Peter Simonischek

Berlin at the end of the 19th Century. Alexander Hoffmann is an ambitious PhD student of Ethnology. When a delegation of the Herero and Nama tribes travels to Berlin during a ‘Colonial Exhibition’, he takes a special interest in their young female translator Kezia Kambazembi as subject for his studies.

Professor Albus Dumbledore knows the powerful, dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts magizoologist Newt Scamander to lead an intrepid team of wizards and witches. They soon encounter an array of old and new beasts as they clash with Grindelwald's growing legion of followers.

This documentary tells the story of the creation and cultural impact of the world's most famous Christmas carol, composed in 1818 in Salzburg, Austria, and since then translated into about 140 languages.

When Peter sets out on a magical journey to rescue his little sister Anne, he needs to travel to mysterious territory: the Moon! Anne was kidnapped by the evil Moon Man when she tried to help the beetle Mr. Zoomzeman in search for his wife. On his fantastic adventure, Peter lands on the Star Meadow where he meets the sleepy Mr. Sandman. He knows, only at the Night Fairy’s dinner in the castle in the clouds, they can find out where Anne is – but there aren’t enough seats for everyone. So they join the wild race along the Milky Way against the five Spirits of Nature: Storm Giant, Lightning Witch, Henry Hail, Rainy Robin and Mother Frost…

The plot of Die Fledermaus is woven around a ball given by Prince Orlofsky.

When world-famous conductor Eduard Sporck accepts the job to create an Israeli-Palestinian youth orchestra, he is quickly drawn into a tempest of sheer unsolvable problems.

Everything must change, thought Hermann Hesse. In the spring of 1919, he packed his bags and left for Ticino. The horror of the First World War had thrown him off course. The poet hoped that the climate and light of the south would give him a new lease on life and creative energy beyond the confines of bourgeois conventions. With the story Klingsors letzter Sommer (Klingsor’s Last Summer), Hesse wrote himself into a summer-long intoxication that was unprecedented for him. At the precipice, however, doom and death await.

Barents Sea, August 12th, 2000. During a Russian naval exercise, and after suffering a serious accident, the K-141 Kursk submarine sinks with 118 crew members on board. While the few sailors who are still alive barely manage to survive, their families push for accurate information and a British officer struggles to obtain from the Russian government a permit to attempt a rescue before it is late. But general incompetence are against all their efforts.

80-year-old Ali Ungar comes across a book by a former SS officer describing his wartime activities in Slovakia. He realises his parents were executed by him. He sets out to take revenge but finds instead his 70-year-old son, Georg, a retired teacher. Georg, who had avoided his father all his life, decides to find out more about him and offers Ali to be his interpreter.

Ricky spent years behind bars after taking the rap for his brother Rafael and his buddy Latif after a failed robbery. Now, Latif wants to express gratitude by letting Ricky in on a coup that will bring lots of money. After some hesitation, Ricky agrees, and gets his brother Rafael on board. Everything runs smoothly, until police officer Diana turns up on the scene. A nerve-wracking cat and mouse game is set in motion. Director Özgür Yildirim’s most recent film offers insight into Frankfurt’s gangster world. As before in CHIKO – which also starred Moritz Bleibtreu – he portrays the daily life of the criminal underground scene in a large German city.

There are few places on earth that have such a diverse variety of terrain and range of climates concentrated in a relatively small area - temperate coastline, scorching arid deserts and tundra, tropical rainforests and frozen snowcapped mountains. And there are few places that are as heavily exploited by humans, yet remain a wilderness.

Mimi has her hands full. Her son Felix is hyperactive, her ex-husband Johnny is a mess, her father is a chronic gambler. Then Felix signs her up for a Swiss casting show, because Mimi wanted to be a musician originally. So Mimi decides to head for Switzerland, since it could pay all their debts. But then the whole family wants to come...

Without warning a father comes to visit his daughter abroad. He believes that she lost her humor and therefore surprises her with a rampage of jokes.

Emerald Green is the stunning conclusion to Kerstin Gier's Ruby Red Trilogy, picking up where Sapphire Blue left off, reaching new heights of intrigue and romance as Gwen finally uncovers the secrets of the time-traveling society and learns her fate.

Lou Andreas-Salomé, the woman who enraptured 19th century Europe’s greatest minds, recounts her life to Ernst Pfeiffer in this German film directed by Cordula Kablitz-Post. A published novelist, poet and essayist, Salomé’s desire to live a life free from convention scandalized society but spurred genius and passion in others, including Friedrich Nietzsche, Paul Rée and her lover, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Under the tutelage of Sigmund Freud, she became the first female psychoanalyst.

