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Stimmt es, dass…?

TV documentary series, 25 min., broadcast weekly | Commissioned by Arte TV

„Stimmt es, dass…?“ is a global retelling of history – starting from a seemingly simple question, we dive into different times with each episode, bring past eras to life through animation and filming at original locations, follow the stories of experts and reveal surprising connections. The focus is on those parts of history that are easily overlooked: World history instead of Eurocentrism, everyday life and cultural practices of ordinary people instead of great rulers and battles. Above all, to us, dealing with the past is not an end in itself, but helps us to see our own times in a new light. „Stimmt es, dass..?“ is fast-paced, profound and told with humor – history for a mature audience that craves more than simple answers.

Who We Eat

Podcast and TV Docuseries, 5x 32 min | Commissioned by Radio Bremen and Arte TV

„Who we eat?“ explores the history, ethics and future of meat consumption. The series looks at the future of food from a variety of perspectives – and at our ambivalent relationship with the sentient creatures with whom we share the planet.

Winner of the Prix Europa 2022 as best non-fictional European television series and of numerous other awards.

Reinvention

TV Docu-Fiction Series, 5x 32 min | Commissioned by Radio Bremen and Arte TV, production in late 2025

What would really happen if a global catastrophe swept across the Earth and only a few thousand people survived? How can we create a new civilization from the elementary building blocks that remain? Will the survivors learn from the mistakes of the past and make their world fairer, smarter and more sustainable? „Reinvention” is the science-based answer to Hollywood’s apocalyptic craving.

Writing in the Underground – The Youth Magazine „Vedem“ in Terezin

Audio Documentary, 55 Minutes

In the Terezin Ghetto, 1942, a group of Jewish boys forms a remarkable community: They declare their home an independent „Republic“, paint their own flag, and compose their own anthem. While they are forced to work during the day, they are secretly educated in the evenings, when the young teacher Valtr Eisinger tells them about Gandhi and Dostoyevsky, unbeknownst to the SS guarding the ghetto. The boys‘ courage to face life manifests itself in „Vedem,“ a weekly magazine edited by 14-year-old Petr Ginz. It contains poems, essays and reports, as well as the latest soccer scores and the joke of the week. Every Friday, they secretly read the most recent texts to one another. And every time a new train leaves for the concentration camps in the East, they hope that no one from the group will be on the list.

Kaskaden

Long-term Documentary Feature | In production.

„Kaskaden“ accompanies the climate activists of the „Last Generation“ in their attempt to design social change on the drawing board. A complex and multi-layered look into the engine room of a movement.

Distributed by Weltkino Filmverleih, in co-production with ZDF – Das kleine Fernsehspiel

Whisper To My Past

Science Fiction TV Series | Optioned by and currently in development at UFA Fiction

Young journalist Henriette stumbles upon a group of young people who stage seemingly random events in people’s lives and play goddess of fate, using an illegal drug. In an attempt to uncover the whole story, Henriette goes undercover with the group and starts to cosy up to their leader Louise, who harbors a dark secret of her own. Soon, the lines between games and reality blur completely.

Eschata – Journey to the End of Humanity

Science Fiction Audio Drama Series | In development, funded by Film und Medien Stiftung NRW

In the far future, the last surviving humans travel through space in a giant ark, searching for a new home. Their everyday life is a social utopia without class and hierarchy. But a young woman discovers a secret that threatens to upend the ideology which holds society together. How much of a sacrifice is justifiable to keep the hope of survival alive? And how much of a crime?

Project Cybersyn – Chile’s Cybernetic Dream of Justice

Podcast Series, 2x 60 min | Feature film currently in development at Warner Bros.

The incredible story of an idealistic attempt to control the economy of an entire country by computer, half a century ago, in Salvador Allende’s Chile. A team of young revolutionaries, entrusted by the socialist government to steer the nationalized parts of the economy, turns to the eccentric British cybernetician Stafford Beer, to implement his theory of a self-regulating economy. A real-world science fiction tragedy.

ABOUT

Eschata Film was founded in 2021 by director Jakob Schmidt and writer Jannis Funk. The Berlin-based production company develops and produces multi-award-winning stories for film, television, and audio. We strongly believe that a different world is possible – and we express this conviction both in our stories and in the way we work. We never underestimate or underchallenge our audience. Our films, series, radio plays and podcasts are made to resonate with people’s thoughts and their emotions in equal measure. They cannot be consumed casually, but require full attention. Our mission as storytellers is to earn that attention anew every second.