Udo Samel

Erika Kohut, a sexually repressed piano teacher living with her domineering mother, meets a young man who starts romantically pursuing her.

71 scenes revolving around multiple Viennese residents who are by chance involved with a senseless gun slaughter on Christmas Eve.

Maik, a fourteen-year-old teenager, sets out on a road trip during summertime with Tschick, a new classmate, in a stolen car. The two share life changing experiences during the eventful journey.

Daniel is a singer who became famous overnight thanks to one song. But for the aspiring artist, the dream of fame was short-lived: his song turned out to be a one-hit wonder, and Daniel fell into a deep depression when his subsequent songs failed to connect with audiences. Daniel soon finds himself with few options left – he wants to end his life. However, his suicide attempt fails and he ends up in a secure psychiatric ward. He is allowed to leave on one condition: he must use his music to make a group of depressed people happy.

The story of Venezuelan revolutionary, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, who founded a worldwide terrorist organization and raided the OPEC headquarters in 1975 before being caught by the French police.

A sea captain makes a bet in a cafe with a friend that he will marry the first woman who walks in.

A group of angels look longingly upon the life of humans. Berlin now is a very different place: unified in name but overrun with crime, corruption, and—in what turns out to be a key theme here—Americans.

In New York City, detective Luigi Mackeroni investigates a string of mysterious penile mutilations at the Hotel Quickie. After Mackeroni attempts to have a tryst with a gigolo he meets in the lobby, a carniverous condom bites off his right testicle and flees, which sets the detective off on a quest to stop the predatory prophylactic once and for all.

Chronicles three years of a middle-class family seemingly caught up in their daily routines, troubled only by minor incidents. Behind their apparent calm and repetitive existence, however, they're planning something much more sinister.

The young Orthodox Jew, Motti Wolkenbruch, finds himself at a turning point. His beloved mother wants him to get married and presents one marriage candidate after the other. Unfortunately none of the woman pleases him, because they all look just like her. The situation gets even more complicated, when Motti secretly falls in love with the non-Jewish girl Laura, a so-called Shiksa.

Nadia is in her late 30s and begins a serious relationship with a teen named Pierre.

No description available.

The "Our Gang" type adventures of German working class kids from a Berlin apartment building (number 67) during the early 1930s. With Nazism's rise, however, their tight-knit group unravels. One leader, Paul, becomes a Nazi.

Paul Silberstein, youngest son of an urbane but deeply strange old Austrian dynasty of confectionery millionaires, discovers the power of love and humor - and also his own extraordinary ability to shape his realities. Based on the motives of the short story with the same name by André Heller.

In May 1828, a feral boy aged around 16 was found in Nuremberg. Kaspar Hauser, as he is called, can only speak a few indistinct words and knows nothing about his origins or family. The film depicts the - presumed - circumstances under which Hauser was held captive in complete isolation in a hiding place from infancy onwards. From this emerges the picture of an intrigue involving high circles of aristocratic society. Five years after his liberation, in December 1833, Kaspar Hauser died as a result of a stab wound inflicted by an unknown perpetrator.

Myths of the sunken city of Ys leads to the murder of a young couple.

After the wild lifestyle of a famous young German photographer almost gets him killed, he goes to Palermo, Sicily to take a break. Can the beautiful city and a beautiful local woman calm him down?

Germany director Dani Levy filmed this comedy about Jewish life in today’s Germany along side the familiar east-west conflict. With it great success this film is a joyful comedy of humor and knowledge.

Movie-making cliches are parodied in this German comedy which features to warring actresses, meddling producers, indulgent directors, and an ignored writer. Not only must they contend with each other, they must also deal with the bankers who have the power to shut them down at any moment. The story begins at the premier of director Viktor Rote's newest film "The Tin Cat," which stars his popular wife Riki Rote. The film's writer and Viktor's brother Richard is miffed when he is not allowed into the screening. Viktor's ambitious mistress and aspiring star the Nina is also not invited in. The film is a hit so Rote is allowed to begin his new film by producer George Kuballa. George is also head of the studio. His rich and frequently rejected wife is Lore, a major financial studio backer who prefers spending her time consorting with her handsome young chauffeur.

