Streamingtipps

From the series Cinema strikes back: Documentary about 10 German filmmakers and actors who made it in Hollywood and how they got there.
Watch on ZDF Mediathek until 12.10.2026.

In 1983 the West German band Die Toten Hosen performed in a secret (and illegal) concert in East Berlin.  This documentary looks back on the event with contributions from musicians from the former East and West. Directed by Martin Groß.
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 13.04.2027.

BÄM! tells the history of comics from Germany, the USA, France, Belgium and Japan in four episodes.
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 24.08.2028.

The career of director Wim Wenders in 10 minutes.
Watch on ARTE@Youtube until 23.05.2026.

Documentary about the organised theft of art from Jewish families during the Nazi era. Dr Kathrin Kleibl, a North German provenance researcher, investigates this crime.
Watch on  ARD Mediathek until 15.05.2027.

The film portrays the life of the writer Erich Kästner. Starring Matthias Bundschuh as Kästner, Lisa Wagner as his partner Luiselotte Enderle. Directed by Annette Baumeister.
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 01.01.2099.

In the ZDF series FilmFrauen. Die Interviews, female actors, directors, producers and screenwriters talk about their experiences in the German film industry. In this episode, actor Sibel Kekilli talks about social realities and cinema.
Available in the ZDF-Mediathek until 10.09.2025.

Documentary about the fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. In revealing interviews, he gives insights into his life, career and philosophy.
Watch on DW Doku@Youtube.

From the series Streetphilosophy: In this episode Ronja von Rönne searches for the right kind of relationship and asks why we are always looking for the perfect partner.
Watch on ARTE Mediathek until 27.07.2025.

A documentary about the role of classical music under the Nazis. The stories of the Jewish cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and the conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler provide an insight into German musical life from 1933 to 1945.
Watch on DW Doku@Youtube.

The Neue Deutsche Welle is regarded as the most creative period in the history of German pop music. This documentary examines its rise and fall.
Watch on ZDF Mediathek until 16.04.2028.

100 years of radio. Despite the popularity of television and the internet, radio has survived and thrived. This programme delves into radio’s long history.
watch on ARD Mediathek until 03.10.2024.

Filmmakers talk about their experiences about success, failure and social participation, starring Jutta Brückner, Angelika Levi, Sarah Blaßkiewitz, Benito Bause and Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay. Directed by Jana Keuchel and Katharina Knust.
Watch on ZDF Mediathek until 28.04.2025.

Documentary about the burning of books under the Nazi regime, which targeted books by Jewish writers and others viewed as subversive or representing ideologies opposed to Nazism.
Watch on DW Doku@Youtube.

This two-part documentary explores the world of fairy tales and their moral values and origins, based on the famous Grimm fairy tales Frau Holle and Hänsel und Gretel. 
Watch on ZDF Mediathek until 04.10.2030.
 

A documentary about the annual heavy metal festival in Wacken: Every year in August the village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein is in a state of exception for three days.
Watch on ZDF Mediathek until 01.07.2024. 

Based on the novel by Ursula Krechel, the film tells the story of a Jewish-Christian family that survived persecution and exile during the Nazi era. After years of separation and the end of the war, they try to rebuild their lives in West Germany. Starring Ronald Zehrfeld, Johanna Wokalek and directed by Matthias Glasner.
Watch on ZDF Mediathek until 11.01.2025.

Altes Land is a film adaptation of Dörte Hansen's novel, directed by Sherry Hormann. It follows the intertwined stories of three women across generations, exploring themes of family, home, displacement, and confronting the past. Starring Iris Berben, Milan Peschel, and Nina Kunzendorf.
Watch on ZDF Mediathek until 02.10.2024.

This episode of HYPECULTURE explores the phenomenon of street slang and its close connection to German rap culture.
Watch on funk until 13.03.2028.