Hildegard Knef

The biography of Hildegard Knef – born in Ulm in 1925, died in Berlin in 2002 – reflects post-war and divided Germany. It also reflects the vitality, hypocrisy, and sensationalism of our society and the media that feeds it. The film features numerous original interviews with Knef, excerpts from feature films, concert recordings that testify to her stage presence, which is still incredible today, as well as TV reports from Berlin, New York, and elsewhere. In addition to her, friends and relatives, contemporary witnesses, colleagues, and journalists also have their say.

In December 2025, the extraordinary artist Hildegard Knef would have celebrated her 100th birthday. Her life was shaped by numerous talents, an unshakeable will to succeed and the ability to keep pushing herself forward. This documentary sheds light on the life of the legendary actress and singer.

Using unpublished and newly digitalised archive footage and film material, Bettina Böhler has brilliantly assembled this film about the life and work of the exceptional artist Christoph Schlingensief, who died in 2010.

The films, affairs and struggles of the iconic star of The Blue Angel as told by Rosemary Clooney, Roger Corman, Deanna Durbin and many more.

Hildegard Knef: legendary German film diva. An actress whose personality is as complex as the characters she has played. She is by turns irritable, impatient, charming, humorous, fascinating and enchanting. But behind the many masks is the temperamental woman, the Hildegard Knef who has weathered many of life′s blows: failure in Hollywood, cancer, lost loves, the enmity of the press and, finally, the horror of aging. A Woman and a Half - Hildegard Knef is the portrait of a Knef who has become cynical and unpredictable in order to protect herself, but also a Knef full of warmth, humor and spirit.

Based on years of research into the mass rapes committed by the Red Army at the end of the Second World War. In the first part of the documentary Helke Sander interviews multiple German women who were raped in Berlin by Soviet soldiers in May 1945. Most women never spoke of their experience to anyone, after 46 years of silence they talk for the first time publicly about their violent experiences that have left such a mark.

No synopsis available yet.

Based on years of research into the mass rapes committed by the Red Army at the end of the Second World War. In the second part of the documentary Helke Sander interviews former Soviet soldiers, and children born from rape, splicing their statements with material from archives. While avoiding an emotional presentation of the subject matter to rule out revanchist interpretations.

On May 17, 1946, Deutsche-Film AG (DEFA) was founded in Potsdam-Babelsberg. Until 1990, DEFA produced nearly 700 feature films, 750 animation films, 2250 short and documentary films and synchronized about 8,000 films from abroad.

A documentary about the 75th birhday of the UFA film studios directed by Hans-Christoph Blumenberg.

After Henny's father loses his job at her ex-fiancee's shipyard because of Henny's affair with Sigi, he begins to panic about how to make a living and tries to find new quarters. His sister, Henny's aunt Marlene, suffers as a result of his chaotic efforts. The path to his new life requires that Henny get married, as the aunt is a strict puritan. But whoever knows Henny can be sure that things will take a few unexpected turns...

A student and her photographer boyfriend visit an island off of Massachusetts to research a hotel supposedly haunted by a witch.

A biologist has succeeded in growing a particularly energy-rich lettuce and now the whole world wants to get hold of the product.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

60 years ago, pianist Julie Bernstein was involved in an accident while her sister Gloria was taking a risky car ride. Her hands have been mutilated ever since and she suffers from cancer. When Julie learns that she was deceived by Gloria during a love affair in 1917, she swears revenge.

Emily, a child, stays with her bourgeois grandparents during frequent periods when her mother makes films. Isabelle wraps a picture, flies to her childhood home to pick up Emily, and plans to leave for her place in France. Old wounds between Isabelle and her parents open around Isabelle's life style. It's also apparent that Isabelle's mother, Paula, is unhappy - with her husband and with her youthful hopes dashed when she became pregnant with Isabelle. Unbeknownst to Isabelle, the co-star of the film she's just made has followed her, checked into a nearby hotel, and wants to begin an affair, even though he's married. Can Isabelle sort it out? What's best for Emily?

Down-on-his-luck Hollywood producer Barry 'Dutch' Detweiler attempts to lure Fedora, a famous but reclusive film actress, out of retirement, only to discover the horrifying truth behind her success.

When they start losing family members and neighbors due to WWII and the Nazi government's policies, a quiet married couple becomes disillusioned and begins spreading leaflets against the government - a crime punishable by death.

No synopsis available yet.

