this is bbc news. the headlines follow at the top of the hour, after this programme. # falling in love again.

# never wanted to... what defines german cinema? its incandescent stars? the disconcerting, disorienting darkness of its expressionist cinema? hitler used this film showing the horror and detailing... the formidable power of its nazi—era propaganda films? or the brilliance of its more contemporary, authentic relationship dramas? berliners want the world to know german cinema has a lot to offer that's distinct. it's actual cinema. it's not highly commercial stuff. it's about humans. german cinema is very important but it had been hurt by german history. without german cinema, worldwide, film - would not be the same. i've decided it's now time for me to take a personal look at german cinema history. because i grew up in the uk in the aftermath of world war ii when anti—german sentiment was rife, and because i have german—jewish ancestry, i was initially hesitant to fully engage

with german cinema. for many years, i've come to germany as a film journalist to report on modern german cinema but i've never really come to terms with the country's film classics. now, the time has come to change all that. to explore the richness and history of german cinema, i sought out four film lovers to discuss with each a powerful german movie classic. i set off to find out more about german cinema in berlin, a city where i live for part of the year. today is a big day because we're going to the babelsberg studios which, in the immediate aftermath of world war i in what was called the weimar era, was a huge production centre — the envy of people all over europe and the film business. it churned out some 250 films a year. walking through the famed babelsberg gates is a little awe—inspiring.

it's a place where you can very much feel the ghosts of cinema history all around you. the soundstages have created images that are still with us today. fritz lang's classic 1927 sci—fi epic metropolis was shot here. and interestingly, in the 1920s, a young alfred hitchcock arrived here as an assistant director and assistant art director, and in later years, he would say that everything he learnt about film—making, he learnt here at babelsberg. this once giant, pulsating heart of european cinema has been struggling to get business lately, although it has much that it can offer to film—makers. these floorboards inside the babelsberg studio are historic. they date from almost 100 years ago, when the studio was in its heyday, and stars like marlene dietrich would walk along here. dietrich really made a name for herself with a film shot at babelsberg called

the blue angel, in which she played a cabaret singer called lola lola. and i have to say because of her magnetic performance, it really is one of my favourite films. marlene dietrich makes this film work. she takes what could be viewed as routine material and lifts it to a mesmerising level. it's a story of obsessive desire... ..of an ostensibly respectable middle—aged schoolteacher, well played by emiljannings, who falls for a nightclub singer, lola lola. he comes under her spell... ..and ultimately disintegrates, ending up humiliatingly as a cabaret clown. moans.

it's been suggested that the film tapped into the anxieties of the weimar era. erotic obsession that could lead to a downfall stood in for the anxieties of the real world, where hyperinflation could suddenly wipe out someone�*s wealth and social standing. dietrich�*s portrayal of lola lola is seen as ground—breaking, notjust as one of the first film creations of a femme fatale persona, but also because of the sexuality that she exuded. the film was shot in both german and english... it's awfully nice of you to come and say goodbye. ..with different supporting cast to maximise its profitability so that it could be sold in the english—speaking world. it was a big international success. it launched marlene dietrich�*s career as a global star. ..to get a ravishing smile from marlene. the blue angel, released in 1930, is significant

in the annals of film history. it's credited as being germany's first full—length synchronised sound film and it's an example of german expressionist cinema. but you go off on your bike everywhere? everywhere, yeah — even in winter. to find out more about this film movement, i met top berlin film critic barbara schweizerhof outside the old marmorhaus cinema in the middle of the city. to movie lovers, it's an historic site. it's where the silent horror classic the cabinet of dr caligari — what's been called one of the most influential films ever made — had its world premiere in february 1920. it's regarded as the ultimate in german expressionist cinema. the cabinet of caligari is a film about a mad hypnotist who uses a sleepwalker in order to perform murders. he's the embodiment of something evil, of an evil authority, the way he wears his glasses,

which are crooked also on his, you know, he... laughs. it's supposed to be the first horror movie that was made. for being a film of 1920, it's, of course, a masterpiece. it's the ultimate expressionist german film. it's called expressionism because it's like an art. it's very artsy in the background. the expressive lighting, the very hard shadows and the building up of an atmosphere that is menace and madness. you can express different things — a feeling about authority and the repressiveness of authority. it's an art film about higher themes, about the unconsciousness. the movie, you can interpret as a mirror to society. it doesn't only tell a plot, it portrays an atmosphere of society, of the experience of being lost, of being a bit mad after the first world war — that's why it still has

an impact. germany has had a very dark past — and i'm referring to the nazi era, especially from when hitler came to power in 1933 — and that had a major impact on the film industry. hitler, through his propaganda minister goebbels, really took control of the films that were made — particularly propaganda films like the works of leni riefenstahl, triumph of the will and the documentary on the 1936 olympic games, which was called 0lympia. every aspect of german film—making was affected by the nazis. freedom of expression was stifled. even the practice of film criticism was forbidden. all: heil, mein fuhrer! there were propaganda films made but the majority of movies in production were entertainment. with hitler's rise to power, jews and foreigners were excluded from the film business. and in the 1930s, there was a mass exodus of top

