Uschi Reich

A cheerful, amusing and melancholic look back at the Munich film festival from the perspective of the people who make up the film festival.

Elation in Neustadt: by the means of a little witching, Bibi Blocksberg saved two kids from burning to death. While her mother Barbara, a witch of flesh and blood herself, is very proud of her daughter, father Bernhard, overworked and stressed, disapproves greatly of her supernatural antics. Then Bibi gets a message from Walpurgia, the senior witch: she is going to receive her crystel ball, that will make a "real" witch of her, early. Proudly, Bibi jumps up her broom to fly to the Blocksberg, the witches' headquarters. But Rabia, one of the few evil witches, aging in misery and with a secret, begrudges her all the glory...and her youth. And so Rabia sets off events that will soon make Bibi's life fall into pieces.

The last three weeks of school life have begun: After the Abitur, Germany's leaving certificate, the friends and schoolmates of Gymnasium Kerkheim (Kerkheim High) will not see each other again so soon. It is a hard time for Markus and his girl Sandra from a lower grade, as he wants to hang out with his old friends, whereas she wants him to be there for her. It's an even harder time for Dirk, who is to be expelled from school if he fails the math exam that is coming up around midday, and it is the hardest time for Michael, who is a perfect pupil, but has no fun in life at all - and doesn't even know it yet. When Steven calls out a party to celebrate his letter of exemption from the army, they all get together for one of the last real cool events ever.

The young Friedrich Schiller begins his life as a poet with a dramatic escape. After the sensational success of his first drama "The Robbers", he deserts from the Duke's army. At the Mannheim Court and National Theatre, he initially receives a friendly reception, but his new play "Fiesko" is not well received by the artistic director Dalberg. In the successful actor and author August Wilhelm Iffland, Schiller finds a strong competitor for the position of in-house playwright and vies with him for the love of the same woman. The young poet's situation becomes increasingly precarious; he has no money, suffers from hunger and falls seriously ill. Nevertheless, he works feverishly for recognition and success with no regard for his own health.

The twelve-year-old Emil and his father are haunted by bad luck. To take a break from a series of family disasters, Emil is allowed to spend a few days with a friend of the family, the female priest Hummel in Berlin. In the train he runs across the slick Max Grundeis who anaesthetizes Emil and steals his savings of 1500 DM. When he finally arrives in Berlin, Emil and a gang of street kids, led by the cheeky girl Pony Hütchen, try to find the gangster, who haunts the posh Hotel Adlon as a hotel thief. Meanwhile, to prevent anyone from finding out about Emil's mishap, Gypsi, a member of the gang of kids, passes himself off as Emil, thus wreaking havoc on the home of the priest.

Investment advisor Stefan Lohmann has defrauded master butcher Waldemar Pückler of five million euros. He therefore wants to travel to Munich to meet the 'cattle baroness' Lucia d'Alvarez and do business with her. Lohmann also travels to Munich to go into hiding. He meets Lucia and falls in love with her, but then has a momentous encounter with his victim.

A love triangle forms between post-Enlightenment writer Friedrich Schiller and two sisters -- one who became his wife, and the other, his biographer.

Mid-19th-century, Baltic Sea port city of Lubeck, Germany. Follows the fourth generation of the Buddenbrook mercantile family as Tony and Thomas reach the age of marriage. Fatefully impeded every step of the way, the Buddenbrooks struggle as economic hardship and personal defeats weigh down family relations.

Five teenage girls navigate the twists and turns of their complicated emotional lives, and learn the secrets of the heart through their friendship.

Five teenage girls navigate the twists and turns of their complicated emotional lives, and learn the secrets of the heart through their friendship.

The Wild Chicks are slowly growing out of their youthful gang years and have to face the worries of growing up on the sidelines of a big class trip before graduation.

The Wild Chicks are slowly growing out of their youthful gang years and have to face the worries of growing up on the sidelines of a big class trip before graduation.

Luise, called Pünktchen, and Anton are closest of friends. Being the daughter of a wealthy surgeon, young Pünktchen lives in a great house. Her mother, who always travels through the world more for public relation reasons than for the social tasks she pretends to fulfill, is never available to her as a mother. Anton, son of a single and sick mother in financial trouble, does his best to help her out of it by working late. Pünktchen decides to help her only friend (as nobody else would anyway) and starts singing in public places. Trouble arises when Anton can't resist stealing a golden lighter and Pünktchen's secret life is discovered by her parents. Two troubled families finally can see the need for actions to be taken.

