German films about folklore

Early 18th century. Cartographer Jonathan Green undertakes a scientific voyage from Europe to the East. Having passed through Transylvania and crossed the Carpathian Mountains, he finds himself in a small village lost in impassible woods. Nothing but chance and heavy fog could bring him to this cursed place. People who live here do not resemble any other people which the traveler saw before that. The villagers, having dug a deep moat to fend themselves from the rest of the world, share a naive belief that they could save themselves from evil, failing to understand that evil has made its nest in their souls and is waiting for an opportunity to gush out upon the world.

Klitschko tells the captivating story of the boxing worlds most famous brothers: Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko. From the socialist drill of their childhood in the Ukraine, and their first successes as amateurs, to their move to Germany and subsequent rise as international stars on the verge of holding the championship titles of all five boxing federations (Wladimir secured this with his unanimous World Boxing Association win against David Haye on July 2nd, 2011). Along the way they experience defeats and setbacks, low points and triumphant comebacks as well as conflicts with each other. Exciting conversations with companions and opponents, including the very first with the Klitschkos parents, give insight into their personal lives, plus never-before-seen footage of the draining preparations for a fight, and the spectacular boxing matches. Director Sebastian Dehnhardt composes an intimate and fascinating portrait of two exceptional athletes who are, before all else, brothers.

Dramatised origin story of one of Germany's most beloved contemporary comedians.

Quotas for women, parking spaces for women, online shopping, small talk and gossip. Software developer Erol, porta-potty rep Lars, and commercial pilot Helmut are licking the wounds of their masculinity – a female-free zone is what’s needed! In the boiler room of their recently built housing complex, the three stressed husbands create a secret refuge where they can watch football, eat fast-food, drink beer and curse the opposite sex undisturbed. When Aykut, the complex’s facility manager, discovers their last bastion of masculinity, he threatens to close it down. One thing is for sure, the men are not going to give up their little slice of paradise without a fight. Based on the stage play bearing the same name, director Franziska Meyer Price allows men to return to rebellious ladhood.

María, a girl from Colonia Dignidad, in Chile —a kind of sectarian community, tyrannically mastered by the ruthless Paul Schäfer, a German madman, religious fanatic and child predator, who would end up turning the place into a torture center at the service of the military dictatorship ruled by Augusto Pinochet—, is punished for having lost three pigs, so she decides to run away and take refuge in an abandoned house hidden in the forest.

When 30-ish rich kid Lenny has to take care of 15-year-old David, who’s suffering from heart disease, it’s the beginning of a wild adventure. Lenny fearlessly breaks all the rules to fulfill his young friend’s every wish.

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.

Lukas, 20, is a prisoner in his own body. As a pre-op transgendered person, he is constantly finding himself trapped in uncomfortable, compromising positions. His best friend, Ine introduces him to the gay scene in Cologne where he meets the confident and gorgeous, Fabio. The two develop a romantic relationship that tests the boundaries of love. ROMEOS forgoes stereotypes and conventions to offer an honest and humorous examination of the most basic of human conditions: friendship, sex, and love.

A young man goes on a road trip with an old lady he saves from a hospital.

The film tells different stories in a kind of parallel Germany about love, affection and hatred.

The sequel of the "Men in the city" movie which reunites all the characters.

Confirmed bachelor Paul falls for Iris, who’s unfortunately as good as married. Although his friends have women problems of their own, and all end up moving into Paul’s apartment, they concoct a daring plan to help Paul save Iris from marrying the wrong man.

On 24th August 1992 in the eastern German city of Rostock a rampaging mob, to the applause and cheering of more than 3,000 bystanders, besieged and set fire to a residential building containing, among others, more than 120 Vietnamese men, women and children on what has since become known as "The Night of the Fire." The riots became a symbol for xenophobia in the just recently reunited Germany. This film recounts the incident from the perspectives of three very different characters.

Breathtaking in its subtle beauty, Harvest is an achingly romantic tale of an innocent but ever increasingly passionate affair that develops between two simple farmhands. Life on a farm is all that sullen teen Marco knows- leading a perfunctory and quiet life of working, going to school and avoiding the advances of girls. However, his self-imposed solitude ends when curly-haired Jakob, rejecting the banking world for farming, arrives to train on the farm. Although initially cautious and tentative with each other, it is soon obvious that the unspoken sexual tension is becoming increasingly hard to resist - something a spontaneous trip to Berlin. Proving that true love can blossom in even the most unlikely of places, Harvest is as rich and rewarding as it is heart-warming.

