In production

It took 60 years after the end of WWII, that the Edelweiss Pirates were officially rehabilitated and the remaining former members were honored.

For decades they were branded a criminal anarchist gang and eventually largely forgotten. New research now paints a more nuanced picture of the Edelweiss Pirates, a group of youth, aged 16 – 18, from the Cologne working-class neighborhood Ehrenfeld, who became increasingly radicalized towards the end of the war and did not shy away from political violence.

Almost 300 years ago, at the beginning of the 18th century, European scientists, commissioned by the newly founded Petersburg Academy of Sciences, started on a long and adventurous journey into the Russian Far East – Siberia, a large, unknown, cold land full of secrets. The results of this Great Northern Expedition continue to be of great importance today. The result will be a two part documentary series.

The term “bastard” is used as a derogatory term worldwide – but not amongst the people of Basterland, a region in central Namibia in which the successors of white colonialists and black Nama women live. Their names are Heinrich, Wilhelm, Elfriede, Megan or Lee-Ray. Their facial features and skin tones are different from other Namibians. 35000 people in Central Namibia proudly call themselves “Baster” , because the name reminds them of their origins and their heritage. Their land, called “Basterland” is not frequented by tourists. Not only their facial features and their skin colour are different, but also their traditional clothes are reminders of past times. The Baster have lived and cultivated their traditions for 300 years. But how long will it last?

For centuries, white artists have predominantly painted powerful white people. Michelle and Barack Obama set a new precedent, when they commissioned two African-American painters to paint their official presidential portraits. Using this break with tradition as a starting point, the film shows the diverse aspects of the international debate surrounding the representation of marginalized groups in art. It does so by looking at paintings by predominantly African-American artists, who are increasingly claiming their place in art history with their outstanding works of art.

What secrets are hidden in the jungles of Honduras? Archeologists want to prove the existence of an ancient civilization over 1000 years old. The lost city is located in an area where only very few people are living today. Starting from their base camp in the east of the country, a German-Swiss expedition led by the German Archeological Institute, the university of Zurich and the museum Rietberg (Zurich) will explore uncharted territory with the help of modern technology. They will turn the area upside down scientifically in order to reveal its archeological secrets. They already know that they will be entering an area that was densely populated in the past.