We are the Gábor

When walking through the cities of Transylvania one meets strangely clad creatures. The men wear a black suit, a large black brimmed hat and an impressive moustache. The older men have side-whiskers. The women wear colorful long pleated skirts and headscarves with flower patterns. They call themselves “silk gypsies”. They are very proud people and many of them are quite well off. Their lives are regulated by strict rules. They are endogamous, meaning they exclusively marry within the group. The Gábor live very isolated lives and don’t allow outsiders inside their community. For the first time, the film provides an insight into their world.

Art and the City – Moscow

Between Tradition and new beginnings in the 21st Century

Modern Moscow is very different compared to its old reputation. Between past and future, tradition and modernity, a city with many different faces unfolds. Many things have changed in the last two to three years – the art scene in Moscow is booming. The metropolis is changing at breathtaking speed. Many artists are returning home from abroad and new, young artists are finding unexpected platforms for their creativity. They are shaping the Russian capital architecturally, artistically and thereby also the city and its culture. The film shows a surprising image of a lively city in the 21st century shaped by art, while also reflecting on Moscow’s rich cultural heritage.

Arshan wanna sing

Arshan is 10 years old and lives in a small, sleepy hippie village not far from Los Angeles. He wants to become a singer, a real opera singer. For three years now, Arshan has been taking part in the Youth Opera Camp, a camp founded by the New York opera singer Rebecca Comerford. She immediately noticed that Arshan is special. Not only does he have almost perfect pitch, he also has a very distinctive and unique voice. But Arshan has so much to do, he barely has any time to practice. Chopping firewood, milking the goats, feeding the cows, watering the large fruit garden and taking care of his small sisters together with his two brothers…This year Arshan would love to get the main part in the upcoming opera production of the Ojai Youth Opera. It would be amazing, if Arshan were to find himself in the spotlight singing for the entire village. And should the piece be successful, Rebecca plans a tour through California, maybe even through the entire USA.This would be a dream come true for Arshan!

August the strong

Art and splendor in the age of absolutism

During the reign of August the Strong, Saxony experienced a cultural peak. Pompous self-dramatization was his most important instrument to enforce and preserve his claim to power, thereby following in the footsteps of his idol Ludwig the XIV and just like him, he became the example of an absolutist ruler. But this came at a price. The ambitious plans and projects of the Saxon monarch overburden the country. After the baroque fireworks of the Augustinian era, the economically exhausted and militarily beaten Saxony disappears from the European political landscape in the mid 18th century.

Keith Haring’s Legacy: Art for Everyone

Everyone knows pop artist Keith Haring’s colorful, striking symbols, icons and simple stickmen figures. His distinctive graphics appear all over the world, on t-shirts, watches, posters, prints on paper bags, buttons and countless other items.

Though seemingly overused, the mass distribution of his motives are actually exactly what Haring intended. He wanted to make art for everyone. That was his primary goal. Everyone should be able to partake. Even those who have never been to a museum or a gallery. The artist and activist was inspired by street art and pop art. Keith Haring’s graphics appear to be happy and innocent at first glance, but often contain serious messages. The film will trace his life and his legacy.

Battling the pounds

One diet after the other – losing weight, yo-yo effect, gaining weight and then some more. People suffering from obesity can’t escape this vicious cycle. Successes are followed by failures and vice versa. The stigma attached to obesity is an added issue individuals suffer from, often even within one’s family or circle of friends, as many people assume that being overweight is the person’s own fault. The result: The person concerned despairs, feels rejected and withdraws. The film follows a young woman, over a longer time period, who undergoes a gastric bypass surgery and a family that is trying to battle the pounds the regular way.

Nestinari in Bulgaria

Dancing on fire

Every year on the 21st of May, the day of St. Constantine and St. Helen, the inhabitants of two remote mountain villages in the picturesque Strandzha Mountains gather at sunset to dance on hot coals while screaming ecstatically. Dancing on fire is supposed to bring good health and fertility. The ritual is part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The documentary film accompanies two women, the oldest Nestinari of the village, her every day life and her preparations for the dance and a young woman, who hasn’t been living in the village for a long time and now lives in a modern town. She will return to the village to dance through the fire for the very first time.

The Twenties – Stages of new femininity

a two part series

The Twenties were the women’s decade. For the first time in history, women across the board stepped out of the shadows of men. They confidently demanded their right to societal participation.

The metropolis became the stage for new femininity. Artists of all genres celebrated their newly won freedom in its theaters, nightclubs, ateliers and film studios and became role models for millions of women.

Two films will shine a light on the life of women and artists in the hotspots of this “first feminist revolution”: New York, Paris, Berlin and Moscow.

The economically prosperous New York, the new global center of fashion, music and entertainment; Paris, the place of eternal desire and the wildly beating, cultural heart of the old world; Berlin, the new European party metropolis, ecstatically celebrating its newly attained freedom and finally Moscow, the center of the communist movement, a city faltering between euphoria and apathy, a large and highly dangerous test laboratory for the most daring social and artistic experiments.

In production