100 PORSCHES AND ME
by André Schäfer
2007, Culture, 52' & 90,
Germany, English/German
100 PORSCHES AND ME is the search for the 1970s grass-green Porsche that André Schäfer has been dreaming of for years. A road movie about obsession, of his own and that of 100 Porsche drivers who are being asked for their car keys - the flabbergasted rich wife in front of her suburban German garage as well as a maniac who stores his 47 Porsches in an old hangar in Santa Monica, California: Jerry Seinfeld. A journey into the dreams of one hundred people for whom a Porsche has become the purest expression of who they actually are - and into the myth of a company and a brand which has fascinated people like Adolf Hitler, Andreas Baader, James Dean and many others.
www.100porschesandme.de
Produced by Florianfilm Gmbh
ALONDRA - a transsexual diary
(historia de una transexual)
by Carles Porta & Danielle Schleif
2007, Human Interest, 80', Spain
Spanish
Alondra is attractive, poor, an immigrant, a prostitute and transsexual. We come into her life at a critical juncture, the moment she has decided to complete her gender reassignment via a sex change operation. But she needs fast money.
We travel with Alondra from Spain to Thailand where she undergoes complicated surgeries to complete her gender reassignment. And through Alondra’s own self-shot footage, we experience her personal struggle for acceptance both in society and her own family when she flies to New York after being absent for 9 years to see the mother and extended family who knew her only as a boy.
he film explores the internal struggle of a person betrayed by her own body since infancy who makes the radical decision to change genders.
Produced by Antartida
ARTEK, THE IDEAL SUMMER CAMP
by Walter Stokman
2002, Human Interest, 57', NL
Russian
On the Crimea in the Ukraine an international summer camp is coping with Ukrain’s new capitalist era. This international children’s camp is not just a summer camp. ARTEK was a very exclusive camp for the Soviet youths; a paradise on the Black Sea coast. Millions of young pioneers considered ARTEK as the promised land. The chosen few who were able to belong to ARTEK for a month, were regarded as the elite of the nation. The highest possible reward for young talented children (or those with powerful parents). ARTEK was considered paradise.
The camp still exists, but the situation in the former Soviet Union changed drastically. Around 30 million young pioneers used to live in the former Soviet Union, all aged between 7 and 16. Less than one percent of them ever made it to ARTEK. ARTEK is now private. When parents are prepared to pay the fee, their children can visit ARTEK unlimitedly.
This documentary is a special look into the future, seen through the eyes of ARTEK’s new generation; the ideal holiday camp brimming with good intentions.
Produced by IJswater Films & NPS TV
ASH, WORLDWIDE SUICIDE
by Walter Stokman
2002, Human Interest, 51 min, NL
English
A boy posts a message on the Internet seeking a suicide partner. A girl reads it and flies to meet him one week later. Together they jump off a 600-meter cliff. They found each other on an Internet newsgroup called alt.suicide.holiday, or ASH.
nternet newsgroups are virtual discussion forums amongst people with common interests. The subject of this one is suicide. You come across thousands of letters. The unknown leave behind their open hearted life stories for us to read. Who are these people and why are they seeking each other on the Internet? What lives lay hidden behind the blue light of the computers.
In ASH worlwide suicide we meet four writers of this newsgroup.
Produced by VPRO TV
BASED ON A TRUE STORY
by Walter Stokman
2004, Cultural, 59' and 75', NL
English
SELECTED FOR IDFA 2004, Silver Wolf Competition!!
One hot August afternoon in 1972 John Wojtowicz attempted to rob a Brooklyn branch of the Chase Manhattan bank. An unexpectedly rapid police response prompted Wojtowicz to take eight hostages. Once Wojtowicz revealed that he had committed the robbery to finance the sex change operation of his lover, there was no turning back. A 10 minute robbery degenerated into a 14 hour stand off. Cops, crowds and cameras - the robbery was a spectacle that eventually served as the basis for Sidney Lumet's 1975 film DOG DAY AFTERNOON.
Of all the accounts as to what took place during those 14 hours, Wojtowicz's testimonial is the only one missing. After serving time in prison, Wojtowicz was released, taking up residence several blocks from the bank, leading his life in the illuminated shadow of cinematic memories that were not his own.
'Based on a true story’ is a remarkable journey back in time reconstructing this day in August 1972. Whereas John Wojtowicz wants to star in his own memories, his control over the story slips away when other accounts come to light. With stunning original news footage, clips of the film Dog Day Afternoon, and recollections of both the hostages, the Police, the FBI and John Wojtowicz, this becomes a story of many faces.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE BASED ON A TRUE STORY
www.kasanderfilm.nl
BEAUTIFUL IN BEAUFORT WES
by Walter Stokman
2006, Culture/Human Interest, 54', NL
English /Afrikaans
South African poet and singer Gert Vlok Nel lives in Beaufort West, a village in Big Karoo, an empty stretch of land between Cape Town and Johannesburg.The village forms the inspiration for Gert Vlok Nel's work.
Beaufort West has obtained an almost mythical status: critics refer to it as the “real” South Africa, far away from the big Westernized cities.
Accompanied by his poems and songs we travel through the village and meet Gert, his father, Beaufort West and its inhabitants.
Produced by VPRO TV.
THE BRANDON TEEN STORY
by Susan Muska & Greta Olafsdottir
1997, Culture, 59' & 90, USA
English
The Brandon Teena Story" is a documentary about hatred and homophobia in the heartland of America.The film focuses on the last few weeks of Brandon Teena's life in a small town in Nebraska.
When 20 year old Brandon arrived in rural Fall City, Nebraska in late 1993, his handsome looks and boyish charm won him several friends and a pretty young girlfriend. On Christmas Eve Brandon was brutally raped and beaten by two of his friends who became enraged when they found out that Brandon was in fact a woman passing as a guy. A week later, on New Year's Eve, the same men murdered Brandon along with two of his friends, Lisa Lambert and Philip Devine. All were shot twice at a close range and Bradon was stabbed several times as well.
