Behind the Headlines

Stories of extraordinary lives and extraordinary lands across the globe.

Young journalist Agatha switches from the sports department to the investigative department of a right-wing conservative news portal. She travels to rural Hesse to investigate the disappearance of a girl. In order to prove herself, she pressures the victim's relatives into making emotional statements. Agatha underestimates the questionable methods of the tabloid media and loses control.

In the desolate towns of former Eastern Germany, the life of the people seems to have fossilized. The dissolution of the German Democratic Republic brought their world to a standstill. Three men unite in a community of suffering, with their lives destroyed by reunification. Although from different backgrounds, they join in drowning their sorrows in alcohol. There's no going forward and no going back. A reflection on past, present and future.

28-year-old farmer Eunice and 26-year-old cowherd Felix live in Kenya in a tin hut without electricity or running water. They dream of escaping poverty by becoming marathon runners in Europe. German-born Volker Wagner works in East Africa recruiting new talent for the running circuit. Acting as their manager, he takes the two neo-athletes to Germany so they can take part in their first European competition. However, the pressure on them is enormous. To the two athletes have already racked up debts in order to get to Europe in the first place and their families have given them orders not to return empty handed. Things are not much better for Wagner: the ever-increasing competitiveness of the marathon world and a demanding wife keep him occupied.