalities in the form of travel notes, beginning with the last international congress of the “Women in Black” in the summer of 1996 and ending with the large demonstrations in Belgrade in the winter of 1996/97.

Documentary film about the withdrawal of a Soviet regiment from the former German-German border into an uncertain future.

Wundbrand is a document of war and life. Through images, conversations and sound collage, the film reveals the reality of the destruction of Sarajevo and its inhabitants.

Horst Wolland is a welder in Berlin who tries to move up the career ladder to better provide for his family. He is on the verge of being promoted when the working conditions worsen, triggering a strike. Wolland stays out of it, but he also refuses to tell his manager who the strike leader is, so he is not promoted. Wolland understands what solidarity means and tries to organize another strike.

A portrait of a family in Berlin in the late 1970s, this film focuses on the mother.

Citizens of East Germany talk about their experiences and feelings in the face of upcoming elections that will lead to reunification with the West. The past is tinged with regret, frustration and anger, while the future is uncertain.

An intimate portrait of the director's sister: German model and former Playboy Playmate Hilde Kulbach.

Portrait of the spokesman of the student movement and extra-parliamentary opposition Rudi Dutschke, who died on December 24, 1979 from the late effects of an assassination attempt. The film is not limited to the mere biography of the extra-parliamentary politician, but also depicts the political environment as well as the late effects of the student movement. In retrospect, it condenses into a picture of a highly politicized society that had not yet begun its retreat into the private sphere.

Helga Reidemeister portrays four women from Afghanistan-Jamila Mujahed, India-Arundhati Roy, Serbia-Stasa Zajovic and the USA-Sissy Farenthold, who demonstrate their opposition to nationalism and war.

portrays the Bruder working class family, whom she met during her time as a social worker in the Märkisches Viertel. Equipped with a Super-8 camera by Helga Reidemeister, the family had already begun filming their everyday life independently in the fall of 1969. However, when, together with Reidemeister, they looked through the four-hour material at the editing table in the summer of 1974, they realized that it depicted the family's problems only superficially and left the social context out of the picture. Reidemeister, who had not yet intervened in the film shooting, then spent a lot of time with the family and documented everyday life together with them. The result was a multi-layered mixture of family self-testimony and reflection on social relationships.

Women in jail talk about their former lives and about their crimes. Three of the prisoners explain how they came to commit the act of violence that put them behind bars. The more we learn about their backgrounds, the more we begin to doubt the dispensation of justice.

The Krautrock band Lokomotive Kreuzberg set itself the goal of combining music with trade union activism. From 1972 to 1977, it toured Germany with cabaret and songs such as ‘Solidaritätslied’ (The Solidarity Song) ‘Lohnpredigt’ (Wages Sermon) or ‘Geldsack’ (Moneybags). The film shows recordings of rehearsals, performances, and political discussions with the audience. The musicians describe their careers from classical music training to political rock.

Hossein and Shaima have loved each other since childhood. As teenagers they were separated by war. They meet again in Kabul in the late 90s. Poverty forces Hossein to fight in the war. A shell splinter leaves him paralyzed. Shaima is sold into marriage with a man 40 years her senior and falls pregnant. Since Shaima's husband still owes half the dowry to her father he brings her back into the constraining patriarchal fold of the family, where she lives with her 5-year-old daughter. This situation doesn't prevent the two from seeing each other, even though this means going against their families' hard rules. In constant fear of revenge on the part of the male members of both families, they struggle to hold on to their love.

In the Kabul Museum, archaeologists piece together fragments of millennia-old works of art. This endeavor seems surreal amid the destruction. The cinematically fascinating landscape is mined. How can one survive without legs? The Kabul Orthopedic Center, the focus of the film, is a place of hopes and dreams. "One leg is not enough," says its dedicated director, "you have to create prospects for life."

Karola Bloch talks about her marriage with Ernst Bloch and shares her views on the current state of communism.