The far-reaching effects of ingrained homophobia and misguided loyalty under a veneer of revealing the truth, and how this led to Brandon's destruction are unravelled in this film.
NOMINATED FOR A 2000 EMMMY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST; TEDDY AWARD AND AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY, BERLINALE FILM FESTIVAL; CANADIAN FILM BOARD AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENARY, VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL; TIME OF HISTORY JURY AWARD FOR BEST FILM, VALLODOLID INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL; GRAND JURY AWARD FOR BEST FILM, GREAT PLAINS FILM FESTIVAL .
Produced by BLESS BLESS PRODUCTIONS
BUT I WAS A GIRL,
The Story of Frieda Belinfante
by Tony Boumans
1998, Portrait, 52' & 69', NL
English/Dutch
.....but I was a girl The story of Frieda Belinfante This film tells the story of Frieda Belinfante (1904-1995), a remarkable woman who was the first female conductor to have her own symphony orchestra in Holland and later in Orange County, United States. Controversial, because of her homosexuality she shows a remarkably strong and positive will in everything she does.
Born in a family of musicians in Amsterdam, she joins the resistance during WW II and flees to Switzerland. After the war she moves to the U.S. where she proceeds with her musical career in the Hollywood studios and forms her own symphony orchestra with only Hollywood musicians. The story of her life is told by herself, her older sister Renee, old students and friends, and illustrated by the places where she lived, archive material of her orchestra and some of her most beautiful music.
CHILDREN OF STALIN
by Harrie Timmermans
2006, Human Interest, 52', NL
Russian / English subtitles
“My soul is like a snowflake. You are melting it.”
Time does not exist in the psychiatric hospital in Surami, Georgia. Excruciatingly slowly, the days roll by in an endless stream. The patients wait. They wait for the soup to be ladled from the huge bucket, for a psychiatrist to find the time to examine them, for a breath of fresh air on the central lawn. But mostly, they wait for cigarettes.
In the meantime they talk. About their lives, their dreams, and the hopelessness of their existence.
Compelling and often moving Children of Stalin demonstrates the powerful will to survive of people in vulnerable circumstances. One forgets there is still a world outside the institution's walls.
Produced by Egmond Film & TV
EDIE & THEA: A Very Long Engagement
by Susan Muska & Greta Olafsdottir
2009, Culture, 59', USA
English
WATCH TRAILER HERE!
After 42 years, feisty and delightful lesbian couple Edie and Thea are finally getting married. From the early '60s to the present day, the tireless community activists persevere through many battles, both personal and political. These two compassionate and brave women are a model of courage and strength that speaks to everyone, of any age. Through this film audiences will recognize that dancing, like loving, can continue at any age, and rediscover the timeless message “Don’t postpone joy”. Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir (The Brandon Teena Story) return with a love story of two remarkable women whose commitment to each other is an inspiration to us all.
2009
Audience Award for Best Documentary Outfest
Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary Skeive Filme
Audience & Director's Club Award for Best Documentary Reel Pride
Audience Award for Best Independent Feature Documentary Image Out
Docula-Award for Best Documentary Hamburg Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
2010
Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Australia
Audience Award for Best Documentary and over all Audiences Favorite Film of the Roze Film Dagen Festival, Amsterdam.
Audience Award for Best Documentary, Internationales Frauen Film Festival Dortmund/Köln
Audience Award for Best Documentary, Pink Apple Film Festival in Zürich, Switzerland.
Audience Award for Best Documentary, Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival - presented by HBO
Audience Award for Best Documentary, Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
Audience Award and the Jury Award for Best Documentary, QFest, Philadelphia
REVIEW
Produced by BLESS BLESS PRODUCTIONS
ESCAPE TO LIFE
by Andrea Weiss & Wieland Speck
2000, Cultural, 56 & 84 min, UK/Germany
English
Chronicling the extraordinary lives of Erika and Klaus Mann, children of author Thomas Mann, Escape to Life presents two talented artists who challenged both social standards and the fascist Nazi government through their outrageous performances. Forced to flee their native Germany, only Erika later returned home.
The voices of Corin and Vanessa Redgrave give this brother-and-sister pair the liveliness for which they were so well known.
FATHERHOOD DREAMS
By Julia Ivanova
2007, Culture, 54', Canada
English
Meet four gay men who have always wanted to be dads and discover the challenges they face as they realize their dreams of becoming parents.
Fatherhood Dreams takes the audience into the day-to-day lives of Scott, Steve, Randy and Drew, who are fathers through SURROGACY, CO-PARENTING and ADOPTION. Their private journey through fatherhood forces them to deal with much larger issues, including the legal aspects of surrogacy, the complexity of "open adoption", and the battles concerning the official recognition of multi-parent families. Fatherhood Dreams also gives the voice to children - an outspoken four-year-old named Kizea and a teenager Jazz.
These men represent a new possibility, showing how in a modern world gay parenting can transform from a distant dream into a reality.
www.fatherhooddreams.com
Produced by Interfilm
FLIGHTS OF FANCY
The Visionary Spirit of Contemporary Airports
2008, Culture/Architecture, 4 x 26',
Germany,
Various Languages
FOUR EPISODES, FOUR AIRPORTS
It seems that almost a hundred years after the era of the great railway stations, the vast and lofty architecture of the age of steam was reincarnated in the form of streamlined cathedrals of flight at the end of last century. The series FLIGHTS OF FANCY shows - by means of four international major airports - contemporary architecture of the superlative.
Kansai International Airport – Osaka
It was opened in 1988 and was designed by the Italian architectural star Renzo Piano. Within the seemingly monumental terminal, silver support beams deliquesce upwards to form a framework which - when looked upon from the outside - looks like the wings of a gigantic bird.
Denver International Airport
Designed by Curtis Fentress, this is one of the most renowned architects of the United States. Fentress and his office are situated in Denver, and for his design he let himself be inspired by the snow-covered peaks of the Rocky Mountains nearby. The snow-white roof of the main creates the impression of an icy mountainscape with 34 peaks by day, whilst by night it conveys the image of a glowing ridge which promises the passengers looking out of their plane’s windows, a near arrival.
