Where is the city at its most hectic? Where does it invite you to linger? In the first season, film-makers search out places that resist the rapid pace of change in the city. We go up to the top in lifts and under the earth in the Underground. The film-makers follow their protagonists to where the day begins and where the night doesn’t want to end.
From “Deutsche Eiche” to Freddie Mercury’s favourite bar – Dietmar Holzapfel explains how the Munich gay scene has changed over the years.
On the River Elbe, we meet René Batistil. René was a seaman and tells us, in “180 Seconds Hamburg”, why his homeland is the sea.
Ramin Soleymani calls himself a cyborg. Between Alex and Potsdamer Platz, he sets out to find the invisible world of electromagnetism.
German-Turkish delights and a sad memory: in 180 seconds, Meral Sahin guides us through the Keupstraße in Cologne.
A hotel owner introduces us to his quarter: Shibuya. And he explains why he feels sorry for tall guests.
Cocoa biscuit, whipped cream and a very thin icing of chocolate – confectionary secrets from a Warsaw bakery.
Here in 1989 they fought peacefully for freedom. What do the citizens of Leipzig stand up for today when they meet in the Nikolai Church?
Pavement cuisine: at noon the pavements of the business district in Kolkata turn into open-air restaurants.
The Škoda factory has changed, but less so Ota Heller: with his trumpet, he has returned to his former workplace.
Symbol of power, retreat, mysterious parallel world – what is the Brussels Palace of Justice? Monologue and dialogue in a glass lift.
In the 15 November Square, the film-maker Anna Azevedo meets an antique dealer selling simple but enchanting things.
Slumbering sewing machines dreaming of a golden age, an old businessman and his son: 180 seconds “Bruck Sewing Machines”, 180 seconds Montreal.
A floating theatre company – 180 seconds of the Seine, where the “Péniche Opéra” is currently anchored.
Three by four metres. Four by seven? The Madrid film crew are on the trail of the riddle; restorer Jorge gives the riddle-solvers help in the Reina Sofía.
From twenty-four hours, day and night, hustle and quiet, old and young, seven film teams around the film-maker Jian Yi distilled “180 Seconds Beijing”.