Catalogue

The lives of two families are traced over three decades of social, political and human upheaval in China. Following the loss of a child in a tragic accident, their paths separate. Destinies ebb and flow, and fortunes are transformed under the impact of a country’s changing face. Yet even as their lives diverge, a common search for truth and reconciliation around the tragedy remains. But sometimes it can take a lifetime to say farewell.

The summer of 1990 is hot in the countryside of Thuringia, in former East Germany. Maria is about to turn 19, lives with her boyfriend Johannes on his parents’ farm and would rather lose herself in books than focus on graduating. There is a sense of a new era dawning with the German reunification, when she bumps into Henner, the farmer next door. One touch is all it takes to ignite an all-consuming passion between Maria and the headstrong, charismatic man twice her age. In an atmosphere buzzing with possibilities, love is born: a secret passion full of longing and desire that devours everything in its path.

Nora is fourteen and lives with her parents in a quiet Berlin suburb. She is a romantic introvert who spends her day retreated into her own enchanted dreamworld. Her parents, Anette and Uwe, are busy trying to handle reality ...

On the remote island of Chiloé in the late 19th century, an Indigenous girl named Rosa lives and works with her father on a farm. When the foreman brutally turns on Rosa’s father, she sets out for justice, seeking help from the king of a powerful organization of sorcerers.

Restaurant owner Zinos bends over backwards to make Soul Kitchen a success, while trying to cope with his failing love life and his rocky relationship with his irresponsible ex-con brother. Family and friends, love, trust and loyalty and the struggle to protect a place called home.

Through the eyes of Erich, his children and grandchildren we experience the milestones in the history of post-war Federal Republic Germany. When Erich returns from the battlefield he finds out his wife has taken a lover. He contributes to the "economic miracle" by building a garden gnome factory.
Meanwhile his son Klaus decides to become a poet, yet his wife turns out to be the far more talented writer. Under the influence of the famous Group 47 and concepts of free love, grandson Robert will eventually break free and find true love in the midst of narcissism, petty bourgeoisie and former Nazis. And despite his frustrations even Erich will be moved to acts of kindness.

Nero, a 19-year-old Mexican, dreams of immigrating to the US. He joins the US Army as a Green-Card soldier and is shipped out to fight in the Middle East. Fighting for nationality, he gets lost in a violent maze.

Award-winning documentary filmmakers Massimo D'Anolfi and Martina Parenti pay tribute to humankind's aspirations for immortality by showing us a portrait of our efforts to overcome our own limits. They share their discoveries in a visual symphony to the power and harmony of nature's elements: water, earth, air and fire. From Milan to Wounded Knee, USA, from Bern to Shirahama, Japan, the traces of the filmmakers' travels spiral into a symbol of perfection and infinity: Spira Mirabilis.