überlin

Netflix may have had a rough start in Germany, with immediate charges of sexism not exactly endearing it to the country’s progressive thinkers, but there’s no denying the online streaming service’s impressive archive. Alongside original content like House of Cards and BoJack Horseman, there’s TV, documentaries and movies offered in a combination of English and German audio and Deutsch subtitles, including a few features about Berlin itself. So sign up, tune in, and check out our best of Berlin on Netflix Germany. In no particular order…

1) The Edukators 

Screened at a one-off überlin film night, “The Edukators” (German title, “Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei” – “the fat years are over”) is the perfect expression of Berlin’s revolutionary impulses. A young Daniel Brühl and his anti-capitalist cohorts spend their nights breaking into fat cats’ Zehlendorf homes, until events take them on an unexpected journey out of the city. By turns acid sharp, thought-provoking and romantic, this is a German thriller well worth watching.

Netflix link
Audio: German
Subtitles: German [CC]

2) Berlin Calling 

“It’s all gone Pete Tong”, done right. This vehicle for BPitch Control’s Paul Kalkbrenner follows the rise and fall of DJ Ickarus, through sets in (real) Berlin clubs, international dates, drug psychosis and, ultimately, the loony bin. Surprisingly authentic, and by turns funny and touching, “Berlin Calling” is a must-see for fans of the city’s electronic music scene.

Netflix link
Audio: German
Subtitles: German [CC]

3) Sonnenallee

You’ll hardly recognise the eponymous street in this careful reconstruction of life on 1970s Sonnenallee. This comedy highlights the absurd reality of growing up alongside the wall that divides the city, right next to a border crossing between East and West Berlin. An entertaining and human reimagining of East Berlin’s past, set to the soundtrack of banned Western pop music.

Netflix link
Audio: German
Subtitles: German [CC]

4) Herr Lehmann

We haven’t seen this yet, but it comes highly recommended. Set in the final weeks before the fall of the Berlin Wall, in the titular character’s beloved SO 36 neighbourhood, “Herr Lehmann” looks to be funny, irreverent and charming. Also, props for using Fad Gadget’s Berlin-recorded classic, “Collapsing New People”, on the trailer!

Netflix link
Audio: German
Subtitles: German [CC]

5) Fuck for Forest – trailer NSFW!

Token English language film alert! This arresting documentary tracks the efforts of the world’s first eco-porn organisation, which moved from Norway after its founders where tried for having sex in public, to (where else?) Berlin. A curious, and at times cringe-inducing, watch, “Fuck for Forest” captures the chaos of well-meaning activists’ questionable attempts to further their singular cause. Only in Berlin?

Netflix link
Audio: English
Subtitles: German

What about you? What Berlin-based movies would you like to see in Netflix Germany?

We may not be too sentimental about our home on the northeastern shores of England, but we certainly miss the sea. Sure, Berlin has beautiful lakes, but they don’t quite fulfill our longing to feel the coastal winds whip against our faces, taste the salt in the air and gaze out towards the horizon where blue meets blue. That’s why we chose to spend our short summer break on Germany’s largest island, Rügen, which sits on the Baltic Sea (Ostsee), a mere three hours’ drive from Berlin.

For our first Oliday (holiday with Olive), we pointed our rental car due north and headed towards Trent. Here we arrived at our beautiful Airbnb with an ocean view and its very own sauna!  The location was stunning, with wild flowers dotted all around and the sea only a minutes walk away. On an evening we would sit in the garden with a glass of wine, watching sunset close in and the flashing beacon of Hiddensee lighthouse and feel a million miles away from Berlin.

Having set up camp, we started planning a week of wholesome outdoor activities, including visits to the white cliffs of Jasmund National Park, the tiny towns of Sassnitz and Sellin, and the Nazi’s half-built vacation resort of Prora. Check out the first of our holiday snaps, and stay tuned for more adventures of überlin on Rügen!

By Mike T. West.

The months are getting darker and our beards are getting longer, which can only mean one thing – metal is coming.

To kick off a great few months of concerts, tonight we are celebrating the twentieth birthday of Helmet‘s seminal third album. Produced in New York in 1994, Betty is considered a definitive post-metal record and features our drumming man crush John “The Fit” Stanier.

Helmet will be playing the entire album and more alternative hits at the also super old and legendary SO36, tonight from 9pm.

Ohhhhhh Betty!

We’re on our way to Rügen for a short break, so how about some driving music? Here is the island’s own answer to The Ocean, prog rockers Coal & Crayon. They’re playing in Bergen auf Rügen just after we leave, but we hope to catch them live soon:

The owners of Filterhouse have their priorities in order. By day, they serve an impressive selection of filter coffees, and by night, a full menu of gin and tonics. Replacing the reliable Café Matilda, Filterhouse is ramping up the hipsterfication of our beloved Graefekiez with cold brew and cold drip (where did summer go?) and paleo options which taste as good as real Homo sapien food. We can recommend the pancakes with blueberries, coconut, syrup and mint, the (non-paleo) roast chicken with lime and spinach pesto in coffee-encrusted bread, and the coffee… Oh, the coffee! I tried a Gichathaini from Kenya, which was like a rhubarb-y kick up my arse – and I can’t wait to try the rest of the extensive selection. If you like coffee and/or food, check out Filterhouse. If you don’t, get out now!

DNA BLN is kicking off Berlin Music Week with an epic night of live music from hot new artists, plus DJs, food trucks, visual art and more! The teenage metal fan in us is looking forward to Yorkshire metalcore troupe Backstab Burial (Huddersfield, raise your horns!), while our more sophisticated side will be nodding our heads to the cross-genre electronic soul of Switzerland’s Glitter Wasteland (pictured above).

But the real big news for fans of mid-2000s English indie (like us!) is the return of members of The Cooper Temple Clause and north eastern math rockers Yourcodenameis:milo with Losers, injecting a lethal concoction of prog and emo into post-Soulwax electro rock. Rounding out this first showcase are Janice Prix (below), Those Goddamn Hippies and We Love Machines, plus DJs like Losers’ own Eddy Temple-Morris (XFM). Scroll down for a taste of things to come, and for full event details.

DNA BLN Launch Party [Facebook event]
Wednesday 3rd September, 9pm
Magnet Club, Falckensteinstr. 48, 10997 Berlin, Germany