Berlin Calling 2008
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.
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.
Jost roams through the streets of Berlin. He opposes the world enraged, aggressively and furiously in a self-destructive way. He continuously provokes situations proving to himself that everybody hates him. He is convinced he does not need anybody and does not let anyone get close to him. Anna is walled in by her fear and unable to leave her apartment. She manages to keep this situation from all the others in a system of lies. Her reserves draw to a close. She heads for a catastrophe. One day, Jost shows up at her door.
Eva Jensen is a female carpenter form Hamburg who wants to make a new start on the Baltic Sea coast in eastern Germany. She tries to buy a workshop with a view of the sea offered for sale by Heide, who rents out beach chairs. Unfortunately, Heide’s ex-husband vetoes the sale. In trying to understand his reasons, Eva comes across a painful family secret from the days of the GDR. And in other respects too, the newcomer from the West faces prejudice in the village, although her skills are urgently needed. Fish-seller Christian is also interested in the workshop, which Eva just sees as fair competition. Then they discover a common passion, kite-surfing, and unexpectedly grow closer.
Smilla Witte (Maria Ehrich) always dreamed of working as a cook in her parents' excursion restaurant "Schneewittchen am See". But after the sudden death of her mother, Smilla literally fled from home ten years ago. After a long time Smilla wants to spend time in her old home again. But she can't last long at home without getting into an argument with her father Heinrich (Jürgen Tarrach). Of course, as so often, this revolves around Heinrich's new wife Regina (Andrea Sawatzki). Without further ado, Smilla stays with her friend Hedi (Hanna Plaß) earlier than planned. She lives together with her brother Victor (Jochen Schropp), his husband Lorenz (Lucas Reiber) as well as two mini pigs and two chickens on the "dwarf farm".
A family, middle-class and entrepreneurial, in times of globalization.
When Isabelle loses her necklace while walking down the street, the attractive Jimi helps her to fish the pendant out of a gully. Jimi falls in love with Isabelle at first sight and wants something from her in return for his help. For four weeks, he doesn't want to leave the pretty daughter of Simeon Herzog's side. But Isabelle doesn't even think about it and simply leaves Jimi. Even the next day, Jimi cannot forget the fateful encounter and visits Isabelle at the castle hotel. Isabelle only gives in to Jimi's pleas at her father's insistence. Together they organize a fundraising gala and realize that they couldn't be more different.
Marie is in Spain with her friends Frank and Steini looking for her missing dream man Jan. Frank discovers him on a lonely beach, but does not reveal the secret, and the three of them return to Germany. Five years later, when Frank is now married to Marie, he discovers an unsent letter to Jan at her place and forwards it. Jan returns home and initially lives with his parents, but when he finally meets Marie, she has to make a decision.
The sisters Rosalie and Bianca stick together, come what may. In fact, they have no other choice - their mother has died and left them with a pile of debts. Taking part in a design competition is supposed to help. The organizer is the famous fashion czar Paul Petit. Just like the two budding fashion designers Rosalie and Bianca, the designer Rosenschmelz and Leon Bär also throw themselves into the contest.
Mia Goldig loves her job at the botanical garden. But her mother, the outgoing director of the garden, prefers her sister as her successor. Can Mrs. Holle make the right decision? Above all, the new director must find financially strong sponsors, as the garden is in financial difficulties. A task that the reserved head gardener Mia doesn't trust herself with. She loves the plants, but not the big show. Her mother Helene also doesn't think Mia, who stutters when she has to speak in front of several people, is the right choice for this prestigious position. In contrast, the determined Marissa seems perfect for the job. Helene doesn't realize that Marissa doesn't care about the garden at all and is playing a scheming game, but Mrs. Holle, the good soul of the garden who runs a store there, doesn't miss a thing.
Katja Sterner has to start again. Full of confidence, she follows the beckoning of her rediscovered lucky talisman to the beautiful village of Herzfeldt. Will she find happiness there? There is an old pavilion in Herzfeldt where Katja's parents once got engaged. The pavilion is said to have magical powers in matters of love, but now it is to be demolished. Katja quickly decides to offer to restore the pavilion. But she urgently needs to find a job. A few years ago, she quit her job as a restorer to care for her parents. After their death, Katja now needs a new job, but there is simply nothing available in her home town. But Katja takes a positive view of things, and so her lucky charm leads her to Herzfeldt with her few possessions.
Director Eva Stotz visits people she has found in online host networks such as Couchsurfing.org and immerses herself in their lives for a limited period of time: her inspiring hosts are a music-loving Tuareg in Mali, a wildlife lover in Tokyo, an ecologist in the Palestinian West Bank, a dance enthusiast in Turkey and a visionary in the USA. The film discovers an exciting new way of traveling and tells of the longing for genuine encounters and an alternative to fear, isolation and mistrust in the modern world.
In the middle of Berlin, in the old Scheunenviertel district, lies Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz - a rough place dominated by the monumental Volksbühne building. Eastern Jewish immigrants lived here before the war. It was a dreary area, but one with character. For it was here that the ideas of the 20th century were wrestled and fought over. It was about politics and world views, but also about art, cinema and theater.