High Tech Soul: The Creation of Techno Music

Berlin Calling

October 2008 •German

A man tours clubs around the globe with his manager and girlfriend. On the eve of their largest album release he is admitted to a psychiatric clinic after overdosing at a gig.

Love Parade: When Love Learned to Dance

December 2019 •German

At the end of the Cold War, something new arised that should influence an entire generation and express their attitude to life. It started with an idea in the underground subculture of Berlin shortly before the fall of the Wall. With the motto "Peace, Joy, Pancakes", Club DJ Dr. Motte and companions launched the first Love Parade. A procession registered as political demonstration with only 150 colorfully dressed people dancing to house and techno. What started out small developed over the years into the largest party on the planet with visitors from all over the world. In 1999, 1.5 million people took part. With the help of interviews with important organizers and contemporary witnesses, the documentary reflects the history of the Love Parade, but also illuminates the dark side of how commerce and money business increasingly destroyed the real spirit, long before the emigration to other cities and the Love Parade disaster of Duisburg in 2010, which caused an era to end in deep grief.

Brujas

June 2025 •Spanish

XOXO

August 2016 •English

XOXO follows six strangers whose lives collide in one frenetic, dream-chasing, hopelessly romantic night.

Synergy: Visions of Vibe

January 1999 •English

This comprehensive documentary chronicles the underground rave culture in Southern California, one of its first American strongholds. With roots in a tribal past, this movement attempts to format the future of a truly global community by combining elements of electronic/percussive music, the psychedelic imagination, and mass dancing. From warehouses to mountain retreats to the deserts of the Mojave, an unseen world comes into clear focus; with kinetic camera work and candid interviews, this slice of visual anthropology probes the underbelly of a worldwide subculture with the help of some of electronic music's most acclaimed DJs, a technomusicologist, and a county sheriff. Open your mind to this moving entertainment experience and intimate portrait of a modern counter-culture that follows its own electronically induced beat.

Free Party: A Folk History

October 2023 •English

The film follows the inception of the movement, a meeting between ravers and the new age travellers during Thatcher's last days in power, and the explosive years that followed, leading up the infamous Castlemorton free festival in 1992 - the largest ever illegal rave, which provoked the drastic change of the laws of trespass with the notorious introduction of the Criminal Justice Act in 1994.

Never Stop: A Music That Resists

January 2017 •English

Featuring the pioneers of techno music Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Carl Craig, and Jeff Mills, Never Stop takes us into the fascinating universe of techno labels in Detroit. This film highlights the deep roots of the creation, more than thirty years ago, by each of the African-American pioneers of techno music, of their own record labels.

Chicago in Time Lapse

January 1996 •English

"At the beginning of the 19th century there is no Chicago. There was a fort that was set on fire by Indians shortly thereafter. Later, the turbulent expansion of a settlement began, which became a center for the immigrant workforce, traditional industry, slaughterhouses, and, in 1941, armaments for war. The Windy City on Lake Michigan is the fastest changing city in the world. This 35mm Arriflex film time-lapse footage is annotated with classic techno cuts and information about the tunnels under Chicago, the slaughterhouses, organized crime, Sears & Roebuck catalogs and other peculiarities of this strange city."

All this Roughness

September 2020 •Spanish

An unnamed passer-by is forced to trace a circular route inside an abandoned tram station, facing loss and time. The broken walls act as a channel, transmitting fragmentary, blurred and analogical memories. 

Universal Techno

October 1996 •English

This French-produced 1996 documentary is an hour-long piece covering the history of techno music from Detroit to Berlin Sheffield.

Welcome Home

September 2013 •German

This documentary gives a voice to organizers, DJs and party guests. Through their memories and confessions as well as unpublished videos and photos 20 years of history come back to life.

Experimentuum

April 2024 •French

A dreamlike and hallucinatory dive into the depths of the human psyche.

El sueño

January 2020 •French

In an apartment, a party is in full swing. Sitting on a sofa, Perez is hypnotized by a group of four girls facing him.

Propeler - subkultúry mládeže

January 2002 •Slovak

The concept for the film was developed based on sociological research conducted as part of the Youth Subcultures conference in collaboration with the Institute of Sociology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The film’s core value lies in its ability to provide an inside look at selected subcultures, achieving an exceptional level of engagement with their members. The filmmakers managed to break through the participants' initial reluctance to openly discuss their experiences. The documentary directly addresses key aspects of these subcultures, including drugs, faith, and personal beliefs. It focuses on six specific groups: the techno scene, graffiti artists, antifascists, religiously oriented youth, skinheads, and young people inspired by Eastern spirituality. The film includes footage from illegal rave parties, graffiti sessions, and other underground activities. Overall, the documentary serves as an insightful map of Bratislava’s contemporary alternative scene.

Heretik System: We Had A Dream

November 2010 •French

The film traces over 10 years of uninhibited activism by this modern tribe, from the first underground parties to the temples of showbiz society. The Heretik have climbed all the way to the legendary Olympia concert hall in Paris. Immerse yourself in the tormented intimacy of a leading counter-culture band.

Rauschen im Tal

Invalid date •German

Play The Dvd - Live

July 2001 •French

Synth & Beyond

October 2018 •English

New Order's Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert unpack a playlist of electro, pop and new wave classics spanning four decades. Stephen and Gillian have been married for 24 years and have been in New Order together for even longer, but they still manage to surprise one another with their musical tastes. While Stephen declares Captain Beefheart an early influence, Gillian confesses her teenage love for a disco classic. During an hour of top tunes, Stephen also reveals the moment he was mistaken for Stevie Wonder, and Gillian recalls how her Dad was a fan of punk. From Kraftwerk to Can, David Bowie to Kate Bush, Magazine to Grace Jones and many more, this stellar playlist by Stephen and Gillian is brimming with iconic performances.

They Call It Acid

September 2015 •English

The definitive acid house documentary

Tokyo Techno Tribes

October 2002 •Japanese

Japanese cyber youth cultures have developed through the imaginative and novel use of technology. Underlying social, cultural and economic trends are examined such as Japan's unique, isolated island culture, the post-economic boom recession and changing attitudes towards the role of the corporation in work and career attitudes.