Michael Wittenborn

Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller, egged on by romantic dreams of heroism, voluntarily enlist in the German army. Full of excitement and patriotic fervour, the boys enthusiastically march into a war they believe in. But once on the Western Front, they discover the soul-destroying horror of World War I.

After separating from her husband Medhi, Elodie’s life is thrown off balance. When she learns, while staying at her parents’ house, of an event from her early childhood that had been kept secret for decades, she begins to explore the causes of her emotional blockages. The search for the truth leads her into her own past and confronts her with family silence, repressed memories, and the question of how early experiences shape a person’s life.

Convinced that his daughter has forgotten how to laugh, a father shows up unannounced while she's living abroad and bombards her with outrageous jokes.

In 1930s Berlin, Dr. Jakob Fabian, who works by day in advertising for a cigarette company and by night wanders the streets of the city, falls in love with an actress. As her career begins to blossom, prospects for his future begin to wane.

At the age of 20, Joachim is unexpectedly accepted into the renowned acting school in Munich and moves into the villa with his grandparents, Inge and Hermann. Between the bizarre challenges of acting school and the eccentric, mostly alcohol-fueled rituals of his grandparents, Joachim tries to find his place in the world — without knowing what role he actually plays in it.

After a young girl is found dead in a secluded religious mountain community, a pack of teenage girls decide to fight against the evil spirits they believe killed her by embracing their own dark nature.

Luisa, a 20-year-old law student, joins a cell of the Antifa group when she and her friends Alfa and Lenor get to know about an upcoming attack planned by a local neo-Nazi gang. As they try to find out more, the three youngsters delve deeper into the scene linked to right-wing movements and their political connections, to the point where they will understand how much they are willing to go further, in order to defend their own beliefs.

Martha is a single woman who lives for one passion: cooking. The head chef at a chic restaurant, Martha has no time for anything - or anyone - else. But Martha's solitary life is shaken when a fateful accident brings her sister's eight-year-old daughter, Lina, to her doorstep.

No description available.

About twenty years ago, Germany got to know Bernd Stromberg and his team from the claims department at CAPITOL Insurance. Back then, there was nothing vegan in the cafeteria, and bullying and sexism were commonplace in the office. Since then, the world of work has changed enormously. But has Bernd Stromberg changed too?

In a small North German village a drama played out during and shortly after the Second World War about duty versus individual conscience and morality.

Franziska Dreyer and Sebastian Pauli are a happy couple. When one day the police arrest her boyfriend on suspicion of murder, Franziska assumes it's a mistake. But in a trial marked by circumstantial evidence, Sebastian is tried, convicted and sentenced to life. Franziska believes he's innocent and fights to get him released. This puzzles her parents and friends who advise her to cut all ties to him. Her reaction is to marry Sebastian in prison. Then Franziska discovers completely unknown sides to her husband and now doesn't know who or what to believe any more.

When their mother suddenly starts planning her engagement to a woman, Anne and Erik Merz find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of cheese buffets, chocolate fountains, and old feelings.

In the early 60s, Bernward Vesper and fellow university student Gudrun Ensslin begin a passionate love in the stifling atmosphere of provincial West Germany. Dedicated to the power of the written word, Bernward and Gudrun found a publishing house whose first publication is, paradoxically to many, a controversial past work of Bernward's ostracized father, an infamous Nazi author. Bernward defends his father's writing ability, even if he is haunted by his father's suspicious past.

The Merz exes are back. Anne discovers that she has a half-sister who has been hidden from her for years. And her name is also Anne, and she’s a much better version of Anne.

A young woman who works in a bookstore has been terrified by nightmares about having committed suicide in a past lifetime, combined with a sense of déjà vu regarding a specific apartment building. When she meets a young man who works in an optical company, whether she knows it or not, she is that much closer to the truth about her visions.

A love triangle forms between post-Enlightenment writer Friedrich Schiller and two sisters -- one who became his wife, and the other, his biographer.

Although he already has searched Iraq unsuccessfully for weapons of mass destruction as a member of a UN mission, German bio-weapons expert Arndt Wolf is still obsessed with the idea that Saddam Hussein is hiding something. Nobody around him is interested in this topic any more. This changes abruptly when an Iraqi asylum seeker claims to have been involved in the manufacture of chemical weapons. The German Federal Intelligence Service summons Dr. Wolf to ascertain the legitimacy of the claims made by the informant, who has been given the code name “Curveball”.

On their 35th anniversary, Barbara dreams of Provence’s lavender fields, but her husband won’t budge. Secretly, she joins a French class with free‐spirited teacher Alexander and classmates Mehmet, Richard, Simon, and Miriam, learning life as much as language. As Barbara blossoms in newfound friendships, her family notices her spark reignited, and she resolves to seize her own happiness.

A peaceful island will do anything to ward off the reputation of 'vacation paradise.'

A young East German woman leaves her controlling husband/business partner and relocates to a West German city to start anew as an accountant, but he soon catches up with her.

