Thomas Mauch

Saroyanland (2013)

Saroyanland is a docu-drama focusing on the journey of famous writer William Saroyan to the birthplace of his Armenian family Bitlis, in Turkey in 1964. While retaking the same road, the film aims to understand Saroyan's unique attitude to belonging, witne ...

The Bella Vista (2012)

"The Bella Vista" is the story of a house started as a football club, becoming a successful transvestite brothel and changes at last to a Catholic Chapel, all in a small conservative village in Uruguay. In this playful documentary, two transvestites, one b ...

Hunger (2009)

In five different countries, the filmmakers explore the question of why so many development aid projects have been so unsuccessful to date and how the so-called Third World could free itself from the grip of the First World. By undertaking a long journey t ...

Ich will da sein - Jenny Gröllmann (2008)

The film accompanies Jenny Gröllmann, a German actress, during the last two years of her life. ...

Hitlerkantate (2005)

Berlin during the Nazi reign: Young music student Ursula is a talented musician and a fervent admirer of the "Führer". When she is asked to assist renowned composer Broch, who was ordered to compose a cantata for Hitler′s 50th birthday, it first seems l ...

The King's Daughters (2000)

Late 17th Century: Anne de Grandcamp and Lucie de Fontenelle, two little girls from Normandy, arrive at the Saint-Cyr school founded by Madame de Maintenon for educating the daughters of impoverished nobles ruined in wars and making them into free women. ...

Sweety Barrett (1999)

Sweety Barrett is a giant of a man with the mind of a child. An easy target in a corrupt world, Sweety becomes embroiled in a smuggling operation unleashing a spiral of dangerous and unexpected events. ...

Orson Welles: The One-Man Band (1995)

Orson Welles' archives of unfinished/never released movies and the last years of his life from the perspective of Oja Kodar (life and artistic partner of Orson Welles in his last years). ...

I.D. (1995)

Four policemen go undercover and infiltrate a gang of football hooligans hoping to route out their leaders. For one of the four, the line between 'job' and 'yob' becomes more unclear as time passes . . . ...

Bye Bye America (1994)

The mis-adventures of three Polish-Jews on the road to Gdansk is the basis for this German comedy that was filmed in New York, Germany, and Poland. Genovefa and Moshe have been married and living in New York for 30 years. Physically the couple resembles Mr ...

Invisible Days, or the Legend of the White Crocodile (1991)

In her essay film, Eva Hiller illustrates the nightly infrastructure of a large city, using Frankfurt am Main and Berlin as examples. Just as pet reptiles gone feral are reported to populate New York's sewers, so too is there bustling activity – often in ...

Murder East - Murder West (1990)

This Cold War dramatic thriller tells the passionate story of three people caught in a murderous web of deceit and revenge on both sides of the former Germany. Edgar Rutchinski, who has made a living smuggling refugees, finds his past catching up with him ...

Butterbrot (1990)

Zug (1990)

Poetic documentary about the deconstruction of a railroad track in South Germany. ...

Waller's Last Trip (1989)

For many years the old Waller worked as a railwayman. After Waller is informed that "his" track will be closed down and that he will be retired, he walks the route for one last time and starts to remember his life along the way: Beginning in his childhood ...

Maria von den Sternen (1989)

Katja Junge plays the title role in this West German romantic drama, directed by noted cinematographer Thomas Mauch. Maria is just as girl who can't say "Nein," thus she goes through several lovers before the plot proper gets underway. When Maria finally f ...

Deadline (1987)

An American journalist is set up and fed false information after the Lebanon war. ...

Aquaplaning (1987)

A somewhat impressionist, at times even slightly surreal miniature about a student (Werner Stocker in a splendid performance) who, out of financial difficulties, starts out as pool attendant at an open air swimming pool in Berlin's district of Neukölln. E ...

The Distant Land (1987)

Vienna at the turn of the century: The industrialist Friedrich Hofreiter is a vain, self-important man who is used to taking what he wants and who enjoys exercising power. His tender wife Genia increasingly recognizes his deceitfulness. The Russian pianist ...

Miscellaneous News (1986)

A drama that strings together vignettes of events taken from everyday newspaper headlines. Germans are shown in their reactions to World War II, minorities, and the elderly. A side plot follows a meeting between former West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt ...

The Assault of the Present on the Rest of Time (1985)

A poignant film essay about 'superfluous people' facing up to a moment of crisis in their lives. ...

Ain’t Nothin’ Without You (1985)

Martha lives in Hamburg with her young son and makes films with real passion. To stay close to the pulse of society, she has moved in with a Portuguese family. Teresa helps foreigners navigate bureaucracy, while Martha tries to build a romance with Alfred. ...

The Attack (1984)

In Hamburg, a slap out of the blue is received by the victim with appreciation. The man, who is hit by a woman, interprets it as an act of anarchy and finds meaning in it. Then they both go out into the street and declare slapping to be an art form. ...