A Kellergasse – the cellar lane – is one of the distinguishing cultural and physical features of the winegrowing region Niederösterreich – Lower Austria. There are more than a thousand of them. Until recently, wine was not only stored in the Kellergasse, but pressed and fermented there as well. Today, the Kellergassen have less to do with occupation and more with recreation. A documentary by Georg Riha follows a year in the life of this valuable cultural legacy.

Gwen has just discovered, that she's the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. Now she has to juggle with constant trips to the past, her relationships with Gideon and figuring out dark secrets surrounding the Circle.

Clara Immerwahr and her husband to be Fritz Haber are both young and gifted chemists. Their struggle for acknowledgment in nationalistic Germany during World War I lead to the development and use of the first chemical weapons.

In order to find each other again, Lena and Andi decide to retreat to a remote holiday cabin deep in the mountains for a long weekend. When Andi finds out one morning that Lena has suddenly disappeared without a trace, the situation escalates. He goes in search of her and penetrates deeper and deeper into a mysterious and dark world of horror...

Director Gotz Spielmann follows his acclaimed thriller Revanche with this visually captivating character study, in which a family reunion at a mountainside inn lays bare old wounds and reveals long-held secrets.

The film tells the story of Laxenburg from 13th century, when it was used for hunting and fishing trips by the imperial Habsburg family, to modern day, a popular summer resort and a bustling international community. Today Laxenburg is also home to IIASA, the Austrian Film Archive, and the International Anti-Corruption Academy. The film will also feature these organizations, their history, and the important work they do in the field of research and diplomacy that goes far beyond Austria's borders.

Gwendolyn Shepherd is a normal 16-year-old, but her family holds a secret: A time-travel gene is expressed in the clan inherited, but not every member of the family is blessed with. Everyone is certain that Gwen's cousin Charlotte has the gene. However, someday Gwendolyn suddenly finds herself in London at the end of the 19th century and realizes that it is her, who was born a time traveler. While she is not very enthusiastic about it, she will do everything possible to solve the ancient mysteries of the red ruby.

A dramatic retelling of the life of Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, one of the most fascinating monarchs of modern times. From his accession to the throne at the age of 18 to his passionate support of Richard Wagner and his music. From his ingenuous political commitment to his obsessive construction of extravagant palaces and to his gradual withdrawal into a lonely dream world, an epic narrative of breathtaking grandeur.

Based on archive holdings from nine decades, director Hannes Rossacher has created a complete Jedermann performance and thus a unique cultural-historical puzzle from Alexander Moissi to Nicholas Ofczarek. The success story of the phenomenon "Everyman" is told in an unprecedented way.

A love story that became legend: Archduke Johann, the brother of the ruling Habsburg monarch and Anna Plochl, the fun-loving girl from the people - a love despite all odds.

Benno, commissar in the Homicide Department Munich and married to forensic doctor Andrea, finds himself one day in a seemingly unsolvable, fatal situation again. His lover Sabine, who is ironically the wife of his superior, chief commissioner Hartmut, is found murdered in her sister, Martha's home. Benno is summoned to the scene in this murder case. Hartmut can not manage the investigation as a husband and thus transfers the case to Benno. All others come under suspicion for this: his wife, his father-in-law and the widower. Everyone had a motive, everyone was at the scene. But even Benno himself comes as a perpetrator in question: On the morning of the murder his lover had put an end to him.

An ancient fortress, a historic centre of true baroque, the venue of a legendary stage festival - this is the Salzburg familiar to everyone. But Georg Riha's documentary presents Mozart's city from perspectives never seen before.Unshackled by space and time the viewer enters upon a unique filmic foray into one of the world's most popular cultural centres, discovering the still unknown and hidden beauties of this fascinating city off the beaten tourist tracks.

Vienna is surrounded by nature – a green belt encloses the city and contributes to the high quality of life in Austria’s capital.However, it is not just these woods the citizens of Vienna can name their own. The city of Vienna also owns the protected source areas in the Hochschwab and Schneeberg-Rax region, where Vienna’s Water comes from.2005 marks the 100th anniversary of the creation of the green belt around Vienna. On that occasion Georg Riha and his team have produced this ORF-UNIVERSUM documentary, commissioned by the City of Vienna.Sit back and enjoy the rough beauty of the Hochschwab region, the majestic peak of Schneeberg, picturesque autumn sceneries, the „classic“ Vienna Woods and the fascinating winter wonderland of the Danube Wetland Forest National Park.

