16 Times Germany – “BERLIN: REICHSTAG”

ARD, 2013, 15 min.

True to its federal tradition, ARD – the consortium of public broadcasters in Germany – has decided to give particular attention to the 2013 Day of German Unity. Under the guidance of Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg, sixteen directors will present their specific German Federal State, or Bundesland, in a 15-minute documentary.

The author of the Berlin contribution to this 16-part series is Sandra Maischberger. As the focus of her film the journalist has chosen a place that greatly impressed her when she first visited Berlin at the age of sixteen: the Berlin Reichstag, the historic landmark of the German capital. It is also the work and meeting place of people with the most diverse backgrounds and very distinctive life stories to tell.

Sandra Maischberger, who decided to move to the German capital with her husband thirteen years ago, portrays these individuals whose lives revolve around the Berlin Reichstag. Together these snapshots create an interesting cross-section of Berlin’s society – from newly arrived residents to true Berliners born and raised in the city, from politicians to cleaners – representing the most amazing biographies from East and West.