performers, directors, writers and producers who fled germany, many of them ending up in hollywood. germany's loss was hollywood's gain. billy wilder! applause. austrian—born billy wilder, who'd worked in berlin, was among those exiled. he went on to make great movies in the us... iam big. ..including sunset boulevard... it's the pictures that got small. ..and double indemnity. and director douglas sirk also ended up in hollywood, working for the studios, delivering brilliant film noir melodramas. maybe they'll stop looking for us but we'll never stop running. in the aftermath of world war ii, germany emerged as a divided nation, east germany and west germany, each with their own separate film industries. with the west german film industry, nothing that remarkable emerged, although it did churn out quite a few films. but things began to change

in the early 1960s. there was a creative renaissance. rainer werner fassbinder was one of the defining figures of what was called the new german cinema movement that emerged. he was a brilliant but complicated figure who made more than a0 films. he died young, aged 37, in 1982, from a drug overdose. all his pictures were different, but his 1974 film ali: fear eats the soul is seen as a masterpiece. it's a film that's a favourite of london—based film—maker and producer anthony fabian, who says he's been deeply influenced by this german classic. fear eats the soul, at heart, is a love story... ..about an older woman. a very plain older woman... ..and a handsome, much younger black man from morocco. it's so approachable. it's so human

and it's so touching. they develop this unlikely relationship across the film... ..with quite intense consequences. it's a double taboo because it's an interracial relationship... ..but it's also an intergenerational relationship. both of these things were unacceptable to the society around them. they face intense objection to their relationship... ..from the shopkeepers to the women she works with. in fassbinder�*s fear eats the soul, the racism is extremely in your face. he pulls no punches. there's a lot of coldness...

..all around this couple. but they generate... ..intense heat. and they have to somehow find a way to exist within their world. fear eats the soul was the first film that gained fassbinder international recognition. he came from a theatrical tradition. he's emerging from expressionism. you look back at the film and you realise how it fits in the historical context. post—war, there was a reluctance to engage with germany and the new german cinema was a way to shine a light again into german society. what's so bold and brave

about what fassbinder was doing was that he was not saying, "0h, we've all reformed, we're all — we all love everyone now." he was showing his people as a continuation of what had happened during nazi germany. fassbinder was himself a gay man. he was, in this film, talking about exclusion and rejection from society, which i think is something that he felt very strongly. so, in a way, it was a reflection of himself, of his culture, of his background, of his experience. it shows a vulnerability on his part as a film—maker to reveal himself. and ben salem, who was fassbinder�*s lover, had been in small parts in some of his earlierfilms, but this was really fassbinder�*s tribute to him,

putting him in the lead. i don't think fassbinder was ever as revealing of himself as he was in this particularfilm. this is moabit, my neighbourhood in berlin, and i really like the feel of the community here. it's very mixed. it's very diverse. all kinds of races and nationalities. and it's notjust here in moabit that there's been this kind of demographic mix that has emerged in germany, it's all over the country. in fact, i think almost a quarter of germans are either first or second—generation immigrants. so, the film—making community has really been affected by this. it's changed the kinds of stories that have been made, and the people who are telling them. the 2004 german film head—0n, directed by fatih akin, was one of the first movies from a film—maker from a turkish—german immigrant

background to win widespread critical acclaim and awards, including the top prize at the berlin film festival. for german critic patrick heidmann, it's one of his favourite movies. head—0n is a german film unlike any other. it's a love story, actually, between two people who are very different but have quite a few things in common as well. sibel is a young woman, early 20s. she has been living in germany her entire life but she feels very confined by the traditions of her turkish family. cahit, who's twice her age, is at a very different point in his life. he has got no connection to his turkish roots. he's an alcoholic, uses drugs a lot, doesn't know

what to do with his anger and his aggression. and both try to end their life. that's how they meet in the beginning of the film, in a psychiatric ward, and she tries to convince him to enter a fake marriage... ..to escape her traditionalfamily. he reluctantly agrees. then they fall in love... ..very deeply, but also very destructively. fatih akin, with his background, from coming from a turkish family, is probably the only person who could have told this story.

he doesn't make a statement like, "this is how turkish people live in germany." he shows one way... ..but with cahit�*s character, he shows a completely different way. i hadn't really seen anything from germany that was so rough. so emotional. and just... that hit me very hard. it changed the way the world saw german cinema. head—0n showed to the world, or to international audiences, that german cinema can be something different. german cinema can be emotional, can be rough, can be wild. it was wild and exciting

in a way that cinema wasn't in germany at that time. one of the most dramatic and momentous events in german history was the fall of the berlin wall in november 1989. for 28 years, this wall stood as a symbol of the division between east and west. it kind of represented the iron curtain. within a year of the wall coming down, german reunification had taken place. these seismic events in german history inspired a group of film—makers, and one film that dealt very cleverly with these matters was good bye, lenin! good bye, lenin! it's a film that had a big impact on my talking movies colleague emma jones when she saw it way back in 2003 at the berlin film festival.

good bye, lenin! starts in east berlin. it's a story about christiane. she's a single mother and she's a devotee of the gdr, which was the communist state of east germany. one day, she has a heart attack. she falls into a coma. she's in a coma for eight months. and within those eight short months... ..communism collapses, the berlin wall falls. their clothes change, their cars change, theirjobs change. when she wakes up, her children, one of whom is called alex, played by daniel bruhl...