Europe 1990, the Berlin wall has just crumbled: Katrine, raised in East Germany, but now living in Norway for the last 20 years, is a “war child”; the result of a love relationship between a Norwegian woman and a German occupation soldier during World War II. She enjoys a happy family life with her mother, her husband, daughter and granddaughter. But when a lawyer asks her and her mother to witness in a trial against the Norwegian state on behalf of the war children, she resists. Gradually, a web of concealments and secrets is unveiled, until Katrine is finally stripped of everything, and her loved ones are forced to take a stand: What carries more weight, the life they have lived together, or the lie it is based on?

After her fiancee cancels the wedding, Merlin's life changes drastically when she moves in with one of her brother's best friends.

Painting is an unacceptable vocation for a woman in provincial Germany in the year 1900, but budding artist Paula Becker is determined to make her own rules.

Master filmmaker Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) transforms a portrait of the world-renowned museum into a magisterial, centuries-spanning reflection on the relation between art, culture and power.

Öllers and Niederländer have everything under control. For the past six years, the two successful business consultants have been traveling through some of the seediest countries around the world in order to satisfy their clients greed. They have achieved almost everything, but there is one career move left: to finally become a partner in the company! When they find out that their team colleague Hellinger made the cut, they are at their wits end. Up or Out is the name of the game. The fact that Hellinger falls from an office window for no explainable reason doesnt seem to help the situation. Of all people, the young and ambitious Bianca steps in for Hellinger. Öllers and Niederländer are irritated, sarcasm spreads, neuroses break out. The fight for survival within the company takes its toll the AGE OF CANNIBALS dawns.

Young journalist Sebastian Zöllner is writing an article on artist Manuel Kaminski. Zöllner hopes that Kaminski dies soon, so that he can cash in on his article.

A young lawyer stumbles upon a vast conspiracy while investigating a brutal murder case.

Karsten apparently has it settled. However, in this provincial German town, a moment of weakness turns to disaster, disappointment soon fuels anger, justice hides behind hypocrisy, and evil gradually unfolds.

The story of Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who went into hiding with her family in Amsterdam and became a victim of the Holocaust.

The "Bloods" are the most intimidating and violent gang in the city. A lawless city... where gangs rule the streets... The vicious and blood thirsty murderer Slater is their leader. The city is his domain... he rules! There are those who are not members of gangs such as Mikey and his friends. Mikey lives on the edge, he is daring and always in trouble and fights. His brother Mathis and his friends try to avoid trouble at any cost. Revenge becomes the motive to Mikey when his brother Mathis goes missing and is killed..... Written by Generation X Group GmbH

Young industrialist Clemens Klina doesn't have time for his children and accidentally hires a man who actually came to him, seeking revenge, as a nanny for them.

Without warning a father comes to visit his daughter abroad. He believes that she lost her humor and therefore surprises her with a rampage of jokes.

An almost romantic comedy on the edge: Holocaust researcher Toto is having a major life crisis. Just when things at home and work could not get worse, he unwantedly gets a new assistent assigned to himself. Zazie is french, jewish, slightly germanophobe and supposed to help Toto to prepare a major congress. As the star of the congress suddenly wants to pull out, the problems are piling up and the two have to fix it.

When Banker Till (Axel Stein) is kidnapped during a bank robbery, he has the time of his life...

13-year-old Sinikka vanishes on a hot summer night. Her bicycle is found in the exact place where a girl was killed 23 years ago. The dramatic present forces those involved in the original case to face their past.

A fateful day pushes an aimless college dropout (Tom Schilling) to stop wasting his time and finally engage with life.

In the middle of the night, a special police force storms the bedroom of management consultant Juliane Schubert. Just returned from a business trip to the Middle East, Juliane is questioned after her arrest by the commissioners Theissen and Hindrichs: They should have rented apartments and cars that should serve to prepare a terrorist attack. The evidence is overwhelming. Has anyone gained access to the businesswoman's computer, stolen her virtual identity and used it for criminal purposes?

Benjamin, a young German computer whiz, is invited to join a subversive hacker group that wants to be noticed on the world's stage.

Juliane's happiness seems perfect. She is head over heals in love and has just begun a new life with August. One morning, however, she wakes up to find that she has been unexplainable thrown back into her past - to the time before she met her new love. Is what seems at first glance a cruel setback in reality actually a second chance?

