LOOKSfilm

Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of the first politicians to congratulate Donald Trump on his election as president of the United States in 2016, but over time the relationship between the two heads of state has had its ups and downs. Are they friends or enemies? Has their mutual admiration turned into mutual distrust?

A critical and objective look back at Ukraine's tumultuous and tragic history, from its mythical founding in the 10th century to the Russian invasion in 2022.

On February 26, 1920, Robert Wiene's world-famous film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari premiered at the Marmorhaus in Berlin. To this day, it is considered a manifesto of German expressionism; a legend of cinema and a key work to understand the nature of the Weimar Republic and the constant political turmoil in which a divided society lived after the end of the First World War.

Driven by extensive archive material and interviews with those who know her, this is the astonishing story of how a triple outsider – a woman, a scientist, and an East German – became the de facto leader of the “Free World”, told for the first time for an international audience.

The complex relationship between royal brothers Edward VIII and George VI, who were both at the heart of the infamous abdication crisis of 1936, is the subject of this excellent documentary. From British Pathé TV's Royalty Collection.

A double portrait of two dictators who were thousands of miles apart but were constantly fixated on each other.

No monarch has reigned longer in British history than Elizabeth II, who has been an authority for 70 years. A ruler without power, yet a factor of power. And even today, she is an icon at the center of the world's public. On the occasion of the celebrations for the 70th jubilee of the throne at the beginning of June 2022, the documentary "The Queen - The Fateful Years of a Queen" highlights six decisive phases in the Queen's life and recounts the moving moments and trying trials of the royal family and the United Kingdom over the decades.

The war is raging in Ukraine that is changing the world order. One man is standing up to Russia and wants to restore peace and security in his own country: President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Vatican opened once-secret records on Pope Pius XII on March 2020. This gave researchers a brand new insight into the Catholic Church during the Nazi era. What did the Pope know about the Holocaust?

Is it morally acceptable to use the civilian population as yet another tool for waging war? Is it possible to justify death and destruction for the sake of supposedly lofty ideals? The question remains as pertinent today as it was at the beginning of World War II, and it is becoming increasingly urgent to answer, as countless tragedies have been caused by unethical political decisions.

Film journalist and critic Rüdiger Suchsland examines German cinema from 1919, when the Republic of Weimar is born, to 1933, when the Nazis come into power. (Followed by Hitler's Hollywood, 2017.)

Documentary accompanies the great DEFA film director and painter Jürgen Böttcher, alias Strawalde, detail through his biographical and artistic life: from his childhood as a Nazi boy, his career and his struggles in the GDR under the SED regime, to the opening of the Wall and his international successes. He tells us very personally why he never wanted to leave the GDR and why he never wanted to break with it despite all the reprisals.

On an ordinary farm, between the first buds of spring and the end of summer, our pets appear to live in peace and harmony. But if we look more closely, however tame these animals might be, when we immerse ourselves in their daily lives, reality is more complex and surprising than expected, sometimes tragic, always funny.

In the 16th century in the Cévennes, a horse dealer by the name of Michael Kohlhaas leads a happy and prosperous family life. When a lord treats him unjustly, this pious, upstanding man raises an army and puts the country to fire and sword in order to have his rights restored.

Who was this Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, who became so famous and infamous under the name Lenin? Dreamer, theorist, founder of the state, predecessor of Stalin. His name is inextricably linked with the Russian October Revolution of 1917. He created Soviet power. When he died in 1924, he bequeathed the 20th century a new kind of despotism: the dictatorship of his cadre party. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, who became famous and infamous under the name Lenin, wanted to overthrow the monarchy, modernize Russia and spread socialism across the globe. Under Lenin's leadership, the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party seized power in the Russian October Revolution of 1917. He wanted to liberate the peoples and yet he only fell for the age-old idol of uncontrollable power - and he unapologetically sacrificed millions of lives to this power.

A woman lives in a small village in Russia. One day she receives the parcel she sent to her husband, serving a sentence in prison. Confused and angered, she sets out to find why her package was returned to sender.

The Vatican opened once-secret records on Pope Pius XII on March 2020. This gave researchers a brand new insight into the Catholic Church during the Nazi era. What did the Pope know about the Holocaust?

Gdańsk, Poland, September 1980. Lech Wałęsa and other Lenin shipyard workers found Solidarność (Solidarity), the first independent trade union behind the Iron Curtain. The long and hard battle to bring down communist dictatorship has begun.

18th century Vienna. Maria Theresia von Paradis, a gifted piano player and close friend of Mozart's, lost her eye-sight as a child. Desperate to cure their talented daughter, the Paradis entrust Maria to Dr. Mesmer, a forward-thinking-physician who gives her the care and attention that she requires. With the doctor's innovative techniques of magnetism, Maria slowly recovers her sight. But this miracle comes at a price as the woman progressively starts to lose her gift for music.