..they�*re told that their mother mustn't have any more shocks. so they embark on this elaborate pretence that the berlin wall is, in fact, still intact and her beloved east germany still exists. to maintain this image, he fabricates crazy news reports. it was the film that

really switched me on to german language cinema. good bye, lenin! examines this huge speed with which communism fell and the way in which germany changed in a few short months. the film got awards and nominations galore. it was incredibly commercially successful. so much of it was on the young daniel bruhl. it was obvious that daniel bruhl was going to be a star, and i think good bye, lenin's! international success really propelled him to a level that no other german actor has yet attained. although initially i felt a bit alienated from german cinema, as a result of making this programme, i've changed my mind. i'm very impressed by some german film—makers, how sophisticated they are in the use of their technique, but also in reflecting the underlying social and political changes in the culture at the time theirfilms were made.

certainly, the influence of german cinema has been underappreciated, from german expressionism right up to the present day, and the country's dark nazi past has given german directors an edge. german film—makers are sensitised to the depths to which humanity can go. consequently, they are empathetic storytellers, presenting complex, authentic characters. # i often stop and wonder... one thing that i really like about a lot of german films is that they show human beings as being both frail and strong. in other words, being very real. and that makes me feel alive. and i find it very uplifting. # men cluster to me. # like moths around a flame. # and if their wings burn. # i know i'm not to blame. # falling in love again.

# never wanted to. # what's a girl to do? # ijust can't help it. applause. hello. meteorologically speaking, saturday was the last day of autumn. it was bright enough across many eastern areas of the uk, in the west, though, we had thicker cloud and a bit of drizzle at times. wherever you were, though, it was very mild with temperatures six degrees above average in the highlands, achnagart seeing a high of 15 degrees. the average at this time of the year is nine. and these mild south south—westerly winds continuing to blow a band of rain across from scotland and northern ireland, moving it into wales and western areas of england over the next few hours. these are the kind of temperatures you'll have to start your breezy sunday morning, as our band of rain continues to push its way

eastwards with time. now, behind that, actually, we should get some brighter weather, so sunny spells are in the forecast for western areas. there will be some scattered showers though at times, so not entirely dry. it will, however, continue to be very mild, and for the first day of winter, temperatures could reach around 14—15, maybe even 16 degrees in the mildest spots. but that milder weather isn't going to hang around for very long, because heading into monday, behind this weather front here, we get a flow of much colder north westerly winds heading in, and that will be dropping the temperatures across northern areas as we go through the course of monday. so, mild enough start to the day on monday for many areas, a band of rain pushes across northern england, reaches north wales and north midlands. behind that, sunshine comes out with some scattered showers, gusty winds through the irish sea and the north sea, reaching gale force at times and making it feel a little on the chilly side. temperatures not doing too badly across much of england and wales, but through the afternoon, further northwards, temperatures will be dropping through the afternoon, and it will start to

get colder and colder. then, through monday night, that colder air surges its way southwards — a real turnaround in weather fortunes. we get a widespread frost, a much colder night on the cards. well, that takes us on into tuesday, and it's a dry, sunny start to the day, if cold for most of us. the exception is northern ireland, where we get this band of rain. the rain starts to move into that colder air, we start to see a little bit of snow on its leading edge, initially falling across parts of scotland. and it's across the hills of northern scotland that that lasts longest could cause one or two issues, but eventually milder air will mean that the snow all turns back to rain, and then later in the week, yes, it is set to turn a good deal milder. with that milder weather comes thicker cloud and rain at times. that's your weather. bye—bye.

live from washington, this is bbc news. protesters and police clash again in georgia. the country's president says she won't step down when her term ends over the government's decision to suspend talks tojoin the eu. islamist rebels in syria seize control of the second largest city, aleppo, and are now sweeping south. donald trump says he will sack the director of the fbi and replace him with one of his most loyal staffers — former national security official kash patel.

hello, i'm carl nasman. welcome to the programme. the pro—western president of georgia has told the bbc she'll stay in her post amid a crisis over the government's decision to suspend accession talks with the european union. salome zourabichvili's term is due to end in two weeks' time but she says she will not stand down because the current parliament is what she calls "illegitimate". the ruling georgia dream party announced on thursday that it will put talks with the eu on hold until 2028. a quick warning — these pictures coming up may have some flashing images. this is the scene now live in tbilisi. we have a few different views of the streets there and the protests still going on. it is sam now in tbilisi in georgia. 5am now in tbilisi in georgia. a much smaller crowd now than

earlier when we saw