Film adaptation of Werner Keller's bestselling non-fiction book, which attempts to show in a "less spectacular way than the original" that archaeological finds and findings do not contradict biblical statements.

12 American military prisoners in World War II are ordered to infiltrate a well-guarded enemy château and kill the Nazi officers vacationing there. The soldiers, most of whom are facing death sentences for a variety of violent crimes, agree to the mission and the possible commuting of their sentences.

Paris, France, during the First World War. While thousands of soldiers die every day on the battlefields, Henri Landru, a seemingly respectable furniture dealer, married and father of four children, relentlessly feeds his own sinister factory of death.

An eclectic group of characters set sail on Captain Lansen’s leaky cargo ship in an attempt to escape their various troubles. When a violent storm strikes, the ship is swept into the Sargasso Sea and the passengers find themselves trapped on an island populated by man-eating seaweed, giant crabs and Spanish conquistadors who believe it’s still the 16th century.

The British Admiralty is worried: several cargo ships carrying troops have mysteriously jumped off Gibraltar. The Admiralty calls in the Intelligence Service to find out the cause of the destruction before new units arrive. Lieutenant Jackson, of the Marine Infantry Regiment stationed in Gibraltar, spends all his duty time in Tangier, where he is attracted by his love of poker and a beautiful dancer, Lola. Despite the objurgations of his general and the tender friendship of Cathie, his general's daughter, he can't stop playing and loses a very large sum one evening.

The Gangster Macheath secretly marries the daughter of beggar king Peachum. When Peachum finds out, he instructs the police chief Brown to arrest and hang Macheath. If not, all the beggars of Soho will disturb the upcoming coronation.

Twelve different episodes of erotic relationships are described as examples of modern love substitute.

The detective investigating Laura Hunt's murder finds himself becoming obsessed with the dead woman only to find out she's actually still alive.

A 14-year-old girl is caught while trying to pick a doctor's pocket. The doctor ends up taking her in and turning her into a sophisticated lady, whom he marries off to a wealthy man.

An American pilot assists the Portuguese colonial police who are battling a gang of criminals involved in drug smuggling from Lisbon to Mozambique to Zanzibar.

English millionaire Sir Cyrus Bradley is being blackmailed by “The Tortoise” Crime Syndicate. He is to pay £ 100,000.00 Pounds to stay alive and not be murdered. After his refusal to pay the money, he is quickly killed. Cyrus‘ nephew, Don Micklem, plans to avenge the death of his uncle and sets out on a quest to expose “The Tortoise“…

Vincent Vivant agrees to Stephan the spy's proposal: he is to cross the border with a mysterious suitcase.

Caterina finds out that her husband Peter Tzar of Russia, is plotting to kill her. She sets Count Orlov free from prison, Peter's sworn enemy, becomes empress of Russia and leads the Cossacks army against him.

No synopsis available yet.

After World War II, a lot of people, who lived in the eastern parts of the Third Reich had to be relocated. One of them is Hugo Starosta (Martin Held) with his family. They live in a fortress. Hugo is unemployed, his children don't seem to like school, but somehow they managa to get through.

1860, the great Duchess of Parma, Maria Luisa, wants to provide her little state with train tracks, in spite of the opposition she gets from certain noble people.

Writer Harry Street reflects on his life as he lies dying from an infection while on safari in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.

WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.

A British woman on a visit to post-war Berlin is caught up in an espionage ring smuggling secrets into and out of the Eastern Bloc.

Two scriptwriters argue about the fate of Henrietta, a charming and gamine shopgirl. One favors a comical path for their heroine, who is overcome with sentimental love for a young photographer on Bastille Day. The other has a more thrilling and dastardly fate in mind for her. Among the film's irresistible conceits is Hildegarde Neff as an oversexed circus bareback rider.

Upon awaking in the morning, a man finds his thoughts clouded by the possibility that he committed a murder.

Berlin provides the backdrop for this crime drama that centers on a military doctor falsely accused of dealing illegal drugs. Determined to prove his innocence, he escapes from the MPs and ends up holing up in the apartment his wife rented. He doesn't know that she has sublet the flat to a nightclub singer. When he finds out, he begs the singer to assist him. She is attracted to him and agrees. The doctor believes that his wife is behind the black-market dealings, but in the end, they find the real culprit.

During the Cold War, diplomatic courier Mike Kells must retrieve a dispatch containing top-secret intelligence. But when he arrives at the meeting point, a train station in Salzburg, his contact turns up dead, and the message is nowhere to be found. With no clear suspect in sight, Kells must sort through his uncertain relationships with two women, while sidestepping the pitfalls of subterfuge, sabotage and spies in his search for the documents.

