Darling Berlin

The label Darling Berlin stands for fresh and uncommon independent movies from the German capital.

Often underfunded but with a lot of heart and a story to tell, a whole new generation of filmmakers and actors is producing movies that are down to earth yet skillfully defy expectations. No rules. No compromise. Deeply funny, genuinely moving and refreshingly different.

With the Berlin audience already convinced, UCM.ONE, the creators of Darling Berlin, has been dedicated to making these movies accessible to the rest of the world.

Feature films

The following feature films, sometimes inspired by real life people or events, have been published on the film label Darling Berlin so far:

Feature films that we market in world distribution (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland):

More information about the films listed above (synopsis, backgrounds, trailers, participants & actors, awards) you can get by clicking on the poster of the film you want to get more information about.

Documentaries

Documentations illuminate individual themes, scenes or areas and because we want to show Berlin in picture and sound in as many facets as possible, documentation should not be missing. For this reason, Darling Berlin occasionally brings out documentary films (a non-fictional film genre) that deal with specific Berlin topics.

More information about the documentaries listed above (synopsis, backgrounds, trailers, participants & actors, awards) you can get by clicking on the poster of the documentary you want to get more information about.

Medium length films

The definition of a “medium-length film” is merely that it is a film whose duration is between that of a short film and that of a feature film. The name of this particular genre is hardly common in German-speaking countries, it is however a phenomenon in countries with Romance languages: “moyen-métrage” (French), “mediometraggio” (Italian) and “mediometraje” (Spanish).

We find “medium-length films” exciting, because the pressures and limitations of the marketable formats do not apply, it is the story itself that is the focus – no matter when it ends. We usually release and market “medium-length films” digitally, although occasionally we also include them in DVD releases (as a bonus film) or in DVD boxes.

Short films

Short stories respectively short films are understood as an independent genre with special expressive possibilities. Due to its brevity, the short film offers filmmakers artistic possibilities. As a result, directors of cinematographic films often return to the short film format. The maximum playing time to classify a film as a short film is not handled consistently. The makers of the Berlinale define the maximum length of a short film depending on the section to a maximum of 30 minutes.

Web Series “Emma’s World”

On December 16, 2016, the series Emma’s Word (German: “Emmas Welt”) by Nicole Fornoff (Producer) and Luise Brinkmann (Director) was exclusively launched on Darling Berlin‘s YouTube channel. In the following weeks, another episode was published. Later, the series was then also at other providers such. Amazon Prime, Dailymotion and Vimeo VOD released via Darling Berlin.

The series tells the story of 25-year-old Emma. Her clumsy and lovable way of chasing her absurd funny situations literally. She has just dropped out of law school in support of her life partner when she realizes he is cheating on her. Now she is faced with nothingness: without a job, without money, without a flat.

Berlin movie classics

In addition to the current films, Darling Berlin also publishes selected classic films from directors of the past. Just as we can show the current Berlin in picture and sound today, in these films, the long-forgotten times can revive again, because directors from those days archived the tends, speeches and everyday problems of the Berliners through their work.

More information about the films listed above (synopsis, backgrounds, trailers, participants & actors, awards) you can get by clicking on the poster of the film you want to get more information about.

Edition German Mumblecore

From about 2008, the movement German Mumblecore* developed in Berlin. “German Mumblecore” stands above all (but not only) for improvised cinema “Made in Germany”. The films and their makers are celebrated especially at film festivals in Germany. Without a screenplay, films were full of energy, explosiveness and lightness. These are extraordinary tragicomedies: only laughter is more cordial and the tragic more everyday than one knows from comparable German films. With little money and great independence, the highly talented filmmakers succeed in capturing the lifestyle of their generation in Berlin with their camera.

Together with the film festival achtung berlin, the “Edition German Mumblecore” was created, which presents in a box the most important films of the “German Mumblecore” on 10 DVDs with a big booklet.

In addition to the 10 DVDs, the DVD box also contains a 60-page booklet in which Urs Spörri (including manager of culture at the German Filminstitut - DIF e.V. in Frankfurt) sheds light on the background to the movement.

