Die Klasse - Berlin '61

Wings of Desire

September 1987 •German

Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds -- with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk -- that it might be possible for him to take human form.

Berlin is in Germany

November 2001 •German

When Martin, a former GDR citizen, is released from jail, he lately becomes confronted with the consequences of the German re-unification.

Tough Enough

March 2006 •German

From the youth directed novel of the same name by Greogor Tressnow comes a film by Detlev Buck that is a realistic portrait of life in the section of Berlin called Neukölln. It’s about power and weakness, delinquents and victims, and the difficulties a 15-year-old faces in a poor and criminal environment.

Good Bye, Lenin!

February 2003 •German

Alex Kerner's mother was in a coma while the Berlin wall fell. When she wakes up he must try to keep her from learning what happened (as she was an avid communist supporter) to avoid shocking her which could lead to another heart attack.

Solo Sunny

January 1980 •German

Sunny is the singer of band trying to establish itself in the music-scene of East-Berlin. They play regular gigs in small towns, but Sunny feels out of touch with the audience and her life as a whole. She begins a relationship with the amateur saxophonist and studied philosopher Ralph who writes her a very personal song - but his obsession with death and unfaithful lifestyle is not for her. After getting into a quarrel with a band member who harasses her and telling off a show-host she is thrown out of the band. Abandoned, she struggles to regain control over her life.

Heimliche Ehen

January 1956 •German

...And Your Love Too

September 1962 •German

On August 13th, 1961 - the night that the Berlin Wall goes up - three people must make a decision that will change their lives forever.

The Lives of Others

March 2006 •German

In 1984 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.

Learning to Lie

July 2003 •German

18-year-old school boy Helmut falls in love with fellow pupil Britta. He starts working for a Peace movement to get to know Britta. Britta, however, suddenly moves to San Francisco to live with her father and whilst there, finds a new boyfriend. Helmut studies, literature and politics in his home town and have a relationship with another girl from his former school, now studying medicine at the same university but they break up after having an affair with her roommate. Helmut begins a lot of short affairs with different women but still searches for his first girl.

Escape from East Berlin

October 1962 •English

East Berlin, shortly after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Kurt Schröder and his family dig a tunnel to escape to West Berlin as they struggle to overcome the obstacles blocking their underground path to freedom.

Two Among Millions

October 1961 •German

Die Todesautomatik

November 2007 •German

The Architects

June 1990 •German

The architect Daniel Brenner is in his late thirties when he receives his first challenging and lucrative commission: to design a cultural center for a satellite town in East-Berlin. He accepts the offer under the condition that he gets to choose who he works with. This way, he reunites with former colleagues and friends - most of them architects or students of architecture who have since chosen a different profession due to personal restraint or economic confinement. Together, they develop a concept which they hope will be more appealing to the public than the conventional and dull constructions common to the German Democratic Republic. However, their ambitious plans are once and again foiled by their conservative supervisors. As frustration grows, Daniel has trouble keeping his career in balance with his family-life: his wife Wanda wants to leave for West-Germany.

Never Mind the Wall

June 2001 •German

Germany 1982: The country is divided into two parts. Nele, coming from West-Germany, travels to East-Germany where she meets Captain, singer of a band. They fall in love with each other, but the regime "takes care" of their relationship, meaning: They can not see each other again. Germany 1990: The country is reunited. Nele starts searching their lost love...

Alone

September 2004 •English

In an isolated world, one man pursues the woman of his dreams. Alone reveals the story of Peter Shipke, a quiet man with a haunted past who earns his living evicting tenants from their New York apartments. It's a satisfying job until he meets the beautiful Anya. She literally dives into his life at the local pool and becomes the focus of his fantasies. But when reality comes knocking at his door, Peter is forced to choose between the woman he loves and the job he can't escape.

Little Berlin

October 2020 •English

When the Iron Curtain cuts his tiny German village in half, Peter the bull gets separated from his 36 cows. Based on a true story narrated by Christoph Waltz.

Berlin Babylon

September 2001 •German

A documentary focusing on the rebuilding projects in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Sternenklar

April 2022 •English

East-Berlin, 1980. Two sisters, one professional fleeing assistant and one soldier. And an escape that could go either way...

Tunnel to Freedom

July 2021 •German

13 August 1961: the GDR closes the sector borders in Berlin. The city is divided overnight. Escape to the West becomes more dangerous every day. But on September 14, 1962, exactly one year, one month and one day after the Wall was built, a group of 29 people from the GDR managed to escape spectacularly through a 135-meter tunnel to the West. For more than 4 months, students from West Berlin, including 2 Italians, dug this tunnel. When the tunnel builders ran out of money after only a few meters of digging, they came up with the idea of marketing the escape tunnel. They sell the film rights to the story exclusively to NBC, an American television station.

Video Kings

January 2007 •German

Flo und sein Kumpel Hotte arbeiten in der mies gehenden Neuköllner Videothek Video König. Kein Wunder, denn Hotte glänzt mit null Filmwissen, und Flo muss mit damit fertig werden, von seiner Freundin verlassen worden zu sein. Die beiden Unglücksvögel lassen sich vom Kiez-Gauner Bernhardt abzocken, von Schlägern die Fresse polieren und Inkasso-Unternehmen drangsalieren. Ein Glück, dass für Flo wenigstens wieder die Liebe in Form von Nachbarin Ramona lacht, auch wenn diese möglicherweise eine Prostituierte ist.