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 selfie-film.

A parade of well-known actors and directors from Germany

A documentary about director Budd Boetticher.

Once before, the ravishing lake mermaid Undine has warned her lover Raoul. Their humid-romantic fairy-tale love is in danger because Raoul's brother wants to destroy the pristine mountain lake idyll with an ambitious hotel project. Undine defends her paradise. She is alluring, but also perverse and unpredictable. She can give a lot of love, but she can also kill.

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'

Female fans are flocking to pop star Nik's feet. But when he announces that he is madly in love with Sarah and wants to marry her, there is an outcry from his fans. In view of Nik's popularity rating, the record company fears a slump in sales. So they stage a "meet your star" contest in which three ladies want to do everything they can to get the superstar away from Sarah. Can Nik remain faithful...?

Documentary about Italian cinema.

TV review of a litany of Hollywood impropriety.

Hollywood would be nothing without them: without the stars, who combine a lot of light and shadow, who act as rebels not only in front of but also behind the camera.

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

Documentary about the American actress Jane Russell.

Documentary about the director Budd Boetticher.

Harold Nebenzal talks about his career.

Documentary about the American actor Rod Steiger.

Documentary by Eckhart Schmidt.

Documentary about the German composer Wolfgang Sawallisch

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.

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...