Pudong International Airport of Shanghai
Opened in time for the 50th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China on the 1st of October 1999. The design of China’s new calling card was taken over by no-one other than the French architectural legend Paul Andréu. With its monochrome structure the Shanghai Pudong Airport appears almost sacral. The grand floor space made of polished grey granite reflects the roof’s structure, which is seemingly interspersed by long white cylinders.
Barajas Airport, Madrid
The new terminal belongs amongst the most ambitious projects of the British master-builder and Pritzker-Award-winner Richard Rogers. Embedded in an artificial valley, the terminal picks up the composition of the Spanish plateau and melts, at the same time, via the separate roof with the surrounding mountainscape.
 
GAY CHAMPIONS
by Tim den Besten & Nicolaas Veul
2012, Culture/G&L, 48', The Netherlands
video; dutch/english/ukraine
A special coverage, by two dutch journalists, of Ukraine’s very first Gay Pride (during the Euro 2012 Championship) that never happened due to extremist threats. The secret route had been leaked and hundreds of members of dangerous anti-gay groups chased gays who were on their way to the Pride. Two of the organizers were hospitalized.
With the world’s gaze fixed upon Ukraine, gays – who have no rights there - felt encouraged to stand up for their rights. It might get even worse when a law against ‘gay propaganda’ passes: (positive) media coverage, support and education of homosexuality will be punishable.
 
Produced by VPRO
GAY SEX IN THE 70s
by Joe Lovett
2005, Culture, 70', USA
English
Documentary producer/director Joseph Lovett focuses his lens on the unbridled sexual passion and exploration that marked the twelve years from Stonewall (1969) to the first reported cases of AIDS (1981). With access to a filmic and photographic treasure trove of erotic life on New York's West Side Piers, trucks, bars, dance clubs, baths and beaches, Lovett's cast of Storytellers (including AIDS activist and writer Larry Kramer and erotic photographer Tom Bianchi, and others) takes us from the remarkably repressed pre-Stonewall period to an era of sexual excess unparalleled since ancient Rome.
Straightforward, funny and titillating at the same time, they tell their stories with remarkable wit, humor and perspective. For younger people - those who became sexually active after the age of AIDS - this film may be a startling revelation of what everyday life was like when American youth were cutting loose from Puritanical values and ascribing to the watchword of the time "if it feels good, do it."
www.gaysexinthe70s.com
Produced by Lovett Productions
HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU, BOY
by André Schäfer  2007,
Culture, 52' & 90, Germany
English/German/French
SELECTED FOR THE 2007 BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL
HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU, BOY tells the story of the coming-out of gay and lesbian cinema and the slowly developing self-confidence of its makers and their audience - a self-confidence which has been characterised in recent times by films which have received awards at renowned film festivals like Berlin and Venice or even the Academy Awards in Hollywood. Gay and lesbian films have had to break through sociological barriers in order to assert themselves and to eventually realise their own coming-out to a broader audience. This film will deal with these and many other important films of the last few decades. Plenty of clips form international productions and behind the scenes footage will complement the interviews with the talent from behind and in front of the camera - with Stephen Frears, Gus Van Sant, Rosa von Praunheim, Tilda Swinton, John Waters, Geneviere Turner and many others!
 
Produced by Florianfilm Gmbh
HILARY HAHN: A LIFE OF MUSIC
by Edda Baumann
2000, Human Interest / Music, 43', Germany
English/German
At the young age of twenty, Hilary Hahn is a rising star in the classical music world, both in her home country, the United States, and internationally. This remarkable woman from Baltimore is unusually grounded, given the patina of celebrity she has enjoyed since the age of fifteen. Hailed as a 'wunderkind', the classical music world beckoned her into the limelight.
Electing to first finish her studies at Philadelphia's prestigious Curtis Institute, Hilary is only now ready to submit to a rigorous touring schedule. Even at such a young age she commands the respect of colleagues three times her age. 'Hilary wants to do what she wants and how she wants it,' remarked Michael Stern, conductor and son of violinist Isaac Stern.
The film shows Hilary at home in Philadelphia and follows this mesmerizing violinist on tour in Germany and Finland. Hilary shows that she can give Mendelssohn's famous Violin Concerto op. 64 a deep lyricism and Shostakovich's Violin Concerto op. 77 the wisdom required to tackle the master Russian composer. Her musical vision and her immense discipline demonstrate that nothing is left to chance in this young woman's career.
This programme contains approximately 70% musical performances in accordance with the 'Maestro' format programming guidelines of the French/German cultural channel ARTE.
Produced by Avanti Media
I LIVE AT GROUND ZERO
by Greta Schiller
2002, Human Interest, 26', USA
English
I LIVE AT GROUND ZERO is a film about 9/11 and its aftermath, from the point of view of an articulate nine year old girl who witnessed the tragic events from her classroom window.
Since birth Isabella has lived in Tribeca, New York City, in the shadow of the World Trade Center towers. Her public school was two blocks North of them. The Towers served as her north star, by which she learned to navigate. Her community was shattered on September 11th.
Over the following months, Greta Schiller filmed Isabella’s attempts to make sense of the enormity of sudden changes in her life. Out of her classroom window she had seen bodies falling from the north tower, a sight she has been unable to forget but until recently refused to talk about. Growing up is usually a gentle, gradual process, however Isabella’s experiences have catapulted her into a maturity beyond her years. The film starts with her evacuation from home and culminating in the reopening of her neighborhood school in February 2002.
Produced by Jezebel Films
INTERNATIONAL SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM
by Greta Schiller & Andrea Weiss
1986, H.I./Arts, 30', USA
English
The rise and fall of American's multi-racial, all-female swing band, which shot to fame during World War II. Produced in association with Channel Four.
