Streaming tips

A documentary about The Fantastischen Vier and their Long Player Tour 2024, which shows the band away from the spotlight and highlights their 35-year career.
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 21.12.2026.
 

The documentary explores the continuing relevance of Thomas Mann's novel The Magic Mountain.
Watch on DW Doku@Youtube.

The documentary tells the fascinating story of the rise and fall of what was once Germany’s largest social network.
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 05.02.2027.

In the ZDF series FilmFrauen. Die Interviews, female actors, directors, producers and screenwriters talk about their experiences in the German film industry.
Watch on ZDF-Mediathek until 01.01.2099.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

An episode of kinokino: Michael Verhoeven, director of films such as The White Rose and The Nasty Girl, caused a scandal with his debut film o.k. at the Berlinale in 1970 and from then on he was regarded as a controversial director. In his films, he repeatedly deals with the German past and collective guilt.
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 26.04.2026.

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

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.

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.

The documentary explores the impact and possibilities of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the film industry. Four filmmakers engage with the topic and attempt to articulate their thoughts on the future of film.
Watch on ZDF Mediathek until 27.05.2026.

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.

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.

This episode of Cinema strikes back takes a look at the evolution of the representation of AI in film.
Watch on funk  until 06.04.2026.

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.
 

The documentary profiles five artists from East Germany, exploring what motivates them and their relationship with their homeland.
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 14.10.2031.

Cikla Twist filma, kas stāsta par vairākiem senioriem, kuri kā viedokļu ietekmētāji iekaro sociālos medijus un atspēko klišejas par vecumu.
Pieejama ARD mediatēkā līdz 16.10.2025.

Director Hendrik Maximilian Schmitt followed German board game designers over several years to explore the phenomenon of "German Games".
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 30.11.2025. 

The documentary commemorates the devastating fire that destroyed the Anna Amalia Library in Weimar in 2004, looking at both the events of the disaster and the subsequent restoration efforts.
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 20.08.2026.

Crime by and starring Bjarne Mädel, based on the novels by Sven Stricker. Chief Inspector Sörensen suffers from an anxiety disorder and transfers to a supposedly quieter town in Nordfriesland, where he hopes life will be more peaceful. Things are not as uneventful as he might have hoped though.
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 23.02.2026.
 

This documentary provides an in-depth look at the toxic work culture in the gaming industry and shows how high the price can be for a dream job in this field.
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 03.03.2026.

Film adaptation of the novel Helix by Marc Elsberg: a thriller about a bodyguard who becomes involved in a dangerous conspiracy involving genetic research. Starring Svenja Jung, Hannes Jaenicke, Samuel Finzi (directed by Elmar Fischer).
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 15.06.2026.

A documentary about the Lohmeyer couple, who, in the far-right-leaning village of Jamel, take a stand against extremism with an annual music festival.
Watch on ZDF Mediathek until 20.11.2031.

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 02.08.2026.

Film adaptation of Christian Baron’s autobiographical novel: Ten-year-old Christian grows up in Kaiserslautern in the 1990s amid poverty and violence. A drama about origins, opportunity, and the courage to overcome adversity. Starring Camille Loup Moltzen, Leonard Kunz (directed by Marc Brummund).
Watch on ARD Mediathek bis 01.11.2025.

The film adaptation of Siegfried Lenz’s novel The Turncoat tells the story of Wehrmacht soldier Walter Proska, who returns to the Eastern Front in the final summer of the war in 1944 after a home leave. Starring Jannis Niewöhner, Małgorzata Mikołajczak (directed by Florian Gallenberger).
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 26.04.2026.

In Rita Falk's debut Eberhofer crime novel, the school principal, Höpfl, is found dead. Small-town police officer Franz Eberhofer investigates and uncovers explosive secrets in the sleepy town of Niederkaltenkirchen. Starring Sebastian Bezzel, Simon Schwarz (directed by Ed Herzog).
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 04.01.2026.