Insurance Man
By Klaus Stern
2011 | 79 min | Documentary
It is the story of Mehmet Göker, 32, the absolute ruler of a cult-like insurance empire.
Mehmet E. Göker
ActorMehmet E. Göker is a former German entrepreneur who became known for his spectacular rise and fall in the insurance industry. As founder of the company MEG (Mehmet E. Göker), he revolutionized the distribution of private health insurance before his empire collapsed due to questionable business practices and financial problems. The documentaries INSURANCE AGENT – THE AMAZING CAREER OF MEHMET GÖKER and INSURANCE AGENT 2 – MEHMET GÖKER CONTINUES by Klaus Stern shed light on his career, his seemingly engaging personality and the downsides of his business model. Both works offer a critical and captivating insight into the life of an entrepreneur who is both admired and controversial in equal measure.
Films
Insurance Man II
By Klaus Stern
2015 | 70 min | Documentary
Mehmet Göker, who is wanted on an international arrest warrant, is back and continues to sell dubious insurance policies.
Recommended for you
Offshore - Elmer and the Swiss Bank Secrecy
2016 | 102 min | Documentary
This doc by Werner Schweizer tells the story of Rudolf Elmer, a man who has had a remarkable career at a Swiss private bank. Since his employer and the Swiss authorities showed no interest in investigating dubious bank transactions, Elmer turned to Wikileaks with sensitive customer data. The conflict of conscience that turned him into a whistleblower and critic of the offshore banking business resulted in 220 days in custody. OFFSHORE - ELMER AND THE SWISS BANK SECRECY tells the dramatic story of ...
A Pile of Ghosts
2021 | 70 min | Documentary
A PILE OF GHOSTS showcases construction workers and real estate brokers at work in both authentic and staged settings, blurring the lines between documentation and fiction. The story follows the dandyesque hotel owner Charles in the last hotel, still standing amidst condemned buildings, as he defies the urbanization process. Raidel's film is a haunting commentary on the retort-like environment of contemporary Chinese cities, layered with seemingly disparate building blocks to form the title's "pile". Raidel's ...
Infinity According to Florian
2022 | 70 min | Documentary
On the eve of his 90th birthday, Kiev architect Florian Yuriev is facing a daunting challenge. His architectural masterpiece, an avant-garde concert hall in the shape of a flying saucer, is under threat from a developer with links to Donald Trump. This developer wants to turn the building into part of a shopping mall. In a bold move, Yuriev fights the project with the help of other architects and young supporters. They spark a media storm and the result is a momentary victory. The developer promises ...
Factory to the Workers
2022 | 106 min | Documentary
Despite controlling the means of production, the workers face difficulties with outdated machinery, delayed deliveries, and generational differences. The older generation is passionate about the current model, but the younger workers prioritize stability and getting paid. The film strikes a balance between discussing governance structures and focusing on the human interest of the characters. The shooting style is observational, allowing for emotional scenes to unfold naturally. One potential legacy ...
I Was a Swiss Banker
2007 | 75 min | Romance
A man known only as a banker moves along the river Limmat in Zurich, drifting through the city and encountering a series of women. Each meeting takes on a different tone — sometimes seductive, sometimes enigmatic — gradually dissolving any clear distinction between reality, memory and imagination. As the journey unfolds, the encounters begin to feel less like chance meetings and more like fragments of a larger, elusive narrative. The river becomes a space of transition, where identities shift and ...
I Want to See the Manager
2014 | 93 min | Documentary
Mumbai, Uyuni, Beijing, Detroit, Pompeii, Chiang Mai and Caracas – what connects these places? The film examines interconnected fragments of a globalized world. "After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say: I want to see the manager." (William S. Burroughs) Ever since humankind has developed the notion of ownership it has been divided into those who possess, and those who possess not. For a long time this division manifested itself in the opposition between “industrialized“ ...
Galamsey - For a Fistful of Gold
2017 | 29 min | Documentary
Johannes Preuss worked as a development worker in Ghana and returns several years later as a filmmaker. In the meantime, a bloody conflict between police and gold miners has flared up in the small town of Twifu Praso. Who are the profiteers and who are the victims in this destructive hunt for sparkling stones? On his journey Preuss discovers places that resemble devastated moonscapes and learns of a dangerous attraction between man and gold. "Investigative journalism meets tough guys, clanging beats, ...
Piggy Bank
2024 | 97 min | Independent
A financial bottleneck and an unusual offer: A television station offers Christoph Schwarz the opportunity to document his “climate strike” for a year in a self-experiment. But instead of just focusing on sustainable lifestyles, Schwarz goes even further – he goes on a “money strike”. However, his critical approach to capitalism is overshadowed by a questionable decision: he secretly uses the film budget to buy himself and his wife a long-awaited weekend house in the Waldviertel, Austria. PIGGY ...
Home Game
2023 | 30 min | Documentary
HOME GAME tells the story of the game an energy company in Germany plays with three villages. For lignite mining, villages are getting demolished, replacement villages are built from the scratch and the villagers are getting resettled. For some the demolition of their homes means great pain. Others are happy about the generous financial compensation. But all of a sudden one of the villages will be preserved. Everyone in the village becomes an ally or an enemy. It‘s a film about the „home sweet ...
Invisible heritage – On equal opportunities in Germany
2023 | 37 min | Documentary
In German classrooms, it is not hard work alone that determines educational success, often it is the home environment. A documentary look at a society in which equal opportunities remain a promise. INVISIBLE HERITAGE – ON EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IN GERMANY follows children and young people from their family backgrounds to their entry into the world of work. In hardly any other industrialized country is the link between social background and educational success as pronounced as in Germany. Despite a ...