Looking for a Practical and Realistic Behaviour (1983)

The Cold War is peaking again in divided Germany in the early 1980s. How to deal with the upcoming nuclear annihilation shows this Alexander Kluge short. ...

The Power of Emotion (1983)

Emotions and feelings should not be confused with sentimentality. Emotion is ancient and more powerful than any artistic expression. The film observes young couples facing difficulties while trying to move their love experiences towards clear decision maki ...

God's Angry Man (1983)

The documentary follows Gene Scott, famous televangelist involved with constant fights against FCC, who tried to shut down his TV show during the 1970s and '80s, and even argues with his viewers, complaining about their lack of support by not sending enoug ...

Huie's Sermon (1983)

Reverend Huie Rogers is a preacher at the Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Brooklyn. He is the topic of this short film, during which launches into an epic call-and-response denunciation of human hubris, greed, corruption and failure. The use o ...

Kiez (1983)

Set in Hamburg's "Hell's Kitchen," a waterfront milieu of gangsters, pimps, dealers and prostitutes, the story follows the attempts of an ex-seaman first to insinuate himself into the scene, and then to extricate himself from it. He becomes a small-time pi ...

War and Peace (1982)

The third episodic film, after Deutschland im Herbst and Der Kandidat, in which notable German filmmakers reflect on the state of their country. A collage of documentary and dramatised sequences dealing with such topics as overkill, peace demonstrations, N ...

Desperado City (1982)

Skoda is the son of a wealthy, overbearing banker and rather than put up with his father to keep a privileged lifestyle, he has chosen to ditch the relationship and drive a taxi for a living. The film follows Skoda on his nightly rides through the city, an ...

Fitzcarraldo (1982)

Fitzcarraldo is a dreamer who plans to build an opera house in Iquitos, in the Peruvian Amazon, so, in order to finance his project, he embarks on an epic adventure to collect rubber, a very profitable product, in a remote and unexplored region of the rain ...

No Mercy, No Future (1981)

Doctors say that Veronika, a woman in her 20s, is schizophrenic. She is compliant, which makes her an easy target for men. She's religious, believing she is God's favorite child; she searches for Jesus. She has sent a letter to a filmmaker suggesting her l ...

The Candidate (1980)

Made with an eye to the autumn of 1980 when the German parliamentary elections took place, The Candidate examines Germany's history past and present and Franz Josef Strauß, the man who, as the CDU/CSU candidate, aspires to be elected to the most important ...

Palermo or Wolfsburg (1980)

An impoverished young man from Sicily travels to Wolfsburg, West Germany to find work. He takes a job in the Volkswagen factory after he travels through Northern Italy by train. ...

The Patriotic Woman (1979)

Gabi Teichert, a history teacher, is unhappy with the way history is portrayed in textbooks and is looking for an alternative, more practical approach to 'uncovering' the past, quite literally digging with the spade and dissecting books with hammers and dr ...

The Kingdom of Naples (1978)

Thirty years of Neapolitan history (from 1942 to 1972) through the ups and downs of the Cavioli and Pagano families. ...

Heinrich (1977)

The life and struggles of the German writer Heinrich von Kleist. ...

Stroszek (1977)

Bruno Stroszek is released from prison and warned to stop drinking. He has few skills and fewer expectations: with a glockenspiel and an accordion, he ekes out a living as a street musician. He befriends Eva, a prostitute down on her luck and they join his ...

Erika's Passions (1976)

Erika and Franziska haven't seen each other for 4 years. 10 years earlier they both felt that they had the same chances in life: both were young, attractive and imaginative. They overlooked what would, right from the outset, separate them: their very diffe ...

How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck (1976)

A documentary short examining the language and performance of auctioneering, filmed at the World Livestock Auctioneer Championship in Pennsylvania. ...

Strongman Ferdinand (1976)

The clownish security chief of a West German business is obsessed with protecting his factory from fancied and real breaches, especially from groups such as The Red Army Faction. Ferdinand's paranoia and methods can't be contained by his company. The sympa ...

Shirin's Wedding (1976)

In order to be reunited with Mahmood (Ören), a man she was promised to as a young girl, 20-year-old Shirin (Erten) leaves the life she had in a small village in Turkey in search of him. ...

Metamorphosis (1975)

Travelling salesman Gregor Samsa wakes to find that he's been transformed into a giant insect. This particular Franz Kafka adaptation is seen from Gregor's point of view, continuing to explore themes of alienation, family duty, and the absurdity of modern ...

Under the Pavement Lies the Strand (1975)

West Berlin, 1974. The revolution didn't happen like it was supposed. Grischa, a 30-year-old actress dissatisfied with standard left-wing politics, interviews working women to find out how they deal with being both mothers and members of society. ...

