German Language Cinema

Lotte Reiniger: The Fairy Tale Films - Disc 1

Cert

Age groupAll ages

Duration192 mins

Lotte Reiniger: The Fairy Tale Films - Disc 1(1961)

Collection of Lotte Reiniger's stunning depictions of popular fairy tales using her unique silhouette animation style.

Lotte Reiniger is one of Germany’s most influential directors and is considered to have been the pioneer of silhouette animation in the 1920s. Known for her focus on fairytales and creating magical worlds with her cut-out animation, a style similar to stop-motion animation but with the use of flat materials.

Cert

Age group7–14

Duration94 mins

Max Minsky and Me (Max Minsky und Ich)(2007)

German language comedy about a bookish girl who enlists the help of the boy next door to make it onto her school basketball team.

Based on a coming-of-age novel, this enjoyable story follows a 13-year-old Jewish girl who spends all her time studying and dreaming of her crush, a young prince from Luxembourg who will be hosting her school's basketball tournament. In the classic style of teen comedy, the unexpected ensues in this sweet portrait of growing up in contemporary Germany.

Cert

Age group11+

Duration90 mins

Wakolda (The German Doctor)(2013)

A gripping drama set in Patagonia about a little girl who befriends a visiting German doctor with a dark secret.

Although this is a Spanish-language film, it explores the pervasive aftermath of the Nazi regime and its inhumane medical practices. Inspired by the life of a real-life Nazi doctor, this story is told through the eyes of a young girl as she befriends a German doctor in the hope that he will help her become taller, unaware of his real identity and menacing plans.

Cert

Age group11–16

Duration109 mins

Hannah Arendt(2012)

A biopic on an inspiring and influential woman who escaped Nazi Germany and spent her life trying to make sense of the atrocities of war.

Hannah Arendt was an influential philosopher and political theorist who was born to a Jewish family and was briefly arrested for researching antisemitism the year Adolf Hitler came to power. This biopic takes place in the 1960s, years after she fled Germany and focuses on her writings on the trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann, a key organiser of the Holocaust.

Cert

Age group14+

Duration76 mins

Run Lola Run(1998)

German thriller in which a young woman must come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks within 20 minutes to save her boyfriend.

Known for its fast-pace and creative style, this renowned thriller is a great introduction to action filmmaking and the boundless ways cinematography can be used. Filmed on the streets of Berlin, the film also captures a sense of the nineties and some of the themes preoccupying society at the time.

Cert

Age group14+

Duration121 mins

Goodbye Lenin!(2003)

Enjoyable German comedy about a family's elaborate schemes to keep the fall of the Berlin Wall from their ill mother.

Set in the last year of the Berlin Wall, which kept the city ideologically split, this family comedy is a good introduction to this part of modern history. When the young Alex is arrested for protesting against the state, his communist mother goes into a coma from shock and once she recovers Alex and his siblings must try everything they can to prevent it from happening again.

Cert

Age group16+

Duration112 mins

Centre of my World(2016)

German LGBT drama about a teenager, desperate to escape his family, who falls in love with a new boy in school.

This refreshing romantic story is a standout in its unfiltered depiction of a young gay relationship. The film is also a coming-of-age story where we watch its lead character Phil grow in his perception of what family, friendship and true love means.

CertUnclassified

Age group16+

Duration11 mins

Waiting Time(2016)

German language short about a young babysitter whose wait for her bus home is disrupted by a menacing man.

This impactful short film follows the perspective of a young woman as she tries to make it home safe late at night. The film is particularly valuable for sparking conversations on street harassment and the pressures faced by women when trying to stay safe in public.

Cert

Age group16+

Duration138 mins

Victoria(2015)

New-to-town Victoria finds herself in over her head when she agrees to help a man that she’s befriended on a night out.

Perhaps one of the best German films in recent years, this story is impressively told in one take, spanning multiple locations as the lead character follows a group of people she met on a night out. The film can be used to spark conversations not only about filmmaking, but about setting, characters and their intentions.