Shown at over 100 festivals worldwide. Prize of the International Jury, Oberhausen Short Film Festival; Jury Prize, Leipzig Documentary Festival. Selected for "Highlights of British Television", BBC. Broadcast in 13 countries including Britain, France, Holland, United States (PBS), China, Denmark, Australia, Canada and Japan.
IS SHE OR ISN'T HE?
by Justin Pemberton
2011, Human Interest/Gay 45' & 70'
New Zealand, English
Growing up as a small town boy who feels like a girl, Graham is an outsider who can see only one solution - to become "Ashleigh". Ashleigh's greatest desire is to be an attractive woman "with beautiful big breasts that a man would love." She insists that she's both heterosexual and a virgin.
But just as Ashleigh starts to really change her appearance, she also reveals her inner conflict and confusion about what she's actually doing. Ashleigh dreads being identified as transgender and divulges that her ultimate drive is simply to become "normal".
WATCH TRAILER!
Produced by The Docufactory
INTO THE NIGHT...
A new series produced by Avanti Media 2004-2011,
Culture/Human Interest, 57',
Germany, English
"Into the night with..." is an award winning, 60-minute series produced for ZDF/ARTE since 2002. The series matches artists from different fields to spend an evening together in a city of their choice. The idea is to create a forum for artists to exchange ideas and also show them as "real people". Various locations and surprises evoke spontaneous reactions and interactions between the artists, cameras that operate "fly-on-the-wall"-like add to the unusual high level of authenticity and realness. "Into the night with." has been awarded the Adolf Grimme Preis "Spezial", Germany's most renowned TV-award.
Among those who met on "Into the Night" are Liza Minelli & Fritz Wepper; William Friedkin & Uli Edel; Harmony Korine & Gaspar Noé; Juliette Lewis & Crispin Glover; Wolfgang Joop & Bill Kaulitz; Garry Kasparov & Peter Thiel; Melissa Auf der Mauer & Jennifer Lynch; Christopher Doyle & Nonzee Nimibutr and many others!!! They met in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest, Stockholm, Istanbul and Zurich.
 
JAMES DEAN
little prince, little bastard
by André Schäfer & Werner Köhne 
2005, Culture, 52' & 90, Germany
English
James Dean – alias Jim Stark – crouching on the roadside, giggling childishly into himself. James Dean – alias Cal – lying in a corn field watching the fruit grow. James Dean – alias James Dean – the collar of his coat turned up in New York: Images which have collaborated on building a myth – the image of eternal and misunderstood youth. Unlike Marlon Brando, the proletarian rebel with identifiable goals, James Dean was the timeless and androgynous youthful rebel. His death on the Interstate 46 leads us back to 1950s America, a time when youth was re-interpreted all anew.
The USA was looking for its profile: While the McCarthy-hysteria was reactivating the tough patriar-chal America, the internal social fabric was determining its course for “Big Mama“. All of this followed a general “psychologicalisation” of all spheres of life: Authenticity, truth and rebellion turned into values attributed to youth and also revolutionised the Hollywood studios. James Dean played himself – but like no one else before he also produced himself. It was through this that he was turned into an icon of a media created youth culture, the shadow of which is still hanging over us today.
Excerpts of James Dean’s three films, behind the scenes footage, archive from 1950s America and original photos will merge with the newly shot material tracking the phenomenon James Dean in present day New York, Fairmount and California.
Produced by Florianfilm Gmbh
JOHN PORTMAN - A LIFE OF BUILDING
By Ben Loeterman
2011, Culture, 54', USA
English
Watch Trailer
Once a maverick who was nearly run out of the American Institute of Architects, John Portman is now recognized as one of the most innovative and imitated architects ever.
Over 45 years, Portman’s iconic urban statements and eye- popping interiors have risen in 60 cities on four continents to redefine cityscapes in America, and skylines in China and the rest of Asia. The film captures Portman’s approach in an intimate portrait that, by turn, assesses and appreciates Portman’s work.
Dramatic time-lapse footage shows off Portman’s buildings at their best— often in moving sunlight that washes over his facades and spaces.
www.johnportmanfilm.com
Produced by Ben Loeterman Productions, Inc.
 
LENIN ONLY GOT AS FAR AS LÜDENSCHEID
by André Schäfer
2008, Culture, 88', Germany
English/German
Lenin only got as far as Luedenscheid looks at the ‘68’ movement in an entertaining and affectionate light. With an ironic and self-ironic look, both author Richard David Precht and documentary filmmaker André Schaefer paint the picture of a childhood in a West German province and reflect on the big events of those years in a different, smaller and very personal way.
Born at a time marked by political upheaval in Germany and the rest of the world, Richard David Precht remembers the socialist universe of his childhood: his family creates a small left-wing universe in the midst of a capitalistic enemy country. Father Precht reads Marx and Engels, while Richard mistakes these bearded men for famous animal lover Brehm. Richard develops his very own view of the world, where the GDR is a gigantic and heavenly zoo, protected by a high wall. Mother Precht distinguishes sharply between good and bad, socialism and capitalism; thus Coca Cola is considered as unacceptable at home as is Star Trek. On the other hand Richard and his siblings, two of whom were adopted from Vietnam, may read Asterix comics because they are French and therefore somehow subversive, and anyhow the Romans are members of the occupying forces - almost like Americans.
Besides Precht, the film also features his siblings and several other family members, archive footage, documentary footage about the foster family made by German Broadcaster WDR, and re-enacted scenes on Super 8 mm film.
Produced by Florianfilm Gmbh
 
LET ME HAVE IT ALL
by Jeroen Berkvens & Walter Stokman
1994, Human Interest/Music, 48', NL
English
This film is a roadmovie-like documentary about the search for Sly Stone: the musical genius behind the funk-rock band Sly & the Family Stone. The group experencied their glory-days during the late 60's and at the beginning of the 70's, with Woodstock as the highlight.