Part-Time Work of a Domestic Slave (1973)

Roswitha runs an illegal abortion clinic in Frankfurt to support her student husband and children. When she is forced to close her practice she delves into political and social activism. ...

Besitzbürgerin, Jahrgang 1908 (1973)

Alice Schneider redecorates her house. ...

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

A few decades after the destruction of the Inca Empire, a Spanish expedition led by the infamous Aguirre leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon River in search of the lost city of El Dorado. When great difficulties arise, Aguirre's men start ...

The Big Mess (1971)

Outer space in 2034 is run by greedy corporations in a rundown bureaucracy. Two astronauts, who are not very smart, make their way with shady dealings, smuggling and spaceship wrecking. ...

Even Dwarfs Started Small (1971)

A group of tormented patients stage a coup at an oppressive, dismal asylum after they're not allowed out on an excursion. ...

The Flying Doctors of East Africa (1970)

The Flying Doctors of East Africa (German: Die Fliegenden Ärzte von Ostafrika) is a 1969 documentary film by Werner Herzog about the "flying doctors" service of the African Medical and Research Foundation in Tanzania, Kenya, and Nairobi. ...

The Indomitable Leni Peickert (1970)

The Indomitable Leni Peickert is a loose, half-hour sequel to Alexander Kluge's second feature film, Artists in the Big Top: Perplexed. This shorter work, seemingly assembled from leftover footage from the longer film, continues the story of the circus own ...

The Cat Has Nine Lives (1968)

In the summer of 1967, journalist Katharina is visited in Munich by her French friend Anne. They take day trips and visit cafés, acquaintances, and parties. In a series of conversations between them and other women, they talk about the chances for female ...

Artists Under the Big Top: Perplexed (1968)

A young circus director ends up going into television after her father, a trapeze performer, dies in a circus accident. ...

Signs of Life (1968)

During World War II, three German soldiers are withdrawn from combat when one of them, Stroszek, is wounded. They are assigned to a small coastal community on the Greek island of Kos while Stroszek recuperates. The men become increasingly stir crazy in the ...

Last Words (1968)

Early short by Werner Herzog shot while being on location in Greece shooting "Lebenszeichen". ...

E. A. Winterstein, Fire Extinguisher (1968)

Kluge's short-film starring his sister/muse Alexandra. ...

Yesterday Girl (1967)

A young German woman searches for happiness, liberation, and independence in the illusive wake of a transformative national recovery. ...

Frau Blackburn, geb. 5. Jan. 1872, wird gefilmt (1967)

Mrs. Blackburn, born in 1872, i.e. before the history of cinema began, is Alexander Kluge's grandmother. Portrait of this lady. ...

Au Hasard Bresson (1967)

In 1966, German film critic Theodor Kotulla — who would go on to become one of the New German Cinema's most uncompromising filmmakers — visited the set of Robert Bresson's "Mouchette" (1967) and created this half-hour documentary about the director. It ...

Lust for Love (1967)

Elizabeth is a young woman who seeks happiness excessively burning out all those around her. ...

Die Kinder (1967)

Short by Edgar Reitz. ...

Die Wahl - Bundestagswahl 1965, Wahlkreis Neu-Ulm (1966)

Election campaign for the parliamentary elections for the Bundestag in 1965 in the town of Neu-Ulm, Germany. ...

Speed (1963)

A short montage about rhythm, movement, and speed. ...

Cotton (1960)

Early documentary by Edgar Reitz. ...

Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer (2022)

With exclusive behind-the-scenes access into Herzog's everyday life, rare archive material and in-depth interviews with celebrated collaborators – including Christian Bale, Nicole Kidman, and Robert Pattinson, we are given an exciting glimpse into the wo ...

A Hero's Death (2001)

It was the biggest escape in the history of the Berlin Wall: in one historic night of October 1964, 57 East-Berliners try their luck through a tunnel into West Berlin. Just before the last few reach the other side, the East German border guards notice the ...

My Best Fiend (1999)

A film that describes the love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another. ...

Location Africa (1987)

Making-of documentary that covers "Cobra Verde," Herzog's last film with Kinski before Kinski's death. This is the documentary that registers the behind the scenes moments of "Cobra Verde", the last project that united director Werner Herzog to actor Klau ...

Portrait: Werner Herzog (1986)

An autobiographical short film by Werner Herzog made in 1986. Herzog tells stories about his life and career. The film contains excerpts and commentary on several Herzog films, including Signs of Life, Heart of Glass, Fata Morgana, Aguirre, the Wrath of G ...

Burden of Dreams (1982)

The Amazon rain forest, 1979. The crew of Fitzcarraldo (1982), a film directed by German director Werner Herzog, soon finds itself with problems related to casting, tribal struggles and accidents, among many other setbacks; but nothing compared to dragging ...

I Am My Films: A Portrait of Werner Herzog (1979)

Interview film with German director Werner Herzog revisiting the films he made up to ca. 1977. ...