Frieder Schlaich

Merkala Beach

GER 1993, 30 min

MERKALA BEACH tells of two young men in Tangier, one of whom prefers to smoke kif, while the other prefers to drink alcohol. When they both fall in love with the same beautiful girl, their friendship is put to the ultimate test.

„The difference between Lahcen and ldir was that Lahcen liked to drink and ldir smoked kif. Kif smokers want to stay quiet in their heads, and drinkers are not like that. They want to break things.“ (Paul Bowles)

MERKALA BEACH is part of the feature film PAUL BOWLES – HALFMOON, based on three short stories by Paul Bowles.

Das dritte Auge

Frieder Schlaich

GER 1995, 45 min

A documentary about the eventful lives of famous Jewish photographers Grete Stern and Ellen Auerbach. The film interweaves artistic, professional and personal aspects.

Frieder Schlaich

“David Lynch has said that he no longer makes movies because the market is dead. That’s true. Nevertheless we fight for every film (...). We often make small, radical films where we are used to fighting our way uphill all the time. One can only hope again and again that the films will retain a value, that the films will remain.”

Photo: Patti Smith (l.) and Frieder Schlaich (r.) at the shooting of "Three Stones for Jean Genet"

The Cinema of Roland Klick

Roland Klick Frieder Schlaich

GER 1997, 177 min

Roland Klick, director of films like DEADLOCK and SUPERMARKET, is a legend and quite an exceptional director in German film history. Although he did not join the ranks nor shared the success of the New German Cinema directors who marginalized him for being too commercial, his films won six federal film awards and were internationally recognized. THE CINEMA OF ROLAND KLICK is a document of his filmmaking and work as director, fascinating until today.

Christoph Schlingensief and his Films

Frieder Schlaich

GER 2004, 77 min

Already with seven years Christoph Schlingensief made his first 8mm-film. Since then he has made more films than any other director of his generation. CHRISTOPH SCHLINGENSIEF AND HIS FILMS asks for Schlingensief’s experiences in filmmaking, beginning with his first 8mm-films to FREAKSTARS 3000. Extracts from all his movies as well as his short films let his ideas of filmmaking speak (visually).

Paul Bowles – Halfmoon

Frieder Schlaich Irene von Alberti

GER 1995, 93 min

Three short stories by Paul Bowles, the American writer from Tangiers whose 1949 Masterpiece “The Sheltering Sky” was filmed by Bernardo Bertoculli in 1990, are the subject of the prizewinning film by Irene von Alberti and Frieder Schlaich. PAUL BOWLES – HALFMOON is a magical three-part descent into the realms of cobras, kif and quandries of life. The famous cult author himself introduces the episodes, which all tell of ununsual relationships.

Three Stones for Jean Genet

Frieder Schlaich

GER 2014, 7 min

Cause I have the Looks

Frieder Schlaich

GER 2012, 81 min

13-year-old Charo seems like a typical Berlin teenager. She’s a student surrounded by good friends and has her eye on the coolest guy in school. But no one knows that Charo has been living in Germany illegally for years, not even her best friend Laura. Problems start to arise when Charo’s mother is caught by the police and wants to take Charo back to Columbia. Charo now needs to trust Laura with her secret because it’s the only way she’ll be able to fight for her future in Germany.

Otomo

Frieder Schlaich

GER 1999, 82 min

Stuttgart in August 1989. A simple tram ticket check triggers a tragedy: When the asylum-seeker Frederic Otomo is caught without a ticket and detained, he starts to panick and runs off. A few hours later, when the Police close in on him on a bridge, he stabs two officers. Based on a true story.

Naomi’s Journey

Frieder Schlaich

GER/Peru 2017, 92 min

20-year-old Naomi lives a simple life with her younger siblings in Peru. Only her big sister seems to live a life of fortune, being married in Germany. But now she is dead, murdered by her German husband. Stunned by the news, Naomi can’t imagine accompanying her mother to Germany, the land of the crime. But then she changes her mind, becomes a joint plaintiff, and takes part in the trial in Berlin.

Chance 2000 – Farewell to Germany

Kathrin Krottenthaler Frieder Schlaich

GER 2017, 131 min

Katrin Krottenthaler and Frieder Schlaich digitized and edited more than 100 hours of video material to create a documentary journey back in time to one of Schlingensief’s longest and most ambicious project CHANCE 2000. In addition to the total of six actions, which were documented by seven people, we travel with Schlingensief, Martin Wuttke, Dietrich Kuhlbrodt, Carl Hegemann and others on a election campain tour through the republic and are guests on talk shows of supporters like Harald Schmidt and Alfred Biolek.