RECK Filmproduktion Zürich

Documentary about human hair, including its political significance.

Subotika, a little-known island on the other side of the globe. An enchanting country with extraordinary sights, grand visions and a couple of minor problems.

In order to rescue his father's ramshackle grill restaurant, filmmaker and vegetarian Dario Aguirre is traveling back to his homeland Ecuador. What starts out as a strange debate about opening times, chips and Excel spread sheets, develops into a moving family drama.

Doctor Stephan von Arx, MD, is retiring. As a family doctor, he has cared for his patients from the working class over generations. He was a factory doctor in the middle of the industrial district of Zuchwil. What will happen without him?

Railway stations are like islands, suspended between space and time. In the heat of Cairo, keeping calm helps, in Zurich, air conditioning or dancing. In both places, people are passionately living out their lives at the train station, their little cosmos. Episode by episode, the film consolidates into the collective rhythm of everyday life, uncovering stories from two countries whose shared poetry develops into universal human energy.

Hundreds of thousands of Indian men and women – indigenous inhabitants and landless farmers – demand their right to existence by making a 400 kilometre protest march from Gwalior to Delhi. How can one fight for one’s rights without using violence? With such an important contemporary question, the film spreads far beyond the borders of India. It shows the multiple facets of this imposing protest march and focuses as well on the daily realities of these proud people.

Animal tamers from various continents shine in the spotlight and struggle for their existence behind the scenes. Between toiling and smiling, the female circus artists disclose their passion for their 'wild' animals and extraordinary profession: a daily life full of dedication and discipline in the midst of mortal danger.

Three players in the free-market economy assume responsibility for society and subsequent generations: they practise sustainability. The film examines various stages in the careers of successful entrepreneurs who operate on a local, national and international level and deliver on their promise of a sustainable future.

Not Vital, the internationally renowned, black hat-toting, Engadin-born artist, has seen more and achieved more than he could ever have dreamed. And yet his fabulating and playful inner child drives him restlessly on to fathom ever new realities. Although his works are scattered across the continents, every one of them originated from his childhood in the mountains. They reflect his longing for wonders and real adventures. Director Pascal Hofmann takes us on a mesmerising journey through space and time into the fascinating thought processes and creative works of this headstrong spirit.