Berlin Films, Movies, Documentaries

Documentary by Philipp Fussenegger and Judy Landkammer, 2024

“Filmed during “The Teaches of Peaches Anniversary Tour” in 2022, this documentary seamlessly weaves together exclusive archival gems with dynamic tour footage capturing the transformative journey of Canadian Merrill Nisker into the internationally acclaimed cultural powerhouse Peaches. From the inception of the stage show to the rigorous rehearsals and riveting performances, the film provides an intimate look at the inner workings of a tour led by this beloved and globally celebrated icon. …”

A documentary by Jochen Hick
Berlin, 2023
Editor Thomas Keller

“Queer people from all over the world have made Berlin what it is today. Many leave their home because they want to, others because they have to. This film follows a few of them. The queer universe of Berlin mirrors the movements of the world and is constantly evolving. …”

2019, documentary by David Dietl about three Berlin bouncers: Frank Künster, Smiley Baldwin and Sven Marquardt

“Berlin’s nightlife in transition: from the divided city to the club scene of the nineties and today’s party metropolis. Who was there from the beginning? Based on three exciting biographies of Berlin’s most legendary bouncers, BERLIN BOUNCER tells the story of the reasons for and the depths of this development. …” (translated with the free version of deepl.com)

2017, a thriller from Australian director Cate Shortland: an Australian backpacker becomes the house guest and eventual prisoner of her German fling

German title “Mein wunderbares West-Berlin”

Documentary by Jochen Hick, 2017

“Today’s hip image of Berlin is based on the city’s vibrant and subversive subcultures, which originally emerged within the grey walls surrounding West Berlin. The queer scene played a major role in creating that subculture, with its sexual diversity and its wild and unconstrained party culture, ranging from notorious clubs to CSD. Many of the scene’s actors, such as the Gay Museum, the Teddy Award, AIDS help organizations, and the queer magazine Siegessäule originated before 1989. …”

(German title: “Jeder stirbt für sich allein” )

War drama film, 2016, directed by Vincent Pérez, based on the 1947 novel ‘Every Man Dies Alone’ by Hans Fallada

U.S.American spy drama television series, 2026

2016, a documentary about Life and Love in Berlin – thirteen personal love stories by Berlin Lovers – for Berlin Lovers

2015, The fifth season of Homeland is set in Berlin: Carrie, no longer working for the CIA, is trying to live a ‘normal’ life in Berlin. However – also in Germany’s capital she can not escape the shadows of her past and soon she’s back in business…

2015, historical drama-thriller, set in cold war times Berlin / Germany. The movie is directed by Steven Spielberg, screenplay written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, featuring Tom Hanks as Russian KGB spy James B. Donovan

2015, thriller, shot in a single 140-minute take

The movie Victoria is about a bank robbery, shot in a single 140 minute take on location in Berlin. The story begins in the middle of a party night and ends when the sun rises above the roof tops of Berlin.

See also:

• Victoria 2015 film at wikipedia.org
• Official Trailer at YouTube.com
• ‘Victoria’ roves Berlin in single take (Boston Herald)
• A bank robbery and the Berlin club scene collide in one-note ‘Victoria’ (The State Press)

Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989.

I’m still not sure how much of “B-Movie” is actually documentary and how much is fiction. The film consists of a lot of ‘original material’ mostly shot in West-Berlin of the eighties by Mark Reeder himself. Some footage however was added to make the movie a story. I’m not sure if somebody who did not experience West-Berlin in the eighties can fully ‘understand’ what is shown – but it is anyways a document of the West-Berlin music and art scene at that time.

2014, documentary film about Edward Snowden and the NSA spying scandal, directed by Laura Poitras.

The documentary is not directly set in Berlin. However to me Citizenfour is closely connected to Berlin.

2015, documentary by Elke Sasse about other cities called Berlin

There are over 100 cities and towns worldwide that are named Berlin. The documentary Worldwide Berlin visits and portraits a few of them. The ‘online edition’ consists of a vast collection of different clips from the Berlins around the world.

• Online-Special with clips from all Berlins (video-stream) www.worldwideberlin.com
• See also: YouTube channel ‘Worldwide berlin’ with many free online streams.

Documentary by Jochen Hick and Andreas Strohfeldt, 2013

“Even in the GDR, most homosexuals experienced fear and feelings of guilt. Homosexuality had been exempt from punishment in the GDR since 1968, but it remained a taboo. Many homosexuals were caught in the dramatic conflict between love of their homeland and protest against the state that ignored them. Some simply wanted to “live a normal life”, some resisted their ostracism, others fought for freedom and emancipation. Suspiciously eyed by the MfS, they organized themselves under the umbrella of the Protestant church. …” (translated with the free version of deepl.com)

20214, German title “Oh Boy”

A night to remember – or rather to forget? Law schoon drop-out Niko Fischer (Tom Schilling) is roaming across Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg, Mitte, not knowing what to do this night – or even with his life. The movie tells the story of an almost 30 year old boy in search for a job, a meaning in life, or maybe just a cup of coffee.