* Interesting about the name “German Mumblecore” is above all that the Berlin scene seldom even uses this name or not at all and is usually more critical of the name. Rather, the name was used by festivals and press and thus shaped. The term “Mumblecore” is originally a US sub-genre of independent film. In Germany, the name “Berlin Flow” is occasionally used for this type of film. In the US, “Andrew Bujalski” is usually referred to as the one who shot the first Mumblecore movie in 2002 with the movie “Funny Ha Ha“. Characteristic of Mumblecore are small to very small production budgets, improvised dialogues, the use of interiors and sometimes deliberate do-it-yourself aesthetics. At the center of the plot are often young people with their inner views and interpersonal problems, with the focus mostly on realistic human interactions, incorporating the personal experiences of directors and actors.

We from Darling Berlin have dealt with the implementation of the project a lot with the name of the box – but then decided to use the name “German Mumblecore“, although we have deliberately not used in the marketing of their own films and will use. But since festivals and the press have coined this name and we do not want to present a new name with the box, but to show an emerging movement (as it will always be called later), we use in this case the name, the the most attentive movie lovers currently most connect with it. Urs Spörri also deals extensively with the entry and the term “German Mumblecore” in the booklet of the DVD box. For the first time, the name “German Mumblecore” in Germany was used by Sebastian Brose during a performance at the festival achtung berlin. This was also a strong argument to use the name “Mumblecore”, as this Berlin festival actively accompanies the developments of the young filmmakers in Berlin and also presents this DVD box in cooperation with Darling Berlin.

Original Soundtracks

What would films be without the right music? For this reason, UCM.ONE also releases the corresponding “Original Soundtracks” for some films. While the term “soundtrack” literally refers to the “sound track” with parts of sounds, music and effects of a film, TV programme or show, the abbreviation “OST” or the term “original soundtrack” usually stands for the music that can be heard in the film, although usually only excerpts of the entire music tracks are part in the film.

News

🎬 “Berlin Bytch Love” (Darling Berlin) celebrated its theatrical premiere at the Krokodil cinema in Berlin

The documentary “Berlin Bytch Love” by Heiko Aufdermauer and Johannes Girke celebrated its theatrical release premiere on February 29, 2024 at the renowned Berlin arthouse cinema “Krokodil” in Prenzlauer Berg. The screening was followed by a film talk in which the filmmakers and the protagonist Sophie gave insights into the making of the film and…

Read more

🎬 “Berlin Bytch Love” (Darling Berlin) can be seen in cinemas nationwide from today

From today, “Berlin Bytch Love” can be seen in selected cinemas across Germany. The documentary is also celebrating its theatrical release premiere at the Krokodil cinema in Berlin on the Darling Berlin film label. The film takes an unvarnished look at the lives of Sophie (15) and Dominik (17), who have been living on the…

Read more

🎬 Restored version of “The Endless Night” (Darling Berlin) as world premiere at the Berlinale

UCM.ONE is pleased to present the world premiere of the 4K digitally restored version of Will Tremper’s film “The Endless Night” (German original tile: “Die Endlose Nacht”) as part of the Retrospective at the Berlinale. This masterpiece of German cinema from 1963 is characterized by its unique plot and production style. Shot at West Berlin’s…

Read more

🎬 UCM.ONE at the 74th Berlinale and the EFM 2024

This year, the UCM.ONE team will be present at the 74th Berlinale from 15 to 24 February. The Berlinale (or in long form: Berlin International Film Festival) is an annual film festival held in Berlin. Alongside the film festivals in Cannes and Venice, it is one of the most important film festivals in Europe and…

Read more

🎬 UCM.ONE signs the thriller “Darlings” by Lea de Boor and Steffen Maurer for cinema and world distribution

The thriller “Darlings” by the directing and writing team Lea de Boor and Steffen Maurer will be released by UCM.ONE on the Darling Berlin label in the course of 2024 and will also be distributed worldwide. The independent production, a co-production of the Berlin film school filmArche and the Berlin film production company Ultimaratiofilm, is…

Read more

🎬 “About Living in Brandenburg” by Zoltan Paul & Ben von Grafenstein will be shown in German cinemas from April 11, 2024

“About Living in Brandenburg” (German original title: “ÜberLeben in Brandenburg”) by Zoltan Paul and Ben von Grafenstein tells the story of a discarded “best-ager director” who tries to prevent a right-wing mayor in his village of 120 souls. Topical, meaningful, hilarious! The film will be released by UCM.ONE via the Artkeim² label in German and…

Read more