Synopsis

A majestic follow up to his 2011 tour-de-force Pina, Wim Wenders’ latest 3D documentary is another luminous portrait of an iconoclastic artist, Anselm Kiefer, one of the most innovative painters and sculptors of our time. Wenders traces Kiefer’s path from his native Germany to his current home in France, connecting his life and controversial work over five decades in a mesmerizing visual experience.

While Wenders’ 6K high-resolution cameras track around monumental installations, sculptures, and enormous paintings, capturing in lucid detail all their mythic splendor and elemental power, the film also touches on the personal history of the man. Featuring stylized dramatic reenactments (with Wenders’ grandnephew Anton and Kiefer’s son Daniel portraying the artist), the film explores Anselm’s complicated relationship with his country’s Nazi past and his outsized impact on contemporary art.

Synopsis

Samet, a teacher serving mandatory civil service in an isolated village in Anatolia, dreams of a new appointment to a post in Istanbul. But his hopes of reassignment are beginning to fade as he faces another unforgiving winter. His gloomy existence is thrown into further tumult when he’s accused of acting inappropriately toward one of his young students. Feeling assailed from all sides, Samet turns to Nuray, a colleague from a neighboring village and fellow wayward soul.

Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan (winner of the 2014 Palme d’Or for Winter Sleep) covers this fierce psychological character study with a blanket of snow, backgrounding the proceedings with stunning landscape photography that highlights the harsh beauty and intense realities of Turkish provincial life. Featuring impeccable performances and labyrinthine dialogue, About Dry Grasses weaves an intricate web of desperation, hope, and longing.

Synopsis

Ivie is a 30-something Afro-German woman and aspiring teacher struggling to land a job. Her world is upended when Naomi, an unknown half-sister, shows up with news that their father (a man neither knows) has died. As the sisters grow closer, Ivie begins to question her life. Showcasing Leipzig’s canals, parks, and nightlife, Precious Ivie is a moving chronicle of cultural identity, inner strength, and everyday racism.

Synopsis

In this sensitive adaptation of Judith Kerr’s internationally acclaimed autobiographical classic, nine-year-old Anna finds the world shift dramatically around her in 1933 Berlin. When her father, a high-profile Jewish theater critic, abruptly flees to Zurich to escape the Nazis, the family scrambles to follow, leaving everything and everyone behind⁠—from a beloved nanny and friends to cherished toys. A new life filled with challenges and privations, met with persistence and triumphs, lies ahead.

Synopsis

Officially banned in Germany until 1970, women’s soccer struggled to get institutional backing. Barely acknowledged and begrudgingly supported, a team of German women took center stage in the 1981 Women’s World Cup in Taiwan as they competed for more than just athletic glory. A blend of priceless player interviews and archival footage, We Wanted More chronicles their fight for gender equality and an equal playing field in a male-dominated world.