Films: 2008
Caves of the Ice Age
The Origin of Art
When a little girl discovered Altamira in 1879 most people believed that the marvellous paintings in the cave were a hoax. But when over the next decades in Spain and in the South of France other wall paintings were discovered – of similar style, but of very different age – it became clear that during the Stone Age our ancestors already had the need for, and the capability of artistic expression. We will recreate the fascinating discoveries of Altamira, Lascaux and Chauvet, film in the original caves with special permission, and explore the mysteries, which today still surround the paintings… 2008, ZDF, 45/52 min
Christine Neubauer
Christine Neubauer - My Family´s Secret
The actress Christine Neubauer is puzzled by an old family photo. As her parents don't know much about their own forebears, Christine Neubauer takes it upon herself to go in search of some clues to the secrets of her family. Why did her grandmother give her own child away? What is the origin of the actress's dark skin that people so often comment upon? Are her ancestors from southern Europe? Italy perhaps? Step by step she reconstructs the life stories of her unknown predecessors. On her path, she discovers destinies characterised by highs and lows and meets women who bravely… 2008, BR, 45 min
Duel in the Skies
The last flight of the Little Prince
At the end of July 1944, the pilot, adventurer and writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, didn't return from his last reconnaissance flight for the Allied armed forces. He was already famous for his book "The Little Prince", but his mysterious disappearance turned him into a legend. In 2003 underwater archaeologists discovered the wreckage of a plane off the coast of Marseille which they identified as Saint-Exupéry's aircraft. But that was not all they found. In the sand around the wreckage they also uncovered the engine of a German pursuit plane. Did Saint-Exupéry collide in the air with a German plane? Did… 2008, ZDF, 45 min
Heavenly voices
The Domspatzen
Shining eyes, rosy lips forming an "O", and a tiny bead of sweat on his nose. Peter is one of 60 boys performing, full of concentration, the "Ave Maria". The boy´s choir Regensburger Domspatzen however, is not only known to connois¬seurs of clerical music. For more than a thousand years, their singing has touched and moved people around the globe. It´s a very special thing to be a "singing sparrow" - to be torn between a normal boyhood and a life which takes the Domspatz to places all around the world. After all, not many children get the chance to… 2008, BR / arte, 90 / 52 min
Life before Life
The moment of our birth is the end of our first life: a life in warm water, safely inside the mother’s body, symbiotic and mysterious; a life which is part of us all but of which we don’t have the slightest memories. It is a life that only lasts nine months - yet this is time enough for a small wonder to occur: out of a single-celled egg arises a complete human being. In Secret Life, we will juxtapose complex computer animations simulating the development of the embryo within the womb with the emotional process of a mother-to-be to open… 2008, ARD / NDR, 2 x 45 min