SWR/Arte

The main character of the documentary is a 16-year-old Kurdish girl who, after the tragic death of her mother on the Polish-Belarusian border, has to become a mother to her 4 younger brothers.

July. Major holiday departures. TGV Paris-Brest. Alex does her first steps as a train controller on a great line, flanked by her colleague Antoine. During an inspection, she crosses the way of a passenger who diverts her from her new functions.

The documentary begins when the fictionalized drama ends. Sara spent three years volunteering to save refugees on the same journey that made her so famous, and was suddenly arrested in Aug. 2018, accused by Greek authorities of running a criminal enterprise with charges including “international espionage and people smuggling.” If convicted, she faces up to 25 years in prison and the end of her humanitarian career. Shot over three years, the film follows Sara’s fight for justice and journey of self-discovery.

Wiebke, a professional horse trainer, faces a unique challenge when she adopts Raya, a five-year-old girl, who is prone to violent outbursts because of her traumatic past.

1895. The son of a wealthy industrialist, Hermann has known twins Emil and Klara von Schönaich since childhood. By marrying his friend Klara, the young man would join the nobility, while the von Schönaichs would be able to maintain their extravagant lifestyle thanks to his fortune. But the twins don't see it that way...

The child prodigy turns 60! At the tender age of 13, Anne-Sophie Mutter was discovered by star conductor Herbert von Karajan. An unprecedented world career followed. She once said of herself: "If you want to get to know me, you have to experience me on stage". She does not appreciate questions about her private life. So how do you portray such an exceptional artist?

In a vegetable garden, four vegetables find that their good gardener, who has come to harvest them, has forgotten them. A small carrot, a timid leek and a cunning broccoli decide to send Patate, the fourth of the gang, as a scout...

This is the story of a vegetable garden, from the first seeds to the harvest. But this garden is different, because here the gardener has decided to banish pesticides and other chemicals, and to be helped only by discreet workers, the insects. As we dive into the heart of this plant kingdom, we discover thousands of tiny lives that organize themselves as in a micro-society: decomposing insects, recyclers, pollinators, the workers of the garden work to maintain a fragile balance within the vegetable garden. As the plants grow and begin to produce their first vegetables, the incredible interactions between insects and plants help protect the future harvest. But it is also their personal stories that punctuate the life of the garden. Between parades, mutual aid and attempted putsch, the story of the vegetable garden thus takes the form of a true nature tale.

The uptight Jewish finance director of a lavish Baroque court unexpectedly finds himself forced to convince his hot-headed young ruler to get a circumcision. He meets the temperamental ducal couple for an uncomfortable cup of tea, desperate to circumvent a genitalia-induced national crisis.

Four convicted violent criminals, three highly aggressive dogs and a woman who is ready to fight against the cycle of violence and rigid institutions. But above all against her own doubts about redemption from evil.

Ella Fitzgerald's voice is a phenomenon and unrivalled to this day. She had the perfect pitch and perfect intonation. Ella's voice spanned three octaves, her phrasing seemed effortless. There is almost no style of music, in which she did not excel, and her numerous - now legendary - recordings of the 'Great American Songbook' with pieces of US composers such as George and Ira Gershwin, Harald Arlen, Cole Porter or Duke Ellington, remained a benchmark for the "right" interpretation of those songs for generations of singers. In the film the focus will be on the voice of Ella Fitzgerald. We want to unravel the secret of her voice through many different people (musicians, singers, critics etc.), who will tell about what impact her voice had on them and still has. We want to learn more about Ella´s life to find out what made her sing like she did and only she could.

Young single mother Leyla is financially strained with her two daughters. As a team they try to defy the attached adversities in especially creative ways. Over time, they have developed elaborate tricks in order to participate in social life. While performing their trick at the wrong ice cream parlor, their enjoyment takes an unexpected turn. The survival artists are forced to improvise in order to not get caught.

Following in the footsteps of two women in search of their origins, this documentary lifts the veil on a little-known page of the post-war era: the adoption, as part of a cross-border program, of thousands of children born during the French occupation of Germany.

A documentary about the legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday (1915-1959). There exist many myths and legends about the Jazz Singer Billie Holiday — one of the greatest voices of the last century. Most of them tell the story of the tragic victim of drugs, alcohol, men, color, or the circumstances of her upbringing. To some extent she contributed herself to these legends, especially in her autobiography "Lady Sings the Blues". In recent years, more and more records and reports have shown a different picture of her. These statements of confidants, colleagues and friends clean up with many of the legends and show a strong personality who has been anything but a pitiable victim. Billie Holiday was a strong-willed and determined person and a very complex personality who did not correspond to the classic victim type.

Industrial agriculture ensures our food supply and has made vegetables, fruit and meat cheaper. However, its negative consequences are becoming increasingly apparent. For one year, the documentary accompanies farmers who are looking for alternatives to industrial agriculture. And it asks what role we consumers and EU subsidies play in this.

During a canoe trip, neurologist Magnus Heier suffers from sudden amnesia: for eight hours, he records nothing. Everything he does is immediately forgotten. This episode becomes the starting point for an exploration of his own memory. How can his functioning explain the incident he suffered? And what happened to the doctor during those lost hours? To understand the amnesia that has affected him, Magnus Heier embarks on an investigation among his peers. His journey takes him to Finland, Germany and Italy, where he visits researchers working on the astonishing brain faculty of memory.

In 2019, the Chippendales celebrated their 40th birthday. The documentary observes the troupe and takes a look behind the scenes of the successful show for the first time. And it asks what fascinates the female clientele about these well-trained dancers to this day.