Lichtblick Film

An East German community finds millions in soon-to-be-worthless marks during 1990s reunification, and take what they can carry.

The story of the life, loves and work of US writer Patricia Highsmith (1921-95), told through her unpublished diaries, her own voice and that of those who knew her, both family and close friends.

Late 17th Century: Anne de Grandcamp and Lucie de Fontenelle, two little girls from Normandy, arrive at the Saint-Cyr school founded by Madame de Maintenon for educating the daughters of impoverished nobles ruined in wars and making them into free women. Madame de Maintenon is the secret wife of Louis XIV, and empowered by his support, she offers "her" two hundred fifty girls a playful and avant-garde education. Anne and Lucie, two inseparable friends, allow themselves to be carried away by the promise of a bright future. But Maintenon has arrived at the pinnacle of power through scheming and debasing herself and she now fears the fires of hell. She is counting on her model school to atone for her past sins.

The contrasts between Marlen (Corinna Harfouch) and Fynn (newcomer Daniel Sträßer) couldn't be any more extreme if they tried: Marlen's apartment is packed to the rafters with objects too valuable or important to throw away, while Fynn plans to go through life with only 100 things in his possession. The fact that they can't keep their hands off each other and end up falling in love holds true to the old adage that opposites really do attract...

This nature documentary takes a mesmerizing journey into the incredibly diverse marine life supported by coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific.

A documentary. David Sieveking takes the advice of his idol, David Lynch and tries out Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's transcendental meditation technique.

What could be better than knowing your future? And what could be worse? A love-filled childhood abruptly ends when catastrophe descends. A catastrophe that the child had foreseen yet failed to act upon.

Three elderly ladies, Carla, Lilli and Meta, who, after their hard earned holiday money is stolen by bank robbers, decide to steal from their local bank. Along the way their are romances, arguments and a few other unexpected surprises.

easy love is the experimental fiction debut of Tamer Jandali. His way of working shifted between documentary and fiction when he followed seven men and women from Cologne on their search for a balance between emotional security and sensual fulfillment. In four months of shooting those protagonists acted as braver versions of themselves. The camera opened the possibility to pursue their unlived dreams, fears and fantasies and ultimately experiencing them in reality. By shooting in a small team, always on the edge between documentary and fiction, Tamer Jandali created space for intimacy and a new form of cinematic authenticity.

Documentary about a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot, Franz von Werra, the only German soldier of the Second World War who managed to escape from captivity as a prisoner of war and return to Germany.

The film tells the story of the friendship between Johann and Ludwig as they strive for the ultimate “buddy” relationship. Going beyond, well beyond, what would be considered good and healthy, the pair attempt to become the ideal twins, driving their relationship based on their partnership in competitive rowing (coxless pairs) to the ultimate, to perfect harmony in mind, word, thought and deed. But their symbiotic relationship is thrown out of balance: Ludwig strives to tighten the bonds ever closer, but Johann discovers happiness in the form of love for Ludwig’s sister, Vera. But because Ludwig hates her, the couple keep their relationship secret. But secrets have a way of coming out and Ludwig is wounded to the core. As the finals of the rowing competition draw closer, Ludwig has already set his sights on a greater goal: to preserve their friendship forever, no longer in life but in death.

The simple staple bread has become a branded product with an increasing number of varieties and providers. The film provides authentic impressions in today’s world of bread. We encounter small craft bakers as well as corporate CEOs whose professional work is our daily bread and ask the question: how do you see the future of our bread? And: what are we actually eating?

Two strangers have a strong impact on a young man who's spending some time with his family in this drama from Germany. Seventeen-year-old Anton has been struggling to make sense of his life since his father committed suicide when Anton was attending boarding school. Anton's mother, Luiza, wants to mend her strained relationship with her son and introduce him to her boyfriend, Paul, so she arranges for them to take a vacation together.

Stefan, a gay bartender in a trendy club, doesn't care a lot about his professional and personal future. One night, the mysterious Martin stares at him, so he thinks that his guest searches a quick love affair. Stefan invites him to his apartment, where Martin is rather surprised at his intentions and explains that he doesn't want sex, but his attention for their common past. Martin searches his father, a foreign worker from Italy, who is also Stefan's originator, which he didn't know. Their mother kept Martin, while Stefan was adopted. After the first shock, Stefan decides to join his "new brother" on his trip to Italy. They only have some photos and letters of a holiday trip to Cattolica and their father's name: Giuseppe Iacoviello. This is the beginning of an odyssey across Italy and their way to themselves...

Three young men, all of them outsiders, become friends: Richy (16), who is teased at school, Tim (16), who has moved from the west with his parents and has difficulties getting used to his new life, and Marco (18), who has problems coping with his parents' separation and the rejection he experiences from his father. Richy admires the strong and uncommunicative Marco.

Chinese-Australian artist Jiawei Shen's plans to create an epic work depicting his homeland's tumultuous recent history.

After three unsuccessful attempts at the Olympics, the 30-year-old Aljona Savchenko finally wants to win a gold medal with a new partner in four years. A rather bold plan, especially since the young Frenchman Bruno Massot, chosen by the German-Ukrainian ice princess, has no international successes in pairs figure skating. He moves to Germany and has no idea of the manic perfectionist he's getting involved with. Aljona's training is tough. Constant disputes about the right course threaten to bring the project to failure. Two completely different characters collide. However, the team of trainers manages to calm things down. February 2018: The competition at the Winter Olympics in South Korea begins with the short program. Inexplicably, Bruno blunders and the pair sit fourth by a wide gap. Gold is hardly possible anymore. It only remains for them to show the world their unique free skating. Their intoxicating, perfect run will go down in history. It will be the free skating of their life!

Sparked by the true story of Aya, a four-year-old Jordanian girl killed by her father because he believed her to be possessed, filmmaker Dalia Al Kury launches a fascinating investigation into a controversial and little-known aspect of Islamic culture: belief in djinn. The djinn are believed to be supernatural creatures that occupy a parallel world to ours and their emergence is associated with sexuality, political unrest, poverty and mental illness. The taboo subject of demonic possession remains broadly unresolved in the hearts and minds of some Muslims due to its complex and uncomfortable nature. Using a subjective, “undercover” style, Al Kury journeys into the obscure world of exorcists and the possessed, confronting their traditions and rituals. It makes for a telling ghost story that bares the filmmaker’s and her society’s subconscious underbelly.

In 1939, after barely escaping the Nazis, a Gypsy family returns to Switzerland only to be torn apart by racial persecution in the benign guise of children's welfare. This fictionalized story of Jana, an eight-year-old Gypsy girl snatched from her parents and consigned to a life of orphanages and bleak foster homes, is based on a little-known chapter of Swiss history: From 1926 to 1972, the state-supported Pro Juventute, a children's aid foundation, forcibly removed some 700 Gypsy children from their families, in order to sever the ties with their culture and assimilate them to a "better way of life." The underlying aim was to preempt a new generation's caravans from following their nomadic traditions along Switzerland's country lanes.

On the highways of the Ruhr region, the paths of four people cross as they try to fulfill their long-lost dreams. One of them is Georg, the coach of a Bundesliga soccer team that has to win that evening's cup match if he wants to keep his job. He is about to be sacked and realizes that the business and its mechanisms are beginning to turn against him. Dieter, the roving TV reporter, is on the hunt for spectacular pictures day and night. Although he loves his son, who lives with his ex-wife Rita, he takes too little care of him.