Ernst Lubitsch in Berlin

Renowned as an Academy Award®-winning Hollywood director (Ninotchka, The Shop Around the Corner), Ernst Lubitsch began his career as an actor/comedian in Germany as part of the famous Max Reinhardt ensemble. He went on to star in, and direct a series of silent German films, including several comedies featuring a Chaplinesque Jewish character of his own creation (Shoe Palace Pincus, Meyer from Berlin). Lubitsch's "subtle humour and virtuoso visual wit" (Ephraim Katz, The Film Encyclopedia) became known as "the Lubitsch touch." This comprehensive documentary guides us through the masterful artist's early career, featuring extensive and rare archival film clips as well as interviews with his daughter Nicola Lubitsch, film directors Dani Levy, Tom Tykwer, Wolfgang Becker and others.