Praesens-Film

In postwar Germany, a displaced Czech boy, separated from his family during wartime, is befriended by an American GI while the boy's mother desperately searches for him.

The search for a child murderer drags a once-respected detective into an all-consuming obsession.

French Guyana, not so long ago. Eliott, a young and naive anthropology researcher, goes on an expedition to study the Otopis, a mysterious tribe from the Amazon rainforest. It is also an opportunity for him to get away from the grip of his possessive mother, Chantal de Bellabre, an ethnologist hated by the profession for her biased and cold-hearted practices. Arriving in the forest Elliot realizes the Otopis are not the “good savages” he had imagined. Alcoholic, violent, crooked: they will turn his expedition into real hell in the jungle. Fortunately, Chantal, consumed by remorse and worried about her son, decides to abandon her own expedition and goes looking for him in the jungle, with the help of the not so helpful Lieutenant-Commander Raspailles and his men.

Heidi, a young orphan girl living with her aunt in Frankfurt, is forced to move to the Swiss Alps to live with her ornery grandfather. At first, he resents her presence, but, after a short while, Heidi manages to pierce his gruff exterior, and the two become close. She also befriends a young shepherd named Peter. After three years, Heidi's aunt arrives and demands Heidi's return to Frankfurt.

Kuhle Wampe takes place in early-1930s Berlin. The film begins with a montage of newspaper headlines describing steadily-rising unemployment figures. This is followed by scenes of a young man looking for work in the city and the family discussing the unpaid back rent. The young man, brother of the protagonist Anni, removes his wristwatch and throws himself from a window out of despair. Shortly thereafter his family is evicted from their apartment. Now homeless, the family moves into a garden colony of sorts with the name “Kuhle Wampe.”

In the dense and murky woodlands of provincial Hungary, the search for a child murderer drags a once-respected detective into an all-consuming obsession enshrouded by irresolution and despair, even long after he has been taken off the case. What emerges is not a crime story, but a harrowing venture through the darkness of the human soul.

Escaping a Nazi prison train in war-torn Italy, an American and a British soldier set out for the Swiss border and find themselves leading a multi-national party of refugees for the Italian underground.

Heidi lives with Alp-Öhi n the Swiss Alps in the summer, where she helps Peter tend the goats. In winter, she stays in the village and attends school. One day, a letter arrives from Heidi's German friend, Klara Sesemann, announcing her visit. Klara indeed appears the next summer along with her grandmother and the prim governess Miss Rottenmeyer. Klara is quickly convinced to stay with Heidi, but Peter becomes resentful that Heidi now spends so little time with him...

Soviet, British, French and American allies patrol post-war Vienna.

In the 1770s, Swiss farmer Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi established a school for poor orphaned children in the Aargau. Up to total exhaustion he sacrificed himself for his pedagogical theories. Five years later, the project of the idealistic educator failed after bloody attacks of the French. In retrospect, the disappointed Pestalozzi experiences the last few months with "his" children.

The film traces Uli's progress from his humble peasant surroundings to the homes of the wealthy and prominent. The characterizations are convincing, and the comic interludes surprisingly subtle and believable for a Swiss film. The no-star cast doomed Uli Der Knecht from the start so far as American distribution was concerned. It was another matter in Switzerland, where the film was one of the year's top moneymakers. Uli der Knecht was based on a novel by Jeremias Gottbelf.

Farmer Heiri has sold his calf and celebrates his temporary wealth in the big city. But in doing so he is confronted with many temptations and dangers: pickpockets, second-rate artists and prostitutes who all try to grab the money of this naive man from Hausen. A 1978 recording of the well-known Zurich boulevard theatre piece.

A sailor on leave meets a beautiful girl on the ski slopes of Switzerland.

When a young European woman assumes a false identity in 1920s Argentina, she gets more than she bargained for.

Uli has been the tenant of the "Glunggen-farm" for two years. His wife Vreneli gave him two children and the couple is happy. But this year, the harvest looks bad and his landlord calls in the rent, as the old man urgently needs money to satisfy the demands of his son and stepson. Desperate to make ends meet, Uli fraudulently sells a cow knowing that she does not produce any milk. He is pursued in court but is acquitted. But then, the buyer curses him... and disaster promptly strikes.

This film shows contrasting views of women with problematic pregnancies and the outcomes resulting when they seek out a back-alley abortionist, a trained and licensed abortion provider in a clinic, or an obstetrician capable of performing a Caesarian Section. The full film appears to be lost, but shortened versions, including one with dialogue scenes added in Germany in 1935, can be found on the internet. Additionally, Eisenstein's role in making the picture remains unclear: did he direct some or all of it, just edit it, or merely leave it to Alexandrov and Tisse to make? Released in the USA 1930 in a 65 minute (5800 ft.) version with English intertitles and a music track under the title BIRTH.

The Shadows Grow Longer (German: Die Schatten werden länger) is a 1961 Swiss drama film directed by Ladislao Vajda. The film was selected as the Swiss entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 34th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.

The titular Marie-Louise is a young French lass who is evacuated to Switzerland when her country is overrun by the Nazis. Suffering a nervous breakdown, she is given comfort and shelter by a wealthy family. Unfortunately, living in the lap of luxury makes Marie-Louise hesitant to return home to her mother and war torn home. Eventually the girl comes to her senses, but it isn't easy.