Young Roman and his mother Oksana leave Ukraine and go to Germany, where she works illegally while they both live with Gert, an old widower who tries to befriend Roman, who struggles for his mother's attention and sees Gert as a rival.

A study of German 19th Century Romantic art through the writings and paintings of Carl David Friedrich and his fellow artist, Carl Gustav Carus.

An eccentric former actress finds a body which disappears into thin air.

Set in the midst of World War II and interspersed with beautiful choir music, the horrors of the war unfold when the Germans realized one of the boys in the choir is a Jew and they must find him immediately.

A Polish woman and a German man fall in love against the odds and decide to set up a cemetery for exiles. But can their daring venture survive the call of the toad? Adapted from Gunter Grass’ novel.

Poland 1943: An unlikely pair - a concentration camp prisoner and a captain in Hitler's notorious SS - free themselves from the wreckage of a crashed SS airplane. The two appear to be strangely familiar with each other and the extent of their extraordinary relationship is thrillingly revealed.

The mother of a murdered hitchhiker meets the offender.

A man who accused a catholic bishop of abusing him when he was a child dies in the Austrian city Salzburg. Everyone except his widow and the eccentrical detective Simon Brenner keeps silent and believes that the man killed himself.

Uwe Friessner’s first feature, At the End of the Rainbow, follows the exploits of a West Berlin teenager named Jimmi who ekes out a living through petty theft and part-time hustling, hangs out in punk clubs, and who, for reasons which this film subtly details, is thoroughly unemployable. Drawing on his own experience in trying to help a young runaway who eventually committed suicide, Friessner wrote into Jimmi’s story several older students who attempt to find work for him, and who give him shelter for a time in their commune.

Each is dependent on the other. He breaks into the passport office to get a passport. He is surprised and ends up back in prison, where he is trained in military drill. After his release, he once again lodges with relatives, his sister and brother-in-law. Wearing a second-hand captain's uniform, he first takes over a guard unit and uses it to occupy Köpenick town hall, where all the employees of the town council submit to the supposed captain. The mayor is promoted to Berlin and Voigt presents himself to the authorities a few days later. At first, everyone present laughs at the prank, but then Voigt is made aware of the legal consequences. He is sent back to prison, but shortly afterwards he is pardoned by the Emperor.

Is a home for the blind hiding a murderer's nest? Shortly before his myste-rious death, millionaire Stuart changed his will and disinherited the local home for the blind. Inspector Higgins suspects that something is not right there.

This somewhat superficial historical drama is about the 1525 Peasants' War in Germany when the lower classes rebelled against oppressive conditions imposed by the clergy and nobility and then committed many acts (including atrocities) that did not morally set them far apart from the people they were fighting. It was a time of upheaval: Martin Luther (1483-1556) had broken away from the Catholic Church, calling for reform, and Anabaptists in Germany, like Thomas Munzer fought on the side of the peasants (opposed by Luther). This complex age and its political and religious turmoil are summed up in a story about an attack on a small monastery whose monks used a forged document to confiscate some land from the peasants. When their wrong-doing is revealed by the monk who forged the document in the first place, the peasants attack.

The catastrophe is perfect: Gustav Klimt's world-famous "kiss" was stolen from the museum. What is a problem for some is a salvation for others. For the impoverished Count Leopold, the loss of the picture is an advantage, because now he can earn the sum insured for the family-owned work of art. For the fashion designer Isabella, theft is definitely a problem too much. Not only is her father Albert, who was supposed to guard the picture on the night of the crime, now with a heart attack in the hospital, he admits to her that the stolen Klimt made a self-made ...

