Rolf Rische

From Nightlife To Nightmare

The Hamas terror attack had dramatic consequences for people in Israel, the Gaza Strip and around the world. Here, we hear individual stories from people living in Tel Aviv. What were their lives like before 7 October 2023? What’s their current perception of the war? What do they see, when they look to the future? In the summer of 2023, Tel Aviv was a lively, liberal and open metropolis, known as the “Mediterranean Capital of Cool”. Then came October 7, and changed everything. Here, people’s lives are forever divided: into ‘before’, and ‘after’. Club owners, culture workers, restaurateurs, LGBTQ activists and architects share very personal insights into a traumatized society. And they’ve not given up hope for better times once the war is over.

Music Under the Swastika - The Maestro and the Cellist of Auschwitz

The stories of Jewish cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who survived Auschwitz, and of star conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, who worked with the Nazis, provide insight. The film centers around two people who represent musical culture during the Third Reich - albeit in very different ways. Wilhelm Furtwängler was a star conductor; Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, the cellist of the infamous Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz. Both shared a love for the classical German music.

A World Without Beethoven?

"What would the world be like without Beethoven?" That’s the provocative question posed by this music documentary from Deutsche Welle. To answer it, the film explores how Ludwig van Beethoven's innovations continue to have an impact far beyond the boundaries of classical music, 250 years after his birth.

The Promise of Music

Film featuring Simón Bolivar Orquesta Sinfónica, Gustavo Dudamel and Felix Mendoza