The Filmmakers start of their quest in San Francisco with the intention to get as much information as possible about this man. They come across a pop-critic, a photographer, his music-teacher who form a picture of Sly, who's admired, respected, vilified and cherished as a living legend. Sly is hard to find. Then ex-bandmembers are found; the drummer, the bassguitarist and in particular the trumpetiste Cynthia Robinson. She was loyal to Sly for a long period and has his child. Also, she doesn't know his whereabouts, but everything leads to L.A. There, things unravel. Sly Stone is a tormented man, haunted by drugproblems and protected by manager.
For years now the rumour is kept alive that a large-scale comeback is to be at hand and the management refuses access to all media that want to disturb this illusion. Sly was found, but cannot be filmed: he's more valuable as a legend. LET ME HAVE IT ALL won the ARTE-award at the young People's European Filmfestival in Hannover, 1993.
LET'S PLAY, BOY!
The cultural and economical phenomenon called Playboy
by André Schäfer & Ingmar Trost
2008, Culture, 59', Germany
English/German
Back in December 1953, the 27 years old Hugh Hefner published the first Playboy Magazine in Chicago, and the American system of values – God, family and work – got muddled up forever. There was no match for Playboy or for its founder. At the head of the company was a man whose lifestyle stimulated men’s fantasies just as much as the magazine itself. Hugh Hefner, hedonist, icon of virile machismo and the most famous playboy in the world. Initiator of the sexual revolution, a fighter for civil rights and supporter of the arts, a liberal saint – or, after all, just an amoral materialist, chauvinist and pornographer? Fact is, no other magazine has had such an impact on American and Americanised culture as the glossy Playboy from Chicago.
Today, Playboy is one the five best known brands in the world alongside Coca Cola and McDonald’s. According to the Far Eastern Economic Review Playboy is even the most popular brand in the People’s Republic of China – a country in which the its most famous product, Playboy Magazine, is categorised as pornography, i.e. illegal. But the Chinese know absolutely what Playboy represents: sex, beautiful women – and sophistication. And in India too, the sexual revolution, thanks to Playboy, is just a step away.
LET’S PLAY, BOY tells the story of the cultural and economical phenomenon called Playboy – in times in which the species “playboy” seems to be dying out: An acute evaluation of the broad impact both the Playboy magazine and the brand have had over the past 50 years.
 
Produced by Florianfilm Gmbh
MARY PICKFORD
Written and directed by Sue Williams.
Produced by Kathryn Dietz
and Sue Williams.
2004, Human Interest/Cultural, 52' & 80', USA, English
official website!!
Narrated by Laura Linney
In the early days of silent film, Mary Pickford soared to global fame, becoming the world's first international superstar. An actress of extraordinary talent, she was also a sophisticated businesswoman who helped shape a culture of celebrity that defines America today.
She began her career in 1900 when she was just six years old. By 1914 she was the most popular woman in the world. Her films and her private life, especially her "romance of the century" with Hollywood heartthrob, Douglas Fairbanks, thrilled fans around the world. Pickford was also immensely successful in the business side of her career.
Together with Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and director D.W. Griffith, she founded United Artists to give the partners complete artistic and commercial control of their films. Audiences eagerly awaited new UA films and in the 1920s -- the glory days of silent film -- their movies raised production standards for all of Hollywood.
But when talking pictures made their appearance, Pickford's golden touch faltered. Her world began to collapse around her and she became the first to pay the price of extravagant fame.
Using home movies, archive footage, photographs, atmospheric shooting and, of course, her own films, 'Mary Pickford' builds a poignant, complex portrait of the most powerful and adored woman in the history of movies, "America's Sweetheart."
Major funding provided by: the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Additional funding was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Major funding for American Experience provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. National corporate funding provided by The Scotts Company and Liberty Mutual. Additional funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers.
MAXINE SULLIVAN: THE LOVE TO BE IN LOVE
by Greta Schiller
1991, Portrait, 48', USA
English
A portrait of the late great jazz vocalist. Produced in association with Channel Four UK and La Sept, France.
Theatrical premiere at the ICA, London, and Film Forum, New York City. Broadcast in France, Britain, Germany and Yugoslavia.
MOEBIUS REDUX,
a life in pictures
by Hasko Baumann
2007, Culture/Human Interest, 57' & 70', Germany/Canada
French/English
French artist and author Jean Giraud is one of the most influential comic strip illustrators and authors of all time - and also one of its best kept secret. He achieved his greatest fame as Moebius - not so much a pseudonym as an alter ego. As Moebius, he revolutionized the world of comics. Giraud's artistic influence extends far beyond Europe, all the way to the USA and Japan.
MOEBIUS REDUX is a stunning HD trip that takes the viewer inside the visionary mind of a legend. Building on Girauds's compelling pictorial language and featuring a stellar cast of participants including the artist himself but also Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee, American comic book artists Jim Lee (X-Men) and Mike Mignolla (Hellboy) as well as Alejandro Jodorowsky, Enki Bilal and Dan O'Bannon (Dark Star, Alien), the film goes on a mind-bending tour pf imagination past, present and future. Ex-Kraftwerk legend Karl Bartos created the soundscape for the film.
QUOTES QUOTES QUOTES QUOTES QUOTES
"The brilliant camera work and the fast-paced editing make you feel like you're watching Errol Morris on methamphetamines. This flick just plain ROCKS."
(Ain't It Cool News)
"What makes Moebius Redux extraordinary, especially on a big theater screen, is the way in which director Hasko Baumann integrated artwork into the movie. The movie is filled with layers of eye-popping art. (...) The film has something to offer for comic-book geeks, sf/fantasy film buffs or fans of well-crafted documentaries ... and it is a visual treat."
(Cinematical.com)
"When was the last time you were actually “transported” by a film–taken to another world for an hour and a half, and you weren’t ready to leave when the trip was done? Director Hasko Baumann has created such a film."
(Wordpress.com)
"I'll disregard the technical merits of this film (stunning HD, score by Karl
Bartos, etc etc) and just say it was a treat."
