Christoph Beyertt

In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.

The emaciated weavers deliver their homework to the factory owner Dreißiger and receive their wages, on which they cannot live and cannot die. Driven by hunger, they ask for more money, but to no avail. Only the young baker and the reservist Jäger put up a fight, and both manage to encourage a large group of weavers to revolt against the factory owner. They break into his house and destroy it, whereupon he flees. The revolt continues, the weavers move through the surrounding villages, where more people join them. A little later, the military arrives to intervene against the angry crowd and restore the old order...

In 1945, Ernst Machner returns home from the war in his mid-20s. Tuche would like him to weave for a living, but his comrades persuade him to become a young teacher instead.

A mysterious magnetic spool found during a construction project is discovered to have originated from Venus. A rocket expedition to Venus is launched to discover the origin of the spool and the race that created it.

In May of 1983, a man turns 49 and, with his 17-year old son, journeys to the village in Baden that he left 40 years before. He wants to discover what happened then, the truth about an affair his mother had with a young Polish prisoner of war, how the authorities came to learn of it, the lovers' arrest, and the aftermath. While his son takes Polaroid photographs, he retraces the steps of his childhood and interviews those who should remember. The story is disclosed in flashbacks that focus on the lovers (Paulina and Stanislaus), on a jealous and conniving neighbor, and on Mayer, the local SS commander who wants to find a way out of inevitable consequences.

October 1918: Karl Liebknecht is released from prison and Berlin workers celebrate his release. Although WWI is almost over, the German Kaiserreich in vain sends its last reserves to the slaughter. The working class is in a rebellious mood; the uprising of Kiel’s sailors against war and militarism sets off a call for revolution led by Liebknecht. On November 9, Liebknecht declares the Free Socialist Republic of Germany. But pro-Kaiser military and right wing Social Democrats oppose him.

Frieda and August Walkowiak celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. However, the marriage has been in crisis for some time. August wants to spend his old age in peace, while Frieda has no intention of giving up her position as LPG chairman. The problems in the countryside are huge, collectivization is not progressing fast enough, even comrade Heinrich Rantsch is clinging to his individual farm. Frieda fights for progress, even in her private life, because not only her burden but also her higher position is a thorn in her husband's side. During the wedding anniversary celebrations, Frieda is called to the LPG. This is the cause of the family quarrel that has been in the air for a long time. August demands her resignation. In vain - and so he moves in with Rantsch. Their daughter Helga also leaves the house because of the tensions. Frieda collapses. When she is in hospital, August comes to his senses.

In this East German film, the third one in The Third is Margit's third lover. After her mother's death, Margit has two affairs which don't work out, and one lesbian friendship which she retains. She is looking for a husband, though, and thinks she has spotted a candidate in her fellow factory worker. As she contemplates marrying him, her story is told in a series of flashbacks.

One year has passed since Max and Wanda got their divorce. Max has come to the realization that he wants his ex-wife back - no matter what the cost! So he concocts a sneaky plan: he asks Wanda to hide him from the police, who are apparently looking for him. At first, Wanda rejects all his attempts to restart their relationship. But she is soon unable to resist Max's convincing promises and even throws her lover out of the house. But then she discovers Max's lie.

East German film about the history of Red Orchestra, a real life German pro-Soviet spy ring created after the rise of Hitler that turned into a resistance movement led by a leftist Nazi officer, Harro Schulze-Boysen, and Arvid Harnack.

To justify their invasion of Poland at the start of WWII, Nazi high command hatches a secret plan: six Polish men from an SS training camp are sent on a special mission to the town of Gleiwitz, to fake a Polish raid on Germany. The ‘provoked’ Germans will thus launch a ‘counterattack’ on Poland.

A film about the historical uprising of the seamen in Kiel: During the Russian October Revolution of 1917, German and Russian soldiers start to solidarize with each other. By disarming the officers, machinist Henne Lonke and stoker Jens Kasten prevent the attack on a Russian freighter. When German admiralty gives out orders for operation "Nibelungen", which would lead the German fleet into a suicidal attack against England and quell the revolutionary spirit, seamen and soldiers from different political backgrounds unite in protest.

