Synopsis

A heist always comes with a certain amount of tension. But what if the spoils of the crime had to be spent quickly as well? A variation on that absurd scenario actually played out in the summer of 1990, when the East German government gave its citizens six days to exchange their old currency for new Deutschmarks as part of the reunification effort. That poses a particular challenge for an unlikely group of thieves, who are sitting on a fortune in soon-to-be-obsolete Ostmarks lifted from a government vault.

Anatomy of a Fall‘s Sandra Hüller leads an all-star cast in Natja Brunckhorst’s breezy crime comedy, with Max Riemelt (Sense 8), Ronald Zehrfeld (Phoenix), and Peter Kurth (A Heavy Heart) rounding out the core ensemble. The film is colored with a sense of nostalgia for the old GDR, which plays out in cheerfully madcap fashion as these socialist citizens suddenly find themselves in very capitalist circumstances.

Synopsis

A bombing in Munich has reverberations throughout the city, setting into motion a chain of events with far-reaching political and personal consequences. Conservative politician Mathlide (Barbara Sukowa, Lola, Rosa Luxembourg, Hannah Arendt) has been a staunch advocate for strict EU border controls to limit migrant populations. When she’s asked to hide Malik (Habib Adda), a young Moroccan who has entered the EU illegally, by close friend and artist Richard (Lambert Wilson, Of Gods and Men, The Matrix series) her ideological and private loyalties collide. When Malik is unjustly identified as a suspect in the bombing, Mathlide’s aide Amina (Banafshe Hourmazdi) begins to question her own allegiances.

Synopsis

Winfried doesn’t see much of his working daughter Ines. The suddenly student-less music teacher decides to surprise her with a visit after the death of his old dog. It’s an awkward move, because serious career woman Ines is working on an important project as a corporate strategist in Bucharest. The geographical change doesn’t help the two to see more eye to eye. Practical joker Winfried loves to annoy his daughter with corny pranks. What’s worse are his little jabs at her routine lifestyle of long meetings, hotel bars and performance reports. Father and daughter reach an impasse, and Winfried agrees to return home to Germany. Enter flashy “Toni Erdmann” – Winfried’s smooth-talking alter ego. Disguised in a tacky suit, weird wig and even weirder fake teeth, Toni barges into Ines’ professional life, claiming to be her CEO’s life coach. As Toni, Winfried is bolder and doesn’t hold back, but Ines meets the challenge. The harder they push, the closer they become. In all the madness, Ines begins to understand that her eccentric father might deserve some place in her life after all.

Synopsis

Karen and Markus live with their children in the idyllic countryside home of Karen’s youth. Markus’s birthday is approaching, offering the perfect occasion for a family get-together. As guests begin to arrive — everyone from their reclusive neighbor to their collegiate daughter to Karen’s impetuous sister — so do simmering resentments, snide gossip, and verbal slights. Still grieving the death of her overbearing mother, Karen’s mounting stress hurtles the family toward a fiery confrontation.

Masterfully crafted and expertly observed, The Sparrow in the Chimney explores the explosive, aggressive potential of everyday human interaction. The cramped country house becomes a character in itself, its ghosts seeming to haunt its inhabitants as they flit in and out of ingeniously cluttered frames, begging the question: Are we ever able to truly leave the past behind us?

Synopsis

Transplanted from his African homeland to drug lord Pablo Escobar’s infamous Colombian compound, Pepe the hippo reflects on his tumultuous life in this bold, inventive cinematic essay. When Escobar abandons his plan for a private zoo, Pepe escapes to a nearby river, where his hulking presence unsettles the nearby fishing communities. The first and last hippopotamus ever killed in the Americas, he is feared and hunted. Through Pepe’s story, director Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias crafts a rich, layered narrative about displacement, dislocation, and the ecological consequences of human hubris. Pepe himself narrates a cacophony of events, from riverside beauty pageants to sentimental cartoons to historical inquiries. And his guttural, ghostly laugh is a constant presence in the film’s soundscape. Unpredictable and playful, Pepe is an unforgettable, immersive cinematic experience.