(Harry Knowles)
MONSTERLAND
directed by Jörg Buttgereit
produced by Avanti Media
2008, Culture 59' & 80', Germany
English/German/Japanese
Nothing is more unsettling than the fear that just below the ordered surface of our world something lies slumbering which could suddenly awaken to unleash chaos on us. Such nightmarish visions haunt the last untouched wilderness, descend upon us from outer space, or lurk within us, waiting to arise from the depths of our psyche.
Monsterland journeys through time and around the world, exploring diverse monster types, from the origins of the latex monster in devastated postwar Japan to the aliens and serial murderers of 1980s American cinema, and on to the rise of King Kong's digital descendants in the face of 21st-century terrors. One after another, a broad spectrum of monsters emerges that mirrors the range of our fears and longings.
With the nostalgic gaze of a monster fan, Monsterland traces the history of the genre while probing the deep-seated human fear of, and longing for, violence and destruction. From this kaleidoscope of terror comes the sweet chill that only a true monster can send down one's spine.
With: John Carpenter, Greg Nicotero, Rick Baker, Joe Dante, Teruyoshi Nakano, Kenpachiro Satsuma, H.R. Giger, Shinya Tsukamoto, Joe Coleman
And clips from: Halloween, King Kong, Godzilla, Alien, Tetsuo, Frankenstein, Virus Undead, The Howling, Monster X Strikes Back.
OMA & BELLA
By Alexa Karolinksi
2012, Culture, 54' & 80', Germany/USA
HD, German/Yiddish
BERLIN 2012
WATCH TRAILER HERE!
Oma & Bella is an intimate glimpse into the world of Regina Karolinski (Oma) and Bella Katz, two friends who live together in Berlin. Having survived the Holocaust and then stayed in Germany after the war, it is through the food they cook together that they remember their childhoods, maintain a bond to each other and answer questions of heritage, memory and identity. As the film follows them through their daily lives, a portrait emerges of two women with with a light sense of humor, vivid stories, and a deep fondness for good food. Created by Oma’s granddaughter Alexa, the film captures their ongoing struggle to retain a part of their past while remaining very much engaged in the present.
Selected for Berlin 2012, HotDocs 2012, Silverdocs 2012
 
PATERNAL INSTINCT
by Murray Nossel
2004, Human Interest, 59', USA
English
Mark and Erik have been together for ten years, and they've decided it's time to have kids. But they don't want to adopt. Is there a woman out there willing to serve as a surrogate mother and help them realize their dream?
PATERNAL INSTINCT chronicles two years in the life of these New Yorkers on their journey to become fathers.
Mark, a computer engineer, and Erik, a land conservationist, choose to pursue parenthood through surrogacy, a process increasingly considered by gay couples as an alternative to adoption.
Placing a "NYC Gay Couple Seeks Surrogate" ad on the Internet, they begin the process of fulfilling their primordial desire to have biological children. Mark and Erik are delighted when they get a response from Wen, a married mother living in rural Maine. At an initial meeting in Boston, they work out the paperwork and payment, kicking off a two-year odyssey that will be filled with anxiety, disappointment and, ultimately, joy.
PATERNAL INSTINCT has been featured at a number of domestic and international film festivals, including the recent Miami Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. It was directed by Murray Nossel, whose other credits include the Oscar®-nominated short film "Why Can't We Be a Family Again?"
PATERNAL INSTINCT was produced by Murray Nossel and Craig Harwood; directed by Murray Nossel; edited by Susanne Rostock; director of photography, Edward Marritz; original music composed by Hahn Rowe. For CINEMAX Reel Life: consulting editor, Geoff Bartz; supervising producer, John Hoffman; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.
Academy Award® and Oscar® are registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
www.paternalinstinctfilm.com
PARIS WAS A WOMAN
by Greta Schiller
1996, Cultural, 75', UK
English
In the first quarter of the 20th century Paris was the undisputed cultural capital of the world. It was also the meeting place for a new generation of independent women, who literally flocked to the West Bank of Paris and made it their home. Authors Colette, Djuna Barnes and Getrude Stein joined painters Romaine Brookes and Marie Laurencin, photographers Bernice Abbot and Gilsele Freund, publishers and booksellers Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier and journalist Janet Flanner and together they created a now legendary community.
ROCK HUDSON, dark and handsome stranger
 by Andrew Davies & André Schäfer
BERLINALE 2010!
2010, Culture, 58' & 90', Germany
English
There are two reasons to revive interest in the Hollywood star Rock Hudson in 2010: If he had not died of AIDS 25 years ago, it would have been his 85th birthday in November 2010. The film portrays a very male looking gay leading man who had to perform a secret balancing act between the heterosexual Hollywood world and the dark side of closeted sexuality. In fact he was someone who always needed to tell lies. He had to become a very good actor even in real life.
The film includes interviews with his French doctor Dr. Philippe Siou and Dr. Michael Gottlieb, Rock’s American doctor who became the first physician to describe a new disease that would later become known as AIDS, friends like Stockton Briggle and his personal secretary Mark Miller, Yanou Collart, his French PR manager, Armistead Maupin, bestselling author, Richard Dyer, film historian, Robert Hofler, author of the book “The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson”, Richard Anderson and Salome Jens, co-stars of “SECONDS”, Leonard Stern, producer of Hudson's TV series “McMillan&Wife” and Hollywood reporter Rona Barrett.
Produced by Florianfilm Gmbh
SARK, small world
by Joost Seelen
2002, Cultural, 56', NL
English
Sark is Europe's smallest feudal state, situated about 35 kilomters off the French Coast. Although it is part of the United Kingdom it has its own parliament and laws. There's no cars, no crime, no income tax, no divorce, no social service and no regular police force.
The people of Sark not only form a stubborn and closed community but they also have their own traditions, and a few - by European standards - peculiar laws.
The island, with a surface area of 10 square kilometres, is one of the Channel Islands and belongs to the British Crown. Some 550 people inhabit the island but this is just an estimate as there is no parish register. The lord of the island, Seigneur Michael Beaumont, pays the British Crown an annual rent of about two pounds.
