german documentaries 2011

MAMA AFRICA
by Mika Kaurismäki MUSIC | POLITICS | CULTURE | CONFLICTS | PORTRAIT | ORAL-HISTORY
Miriam Makeba was the first black African musician who won international
stardom and whose music was always anchored in her traditional South
African roots. Miriam Makeba was forced into exile in 1959. She sang for
John F. Kennedy, performed with Harry Belafonte and Nina Simone, was married
to Hugh Masekela and also Stokely Carmichael. Her life was tumultuous.
She always stood for truth and justice. She fought for the oppressed most
importantly for black Africans, as a campaigner against apartheid. She died
November 2008 after a concert in Italy. Mika Kaurismäki’s documentary, traces
fifty years of her music and her performing life. Through rare archive
footage of her performances and through interviews with her contemporaries
we discover the remarkable journey of Miriam Makeba.
Acknowledgment to Jürgen Schadenberg for the disposal of his image for press relations
Festival: Berlinale / PANORAMA
90min | HD | 16:9 | English and German version
Mark Constantine, bird lover and alternative entrepreneur,
made his fortune from cosmetics and fragrances.
15 years ago, he and a couple of friends opened the first of his
incredibly bright soap shops with the unusual name of LUSH.
Like the founder himself, the cosmetics firm is dedicated to
global ecological issues. Everything that he does and defines is
characterised by unconventionality, creativity and individuality.
In the interim, he has become a leading name in the world of
bioacoustics and networks with renowned ornithologists.
Perfume and birdsong – both require no theory and no words to act directly on our deepest feelings.
The film draws a portrait of an entrepreneur who has made his passion the defining principle of both
his professional and private lives.
German title: MARK CONSTANTINE – DER LUSH GRUENDER
45min | HD | 16:9 | stereo | original English version with German or French voice-over available
Contact:
Starhaus Filmprod. GmbH
Siegesstr. 15
80802 Munich, Germany
tel.: +49 (0) 89-55057431
fax: +49 (0) 89-55057444
www.starhaus.de
film@starhaus.de
FORTISSIMO FILMS
Van Diemenstraat 100
1013 CN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
tel.: +31 20-6273215
fax: +31 20-6261155
info@fortissimo.nl
MARK CONSTANTINE – FOUNDER OF LUSH
by Michael Loeken and Ulrike Franke ECONOMY | LIFESTYLE | PORTRAIT
Contact:
filmproduktion loekenfranke
Alvenslebenstr. 10
50668 Cologne, Germany
tel.: +49 (0) 221-94339101
film@loekenfranke.de
sales@united-docs.com
MARX RELOADED
by Jason Barker and Alexandra Weltz CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY | ECONOMY | WORK | POLITICS
MARX RELOADED is a cultural documentary that examines the relevance of German socialist and
philosopher Karl Marx’s ideas for understanding the global economic and financial crisis of 2008/09.
The crisis triggered the deepest global recession in 70 years and prompted the US government to
spend more than 1 trillion dollars in order to rescue its banking system from collapse. Today the full
implications of the crisis in Europe and around the world still remain unclear. Nevertheless, should we
accept the crisis as an unfortunate side-effect of the free market? Or is there another explanation as to
why it happened and its likely effects on our society, our economy and our whole way of life?
Today a new generation of philosophers, artists and political activists are returning to Marx’s ideas in
order to try to make sense of the crisis and to consider whether a world without or beyond capitalism
is possible. Is the severity of the ongoing recession a sign that the capitalist system’s days are numbered?
Ironically, 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, could it be that communism might provide the
solution to the growing economic and environmental challenges facing the planet?
Written and directed by Jason Barker – himself an experienced writer, lecturer, translator and doctor of
philosophy – “Marx Reloaded” comprises interviews with the world’s leading experts on Marxism,
including those at the forefront of a popular revival in Marxist and communist ideas. The film also
includes interviews with leading skeptics of this revival as well as light-hearted animation sequences
which follow Marx’s adventures through the matrix of his own ideas.
Interviews with leading experts include: Norbert Bolz, Micha Brumlik, John Gray, Michael Hardt,
Antonio Negri, Nina Power, Jacques Rancière, Peter Sloterdijk, Alberto Toscano, Slavoj Zizek.
52min | HD | 16:9 | German. English, French version
Production:
MEDEA FILM - Irene Höfer
Erkelenzdamm 59-61
10999 Berlin, Germany
tel.: +49 (0) 30-25295330
info@medeafilm.de
www.medeafilm.com
german documentaries 2011 697