Life is full of surprises and can be wonderfully quirky – you just have to remain open to the unexpected. The eight films in our Over-60s programme invite you to step away from entrenched perspectives and change your point of view.

It all starts, of all places, in a school – that architectural embodiment of rules and regulations: The German School Award quickly vanishes into a packing crate as the headteacher packs his bags. For three months, the ATW Hamburg is launching an experiment with different leadership models, and the resulting power vacuum is being filled for the time being by Gonzala Zeidler-Brack. Since her last post was at a grammar school, the new head is well-versed in administrative procedures; furthermore, her office door is always open to students and staff alike. The fact that Gonzala is a tortoise remains incidental. After all, she provides a brand-new perspective on the teaching body and opens up a dialogue that wouldn’t have been possible under the old leadership. (MACHTVAKUUM)

The resolute estate agent clings tightly to her bright orange clipboard. Always friendly, always reserved, she has already shown a few prospective buyers around the property – it’s a real LIVING JEWEL. But this client is different. She becomes abusive for seemingly no reason, makes no secret of her dislike for the house – and yet refuses to leave. Anger wells up in the agent’s gut, but the professional facade must remain intact. She mustn’t let her poise be shaken in this literal chamber piece between two women.

Heresy also remains a sensitive subject. This accusation may seem like a relic of a bygone era, even if the letter of indulgence is demanded in a highly modern fashion via PayPal. Yet there are always two sides to matters of faith, and so a full-blown generational conflict ignites between the Almighty (in person) and the SON OF GOD.

Although the BBC broadcast a report on the spaghetti harvest in Ticino as early as 1 April 1957 – leaving a lasting mark on the agricultural industry – the footage of the strawberry lace harvest in Kuppeby, filmed between 1965 and 1989, is no less sensational. (ROTNASCHI HARVEST IN KUPPEBY)