The communist and resistance fighter Lorenz Reger, who after the war put all his efforts in the creation of a socialist German state, learns that he has only a short time left to live. Nevertheless, he wants to take on one last difficult new task: He wants to restructure a large firm which has run deep into the red numbers. In a short amount of time, Reger manages to establish mutual trust between the employees and the new management. Furthermore, he motivates the employees with his personal interest for their concerns.

Early 1921: a man is on his way home. Gleb Chumalov, regimental commander, worker and Hero of the Order of the Red Banner, returns to his home town from the Civil War. The victory over the enemies of the Russian people gives him the conviction that a new, better time will dawn overnight. Gleb looks for his comrades from earlier years, but only finds people who are emaciated by their efforts. The cement works where he used to work has been plundered and abandoned. With great effort, Gleb and his comrades try to get the plant up and running again. The struggle seems to begin anew... It is the time after the victory of the “Great October Socialist Revolution“ and the time of building a new society.

Soldier Ignaz Wolz returns from WWI with an immeasurable hatred of capitalist war profiteers. He decides to start his own revolution, but tries to stay away from the organized class struggle. He steals from the rich men and divides the wealth among the poor. One day, Wolz is arrested and sentenced to life in prison; seven years later he is released due to mass protests. More than ever, it is hard for him to fit in. He severs ties with his former companions, who reject his ideas, and leaves Germany.

Sabine Wulff is almost 18 when she is released from the juvenile detention center. She doesn't want to return to her unsupportive parents or to her former boyfriend Jimmy, who got her into trouble by persuading her to steal cigarettes. She instead chooses to begin an honest life by getting a job and renting her own room.

The story of a resistance fighter in the Nazi era: Communist Hans Löning was arrested in 1933, imprisoned in a concentration camp and tortured. The Gestapo plans to smash the resistance group around Löning. Despite the imminent threat to his life, Löning, together with his wife, organized the passive resistance of the Hamburg workers against the Hitler regime. In 1944, Löning was again taken and killed.

After years of drifting around, Willi Palko arrives in the lignite mining area. He was not only looking for a new job, but also wanted to finally settle down here. The party leadership sends him to the Schepp brigade, which has made itself "suspicious" (on paper) due to its extremely high production figures. The stranger is accused of being a spy for the factory management. Willi finds it difficult to assert himself, but he is taken with the big excavator, the prospect of one day being allowed to drive it, and the brash flapper Hanna. He stays, and with his help a mine foreman is exposed as a Western agent and coal production is brought up to a really high level.

The adventures of Kit Bellew and his friend Shorty during the gold fever at the end of the 19th century.

Young Kuttel belongs to a group of working-class children who live in Berlin at the beginning of the 1930s. In the big summer holidays in 1931, the children want to make a race with their model boats and choose as a venue for the small artificial water in the park of their neighborhood. All children in the area are invited to participate in the competition. But there is a traitor among them, who tells the company to the local police officers, who in any case look with arrogance on the "Reds"...

The story of the Grünthal peasants' uprising against the commander who oppresses and exploits them.

Letter carrier Eva is in her late twenties, unmarried and the mother of a twelve-year-old son. She falls in love with Jon, a bargeman who is unfortunately already engaged. This spurs Eva on to turn her life around. She changes jobs and changes her appearance. Her happiness seems perfect when Eva becomes pregnant...

Maria is a record saleswoman by profession. She is lucky to have a job, because the year is 1930 and a major economic crisis has hit the world, accompanied by an army of unemployed people, especially in Germany. Maria is aware of her good fortune; in order to secure it, she has to do without many things. What business owner would employ an unmarried woman with a child in times like these? When Maria became pregnant, she, like many other women, had to become "active" and do something about this "misfortune". So she seeks "help" from a female doctor, trusting in her youth and hoping for better times when family happiness could come true for her.

In May 1945, returning soldier Michael Duda finds his hometown Weißenthal unoccupied. He meets escaped camp prisoner Arno Laube, who leads the town’s ad hoc move toward democracy and improbably appoints 19-year-old Michael as mayor. Tasked with refugees, shortages, and rogue soldiers, Michael must prove himself in a fractured No Man’s Land.