Urban living

They dream, fail, celebrate—together. But when life gets in the way, their friendship is put to the ultimate test.

The freight yard is making way for a prison: a place of mobility is becoming a place of stagnation.

Secret glances, quiet longing: in a Korean spa, David navigates between a sense of duty and identity as he discovers a new desire.

A fraudulent fortune teller, a genuine miracle: Ramses struggles with chaos, kids, and his own role in a neighborhood full of faith and violence.

Gus Van Sant's atmospheric study of teenage skater Jake, who tries to come to terms with a traumatic death.

The discovery of a woman's body in the retort city of Sophia Antipolis reveals the dystopian, dehumanized underbelly of the slick, technology hub.

In China, an arms factory has to make way for the luxury residential project “24 City”. Three generations of factory workers report on the change.

Cities are growing relentlessly. But how can we keep places livable in times of climate change?

Discover the rough and vibrant Berlin, accompanied by music from Gudrun Gut, Modeselektor and Frank Wiedemann.

A tribute to the uncomfortable artist and utopian Harald Naegeli, who was supported by Joseph Beuys and Willy Brandt.

Mysteries and supernatural events heat up the Saint-Henri neighborhood in a sweltering Montreal summer.

Director Umut Subaşı deftly captures the essence of millennial malaise in contemporary Istanbul.

Before the war, one of Kyiv's hottest subject was one of Trump’s cronies turning a masterpiece concert hall into a shopping mall.

After thirty years, the Mayor of Lyon is running out of ideas, and thanks to a young and brilliant philosopher, he is now getting new hope.

In the heart of Berlin, a GDR ruin is given a new lease on life and becomes a center for art, culture and community.

Acclaimed Lebanese director Simon El Habre paints a vivid portrait of Beirut post-Civil War, highlighting the impact of the 2020 port explosion.

The mesmerizing world of Albert Serra's PACIFICTION departs from the exotic portrayal of Tahiti, presenting an authentic glimpse into its beauty.

A young woman roams through the night. On a train, she rummages through other people's luggage, seeking closeness to them in an unusual way.

A film in episodes based on the trend blog "Notes of Berlin" that sheds light on the urban madness of everyday life.

Two prefabricated buildings facing each other, three women, three generations, one video camera. The story of an obsession.

A refreshingly realistic, contemporary, and self-ironic look at the lives of 10 lesbian women in Montreal, Canada.

Israeli filmmaker Meni Yaesh tackles the complex yet always renewable thematic triangle of religion, violence, and sex.

An intimate examination of a contemporary artist couple whose living and working patterns are threatened by the imminent sale of their home.

A powerful tale of two brothers at odds in Pigalle, Paris directed by the two French rappers Hamé and Ékoué.

A compelling exploration of the complexities of American life, history, and society through the lens of the unique and fascinating sport drag racing.

Discover the hidden world of the former meat factory in Vienna's Sonnwendviertel through the lens of filmmaker Dariusz Kowalski.

This experimental video portrait delves into questions of homelessness, the impact of incarceration, trauma, and living on the fringes of society.

An exploration of the eerie interplay of reality and fiction in contemporary China, where cities are built on speculation and capitalist fictions.

From YouTube to the cinemas: In this loving homage to Berlin's pub culture, Berlin original Heiko must win a darts tournament.

In the basement of the never completed Museum of the Revolution, Belgrade dwell the outcasts of a society that is being transformed by capitalism.

A senistive drama that authentically and lovingly captures the lifestyle of a group of young urbanites on the brink of a quarter-life crisis.

Filipino enfant terrible Khavn (de la Cruz) paints a frightening vision of a world running headlong towards the abyss.

Three German women go to New York City in the early 1980's and try to get established there.

This authentic documentary follows male sex workers from Bahnhof Zoo in Berlin as they work, shedding light on the issue of male prostitution.

Neo-noir thriller set to the soundtrack of Massive Attack's 3D

This documentary about everyday hospital life in China combines the serious and the amusing in a very balanced ratio.

Compassionate mumblecore-style drama about a young woman's struggles with the expectations placed on her by her partner and friends.

Faced with the imminent destruction of their opera house, a traditional Sichuan opera troupe plans a big show to save their opera house.

Joscha is on high alert. He wants to take a pill, but chance encounters with old friends keep him from swallowing it. Shot in a single t ake!

PARABETON shows in chronological sequence 17 buildings by the Italian engineer and architect Pier Luigi Nervi (1891-1979) in Italy and France.

In the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta, a family lives in perfect harmony with nature for 20 years until being chased out.

Two years before his death, the HIV-positive Baldiga reviews his life, in selected episodes.

After five years of relationship, Shimi calls it quits with the young actor Mizuki. His initial acceptance of the break-up soon turns into defiance.

The real kings of LOS REYES ("The Kings"), the oldest skate park in the Chilean capital Santiago, are the two stray dogs Futbol and Chola.

The last round in Sin City. In the shadow of Las Vegas, filmmakers spend the last 24 hours before they close the Roaring 20s bar.

During a black out, social and personal conflicts culminate in an Istanbul neighborhood threatened by gentrification.

A Delhi woman's rocky road to her own cab license.

9 LIVES portrays the fate of young people who decided at the age of 11, 12 or 13 to leave home and to live on the streets.