While perusing a police photo, Hilde - an investigative reporter - recognizes a bracelet that she once owned while living in her native Romania. She seeks out the current owner of the bracelet, hoping that he can provide information concerning her long-lost father. Thus begins a curious chain of events...

An aging truck driver finds smuggled money and becomes involved with a hijacking crowd.

A man hypnotizes a young woman into being an opera singer.

Going from a dysfunctional family into a life of prostitution, Marina finally finds happiness and comfort with unsuccessful artist Alexander. However, a brain tumor threatens to make him blind and only an expensive operation can save him.

In the 1800s, a stormy love relationship develops quickly between a young medical student and a woman believing herself to be the daughter of his scientist uncle, the student having never heard of her before their chance encounter and both unaware that she is the result of the scientist's illegal experiments with artificial insemination..

Three Foreign Legionnaires - Luigi, Pat and Kurt - desert during the Algerian war because they have had enough of the inhumane war machine. But their comrade Robert intercepts them and decides to have them court-martialed. On their way to Algiers, they pick up young Madeleine, who has just survived an attack by insurgents. Suddenly Robert changes his mind and joins the deserters. Madeleine realizes that she is now a prisoner of the four foreign legionnaires and must make her own escape.

Pierre is in Hamburg on a merchant ship with his friends Georges and Jean-Marie. While they are just looking for a good time in the twenty-four hours they have to waste in the city, Pierre is seized by the memory of a young German girl, Maria, whom he had known and probably loved when he was a prisoner of war in the bombed-out port of Hamburg. He abandons his companions in search of her, but is unable to trace her, her house having been destroyed and the search services having no record of her.

Meant to be a diatribe against yellow journalism and current social ills, this weakly limned drama by Josef von Baky features a reporter who works for one of the tabloid papers. The reporter digs up dirt on the past life of a local hotel owner, and wanting to take full advantage of the muck, he strings out his revelations in a series of perjorative, damning articles on the man. The result of this campaign turns out to be much worse than simply ruining the hotel owner's reputation.

After the death of her wealthy but lonely husband, wealthy but lonely hotel owner Maria Alsbacher falls in love with a charming bandleader and singer without realizing that he is only after her money. When she decides to marry him, her son enlists the help of his tragically ill fiancée, Lydia, to unmask this man for the villain he really is.

No synopsis available yet.

After returning from a concentration camp, Susanne finds a traumatized ex-soldier living in her apartment in bombed out Berlin. Together the two try to move past their experiences during WWII.

Two barge skippers fall in love with the same woman.

A group of people gathers back in the post-war ruins of a luxurious Munich hotel they inhabited at one point or another years before; each trying to cope with the tragic consequences of the war and their own actions.

Peter, Paul, and Heinz have been best friends since early childhood; the first two are treated almost like Heinz's own children by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Liebitz. One day, a terrible accident occurs during a regatta: Heinz falls into the water and drowns. Despite this horrific event, the bond between Mr. and Mrs. Liebitz and Paul and Peter only intensifies. The elder Liebitz owns a musical instrument manufacturing business, and since Heinz will no longer be able to take over the company as originally planned, Franz Liebitz comes up with the idea that Peter and Paul should run the business instead. The two young men receive training in instrument making, but they don't want to become dependent on him and decide to earn their living by repairing instruments and/or as music teachers.

Wolf Noltenius is a real globetrotter. Early on, this talented young man travelled far and wide, where he earned fame as a construction planner. He moved to Brazil; but one day, homesickness got the best of him. He spontaneously travelled back to his hometown to visit his brother Werner and his family. Wolf and Werner, who both went into the same profession, couldn't be any more different: the one is worldly and an experienced man-about-town; the other a small bourgeois.

Celia Lövengaart was formerly involved with the theatre and was able to live a carefree life. But now she's in financial difficulties. The court appointed trustee grants her enough money for a trip to Tirol, where she's going to visit her daughter Susanne, who was raised by her grandparents. Susanne is supposed to marry Richard, whom she can't stand and her mother tolerates him even less. Celia wants to help her daughter, but that's easier said than done: Richard knows about her lively past and is blackmailing her to keep her nose out of his affairs. If she doesn't agree to this wedding, he'll tell everything the consul Hoyermann, Susanme's guardian, and there will be a big stink.

A screenwriter comes up with a story about an affair between a maid and her employer.