Films Directed by Women

2018 film by Emily Atef

A teenage girl helps an escaped fugitive flee Germany into France, after extracting a promise that he will help her commit suicide.

A young couple in love: Rebecca (32) and her boyfriend Julian (34) are expecting their first child and are full of pleasant expectation. As Rebecca gives birth to a healthy boy their luck seems to be perfect. But instead of the unconditional motherly love she was expecting she is thrown into an emotional turmoil. Helplessness and desperation reign and her own baby is a stranger to her. With every day that passes her inability to meet the demands of motherhood become more and more apparent. Unable to admit this to anyone, not even Julian, she falls into a deep darkness - to the point that she realises she is becoming a threat to her child. Now only unconditional love can bring her back on track…

Inge and Ludwig are full-time farmers in the Black Forest, with dairy cows and a dairy. Everything organic, all the highest quality. Despite the hard work, it is a fulfilling life. Would not it be the financial situation. As much as the two work, the debts devour them, the farm is endangered. Inge decides to look for a part-time job. When the opportunity arises to start with an escort service, she gets involved. And the plan works. But the relationship is put to the test when one of Inge's clients falls in love with her and the situation escalates.

The life of Marie and Peter seems perfect, but their greatest wish remains unfulfilled: a family of their own. After several painfully failed attempts to have a child by natural means, Marie and Peter decide to try adoption in Russia. Carried by their longing and after many months of preparation and waiting, they set off to get to know their future daughter Nina in a children's home thousands of kilometers away from Germany. They still have no idea that they are only at the beginning of a tour de force against the Russian authorities – and they are facing the biggest challenge for their relationship, because while Marie and Peter are fighting for their future child, the question is: are we still pursuing the same goal? Each for himself – and especially as a couple?

A family drama about a German teenager who leaves home totally unexpectedly to join the ranks of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in its armed struggle. When the boy's father and older brother set off on an adventurous journey to the Syrian border, they manage to find him and bring him back to Germany. However, back home, questions start being asked: did he return of his own free will, has he disassociated himself from the IS ideology, or is he in fact a 'sleeper' agent awaiting orders?

An einem Wintermorgen steht die junge Irin Molly am Bahnhof der polnischen Kleinstadt Walbrzych. Sie ist den weiten Weg aus Irland gekommen, um Marcin zu finden, mit dem sie eine unvergessliche Nacht in Irland verbracht hat. Sie weiß nur, dass er in dieser Stadt lebt und im Kohlegeschäft arbeitet. Sie ist sich sicher, dass sie ihn finden wird - ihre positive Lebenskraft und das Kind in ihrem Bauch treiben sie voran. Doch es wird bald deutlich, dass die Suche schwieriger als erwartet ist

In the summer of 1967, journalist Katharina is visited in Munich by her French friend Anne. They take day trips and visit cafés, acquaintances, and parties. In a series of conversations between them and other women, they talk about the chances for female emancipation in a male-dominated society.

