Bilal came up in Germantown, a northwest neighbourhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A deep interest in jazz was fostered by his father, who took him to the city’s clubs, singing eventually became more than an interest. He attended New York’s new…

In this pilot to a new series about the European musical heritage, soul musician Joy Denalane embarks on a journey to Austria to encounter the world of folk music. For centuries, this musical genre has provided a vital space for love and romanticism…

Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Notorious’ is released in 1946. Portrait of a film: after the fall of the Third Reich, the U.S. Secret Service, in order to prevent terrorist attacks, infiltrates the web of Nazi expatriates in South America. Hitchcock encrusts a…

Jean-Marie Poiré shoots Santa Claus is a Stinker in 1981. Portrait of a film: Christmas Eve at the headquarters of “SOS Distress Friendship”. While a desperate man commits suicide over the phone, all sorts of characters arrive unannounced at the…

This LOFT production was co-produced with the BR and ORF and is a comprehensive portrait of Friedrich Gulda, pianist of the century and „enfant terrible“ of the classical music establishment. We have interwoven archive material dating from his…

Nagisa Oshima directed «In the Realm of the Senses» in 1976. Portrait of a film: a sexually explicit film about absolute love. Considered to be pornographic by its director, it was regarded as an ‘art’ film in many countries. It was filmed in Japan…

Rainer Werner Fassbinder shot Maria Braun's wedding in 1979. Story of a film: The film is about the life and destiny of Maria Braun and tells the rise and fall of this great adventurer and exceptional woman who lived in West Germany between 1945 and…

Jacques Demy directs ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’ in 1963. Portrait of a film : Geneviève and Guy fall in love in Cherbourg, in 1957. Guy is called to service in Algeria, leaving Geneviève behind, pregnant and broken-hearted. The film is the dream…

Portrait of a film: A Separation is the story of a divorce in our times in Tehran. A young woman wants to emigrate with her daughter, but her husband does not share this desire, as he wants to stay with his father, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease…

Once upon a time, Lawrence of Arabia, a film by David Lean. (1962) Inspired by his life and his Arabic autobiography "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom," David Lean's film tells the epic story of the English intelligence officer who led the Arab uprising…