An introverted insurance executive at a car rental service is annoyed by his hyperactive, garrulous coworker, but the two end up becoming friends.

Jean receives in payment for seven years of work with a master craftsman a gold nugget. He then exchanges this nugget for a horse, then the horse for a cow, the cow for a pig, the pig for a goose, the goose for a sharpening stone. Finally, he loses the stone by dropping it in a well. After losing the sharpening stone, he is relieved because it weighed heavy, and continues his happy journey to his mother's house. On his way home, he keeps running into Knudsen the Merchant and his beautiful daughter Elisabeth.

Armin, in his fourties, is a freelancer with lots of time and little money. He’s not really happy, but can’t picture living a different life. One morning the world looks the same as always, but mankind has disappeared.

As young musicians Jean and Helena brace for parenthood amidst job insecurities, their lives collide with landlord Klara's enigmatic breakdown. Accepting her offer of rent-free living, they embark on a surreal journey, encountering societal judgments and forming unexpected connections that shape their intertwined destinies.

The celebration of the 50th anniversary of “Capitol-Insurance” is due – that's what the bosses thought. All employees are invited to join the party in a hotel. However, rumors say the company's not doing very well. To avoid unemployment due to the possible shutdown of the smaller branch office the only option is to move to the headquarters. Now that's the ultimate challange for Stromberg, who is notoriously trying to be the example of a department manager, gathering all of his employees behind him.

A wellness hotel in a small German castle specializes in well-off couples, offering a wide range of services, including one some partners feel trapped into : relational therapy. It's truth time, for some liberating, forcing others to face their secrets of dysfunctional relationship.

Maja Witt and Klaus Burck have been a well-rehearsed team for years, ensuring law and order as police officers in Bremen. At least that's what they try to do. Time and again, however, they are shown their limits. Criminals are set free again, and they themselves get no respect at all. When the arrogant teenager Ahmed Issa spits at Klaus during a mission, this finally goes too far: the two fight back and start to take the law into their own hands, using any means necessary. But the other side is not standing idly by...

No description available.

No description available.

Frida wants a baby. But although she forces her boyfriend to follow a strict fertilization regimen, she’s not getting pregnant. Just when she’s about to resort to artificial means, her boyfriend dumps her. Suddenly, she’s missing the most important pregnancy ingredient – the father. But Frida will stop at nothing to get her baby.

At the latest when Helga crashes through the floor of her living room, she realizes that she is stuck. It's been two years since her husband left her for another woman, but she's still angry and hurt. Everything changes when her cleaning lady goes on vacation and sends Polish worker Ryszard to replace her. Initially the target of Helga's resentment himself, Ryszard soon becomes her confidant. Although they don't speak the same language, Helga feels understood. In the safety of their own four walls, the two grow closer. But when Helga's family and friends find out about her secret, she finds it difficult to admit her feelings for Ryszard, who doesn't fit in at all with the usual image of masculinity in her milieu. Will Helga sacrifice her young, late happiness to social conventions?

Carlos Benede is in his thirties, single and helps minors cope with the after-effects of crime. Alexander is a strong-willed and precocious eleven-year-old, who witnesses the horrific death of his mother by his own father. Benede mentors Alexander and the two develop a bond. But when the trial of Alexander’s father is over, it’s time for the two to part. Alexander has been placed in the care of his aunt, but when she is no longer able, a new caregiver must be found. An unconventional counselor from the youth welfare office learns of Alexander’s trust in Benede, who himself grew up in a home, and reunites the two. Although not always easy, the relationship grows and deepens into one of father and son.

Tomas is happy as family father, raising teen son Milan (as his knavish buddy) and running-especially gastronomically- a club with his mother Nike, whose absences to take course aiming for career progress causes tension. Covering for Milan's systematic class dodging to pursue a musical ambition, Tomas discovers going trough Nike's stuff the knave isn't biologically his son, feels utterly cheated by wife Nike, and feels like wrecking their relationship, family and livelihood musical bar. Former common study friend Clemens, a divorced MD, confides he wasn't interested in Nike, being gay, and advises 'getting laid' without commitment, but finding that out hurts utterly confused Milan even more. The spouses must pull together when son Milan (16) decides to seek his genetic father, a former GDR literature professor Dr. Karoly Gaál, who is now in a home for demented seniors.

Nick Gutlicht lives of illegally selling valuable books, owes money to a bunch of other crooks and has to hide from them. By chance he ends up in the mansion of the famous, now very old philosopher Curt Ledig, who despite the age related forgetfulness and pathological kitchen phobia resists to move to his daughter. Nick is hired by the family as watchdog. Now Curt can work on a presentation for the upcoming symposium, which anybody thinks he's capable of anymore. Nick thinks he has an excellent hiding place. This partnership of convenience of the two individuals quickly develops its own momentum. Curt regards Nick as an exciting research object and subjects him to an absurd therapy. For Nick it's a unique opportunity to fund his finances with Curt's phenomenal library. The strange couple is going through turmoil of incalculable proportions.