Join Georg Riha and his team in this ORF-UNIVERSUM production and discover one of the most beautiful stretches along the Danube.Featuring a great number of aerial shots, this documentary captures the cultural and natural beauty of the entire region, as well as portraying the Alzinger family in their vineyards during the seasons.The Wachau, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is presented from unusual perspectives, offering spectacular views of this picturesque area.

To their big surprise, the capable waitress Gundula Kirchner receives from the estate owner Xaver Schönborn the offer to manage his stud as managing director. Gundula, who has some qualifications, seizes the opportunity and has the business under control after only a short time. But Xavers spoiled daughter Helen and especially the ambitious, but incompetent son-in-law René try by all means to drive the dedicated Gundula from the court. No one, least of all Gundula herself, suspects that Xaver is really her father.

Lene Thurner is standing on a train platform in Munich. She has to decide: back to Berlin where she lives, or toward the south, where at the foot of the Alps her family lives on the lonely farm “Hierankl”.

A holocaust survivor now living as a respected writer in Manhattan is the only person who can identify a suspected Nazi back in his native Austria. When a beautiful reporter eager for a scoop tries to lure him back, Geburtig must decide whether to confront his past.

A naive girl's love for Switzerland is put to the test in this satiric comedy. Irina is a woman from Russia who all her life has always been fascinated by Switzerland and longs to live there some day, though her notion of Swiss life has more to do with Heidi and old movies set in the Alps than reality.

Two young and attractive social workers/nuns bring fresh air into a city missionary station, but are also challenged by lust and money, offered by a millionaire.

Tracy Garret's a cop and after an incident that left one person dead, she's invited by her father to spend sometime with him in Berlin. While they were out having dinner, her father's shot. She is then informed by the German inspector assigned to her father's case that her father's a CIA operative. She then decides to investigate the case...

This film is about the difference between law and justice. A national socialist is accused of having stirred up some people against foreigners. A judge has to decide whether he has done so or if his statement comes under the constitutional given freedom of speech. This is compared with a trial in the third Reich. A young woman is being accused of having a relationship with a jew. The film confronts two views of law: the judgement is only based on the current law or the judgement may be influenced by socio-political events and sense of justice.

An encounter with a blind man ends unexpectedly for Susan Howard. The supposedly helpless man stuns and kidnaps her. The case is handed over by the Home Secretary to Sir John, the head of Scotland Yard. He entrusts Chief Inspector Higgins and Superintendent Lane with the investigation. Their investigations quickly lead Higgins and Lane on the trail of murder, white slavery and blackmail.

In the 16th century, young men put themselves in great danger to look for mysterious crystals in a tunnel in the Styrian Erzberg. Some of them never returned from searching for this symbol of perfect love. In the 20th century, the student Barbara tries to pursue this legend of her home town.

For fans of history, this glimpse of Munich society in the 1920s will be a much-treasured event. The story revolves around an art-gallery manager who puts on a show featuring the scandalous works of a woman artist who committed suicide. He is unjustly accused of having committed adultery with her, and for some reason the authorities decide to make an example of him. He is imprisoned at about the same time that Hitler and the nascent Nazi party attempt the infamous Beer Hall Putsch, and the gallery manager's girlfriend and a Swiss writer valiantly (and unsuccessfully) attempt to get better justice for him. Nobody in authority, it seems, has the courage to take up the challenge of righting this particular injustice.

It's 1922. A weather observer and his wife live in a remote cabin high in the Swiss Alps. As this drama begins, they are being joined by a third person, an Austrian who coveted the job the Swiss man had won in this bleak location. Not only that, but he also has his eyes on the Swiss man's lovely wife. The Austrian has charm, so he wins some hospitality from the couple. The three live together for a little while, but the rivalry between the two men soon erupts with tragic consequences.

Sometime during the 19th century in Switzerland: After a delirious night of drinking, three herdsmen who are all alone in the alps with their kettle, create a female doll from cloth and a strangely formed wooden root. When their creation comes to life in form of an evil and beautiful female demon, they have to fear for their lives...

An adaptation of a classic "Three Sisters" play by Anton Chekhov.

Four-part german limited serial about the baden revolution in 1848 and 1849.