The devastation of World War One left Germany's budding film industry, like much of Europe, in tatters. But necessity being the mother of invention, German Expressionism was born. Relying heavily on symbolism and shadow rather than elaborate and costly sets, films like 'The Cabinet of Dr Caligari' are still studied by film students the world over. By the mid-1920s, the industry was getting back on its feet and great directors like Fritz Lang and FW Murnau were making their early masterpieces. However the onset of Nazism and the impending war led many of Germany's artists, including filmmakers, to flee to the U.S. Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Douglas Sirk, Karl Freund and many more all continued their careers in America while the German film industry virtually disappeared. It was not unitl the '60s and '70s that new talents emerged. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog, Viktor Schlondorff and Wim Wenders revitalised German cinema and today international hits such as 'Run Lola Run' and 'Goodbye Lenin!' assure us it is here to stay. Right: 'Run Lola Run'
Drawing on the true events of Spring 1943 when hundreds of German women protested the incarceration of their Jewish husbands in the Jewish Welfare Off... Read more
One of the last great German Expressionist films of the silent era from acclaimed director Joe May. A by-the-book traffic cop (Gustav Frohlich) catche... Read more
Herzog's last collaboration with his regular lead Klaus Kinski finds the wrinkled demon playing once again a misunderstood crazy. Loosely adapted from... Read more
A.k.a. "Das Haus der Krokodile". When the parents of little Victor leave for a business trip, he goes for an exploratory walk through the big, old man... Read more
A sweeping 'road' movie concerning two men who journey across Germany visiting shuttered movie houses, listening to rock 'n' roll and discovering what... Read more
Directed, produced by and starring Paul Wegener, "Der Golem" is a masterpiece of early cinema. The story centres on a Jewish community threatened with... Read more
Stranded with her younger siblings after their Nazi parents are imprisoned, Lore (Saskia Rosendahl) leads the remains of her family across war-torn Ge... Read more
Latest installment of the Cities of Love series (Paris, je t'aime / New York, I Love You / Rio, Eu Te Amo), this collective feature film is made of te... Read more
Wim Wenders' Radical Digital Cinema project aims to support young filmmakers in exploring new avenues in filmmaking. Volume 1 includes: 'Egoshooter' -... Read more
Based on the journals of Brother Gaspar de Carvajal, and tells a hallucinatory tale of Spanish colonialists searching for El Dorado, the legendary cit... Read more