Eva Meckbach

Richard of Gloucester uses murder and manipulation to claim England's throne.

Henrik Ibsen's drama from 1882 in Ostermeier's vision since 2012. Dr. Stockmann discovers that the source of drinking and spa water is riddled with pathogenic micro-organisms, caused by industrial effluence. He wants to publish the findings in the newspaper and demands that the city council re-route the water pipes. Influential citizens and local journalists promise their support. However, his brother Peter, the mayor, raises some serious concerns: The economic prosperity of the spa town will be threatened. Suddenly the support for Stockman from the town's policymakers begins to wane. They spread seeds of doubt about his plans and try to cover up the fact of the contaminated water. But Stockmann insists on transparency and intends to go public on the matter. For him the affair has long since ceased to be about the polluted health spa, his target is society as a whole.

During the Second World War, women were for the first time allowed to work as war correspondents. Based on reports, letters and diary excerpts, filmmaker Luzia Schmid sketches a personal portrait of three fearless women and their unique attempts to report on the war.

With stars of the screen, it is often only the Edgar Morin-like myth that remains; but viewed close up, an actress’s lifetime has more to do with destiny, and in Marina Vlady’s case, that destiny is unclassifiable, with over eighty classic films and more that were never released. It is across France, Italy, and chiefly Russia that this documentary, chock-full of rare archive material, takes us as it traces the journey of a free woman, making this not simply a documentary but a political film.

On the request of his mother Gitte, Marko, who has been living in Berlin for years, drives off to the countryside to visit his parents. His hopes of spending a quiet and relaxing time with his family fall short when Gitte surprises everyone by revealing that she has recovered after a long mental illness. Marko is the only one who respects her wish from now on to be treated as a full member of this family and, as a result, ends up tipping more than just the delicate balance of his parent’s seemingly harmonious relationship.

A rather regular state official, who works at the building authority, becomes a puppet of a few super rich. They want to make quite a lot of profit from a planned large-scale building project. Quicker than anticipated, the father-to-be gets surprised by a couple of amenities and notices that life isn’t too bad in the sphere of these semi-legal affairs. Soon, however, he has a prosecuting attorney on his tails and has to decide himself for a side.

A family drama about a German teenager who leaves home totally unexpectedly to join the ranks of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in its armed struggle. When the boy's father and older brother set off on an adventurous journey to the Syrian border, they manage to find him and bring him back to Germany. However, back home, questions start being asked: did he return of his own free will, has he disassociated himself from the IS ideology, or is he in fact a 'sleeper' agent awaiting orders?

Miriam Maertens falls ill with cystic fibrosis and struggles quietly with the disease. Mastering a double life she falls in love and achieves her professional goals. When Miriam gets pregnant, everyone is shocked. When her lungs malfunction, it is a race against time to find a suitable donor.

The life of Marie and Peter seems perfect, but their greatest wish remains unfulfilled: a family of their own. After several painfully failed attempts to have a child by natural means, Marie and Peter decide to try adoption in Russia. Carried by their longing and after many months of preparation and waiting, they set off to get to know their future daughter Nina in a children's home thousands of kilometers away from Germany. They still have no idea that they are only at the beginning of a tour de force against the Russian authorities – and they are facing the biggest challenge for their relationship, because while Marie and Peter are fighting for their future child, the question is: are we still pursuing the same goal? Each for himself – and especially as a couple?

After surviving a heart attack, Frank is discharged from hospital with the doctor's advice to avoid excessive physical exertion in future. In the theater where Frank is employed as a doorman, a tango dance group is rehearsing. In the seclusion of the porter's lodge, Frank takes his first tango steps and develops an unprecedented fascination for this dance art. Smiled at by his friends, he hides his new passion from his wife Kathrin and daughter Paula and takes lessons with tango teacher Maresa, who gets him more and more enthusiastic about tango despite his corpulence. When Kathrin finds out that Frank, despite his failing health, is "spending himself" dancing the tango, he puts his family duties on the back burner and ultimately risks his life.