24 hour Documentary about life in Berlin, 2009

“24h Berlin is a multimedia-based documentary project which portraits a normal day in an European metropolis. On September the 5th 2008 80 different teams shot one day all around Berlin. One year later 24h Berlin was broadcast on TV. Twentyfour hours, without interruption. …”

2009, German-American war-thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino about a team of Jewish-American soldiers in Nazi-occupied France

starring Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Diane Kruger, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth and many more

2006, The film The Lives of Others (German title “Das Leben der Anderen”) is the feature film debut of German filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck about surveillance in East Germany. Set in East Berlin, the film shows a deep insight into how residents of East Germany were monitored by agents of the East German secret police Stasi. Starring Ulrich Mühe as Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler, Ulrich Tukur as his superior Anton Grubitz, Sebastian Koch as the playwright Georg Dreyman, and Martina Gedeck as his lover Christa-Maria Sieland.

[2004] Many scenes of the second film about secret agent / former CIA assassin Jason Bourne are set in Berlin.

Directed by Paul Greengrass, starring Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Karl Urban, Gabriel Mann and Joan Allen

[2004] The film Downfall, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, tells the story of the last days of Adoff Hitler (played by Bruno Ganz) and the End of the Nazi Regime when first Germany and then Berlin was conquered by allied forces in 1945.

2004, directed by Hans Weingartner, starring Daniel Brühl, Stipe Erceg and Julia Jentsch as three young, anti-capitalist Berlin activists.

German title: “Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei”

[2003] In 1989 the German Democratic Republic collapses, the Berlin Wall falls. The movie Good bye, Lenin! tells the story of East-Berlin family Kerner (Daniel Brühl, Katrin Sass, Maria Simon) and how the family deals with the changes that come upon them. [Original Version, English subtitles]

German title “Sommer vorm Balkon”

2005, directed by Andreas Dresen.

“Nike and Katrin are friends and neighbors in Berlin. Both are desperately looking for the right man for the upcoming summer.  …”

See also:

• x-filme.de/releases/filme/sommer-vorm-balkon (German website at X-Filme with trailer)

1999, German film title: “Sonnenallee”

The movie is about the everyday life of two youngsters living close to the Berlin Wall in Sonnenallee, East-Berlin, shortly before the Berlin Wall came down. They live their lives in the shadow of the Berlin Wall – until one day everything changes.

1998, German film title: “Lola rennt”

1988, directed by Reinhard Hauff

Film version of the Legendary musical Linie 1. A Girl arrives in Berlin and tries to make her way to Kreuzberg, to meet a boy she is in love with. On her trip to Kreuzberg taking the U-Bahn Linie 1 she meets all kinds of Berlin creatures.

1987, by Wim Wenders
original German film title: “Himmel über Berlin”

1983, directed by John Glen, starring Roger Moore as James Bond MI6 agent 007, Maud Adams as Octopussy, Louis Jourdan as Kamal Khan, Kristina Wayborn as Magda and many more

1981, directed by Ulrich Edel
original german film title: “Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo”at amazon.com: Christiane F. (“A True Story”)

French-German horror drama 1981, directed by Andrzej Żuławski, starring Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill, set mostly in Berlin-Kreuzberg

1978, directed by David Hemmings, starring David Bowie, Sydne Rome, Kim Novak, Maria Schell, Curd Jürgens, Marlene Dietrich

German title “Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo”

1980, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s controversial, fifteen-hour-plus Berlin Alexanderplatz, based on Alfred Döblin’s modernist novel

German: Die Legende von Paul und Paula

1973, DEFA

Due to the political undertone, the movie was almost not released. East German leader Erich Honecker however personally decided to allow it to be shown. Today it is considered one of the most popular films produced in East Germany.
See also: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Paul_and_Paula

1972, directed by Bob Fosse, starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey
The movie Cabaret plays in Berlin 1931, shortly before the Nazis take over…

1961, The movie One, Two, Three, directed and produced by by Billy Wilder, is primarily set in West–Berlin during the Cold War era. The Berlin Wall is not built yet, but Germany and Berlin are already separated. Hilariously funny film about communism, capitalism, cold war and spiels in 1961 Berlin

1948, Romantic comedy-drama film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich, and John Lund.

Set in post war Berlin with location shots of the devastated city, the rest shot on studio sets.

The film is about a United States Army captain in post-World War II Berlin, occupied by the Allies during the early days of the Cold War, who is torn between an ex-Nazi cafe singer and the United States congresswoman investigating her.

Berlin 1946, DEFA
A group of children is playing in the ruins of Berlin. One day the father of one of the kids comes home…

1930, directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich and Kurt Gerron

1930, faturing Annie Schreyer as Annie, directed by Curt and Robert Siodmak, screenplay by Billy Wilder

People on Sunday is a 1930 German silent drama film. The film is mostly set in Berlin and tells the story of young model Annie who would rather stay at home than go to the lake with her friends. A sunday in Berlin.

German title: “Menschen am Sonntag”

1927, Fritz Lang
As far as I know Metropolis is considered the first ‘real’ science fiction film in movie history.

See also:

• Metropolis (1927 film) at Wikipedia
• ‘Berlin Metropolis’: Germany’s decadent and chaotic interwar years (Financial Times)

1927, silent film, semi-documentary style
also referred to “Berlin symphony of a great city”
orginal German film title: “Berlin – Die Sinfonie der Großstadt”)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin:_Symphony_of_a_Metropolis

1926, Berlin-Drama by Gerhard Lamprecht