Social & External
The people behind it
Ping Xiaorong
Li xi
An in-depth portrayal of the university exam preparation that Chinese students undergo during their senior year of high school. For many students this exam is a ticket to a better life, so the stakes are high.
Can you share the yearning for space? An astronomy boy has grown up into an artist painting the universe, the world of Greek myths including the zodiac, and a variety of scenes with starry sky. The fulldome screen projects his fantastic CG movies. You will also see a live-action movie of the total solar eclipse in 2003 which was observed for the first time in human history in Antarctica. Receive a message from the artist, KAGAYA: "Enjoy science and art." "Chase your dreams!"
The story of rapper and artist Andres “Dres” Vargas-Titus, part of the legendary 90’s hip hop duo Black Sheep, and his incredible journey from being on top of the game to struggling with civilian life and staring down the barrel of his last chance at success.
Ariel Kuaray Ortega returns to his hometown to visit his grandfather in a region of Brazil bordering Argentina. He wants to finally hear the full story of Canuto, a fellow villager who turned into a jaguar and then died a tragic death. A plan soon arises to make a film about the mysterious Canuto, with the villagers playing all the roles.
From Belgium, Jialai Wang maintains contact via smartphone and camera with her mother and grandmother in China. When her grandmother’s health deteriorates, Jialai returns to Shanghai, but when she arrives, her grandmother has already died, and she is left alone with her mother. A devout Buddhist, her mother seems to pay more attention to her daily prayers, Maoist past and dog Dongdong than she does to her daughter. She herself had been abandoned as a child by her own mother, when she divorced Jialai’s grandfather and moved to the city.
10.35 p.m. – the start of the night shift at the University Hospital in Zurich. We accompany a midwife who, during her long and intense shift, empathetically helps the mothers and babies under her watch, taking into account all their individual differences.
East German short documentary
In the Arab village of Jisr az-Zarqa, against a backdrop of rising tensions and threats to the place's identity, three women embark on a personal and collective journey for change. As a new Jewish neighborhood is being built nearby, threatening the village's character, Amina (45), Munira (46), and Ruya (19) unite in an attempt to reshape their future and the future of their community. Through their personal stories, the film exposes the daily struggle of Arab women for identity, self-realization, and social justice within a complex and challenging reality.
In the ’90s, pop culture icon Susan Powter burst onto the scene with her signature bleach-blonde buzz cut and bold message of health and wellness. After conquering infomercials, becoming a New York Times bestselling author, hosting her own talk show, and seeing her face on thousands of products, she dramatically walked away from Hollywood and into obscurity. Crippling lawsuits with her business partners left her bankrupt, and she has since lived as a total recluse below the poverty line in Las Vegas, where the filmmaker ultimately finds her. This documentary explores the meteoric rise and subsequent fall of Susan Powter while asking what it will take to bring her back to audiences—and whether her message, Stop The Insanity, is still as relevant and powerful today as it was in the early ’90s.
National and international oil companies have been extracting oil for more than 50 years from the Amazon, the area with the greatest biodiversity on the planet, threatening the lives of communities indigenous people with the complicity of the Ecuadorian government. They are the so-called: Sacrifice zones.
A documentary film that tells the story of the ancient city of Ohrid and the locality of Plaošnik through a virtual journey.
What would your family reminiscences about dad sound like if he had been an early supporter of Hitler’s, a leader of the notorious SA and the Third Reich’s minister in charge of Slovakia, including its Final Solution? Executed as a war criminal in 1947, Hanns Ludin left behind a grieving widow and six young children, the youngest of whom became a filmmaker. It's a fascinating, maddening, sometimes even humorous look at what the director calls "a typical German story." (Film Forum)
The Bridge is a controversial documentary that shows people jumping to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
In a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.
After another 7 year wait, director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born children from Seven Up! and 7 Plus Seven. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
Bruce Conner’s most celebrated film for a reason: it takes historical moments that were replayed over and over on television—chilling repetition of Kennedy assassination coverage—and repurposes them into a meditation on how the media tries to exert authority and apply a sense of order to the anarchic. And though it may sound perverse to say so, the film is also—not incidentally—a thrill to watch. -- The A.V. Club
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
A night of drunken chaos rocks a quiet Dutch town in this shocking documentary about a teen's birthday invite that accidentally went viral on Facebook.
A look at the "Hell House" performed annually in October by the youth members of Trinity Church (Assemblies of God) in Cedar Hill, Texas (a Dallas suburb) — seen by over 10,000 visitors each year.
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
An interview with film director Roman Polanski conducted during his period of house arrest, discussing his life and work.