Vienna is shaken by a mysterious series of murders. Except for Major Adolf Kottan, who is suspended. Indefinitely. Kottan's ex-police colleagues, the stiff-legged Paul Schremser and the trigger-happy Alfred Schrammel, take over the investigation and are completely in the dark. Next to each murder victim is a playing card with the inscription "Rien ne va plus". There are seven names on the back. Already three murders in 24 hours....

Near the end of WWII a lone U-Boat is sent from Germany to Japan carrying plutonium needed for a Japanese A-Bomb. During the long journey, news arrives on the radio that Hitler killed himself and Germany has surrendered. This causes a rift in the crew, the Nazi Party members wanting to continue to Japan since they are still at war, while the others just want to surrender or return home.

The film is set in the near future, in a world of perfect capitalism. Society is sustained by a class of top achievers; meanwhile, so-called minimum recipients live under sedation in Fortresses of Sleep. The great majority of top achievers view themselves as happy. An outsourced agency has been established for the rest: Life Guidance is charged with turning these individuals into optimal people as well. Alexander has internalized the system but one wrong word to his child triggers Life Guidance. He starts to rebel and encounters the horror of the system in all its brightness and affability.

One night when seeking his estranged wife, Hoffmann goes to the youth center where she works. The police are there rounding up radicals who frequent the center - Hoffmann runs into the building and ends up being shot in the head. He awakens with brain trauma, partially paralyzed and unable to speak. The police accuse him of stabbing an officer; the radicals herald him as an innocent victim of police brutality. During his slow recovery at the hospital, Hoffmann must piece together his life and struggle to remember the events of that night.

Witnesses about to testify at the Nuremberg War Trials needed a safe place to wait. All under one roof, each with their own secrets. And the countess assigned to take care of them. What was her secret?

Glyndebourne's pulsating new production of the Waltz King's much-loved comic operetta. Its story centers on a magnificent masked ball, given by a Russian prince, that brings together all the main characters in various disguises. The three-act journey from boudoir to ballroom to jail provides ample opportunities for farce and humor, but also for genuine human emotion and a surprisingly realistic view of urban life.

The filmmaker René Perraudin made five comedic short films with Otto Sander in the leading role and knits them into a feature film.

When the ambitious Philip takes over the running of the family business from his father, he finds himself confronted by the mysterious reappearance of his dead ancestors. In the course of a long night, during which there is a murder, an illicit love affair and a game with false identities, Philip uncovers a closely guarded family secret.

Editor-in-chief Daniel Käfer is unemployed. His magazine "Intelligence" was discontinued due to "too high a standard". Now he wants to think about his future in Ausseerland, where he spent his best summer vacations, but his return to the realm of his childhood turns out to be a dangerous labyrinth that entangles him in the dark secrets of the Ausseer people.

The disabled ex-soldier Andreas Pum lost a leg for emperor and father land. After leaving the army he receives a license and a drehorgel. One day he gets into a controversy with a welldressed gentleman, disturbs the public order, and hits a policeman. Andreas Pum goes to jail, loses his license and becomes toilet guard in the Cafe Halali after his release. Only at the moment of death he recognizes that he was always too decent and too obedient.

Water pipe burst and bomb alarm - Berlin in a state of emergency: Dorn and Gerald don't know where their heads are. The routes for the garbage collectors have to be reworked due to numerous road closures, chaos rages.

No description available.

Daniel Käfer's time out in Ausseerland is coming to an end. He has to focus on his new career. But his journey ends in Hallstatt. His acquaintance with the young Gerd Gamsjäger and his mother leads to dramatic events. In his exuberance, Käfer causes a serious accident that almost costs his young friend his life. In an effort to make amends, he gets himself into even more trouble: with a dubious treasure map, he initiates excavations in search of a man in the salt. A huge embarrassment or the start of a new future?

After rehab, Manfred Burger seems to have got his alcohol addiction under control and is trying to reorganize his life. Although he is now sober, he soon realizes that society cannot cope with his illness: His relationship with his wife Eva is on its last legs and he loses his job. Nobody seems to understand Burger and his illness. As his life continues to go off track, the bottle soon becomes his daily companion again...

