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united docs presents milestones in history and science

Cologne/Hamburg, 24 November 2008 - German Screenings, the largest trade fair for German-language television programming, is taking place this year for the 33rd time. german united distributors, Telepool, Deutsche Welle and ORF will present their programs from November 30 to December 4 in Le Méridién, Hamburg. The range on offer comprises German documentaries, features, comedies, family dramas, crime drama series, children?s programs, music and wildlife formats - some with English subtitles. Some 200 program buyers from across the world are expected to attend, when they will appraise the German TV highlights away from the public eye. In the tried and trusted manner of German Screenings, individual films will be shown in hotel rooms at which every participant can be comprehensively and personally advised by the relevant sales team. This year, united docs are focussing on milestones in history and science and are presenting two extraordinary documentaries: "In Search of Memory" is a sensitive portrait (95') of Nobel prize winner Eric Kandel, one of the most important neuroscientists of the 20th century. The second highlight is the WDR documentary series "We Europeans" (6 x 45'). This six-part series is a journey of discovery though the history of Europe from the 15th century to the present day, in search of a European identity.

"Particularly in times of upheaval and general insecurity it is important to increase awareness and to provide TV viewers with sound background knowledge. To grasp crises as opportunities and to learn from the history of others. This is also of interest to the international viewing public", of this Silke Spahr, Managing Director of german united distributors is sure. To quote her description of the documentary biopic on the world famous neuroscientist Eric Kandel and the six-part series on the multi-faceted historical development of Europe: "Quality television educates. Both the documentaries we are presenting at this year's German Screenings show the context behind events, they give the viewers new stimuli and they promote a better understanding of cause and effect."
"We Europeans" embarks on a journey in search of the European identity. Is "Europe" just a construct - a commercial and political partnership of convenience? Across 50 countries there is a variety of languages, cultures and regions. What ties the people of Reykjavik to those of Malta, Lisboners to Moscovites? The six lively and varied TV documentaries try to find some answers. They outline the Renaissance, the age of free-thought, the development of the sciences, the origin of the market and money economy, war and peace between Christian denominations, revolutions and democracy, the desire for personal freedom, self-determination and sovereignity of the people as well as the development of national consciousness and a sense of identity. Using the example of prominent personalities, each of the 45 minute episodes presents the defining ideas, events and developments of an epoch. The sixth and final episode is a summary of the still visible roots of the Europe of the 20th century.

"In Search of Memory" is a portrait of the passionate neuroscientist and Nobel prize winner Eric Kandel, who proved that everything we experience changes the brain and even our genes. Kandel is a Viennese-born Jew. At the age of 9, he was forced to emigrate to America. In New York he studied Austrian literature, later became a psychoanalyst and doctor and for the past 50 years has been working as a neuroscientist. Kandel's journey through memory takes the viewer to the external and internal places of his childhood in Vienna, the exciting day-to-day work in the scientist's laboratory at his institute at Columbia University, New York, through to the centre of the brain where all memories are stored. The film shows how Jewish culture and Kandel's traumatic childhood experiences in Nazi-era Austria have shaped the story of his life and his science. In his autobiography, he writes: "After the Holocaust, the Jewish motto was 'Never forget!', to be vigilant against anti-semitism, racism and hatred...My scientific work is dedicated to the biological basis of this motto: The processes in the brain which allow us to remember."

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