Leibniz: Auf der Suche nach der Weltformel

300 years before globalized communication and long before Facebook and Instagram, Leibniz had "friends" all over the world - more than 1,300 mail partners. For the cultural scientist Joseph Vogl from the Humboldt University in Berlin, Leibniz's way of working was something of an "information processing machine". Most of his estate is in Hanover, where Leibniz worked as a librarian and consultant at the Duke's court for 40 years. Leibniz has written so much in his life that so far only a part of the total of 200,000 pages has been recorded and published. It is expected that everything will be edited in 2055. Who was this Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz who said of himself: "Whoever knows me only from my published writings does not know me"? The film searches for Leibniz as a person. The documentary portrays the genius Leibniz in his time and always brings him back to our present. Different people have their say, and their work would not be possible without Leibniz.

Directed by Holger Preuße, Leibniz: Auf der Suche nach der Weltformel leans on a strong ensemble — Martin Skoda, Marie Zielcke — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 2016.