Cinequest

Die Weihnachtsklempner

Five Cartridges

It is the year 1936 and the Spanish Civil War is raging. When the German commander of an international brigade is badly wounded he gives his five comrades a message which he divides up and secretes into in five cartridges. All five shells must reach the battalion in order for the message to be relayed. But Frenchman Pierre can’t bear the heat of the Sierra. When he leaves their hide-out to drink from a well he is hit by an enemy bullet.

Der Direktor

The school authorities want to read success stories in director Joachim Faber's reports. But they cannot simply be produced on an assembly line. Pupils, for example, use the wrong tone. The matter draws circles until the superiors finally talk about refusal to work. Director Faber is caught between the efforts to resolve the conflict with pedagogical means and the pressure from above.

The Story of a Murder

In the mid-1950s, mayor Zwischenzahl is killed on the day of his inauguration in a West German town. The killer is Ruth Bodenheim, a Jewish woman, who wanted to avenge the death of her parents. Zwischenzahl, a former SA member, was apparently involved in the deportation of her parents to a concentration camp during the war. Ruth cannot bear the horrible events and the death of her parents and wants to open the eyes of the town′s residents.

...And Your Love Too

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

Geschichten jener Nacht

Four directors - four styles - four episodes, all relating the events of a single night which has entered the history books: August 12-13, 1961. There are thousands of complex narratives connected with the frontier drawn through the middle of Berlin, and each episode relates the story of a difficult decision made on that night...

A Berlin Romance

Mid-1950s Berlin, before the building of the Wall. Uschi, a salesgirl and aspiring fashion model from the East, is attracted to Hans, from the West. But she also loves the bright shop windows in his part of the city. The flashiness of this new world soon evaporates, however, when Hans loses his job.

Star-Crossed Lovers

Magdalena and Michael have loved each other since they were children. But when the Nazis come to power, Michael rebels against the regime and is sentenced to fifteen years in a concentration camp. Magdalena, meanwhile, goes underground with the help of a friend and later immigrates to the Soviet Union. Michael, who has joined the Red Army, discovers on the way to Moscow that Magdalena is staying there. But when his plane lands, she is already on her way back to Germany. Michael hopes that one day, he and Magdalena will be reunited.

The Sailor’s Song

A film about the historical uprising of the seamen in Kiel: During the Russian October Revolution of 1917, German and Russian soldiers start to solidarize with each other. By disarming the officers, machinist Henne Lonke and stoker Jens Kasten prevent the attack on a Russian freighter. When German admiralty gives out orders for operation "Nibelungen", which would lead the German fleet into a suicidal attack against England and quell the revolutionary spirit, seamen and soldiers from different political backgrounds unite in protest.

The Dream of Captain Loy

An American military plane takes six people, who have taken part in a NATO maneuver, from Tripoli to Oslo. Among them are the British Captain Loy and the United States Air Force Corporal Doris Graves. During the flight, the two become closer, and they regret that the trip will end that evening. But everything turns out differently. The flight captain has received orders to pick up an agent at a German NATO airport, who is to be dropped off again on a Soviet island …

Cattaro Mutiny

In February of 1918, in Boka Kotorska, the greatest uprising of Austrian sailors broke out. Forty warships, with 6.000 sailors, rebelled against the Austrian Monarchy. The uprising was bloodily crushed after two days, and it's leaders shot.

Jetzt und in der Stunde meines Todes

Ella Conradi, a dedicated journalist from Germany, is in Jerusalem to report about the trial against the Nazi criminal Eichmann. Disgusted by the monstrosities that are revealed, she eventually returns to Germany. There, she wants to cover common cases and trials again. Her first assignment is a murder trial against a man called Ralf Jordan who constantly maintains his innocence. Conradi, who believes Jordan and wants to help him, starts to investigate the case - and thus opens up a political can of worms. The backgrounds of the case reach b...

Movies by Ulrich Thein