Film

Germany is a country of film legends. In the 1920s, Berlin's famed Babelsberg studios was one of Hollywood's top competitors. It was also a laboratory for a new form of high art where Fritz Lang crafted the vivid dystopia of Metropolis and Marlene Dietrich melted hearts with a bat of her lashes in The Blue Angel. Today, a new generation of filmmakers is winning international acclaim with smart takes on tough topics. In 2007, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's spy thriller The Lives of Others snagged an Oscar for Best Foreign Film and showed the world that German films can keep international audiences gripping their popcorn. 

Lips © Colourbox

On Hollywood’s Lips: Voice Actors

When actors from all around the world have a German voice, it is not because they are polyglots. Voice actors make cinema and TV stars comprehensible for the audience, but there are also arguments about whether dubbing is worthwhile.

The Reader; Photo courtesy of the Weinstein Company

International Film Producers Discover Germany

A record number of German films and co-productions were shown at the Berlinale this year. One reason for this boom is the growing number of big productions involving international participation such as The Reader, Storm, and The International.

DVD night © Colourbox

Recent German Releases on DVD

Increasing numbers of German films and German co-productions are being distributed in the US. The powerful dramas The Edge of Heaven, Four Minutes, and Summer ’04 are currently available on DVD.

Cameraman © Colourbox

Germany's Hollywood

Only a few miles southwest of Berlin, the Babelsberg film studios qualify as Germany’s Hollywood and have a long tradition. Founded in 1911, they are the world’s oldest film studios and Germany’s largest.

Film

Film © Colourbox

Michael Haneke's "The White Ribbon" to Represent Germany in Oscar Race

The White Ribbon © picture-alliance/dpa

Director Michael Haneke's dark drama about a small village in northern Germany on the eve of World War I, The White Ribbon, will represent Germany in the race for the Oscar, an independent jury announced this week.

All Quiet on the Western Front

A detail of a scene from the film "All Quiet on the Western Front" © picture-alliance / akg-images

Until recently, this Academy Award-winning film from 1930 was still ranked among the best 100 films of all times. Despite the fact that the antiwar novel by Erich Maria Remarque, on which the film was based, was published 80 years ago, it has lost none of its relevance.