An experimental documentary film about Friedrich Hölderlin. In the middle of the film, there is a short excerpt from a Nazi propaganda film: O. E. Hasse reads "Der Tod fürs Vaterland" (Death for the Fatherland), the poem that was given to German soldiers on the front lines during World War II. This is contrasted with texts from Hölderlin's late work, which have only recently been edited. This creates a completely different picture of Hölderlin's poetry.

The emotional story of an adulterous relationship between a journalist and a teacher.

Randolph Tiefenthaler and his wife Rebecca have bought a beautiful 1920s house and move in with their children. The only condition for the sale was that the former owner's brother would be allowed to continue living in the basement.

Ironically, the art detective Johann Friedrich von Allmen is staying in a high-end Zurich hotel when a million-dollar dahlia painting disappears from the private suite of the owner. What would be more obvious to the eccentric Dahlia Gutbauer than to entrust "Allmen International Inquiries" with the discreet replacement?

Gendarmerie inspector Simon Polt in the Weinviertel region finds it too much of a coincidence when crook Riebel is killed in a motorcycle accident and his friend Willi is found dead on the same day. But the residents of the otherwise peaceful Lower Austrian wine village make Polt's investigation anything but easy.

Germany in the Thirties. A movie teller realizes that his profession is not longer needed. Silent movies are not produced any longer. Telling stories is the only thing the man was ever good in, so he does not know what to do now. As political circumstances are changing dramatically these days in Germany, he gets new hope that things will again be going better for him...

A singer flees from Nazi Germany, travels to Paris and befriends a young writer, his lover and a professor.

The relationship between Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the great German writer, and Christiane Vulpius, a village girl, is one of the instantaneous and fiery passion. They lived together for 28 years, 18 of these living in sin, 10 a married couple. Christiane's rival, Charlotte von Stein, a former favorite of Goethe, begins plotting and scheming against her. Christiane puts up with countless insults and humiliations like having to 'disappear' with their son into the servants' quarters and to stay at home on official occasions. Goethe marries her when she saves his life during an attack by plundering Napoleonic soldiers. Her new social position as Goethe's wife is resented and envied by all. When she is openly attacked by the snooty, jealous people, Goethe is only half-hearted in coming to her defence. But she stays with him for he is her great love, even when she turns to the charms of many youthful admirers...

Before Ernst Winckelmann, a sales representative for hair products, calls on hairdressing salons and chemist's shops, he rehearses what he intends to say, shakes the dandruff from his hair and slips into an innocuous pair of shoes. None of this helps. Winkelmann is no sales talent and his product is a failure. Meanwhile, in a small corner pub in the Barmbek district of Hamburg, Winkelmann's young girlfriend Aline uses some firm but gentle persuasion to make the last customer leave. Not much doing tonight. During the day, Rüdiger the barman, pulls most of the beers for the landlord, Aline's father, who survives on memories of good times at Miami Beach...

Jan Landers made it: Grown up in East Berlin, he quickly made his career after the turnaround: from the weatherman of a local station to the newsreader in Hamburg.

An all-girl Catholic boarding school near Vienna for the wealthy Austrian elite and their children. The school is thriving, but faith is declining and the upper floors are de­ser­ted. The head of the institution, a young energetic nun, fights with ardor against this decline. Martha, 12, one of the nun’s favorite pupils, is a devoted girl who wishes to expiate the sins of the world. Encouraged by the nun, she is given a penance belt and taken to the abandoned upper floor.

No description available.

Berlin-Kreuzberg in the early 1980s. The film is essentially a one-set piece, taking place in a beat-up, graffiti-decorated schoolroom where six teen-age delinquents argue and fight as they await the latest in what has been a series of terrified teachers.

Depicts the final years of the life of 19th century Austrian composer Franz Schubert. This is the shortened theatrical version of the miniseries, released in 2006 as a DVD in the series The Austrian Film.