On first sight Sark seems to be a paradise but his film shows the inside of life on Sark. Conflicts between tradition and modernisation, native islander and stranger, Sark and the outside world are the film's main focus.
Produced by www.zuidenwind.nl
SEE YOU IN VEGAS
Magician Hans Klok is about to see his dreams come true, but can he remain loyal to his family?
Since he was a kid Dutch magician Hans Klok has dreamt of global fame, and everybody in his family has worked dilligently towards this goal. His mother does the laundry, his boyfriend the spotlight and his brother controls the pr & marketing. But money is tight.
When a once-in-a-lifetime offer comes by way of Dutch Broadway producer Joop van den Ende, Hans must choose between family and ambition.
TALL GIRLS - story of giants
by Edda Baumann-von Broen
2011, Human Interest, 58' & 80', Germany
English/German
It doesn’t matter if you’re a model or basketball player or if you lead a very normal existence, life above 1.85m (6’) is different. Other rules apply up here. Tiiu and Michelle are successful models and are too tall for their jobs. Arianne’s mother doesn’t like her daughter’s height. Sarah is undergoing surgery to prevent her from becoming an estimated 1.90m (6’3“). Lea is taking hormones which are prohibited for children to stop her from growing. Lisa is 1,99m (6’6“) and could become a professional basketball player if she tried hard enough, but she would rather be a proper girl.
The Internet is full of girls who are distressed about their growth and willing to do anything to finally stop it. Every pediatrician has a growth chart on the wall where even young children can see whether they are normal or not.
But what’s normal? Every norm is an average statistic of many human beings. The chances of fulfilling precisely this norm are very slim. Nevertheless, we live in a society in which those around us are continually letting us know whether or not we fit in, especially when you’re a girl. Big, loud and self-confident – who wants that?
Often we become what others see in our bodies. In this film, Tiiu, Michelle, Arianne, Sarah, Lea and Lisa show how they live and feel, and how they’re coming to terms with their height. And also, what their size has made them into.
Between cries and laughter, one can’t help but fall in love with these tall girls, who bare their souls to show how difficult yet liberating living outside the norm can be.
Produced by Avanti Media
 
SEPTEMBERS
by Carles Bosch
from the Oscar nominated director of BALSEROS
2007, Cultural/H.I., 90', Spain
Spanish
OFFICIAL COMPETITION IDFA 2007
Every September, Madrid’s Soto del Real Prison celebrates the Festival of Song. The participants are inmates who come from various prisons. They are the protagonists of the film.
The festival is simply a point of departure. From there, these four men and four women return to their daily routines in prison and allow us to enter into their lives and the intimacy of their relationships. Love, or its absence, serves as the common language to enable the spectator to understand the world of the penitentiary from a perspective we can all relate to.
Spanning a year—from September to September, between one festival and the next—the film portrays their love stories: how they develop or how they fall apart.
Produced by Bausan Films in association with Televisió de Catalunya
THE ENCHANTING AHN TRIO
by Edda Baumann
1998, Human Interest./Music, 45', Germany
English
Ever since their performance in patent leather at the German classical music awards in Hamburg, the young Korean AHN TRIO has become a household name.This film accompanies the three resembling sisters in their adopted city New York on the occasion of their unusual concert "Ahn-plugged", where they play standard works as well as world premiere-trios composed especially for them. The sisters tell us about their professional background, about Korea, their preferences in music and their dreams. They let us watch them rehearse and live in New YorkÕs extraordinary East Village and in Hamburg.
An unspoken understanding between the three becomes apparant as well as their -often unrecognized- individuality. The mixture of elements of a music feature and a documentary results in a portrait of three musicians who decided to find their own way in the conservative world of classical music; young women whose images are not a clever marketing strategy but rather an attempt to find themselves musically.
With music from Schostakovitsch and Dvorak
THE MAKING OF MUTANT ALIENS
by Bill Plympton / Anthony Arcede
2002, Cultural, 90', USA
English
Excerpts of Bill Plympton's diaries made during the filmmaking process of his latest feature Mutant Aliens.
THE MAN WHO DROVE WITH MANDELA
by Greta Schiller
1998, Portrait/Cultural, 54 min,
UK/USA/South Africa
English/Afrikaans
In 1962, at the height of oppression in apartheid South Africa, a gay white theatre director was arrested with Nelson Mandela. His name was Cecil Williams. This is his story. Featuring Corin Redgrave as Cecil Williams.
Produced in association with Channel Four (UK), AVRO (Netherlands), SA Broadcasting, VRT-CANVAS (Belgium), Corporation for Public Broadcasting (USA), London Production Fund and the BFI.
World premiere Edinburgh 1998. Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival, 1998. Berlin International Film Festival 1999: Teddy Bear Award for Best Documentary. Best Documentary, Milan Gay Festival, 1999
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
by Hans Heijnen
2002, Human Interest, 73', NL
16mm, English
The fun and at the same time touching documentary The show must go on centres on the lives of a number of very still active people in a small town in the United States where only people of fifty years of age and older are living. Some 32.000 senior citizens are savouring their last years in Sun City West, Arizona, whilst enjoying the sun and doing all the things for which they had no time in their working lives.
The elderly feel reborn in this retirement community, where new romances begin and hidden talents are discovered. But life in Sun City West also has its darker side: on her eighty-ninth birthday Ginnie Geocaris still takes part energetically in line dancing, but her third husband Joe, who is the same age, is no longer able to play the violin and has lost all of his vitality. Often, residents have been completely forgotten by their children.
Produced by Zeppers Film & TV
TIME OF FEAR
Written and directed by Sue Williams.
Produced by Kathryn Dietz.
2004, History/Human Interest, 56', USA, English
more info!
In World War II more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were forced to leave their homes and relocate to military camps dotted across the western United States. Time of Fear tells the story of the 16,000 men, women and children who were sent to two camps in southeast Arkansas, one of the poorest and most racially segregated places in America. It is also explores the reactions of the native Arkansans who watched in bewilderment as their tiny towns were overwhelmed by this huge influx of outsiders.
