Stolz & Eigensinn

The viewpoints of women from a country that no longer exists preserved on low-band U-matic tape. GDR-FRG. Courageous, self-confident and emancipated: female industry workers talk about gaining autonomy.

Amazing Grace

The film is an evocative story of the tenuous relationship between a charcoal burner and forests. The film follows Lloyd on his journey from burning charcoal to setting up a micro-nursery selling trees to his neighbouring community – a brief window into his deep rooted connection to forests around Livingstone.

The Price of Aid

Every day the U.S. donates millions of tons of food to famine victims and other starving people in the world's poorest countries. This provocative documentary, through an in-depth case study of a recent famine crisis in Zambia, shows how these aid programs may address an immediate crisis but at the same time can create long-term problems for the recipient nation.

Cold Case Hammarskjöld

Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (currently Zambia), September 18, 1961. Swedish economist and diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary General of the UN, dies mysteriously in a plane crash. Decades later, Danish journalist and filmmaker Mads Brügger and Swedish researcher Göran Björkdahl investigate the case in search of definitive closure.

JUNI 53

Robotron - High Tech made in GDR

In a world divided by the Iron Curtain, East Germany sought to carve its niche in the technological race. Enter "Robotron" - a name that seamlessly blended "robot" and "electronics." This wasn't just a brand; it was an ambitious answer to the West's technological advancements, a testament to the GDR’s drive to match, if not surpass, Western innovation. Drawing inspiration from the corporate giants of the West, the GDR‘s government merged various businesses to form this tech behemoth. With 16 major hubs in Central Germany alone, it was clear: "Robotron" was to be the DDR's technological crown jewel. But what was the Socialist Unity Party (SED), the GDR's ruling party, envisioning with this grand venture? How did "Robotron" navigate the challenges of operating within a socialist planned economy, while striving for global excellence? And as it grew to dominate East Germany's tech landscape, why did it always seem to be one step behind the leading global tech powers?

Stealing Africa

Zambia's copper resources have not made the country rich. Virtually all Zambia's copper mines are owned by corporations. In the last ten years, they've extracted copper worth $29 billion but Zambia is still ranked one of the twenty poorest countries in the world. So why hasn't copper wealth reduced poverty in Zambia? Once again it comes down to the issue of tax, or in Zambia's case, tax avoidance and the use of tax havens. Tax avoidance by corporations costs poor countries and estimated $160 billion a year, almost double what they receive in international aid. That's enough to save the lives of 350,000 children aged five or under every year. For every $1 given in aid to a poor country, $10 drains out. Vital money that could help a poor country pay for healthcare, schools, pensions and infrastructure. Money that would make them less reliant on aid.

Beatrice Phiri

Beatrice is an 18-year-old young reporter with the Children’s Radio Foundation (CRF) in Lusaka, Zambia. She is part of the Unite4Climate Radio Initiative, a project which uses the power of radio to challenge mindsets and shift behaviours around environmental protection.

Eighteam

The resurrection of Zambia's national football team after losing 18 players in a plane crash in Gabon in 1993. A 18-year road of reconstruction until destiny makes its move: in Gabon, Zambia becomes African Champion after a long 18 penalty-shoot-out.

Sieg im Osten

The army of the GDR, called NVA had not survived the reunification of Germany, it was completely absorbed by the Bundeswehr and scrapped subsequently. But what apparently went on so smoothly as a peaceful unification of hostile brothers quietly left deep scars in the East German landscape.

A Little Fish in Deep Water

Lake Tanganyika is an 'Ocean' in Africa. Millions of years ago it was colonized by a little fish called 'Cichlid'. Otters, crocodiles, cobras and cormorants all hunt the fish in clear water. How the Cichlid survived and evolved is an incredible story for, millions of years later, there are over 200 new species - all found only in Lake Tanganyika. Incredibly, they have evolved to look like coral reef fish. There are cichlid equivalents of tuna, snapper, gobies and goatfish. They have evolved bizarre methods of breeding with mouth-incubation, lekking and, unique amongst fish, there is even a cuckoo. Despite all their specialization over millions of years, if an opportunity presents itself, the little fish can behave like their unspecialized ancestor. In the climax of the film, they bang together to feast on a hatch of sardine fry. This is the story of how one little fish has conquered a lake.

Luangwa's Baboon Kingdom

A look at the baboon kingdom of Luangwa.

Hotel Astoria

At Hotel Astoria, the former hotspot of Leipzig, guests were served champagne and turtle soup while the Stasi listened in. Animated memories from times gone by.

Olimba, Königin der Leoparden

Follow the story of a leopard mother as she raises her cubs near the Luangwa River, facing a constant battle to hunt successfully, defend her territory and protect her cubs against enemies.

Berlin – Bauplatz der Jugend

Documents the work of youth work action on construction sites in East Berlin.

Interkosmos

Short film about astronauts in the GDR

Doin' My Drugs

The story of musician Thomas Muchimba Buttenschøn - born HIV+ in 1985 - and his crusade to use his music to wipe out AIDS in his native Zambia and beyond.

Ost/​West – Relikte einer Grenze

Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Documents the remodeling of the Ostbahnhof in Berlin Friedrichshain into the central station of the GDR.

Achtung Staatsgrenze

Short film about the GDR state border