Raphaela Film

Ekchart Schmidt examines the machinery behind the dream factory; the Hollywood myth is unmasked. How does the studio industry work? What role does marketing and the hype surrounding the stars play?

A documentary about director Budd Boetticher.

Film noir, which enjoyed particular success in the 1930s and 1940s, is probably the most profound genre of classic Hollywood cinema. Eckhart Schmidt tries to show the background and developments and speaks, among others, with directors such as Richard Fleischer and Robert Wise as well as with "femme fatale" actresses. Filmmakers of the following generations explain how the style and themes of noir continue to shape cinema today.

Documentary about the director Budd Boetticher.

Documentary about Hollywood.

A parade of well-known actors and directors from Germany

Budd Boetticher talks about the Ranown Cycle, a collection of low-budget westerns of the late 1950s.

Documentary about the 2004 movie 'Der Untergang' aka. 'Downfall'

Documentary about Italian cinema.

Daniel and Clara are on a vacation in Italy. In the form of the mysterious "Sandman" Coppola, a figure from Daniel's childhood, returns to haunt him, while he succumbs to an obsessive love with an enigmatic woman of strange beauty: Olympia, who might be far more than she first appears to be...

Starting out as e-mail pen pals, Daniel and Laura soon fall in love. Only problem is that she lives in Germany and he lives in Los Angeles. When they finally arrange to meet in person, they discover that there is no chemistry between them.

Documentary about Hollywood.

A selfie-film.

TV review of a litany of Hollywood impropriety.

Documentary about the new generation of Hollywood stars in the early 2000s.

Harold Nebenzal talks about his career.

Documentary about the history of German television.

Documentary about the American actress Jane Russell.

Schmidt follows the 27 miles of the “street of life” to Pacific Palisades, where the boulevard ends at the ocean. While interviews with celebrities from show and film document the well-known glamorous side of Sunset Boulevard, Schmidt also witnesses the transformation in the wake of a gigantic investment boom

Aspiring actors and actresses talk about making it in Hollywood and how they perceive this world. Casting directors and filmmakers also share their perspectives.