This 2010 rom-com has a target audience of young teenagers and preteens. The plot brings an exchange student back to Germany from America and meeting a rockstar whom she doesn’t know. Kostja Ullmann plays our… Groupies bleiben nicht zum Frühstück
This 2014 documentary centers around stories of DDR escapes. There are many interviews with those who risked their lives to do so, as well as several original clips from the era. Sebastian Dehnhardt and Matthias… Zug in die Freiheit
This 2016 historical drama is currently available on Amazon. Kästner is played by Florian David Fitz, who we’ve seen and discussed already. Among the cast is also Katharina Lorenz, who we may recognize from her… Kästner und der kleine Dienstag
This 2020 film, currently available on Amazon Prime, is rated 16+ there. It would easily be rated R, were it to be rated in America. Robin Czerny is a face we may recognize from Kokowääh… Driven Crazy
This 2015 comedy is currently available on Netflix! Ekram Bora (AKA the Türkish-German rapper Eko Fresh as well as Elektro Eko) plays one of the three brothers in this film. This was his first time… 3 Türken und ein Baby
This 1961 drama-thriller, currently available on Amazon, was a West German production centering around farmers leaving East Germany to flee the collectivization that was taking place. Being a post-war older film, the actors may not… Flucht nach Berlin
This 2016 Drama-Comedy is already well-known by German teachers across the states. With a central theme of immigration, this film lends itself well to the topics our advanced students are expected to be able to… Willkommen bei den Hartmanns
This 2016 short film is currently available on Amazon Prime. It features Heike Makatsch, who we know from films such as Hui Buh, Tom Sawyer, Anatomy 2, and even Love Actually. Not actually in German… Speechless
This 1988 German film, filmed in Südtirol, Italy, is an adventure film. Perfect setting for an adventure, really! Most of the actors in this film were only in this one, or in very few others.… Sommer des Falken
This 1984 family adventure film focuses on familial relationships of children and the adventures they have up near the North Sea. Most of the actors either only acted in this film or have only been… Flussfahrt mit Huhn
This Wilhelm Busch work, read by the narrator Helmut Hansen, may be less well-known than Max und Moritz or Struwwelpeter, but popular enough to have been translated into English long ago. This story is a… Plisch und Plum
This simple audio-film uses the images from Wilhelm Busch’s Max und Moritz to tell the story. For those less familiar with the book, some of the Streiche (tricks, or in this case the chapters) may… Max und Moritz
This audio-film uses images from Wilhelm Busch’s Struwwelpeter exclusively. It goes through each short story with a musical clip and a collage of images from the book. At times the music is distracting, as it… Struwwelpeter
This 1929 Fritz Lang film, written by his then-wife Thea von Harbou, was banned by the Nazis in 1937 due to a prop – the film shows in detail the first working rocket, and the… Frau im Mond
This 2003 documentary discusses the common problems of food shortages during the DDR era. It includes footage of propaganda films and ads from East Germany. This film includes many interviews with Germans who had various… Mahlzeit DDR
This 2007 comedy features Franz Dinda, Florian Lukas, and Axel Stein in a series of unfortunate events that brings a young high school graduate into the military. Franz Dinda is our main character. He’s also… Kein Bund fürs Leben
Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s Der Besuch der alten Dame has been filmed a few times throughout film history, dating back to the early years of the star actress’ career, actually. This particular version stars Christiane Hörbiger as… Der Besuch der alten Dame (2008)
This early Franka Potente film (1995) is a classic rom-com, focused on the issues of teenagers. This was Potente’s first professional film. Alongside Franka Potente is Axel Milberg. We may know him from the Fifth… Nach Fünf im Urwald
Narrated by Erich Kästner himself, this version’s screenplay was adapted from his book himself. Lotte and Luise are played by twins Isa and Jutta Günther. This was the first film for both girls, and they… Das doppelte Lottchen (1950)
This 1996 comedy, directed by Sönke Wortmann, stars Veronika Ferres and Joachim Król. Richy Müller plays Papai. He can also be found in the Vampirschwestern series, Anleitung zum Unglücksein, Die Schatzinsel, Zwischen Nacht und Tag,… Das Superweib