《垃圾桶小孩的故事》由德国新电影主将之一爱德嘉·莱兹（《故乡》1984）及其学生乌拉·施特克尔（《猫有九条命》1968，被誉为西德第一部女性主义电影）于1969-1971年间拍摄制作的实验电影。影片采用分集短片形式，共25集，每集长短不一。讲述一个从医院垃圾桶的子宫污汙中诞生的红衣小孩，进入社会后的故事。影片由莱兹本人的制片公司制作，完成后起初并未按正常渠道发行，而是制作了一份25集的“菜单”，于慕尼黑的一家酒吧“点单”放映（除周一外每日放映，入场3.5马克）。在第17集中，赫尔佐格饰演了一个角色，是他作为演员的荧幕首秀。
菜单如下：
Dumpster Kid Menu
1) Old Men
If Dumpster Kid wants to, she can make some men end up standing around in their underwear. 1’06’’
2) Dumpster Kid's Childhood
You should definitely see this story! An afterbirth leads an independent life – but then child welfare comes along. 6’13’’
3) Dumpster Syndrome
Something about the ability of our society to understand everything, forgive everything and pay for everything. 10’15’’
4) Cleanliness is a House’s Decoration
Dumpster Kid in the shower, in the rain and under the eaves. 4’30’’
5) Cats Have Fleas
Dumpster Kid pretends to sleep, because she wants to find out what might happen. But her stepmother interferes. 8’34’’
6) Dumpster Kid Becomes Smooth and Round
A spiritual man who knows what is good for people attempts to raise Dumpster Kid. 4’52’’
7) A Tiny Bit of Happiness
Dumpster Kid fools around with the fruits of the field. 2’03’’
8) Dumpster Kid Gets to Know a Lord and is Hanged
That’s true, but the revenge is particularly sweet. 17’10’’
9) Dumpster Kid Tells a Fairy Tale to a Queen
A story to listen to and watch. 6’08’’
10) Dumpster Kid Learns a Dubious Game
Dumpster Kid learns first-hand how a pleasurable connection develops between stroking and hitting. 3’31’’
11) Dumpster Kid Learns How to Say No
Dumpster Kid is getting married, but at the crucial moment she suddenly gets nervous. All hell breaks loose. 16’40’’
12) A Marmot Learns How to Dance
Dumpster Kid is supposed to learn what to do at the country fair. She sings songs, swears at people and steals the cash box. 18’51’’
13) All Power to the Vampire
It is hard to believe how many vampires there might be. Dumpster Kid calls upon them all for a major demonstration. 2’19’’
14) Freedom Through Al Capone
Dumpster Kid is constantly talking about revolution, but Al Capone, the pig, is talking about something quite different. 18’36’’
15) A Shoplifter
After a nice shopping spree, Dumpster Kid ends up sitting on the lap of the shop assistant and goes along with it only a little bit. 3’38’’
16) Particularly Kind Parents
Dumpster Kid has to learn that sexual intercourse can also be quite nasty when it takes place in the toilet. 9’
17) The Value of Money is Low on Earth
Dumpster Kid goes on the game and is murdered. 15’13’’
18) To the audience: Please leave any stories and moneymaking tips at the box-office.
19) Burn the Witch
Is Dumpster Kid destined to be burnt at the stake? Will she be saved from above? 4’15’’
20) To the audience: Please leave any stories and moneymaking tips at the box-office.
21) Dumpster Kid Likes to Have a Good Friend for Dinner
The way to a person's heart is through his stomach. But sometimes you ruin him that way. 9’35’’
22) Dumpster Kid Drowns Dumpster Kids
There is lovely music to this one, and it is all very poetic. 4’13’’
23) To the audience: Please inquire about stories and moneymaking tips at the box-office.
24) Dumpster Kid Rides for the King
The greatest film of all time. Intrigue, old walls, squeaking floors, the queen sleeps with the wrong man, Dumpster Kid marries d‘Artagnan and rides off on a white horse, more intrigue, and this time Dumpster Kid plays along. By the end of it, all the blame is put on her. 25’30’’
25) The Bank Account in the Woods
Dumpster Kid believes in our credit system. She therefore has to jump out of the fourth floor of a house and sing a sad song. 11’46’’
26) to 64) Please leave any stories and money-making tips at the box-office.
(Edgar Reitz Stiftung)

Das Goldene Ding is a 1972 made for TV film, released in West Germany, which follows in much detail the Greek myth of Jason. It’s the retelling of the legend using a new and unique approach to filmmaking and storytelling for its time. The film directors used a variety of color nuances, mostly to distinguish between various social classes or set a mood for the scenes. A mixture of fantasy and action, combined with coming of age nuances and a strong focus on human nature.

Erika and Franziska haven't seen each other for 4 years. 10 years earlier they both felt that they had the same chances in life: both were young, attractive and imaginative. They overlooked what would, right from the outset, separate them: their very different emotional make-up, their different character. In a long nighttime discussion the friends try to clear up these differences - not without some glimmer of hope.

Dea, gynecologist and scientist, and her colleagues have for the last few months been preparing a campaign against the local pharmaceutical industry. A campaign, which is linked to Dea's published findings concerning harmful side effects of the pill. For years Dea and her husband Rheinhard have been defending opposing sides as to the culpability of the company. Rheinhard, who is also a leading scientist like Dea, is a high-ranking employee of the concern. In the meantime Reinhard and Dea's 2 daughters have grown up. The daughter of the company's boss, Johanna, is Dea's assistant and Reinhard's lover.

Is life like the fairy tale of Lucky Hans, who lost his lump of gold when he swapped the life he had, for what he thought was a better one?

Angela and Robert have been married for ten years and make a perfect couple. They are madly in love with each other, give each other plenty of space and support each other in everyday life. This idyll is put to the test when Robert's girlfriend Claudia moves in with the couple and Angela falls in love with another man. According to a mutual agreement between Angela and Robert, anything goes if one of them breaks their promise never to leave the other.

What does Brigitte want? She wants to work and live with those she loves. And to work at something which doesn't separate her from life. How can she manage this?

2015 documentary film directed by Katrin Seybold Ula Stöckl

2009 film by Katrin Seybold

The child of survivors of the Sinti persecution by Nazis, Melanie Spitta confronts the truth about unpaid reparations as she exposes shocking evidence and issues a warning against believing perpetrators over victims.