The Duisburg Film Week (founded in 1977) sees itself as a place for courageous documentary film. The hallmark of the film week is in-depth discussions between the audience and filmmakers following the cinema screenings. These passionate discussions make the film week a unique venue for documentary films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A common thread running through the festival's history is that the films shown here question all too familiar perceptions and supposed certainties. Cinema plays a particularly important role in this. Just like libraries, the cinema enables shared experiences and fruitful exchange between people from very different backgrounds. With this collection, filmfriend offers a selection from almost 50 years of Duisburg festival history. It contains both classics and works by young directors - the latter are presented in a separate collection entitled "Discoveries by Young Directors".