Günter Atteln

When a woman steps onto the conductor's podium, she is always one of the first: the first to lead a world-class orchestra, the first to conduct the closing night of London's Proms, the first to win the German Conductor Prize. It seems as though the world of orchestral conducting might finally be ready to change its attitudes toward female conductors.

Follows Joana Mallwitz during two pivotal years – when she gives birth to her son and her career accelerates significantly. But whether she’s at home, at rehearsals, or in the spotlight, the German conductor strives to prove that perfection at work is just as important as finding the right rhythm in life.

He is the most performed contemporary composer in the world. And yet he rarely ventures out in public, prefers to keep quiet about his music, feels at home in the forests of Estonia and generates therewith - perhaps involuntarily - the impression of a recluse, which is attributed to him again and again: Arvo Part. In The Lost Paradise, we follow him over a period of one year in his native Estonia, to Japan and the Vatican. The documentary is framed by the stage production of Adam's Passion, a music theater piece based on the Biblical story of the fall of Adam featuring three key works by Arvo Part. The world-renowned director Robert Wilson has brought this work to the stage in a former submarine factory in Tallinn. Tracing their creative process, the film offers rare and personal insights into the worlds of two of the most fascinating personalities in the international arts and music scene.

El Sistema is a network of childrens and youth orchestras, music centres and workshops in Venezuela, in which more than 250,000 children and young people are currently learning to play an instrument. It was set up over thirty years ago by José Antonio Abreu, who was driven by the utopian vision of a better future. In the dangerous and poverty-stricken shanty towns of Caracas, Abreu lifts children out of poverty through music, changing both people and structures. The film El Sistema shows how Abreus astonishing ideas have led the way out of the vicious circle of poverty - and how the power of music has been able to change the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people.

From Bucharest to the remote villages of the Carpathians, from the national composer Georges Enesco to his contemporary heirs, a journey in the footsteps of Romanian musical traditions. “Romanian popular music forms an imposing whole, a precious treasure from which our composers draw their inspiration,” said Georges Enesco, trained on the violin by a Gypsy teacher. Punctuated by quotes from the composer and interpretations of his works, this documentary sets out in search of a treasure of many nuances, which continues to liven up village festivals and influence the young Romanian scene. From the scores of Dan Dediu, one of today's greatest composers, to the folk songs of the Maramures, a journey to discover this fascinating mosaic of musical cultures.

As a shooting star among the conductors, she was the youngest general music director in Europe, was elected "Conductor of the Year" and celebrated her acclaimed debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2020. The documentation accompanies Joana Mallwitz on her further career path until she took office in Berlin and at the same time gives a very personal insight into the life of the conductor.

Boulez rehearsing with the Berlin Philharmonic

At the opening of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, not only the spectacular architecture but also its outstanding acoustics were celebrated - and Yasuhisa Toyota became the darling of the media. Ennobled from "ZEIT" to "Dr. Sound", the likeable Japanese is one of the world's most sought-after stars among acousticians. In addition to Yasuhisa Toyota, these include above all Jürgen Reinhold and Martijn Vercammen, who made Daniel Barenboim's heart's desire for better acoustics in the magnificent building a reality in the recently reopened Berlin State Opera.