A political and sociological look at the transformation and gentrification of Berlin through teenage eyes.

Housing is a human right. How can we guarantee housing in the increasingly difficult real estate markets in Europe's major cities?

The first part of Thomas Arslan's "Berlin Trilogy", which shows young people with a Turkish migration history from their own perspective.

It's summer. Zou and Anselm are newly in love and spend their afternoon at the lake. A fairy tale seems to have come true.

Driven by their obsessions and fears, three Berliners lose themselves in the urban jungle.

This LGBTQ musical revolves around Javi, a young sex worker, and his quest for love and happiness.

When Jonas loses his job at a Hamburg startup he doesn’t have the heart to tell his girlfriend Katharina.

Tinder users in Berlin talk openly and honestly and about real-life encounters, both the good and the bad, with dates made using the famous dating app

With camera angles reminiscent of paintings, up-and-coming star from Brazil Afonso Uchôa explores the beauty of everyday gestures and moments.

They skate, smoke, rap and compare their bullet scars. A surreal portrait of Brazil's fallen youth.

With his at once contemporary and timeless drama, Affonso Uchôa confirms his reputation as one of the most promising talents in Brazilian cinema.

After the death of her grandmother Kati meets her biological mother Iris, who is just twice as old as she is and also a professional pickpocket.

Whether in Delhi, Pune, Mumbai or Kolkata, street vendors from very different backgrounds sell the country's most popular drink, masala chai.

A visually and sonically striking ensemble piece set in a hotel on the city outskirts as Paris is mired in political chaos...

This Oscar-nominated drama about a reinterpretation of the Passion of Christ shines in new splendor after being restored and digitized.

A look at the history of Mexico City through the architecture of a housing complex.

Istanbul is being transformed by gentrification. We follow street vendors as they are robbed of more than just their livelihood.

The spectacle of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro are in full swing. But the grim contrast of poverty is only a few blocks away.

10-year-old Valentina lives in a rundown one-room shack with her family of 12. A loving, unsparing and touching family portrait.

In this nocturnal urban fairy tale about drifting millennials, in which reality and fiction merge.

Awaiting his prison sentence, Ilkka spends his last night of freedom with his younger brother Simo.

Six more or less ordinary lives in Montréal, connected by a Greek immigrant cab driver named Cosmos - with Denis Villeneuve.

Paula and Rodrigo are young, queer artists, like many others in Berlin. Outside of their utopian rehearsal room, they have to fight German red tape.

Germany was once a torn country divided into East and West. Post-war architecture keeps the memory of this era alive.

Calcutta, India, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, is home not only to 14 million people, but also to countless stray dogs.

Two teenage brothers must confront their own personal biases if they are to survive life on the streets as British Arabs.

In the Czech capital, the chav Vandam rises up against capitalism, gentrification and the closure of his local pub.

Joy is a young woman living in Tel Aviv. She has a love-hate relationship with its casual sex scene.

After years in a juvenile detention center, Spira returns to his neighborhood, but gentrification and demolition excavators are taking hold.

Self-taught photographer and photography legend Duane Michals is known for the innovation and artistry of his work.

After more than 80 years, the "Scala Filmpalast" had to make way for a drugstore.

Kenya is on the brink of a fateful choice, and in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, 300,000 people are hoping for an improvement in their situation.

The ground beneath the Spanish metropolis of Madrid is crisscrossed by an invisible network of tunnels, shafts and canals.

Motorcycle taxi driver Abel is the sole provider for his family. When his boda boda is stolen, he has to descend into the underworld of Kampala.

The radical-minded urban planner Angèle neglects her friends and family for her political struggle.

Mark and Antonia have a long-distance relationship and are taking a joint holiday in Paris. Their last visit was a long while back. How will it go?

A documentary look into the world of Genclikspor Recklinghausen, an amateur soccer club in Germany with immigrant roots.

Asalif and his mother are displaced from their farmland on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. To fight for their livelihood, Asalif taps into his fantasy.

Solange lives a secluded life in her Paris apartment. When one day a delivery man rings at her door, her little world is torn apart.

Gripping drama with film noir undertones about a man's delusional search for his allegedly missing wife.

This student film about the power of chance was lost for years and only rediscovered by chance.

A sequence of everyday-scenarios develops in synchronisation across what seems like a regular night in the city.

The anonymous Berlin concrete building "Excelsior" is only a temporary stop for its residents, yet some have been living there for more than 50 years.

Isabelle, Parisian artist, divorced mother, is looking for love, true love, at last.

Bikes vs Cars highlights a global crisis that we have long been aware of and should be talking about: The climate and mobility crisis....

An exploration of facial recognition, a modern fingerprint that provides access to a person's personality like a secret code.

A film about the absurdities of being a mom today.

The meeting of two extraordinary artistic souls on the streets of New York could be just what they are looking for.

After meeting the woman on the train Erwin Retzmann kills her in the forest.

A modern fairy tale from Berlin, somewhere between patchwork family life, precarious acting jobs and superheroism.

Ira translates to "wrath," but this feeling is barely voiced by the main characters, who live on the grim fringes of society.

In 1974, a young French high-wire artist named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers, then the world’s tallest ...

A year in the life of an ordinary street in Berlin. With narration by Clemens Schick and music by Till Merten.