Using rare home movies of the camp and interviews with Japanese Americans and Arkansans who lived these events, Time of Fear is a tale of suspicion and fear, of resilience, and of the deep scars left by America’s long and unfinished struggle with race. Today, in the aftermath of 9/11, Time of Fear resonates with chilling power.
Funding for the film was provided by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. Additional support was provided by the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council, funded the Real Estate Transfer Tax; and by the Arkansas Humanities Council Department of Arkansas Heritage.
TINY & RUBY: HELL DIVIN'WOMEN
by Greta Schiller & Andrea Weiss
1986, H.I/Music, 25 min, USA
English
A portrait of Tiny Davis, the woman billed as "The Female Louis Armstrong", and her partner for over forty years, on and off the bandstand, Ruby Lucas. Produced in association with Channel Four, UK.
Silver Plaque Award, Chicago Film Festival; Finalist, American Film and Video Festival. Audience Award, Berlin International Film Festival and Festival International de Films de Femmes, Creteil
TUPPERWARE!
by Laurie Kahn-Leavitt
narrated by Kathy Bates
2003, History/Human Interest, 59', USA
English
Tupperware: it's a plastic product, a company, a marketing phenomenon, an enduring icon. A Tupperware party takes place somewhere in the world every 2.5 seconds. Where did it all begin?
Tupperware! tells the remarkable story of Earl Silas Tupper, an ambitious but reclusive small-town inventor, and Brownie Wise, the self-taught saleswoman who built him an empire out of bowls that burped. Brownie was an intuitive marketing genius who trained a small army of Tupperware Ladies to put on Tupperware parties in living rooms across America in the 1950s. She rewarded her sales force with minks and modern appliances at extravagant annual jubilees which the company filmed. Her saleswomen earned thousands, even millions, selling Tupperware. And the experience changed their lives.
The film includes rare footage collected from basements, attics, and back rooms: color home movies taken by Tupperware Ladies and Jubilee footage shot by Tupperware Home Parties, as well as ads and television excerpts from the period. The footage is interwoven with fabulous and funny stories told by Tupperware Ladies who witnessed the company's early years.
LOOK FOR MORE FUN STUFF ON thetupperwarefilm
Major Funding Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities, The American Experience and WGBH, Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, Morgan Stanley, Lemelson Center of the Smithsonian Institution.
Selected for Montreal 2003, Valladolid 2003, IDFA 2003 and many others!
VAN DYKE PARKS,
an obsession with music
by Cees Colenbrander
2002, Cultural, 54', NL
English
The musical prodigy Van Dyke Parks is only interested in music. Although he does not consider himself a great composer - 'I'm just a hard worker' - he enjoys great fame among colleagues and connoisseurs as a musician, arranger, lyricist, record producer, talent scout and film score composer. Born deep in the black south of the United States in 1943, he moves to California in the early sixties. There, Van Dyke writes songs that immediately appeal to people like Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. Together, they make the groundbreaking album Smile. In 1968, Van Dyke Parks releases his first solo album Songcycle: an ageless musical and verbal experiment, highly valued by a relatively small group of aficionados. The record is not a commercial success. Since that time, he composes, produces and arranges for artists like Randy Newman and Ry Cooder. The film shows Van Dyke Parks in his natural habitat: the sound studios in L.A., friends' kitchens and the sun-drenched beach. Surrounded by friends like Brian Wilson, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder and Timothy White.
Produced by Palentino Pictures
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MADE, DORIS DAY SUPERSTAR
by Andrew Davies & André Schäfer 
English/German
www.dorisdaysuperstar.com
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MADE, DORIS DAY SUPERSTAR is an endearing account of Doris Day's life and career delivered in a quirky and fun way. It's as cute and as wholesome as the lady it is about - offering a fascinating insight into Doris's distant Germanic roots, her hardworking days in Hollywood and twilight years retired with her dogs in a picturesque and pet-friendly town. Covering serious and respectful journalism which actually enables Joe Public to impartially appraise the woman who is a cultural icon of the 20th and 21st century.
With a healthy dose of movie, television and song clips which represent all facets of Doris Day the entertainer; unique material from private archives; all-new interviews with actors Philip Brown, Peter Graves, Jackie Joseph and Noah Keen, biographers Pierre Patrick and Tom Santopietro, Doris Day fans, childhood acquaintances and even distant relatives from Germany.
This is all wrapped up with some fascinating on-location filming of historical landmarks and buildings relevant to Doris Day's family, career and life from her birth place of Cincinnati, her current home town of Carmel-by-the-Sea to the German province. A 2008 telephone conversation between Doris and the film's makers is also notably contained which occurred during Doris's annual "birthday" call-in on her local radio station with DJ Ed Dickinson [where the production team were visiting].
A timely reminder of what a difference having Doris Day has made to the world.
Produced by Florianfilm Gmbh
WOMAN OF THE WOLF
by Greta Schiller
1993, Cultural, 28 min, USA/UK
English
A sumptuous fairy-tale in which two opposing versions of the same story are told: one recounted verbally by a male guest at a dinner party, and one enacted visually by the elusive woman he meets on a fantasy cargo boat. Starring Alex Kingston as the Woman of the Wolf. Produced in association with Channel Four, PBS (US), and London Production Fund.
Premiere: Berlin International Film Festival, 1994.
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO IRVING
by André Schäfer
2012, Culture, 54' & 90', Germany
English/German
When reading John Irving, you get the feeling that you are sitting at a table and one of the characters is handing you a glass of wine. Irving is one of the world’s most read writers: More than 10-million copies of his 12 novels - including his breakthrough "The World According To Garp" and the 1980 "Ciderhouse Rules" - have been sold in 30 languages.
In 2012 Irving celebrated his 70th birthday and his new book "In One Person" was published. The film visualizes the elation in Irving’s novels (including his last one), a factor which makes him a literary figure of global format: a reality available for everyone.
Produced by Florianfilm Gmbh
 
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