The story of a group of contemporary young people, growing up in well-to-do small-town

Poor Bibi - due to her bad marks in maths she has to spend the whole summer in the boarding school of Altenberg to scrape through a series of exams - otherwise she'd stay down in school, being forced to repeat the year. No camping, no white-water rafting, no vacation at all. So it doesn't surprise anyone that the young witch is quite disgruntled when arriving at Altenberg Castle. Her roommate is a touchy unpleassant fashion victim and headmaster Quirin Bartels is so muddle-headed that he can't even remember the names of his students properly. But then Bibi makes friends with Elea, a girl wheelchair-bound since a terrible accident where she also lost her beloved parents. Now Bibi is determined to help the sensitive Elea, searching a way to heal her from her palsy legs.

Christmas is just two weeks away, it is pouring with rain, and Ben is struggling to get into the Christmas spirit. Suddenly, Bens life takes a turn for the better when Santa Niklas Goodfellow and his Christmas caravan come crashing down to Earth in the middle of thunderstorm and land in Foggy Lane. Santa is on the run from the ruthless Gerold Geronimus Goblynch and his army of nutcrackers who have outlawed all of the old magical ways and have transformed the bright and peaceful Christmas world into a dark and hostile place, governed by greed and money. Goblynch has banned work for all Santas and confined the Christmas angels to tiny prison cells, where they can no longer hear the dearest wishes of children. Goblynch also wants to force Santa Niklas Goodfellow, the last real Santa, to work for his commercialized Christmas company and forces him to do hard labour in the ordering department of the Christmas Palace.

Christmas is just two weeks away, it is pouring with rain, and Ben is struggling to get into the Christmas spirit. Suddenly, Bens life takes a turn for the better when Santa Niklas Goodfellow and his Christmas caravan come crashing down to Earth in the middle of thunderstorm and land in Foggy Lane. Santa is on the run from the ruthless Gerold Geronimus Goblynch and his army of nutcrackers who have outlawed all of the old magical ways and have transformed the bright and peaceful Christmas world into a dark and hostile place, governed by greed and money. Goblynch has banned work for all Santas and confined the Christmas angels to tiny prison cells, where they can no longer hear the dearest wishes of children. Goblynch also wants to force Santa Niklas Goodfellow, the last real Santa, to work for his commercialized Christmas company and forces him to do hard labour in the ordering department of the Christmas Palace.

Twelve-year-old Sprotte has a 'gang' with her three friends Frieda, Melanie, and Trude. Together, the girls care for Sprotte's grandmother's chickens. The new girl in school, Wilma, wishes to join the group, which Melanie is very unhappy about, and on top of all of that they have an ongoing revalisasion with a group of boys.

Twelve-year-old Sprotte has a 'gang' with her three friends Frieda, Melanie, and Trude. Together, the girls care for Sprotte's grandmother's chickens. The new girl in school, Wilma, wishes to join the group, which Melanie is very unhappy about, and on top of all of that they have an ongoing revalisasion with a group of boys.

A boy who was once a perpetual outcast finds friends in a new boarding school. United with his new peers, he gets involved in a heated rivalry with a group of students from a neighboring school.

A boy who was once a perpetual outcast finds friends in a new boarding school. United with his new peers, he gets involved in a heated rivalry with a group of students from a neighboring school.

A renowned artist must uncover a young dancer's secrets in order to truly capture her likeness for a commissioned work.

When Bertha dies, her granddaughter Iris inherits her house and finds herself back in the home where she and her cousin used to play dressing-up in the summer holidays. While she wanders from room to room, she gropes her way through memories and things she had forgotten: What did her grandfather really do before he went to war? Which men were Bertha’s daughters in love with? Who ate his apple with the seeds?

When Bertha dies, her granddaughter Iris inherits her house and finds herself back in the home where she and her cousin used to play dressing-up in the summer holidays. While she wanders from room to room, she gropes her way through memories and things she had forgotten: What did her grandfather really do before he went to war? Which men were Bertha’s daughters in love with? Who ate his apple with the seeds?

A nine-year-old girl who has just moved with her parents to Hamburg, Germany, is desperate for finding a best friend. The daughter of a Brazilian father and German mother, Lola is a little girl who dreams she's a rock star, but mostly dreams of having a best friend.