Steve has been with Carola for five years. But then Steve has to watch as his friend Bob is left out of the blue by his girlfriend, who turns to the much older tantra teacher Harald. Steve begins to have doubts: Is Carola really happy with him? Steve, already under pressure from a professional situation, has to act. Self-optimization is the new motto, physically, emotionally and sexually.

For a long time, wealth adviser Elke and car mechanic Wastl were happy together. Until Elke gets involved more and more in dubious financial transactions that bring her success down the line. When her husband wants to stop these windy business, she separates from him. And goes even further - the accusation that her husband has beaten her, brings Wastl for a long time in a psychiatric hospital.

A young autistic boy and his two siblings have to stay with their grandparents while their mother is away. Because of his unique abilities and interest in space missions, he considers his grandparents land an isolated planet.

The missing person case of a young woman leads Seeler to a Croatian island to a mysterious connection that uses hypnosis to treat people with mental trauma. The investigator experiences for himself how dangerous "false" memories that feel "real" can be when he dives into his subconscious.

Born in the wrong body? A child rebels. 8-year old Nina is confident and fun-loving. She’s convinced that a mistake was made at her birth: she was born a Niklas. Nina plucks up her courage and informs her family that she has always felt like a girl and would like to live as one. Her grandpa Thilo supports her. But her parents Simone and Martin cannot agree and with her brother Ben need time to deal with the new situation. Old conflicts flare up. There are problems in Nina’s social environment and at school. Can the family stick together despite the problems? A fictional contribution to a very topical subject.

Swim coach Anne trains her niece Juli for a state championship, sparking clashes with Juli’s mother, Anne’s sister Miriam, who fears Anne’s strict methods stem from her own abrupt, mysterious career halt years ago. At their mother’s 65th birthday, old secrets surface, triggering Anne’s panic attacks - visions of a shadow beneath the pool. Haunted by past disorientation at a key race, Anne must confront her fears to uncover the truth.

Chrissi has spent years abroad proving that she can handle cars as a stunt driver. When she has to return to her father's childhood village after a serious accident, she is caught up in the tormenting memories of her family history. But her father is still trapped in his pain and unable to be there for her. In desperation, he offers her money so that she can build a life elsewhere, independent of the German social system - the relationship between the two is about to be put to the test...

Three old friends from college move back in together in an apartment in Munich for financial reasons.

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.

No description available.

Maria Nikolai was once a celebrated musician. 20 years ago she came to Hamburg with her husband, who has since died. But her neighborhood, which used to be a neighborly neighborhood, is gradually threatening to turn into a social hotspot: the streets are dirty, young people are killing time in front of the supermarket and alcohol is a constant companion for many. Foreigners have also been increasingly moving to the district for some time.

When Eva returns to her house on the day of her divorce, she finds a bouquet of red roses outside the door. Attached is the note: "You are not alone." The sender is anonymous.

The life of Karsten, a mortician, isn’t going that well at the moment. Just in time for Christmas, his parents inform him during the festive dinner that they want to commit suicide together. In five days. Usually used to death, he tries everything to convince the dear mother Marion and the father Theodor, suffering from Parkinson’s disease, not to pursue their plan. But the conflict about the self-determined death opens up old wounds – and as Karsten’s own health deteriorates rapidly, it is no longer clear who needs to be saved.

No description available.

When the animal keeper Birgit gifts her daughter Sarah a parrot, the joy is great. While Sarah is teased at school because of her speech impediment, the parrot provides her with a sense of security. But when the parrot suddenly begins to constantly spout Nazi slogans, it not only causes problems with Birgit's Jewish in-laws, but also puts her in the crossfire of the media.

No description available.

An unemployed with diagnosed burn-out is getting a therapy in a clinic.

François is a literary scholar and drinker. His relationships with women are limited to one year, his life is sufficiently happy. Until the day when charismatic Muslim politician Mohamed Ben Abbes becomes president in France, introduces patriarchy and polygamy and loses his job. In his growing loneliness, Rector Rediger's offer to resume his teaching at the Sorbonne reaches him on one condition: he must convert to Islam.

No description available.

At the centre of the comedy ‘Halbe Hundert’ (‘half of hundred’) stand three strong women at fifty. As with so many women of their generation, the number on their birth certificate seemingly doesn’t fit to their sense of life at all. But all three of them stand before decisive changes. Anne is successful in her professional life as a hand surgeon who is acclaimed all across Germany. The victim of her flawless career is her marriage to Klaus, who had her back with regards to children and household for years and now has left her unexpectedly. Anne reacts with wounded vanity and books a young, attractive male escort for a congress. But the relationship, considered to be professional, throws Anne out of the loop emotionally. Charlotte has worn down herself for the family for years as she is diagnosed with breast cancer. With the illness in front of her eyes, Charlotte finds the courage to break out of old confinements…