Four young Jews survive the Third Reich in the middle of Berlin by living so recklessly that they become "invisible."

A family of a German linguist lives with an indigenous tribe in Papua New Guinea.

Germany, Baltic Sea coast, May 1945, a few days before the end of World War II. A small Soviet patrol arrives at an isolated house where an elderly baroness gives shelter to a group of orphan girls and a boy who is determined to continue the fight.

A teenage girl helps an escaped fugitive flee Germany into France, after extracting a promise that he will help her commit suicide.

Two brothers start a sportswear company in the 1920s, hoping to make the best shoes in the world. Their relationship deteriorates until they become bitter rivals.

Donato fails in his attempt to save a drowning man, and meets one of the man's friends. He decides to start his life over, but pieces of his past keep coming after him.

Henry is a playboy who has no idea that he is the father of a beautiful, cute girl out of a One-night-Stand. Her mother left the daughter in front of Henry door after her husband realized after 8 years of marriage that he is not the father so their relationship now is breaking up... By the way: Kokowääh, is how a German (in this case an 8 Year old child) that has never heard the dish before - would pronounce "Coq Au Vin" (chicken in a wine sauce).

15-year-old Nina witnesses a terrible crime that puts her life in danger. Being an orphan, she has nobody she can trust. When corrupt businessman Thomas Backer sends five killers after Nina, witness protection officer, Max, a former special-forces soldier, is responsible for her safety. They soon overcome their initial distance to find common ground. While on the run from the ruthless Backer, Rudi, one of Max’s former comrades, comes to their rescue – and continues to help the two out of some precarious situations. Even Max’s ex-girlfriend Sara is not just there to help him as a federal prosecutor. Nevertheless, Nina and Max face ever-increasing danger, and soon the teenager is not the only one in need of a guardian angel – Max could use one too.

The breath-taking story of a man who nearly would have changed the world. 1939, when Hitler tricked millions of people at the height of his power, one said a radical No: Georg Elser, disparaged as an assassin, is one of the greatest resistance fighters.

A "romantic comedy" based loosely on the suicide of the poet Henrich von Kleist in 1811.

Keeping secrets can be difficult, especially when you’re a twelve-year-old half-vampire moving from Transylvania to a new life in Germany. Going to school, making new friends and fitting in — it’s all tough when you can’t just be yourself. With a vampire father and a human mother, sisters Dakaria (Daka) and Silvania don’t live in your typical blended family. Each girl embraces a different side of her genetic makeup: Daka wishes she was 100% vampire; Silvania wishes she was 100% human; and both believe they can finally realize their hearts’ desires when the opportunity to change presents itself. Will Daka and Silvania realize that, sometimes, your uniqueness is your greatest strength?

With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.

Pina is a feature-length dance film in 3D with the ensemble of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, featuring the unique and inspiring art of the great German choreographer, who died in the summer of 2009.

Based on the book "Ich bin dann mal weg" by Hape Kerkeling where the author describes his journey on the Way of St. James, a pilgrimage route, and the people he encounters there.

Anxious to explore the mysterious hidden world under metropolitan Berlin, an international group of four urban explorers hires a local guide, Kris, who leads them into the maze of escape tunnels and subterranean fortifications under the city. When their guide has a bad fall, two of the girls in the group frantically set off to seek help while Denis, the young American, stays behind. Armin, a former East German border guard suddenly appears from nowhere. Out of sheer desperation, Denis allows Armin to lead them and their unconscious guide to safety and it is at this moment that Denis realizes he has just made the biggest mistake of his life!

With the Third Reich is at his peak in 1942, the Czech resistance in London plans the most ambitious military operation of WWII – Anthropoid. Two young recruits are sent to Prague to assassinate the most ruthless Nazi leader – Reinhardt Heydrich – head of the SS, the Gestapo and the architect of the Final Solution.

After living 45 years in Germany, the Turkish Hüseyin Yilmaz, seventy, announces to his family that he has bought a house in Turkey and they should return to make the necessary reforms. The idea is unwelcome and causes very heated discussions. In addition, Canan, a granddaughter of Hüseyin, announces she is pregnant and the father is her English boyfriend, and no one knew anything. To comfort his cousin Cenk, a child of six years, who was humiliated at school and labeled as "foreign", Canan tells a fantastic story about how they left Turkey and went to Germany.