Social & External
The people behind it
A visual compilation of songs from Malcolm McLaren's 1983 album "Duck Rock", including the songs "Buffalo Gals" and "Double Dutch", mixed with interview and documentary footage.
Frantz Fanon alone embodies all the issues of French colonial history. Martinican resistance fighter, he enlisted, like millions of colonial soldiers, in the Free Army out of loyalty to France and the idea of freedom that it embodies for him. A writer, he participated in the bubbling life of Saint-Germain with Césaire, Senghor and Sartre, debating tirelessly on the destiny of colonized peoples. As a doctor, he revolutionized the practice of psychiatry, seeking in the relations of domination of colonial societies the foundations of the pathologies of his patients in Blida. Activist, he brings together through his action and his history of him, the anger of peoples crushed by centuries of colonial oppression. But beyond this exceptional journey which makes sensitive the permanence of French colonialism in the Lesser Antilles at the gates of the Algerian desert, he leaves an incomparable body of work which has made him today one of the most studied French authors across the Atlantic.
This documentary portrays the life of Xime Minutti, a young university who dedicates her time to taking care of the puppies on the streets of Cholula Puebla.
When four jazz musicians—trumpeter Serge Adam, pianist Benoît Delbecq, bassist Francky Mwele, and drummer Emile Biayenda—prepare for an African tour with the aim of engaging in dialogue with the musicians they meet along the way, certain clichés prove hard to shake. The jazzmen themselves are well aware of this; after all, isn't their very starting point a desire to avoid them? Musical curiosity must be reciprocal, and, after all, jazz is surely the territory that—even if not strictly shared—serves as an initial "no man's land" for an encounter. Beyond that lies the adventure...
Cinés d'Afrique, a documentary structured like a magazine program, aims to provide an overview of the state of African cinema by exploring seven topics representative of its current realities. Collectively, these subjects offer a ground-level panorama—a perspective grounded in actual practice—of the directions African cinema is currently taking. The content of Cinés d'Afrique is driven by a dual purpose: to describe the practices and experiences that illustrate the unique nature of African cinema, and to highlight the viewpoints and critical reflections that this cinema generates about itself.
An analysis of the causes, social, political, and economic that caused the rise of Hugo Chávez as president of Venezuela; his abuse of power and the response of civil society, including the student movement; his political fall as well as the secrecy that surrounded his illness and the succession of Nicolás Maduro.
A Luta Continua explains the military struggle of the Liberation Front of Mozambique (FRELIMO) against the Portuguese. Produced and narrated by American activists Robert Van Lierop, it details the relationship of the liberation to the wider regional and continental demands for self-determination against minority rule. It notes the complicit roles of foreign governments and companies in supporting Portugal against the African nationalists. Footage from the front lines of the struggle helps contextualize FRELIMO's African socialist ideology, specifically the role of the military in building the new nation, a commitment to education, demands for sexual equality, the introduction of medical aid into the countryside, and the role of culture in creating a single national identity.
When the running team of Viva Salud, a Belgian NGO fighting for the right to health, went to Bethlehem to participate in the Palestine Marathon, they didn’t yet know that they would do much more than just running. From Ramallah to Hebron, from Nablus to Bethlehem, their encounters with Viva Salud’s local partners helped them gain a better understanding of the situation in the region and discover the daily reality of the Israeli occupation. While getting to know resistance in all its forms, along with the beauty of Palestine, they tried to capture this in a documentary vlog of their journey—a cocktail of rebellion, solidarity, and collective resistance.
Directed by François Woukoache.
“There was excitement in the air,” says Donga, now in his late twenties, describing his feelings when the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi’s rule broke out in 2011. He was 19, living in Misrata, and boldly went to film the fighting with a friend. A decade later, in a hotel in Istanbul, where he has been living since he was wounded in battle, he looks back on the past ten years through excerpts from his videos. And he reflects on how that period has affected him.
Short Belgian documentary on volcanos in the former Belgian Congo
Cruel Famine Continent documents the Great Sahelian drought in West Africa and its effect on the people. The production was an attempt to pivot Toei's output from yakuza films and Toei Porn towards "global issues" and "whatever makes money", as stated by then-Toei president Shigeru Okada. Theatrical proceeds were to be shared as relief funds through the Japanese Red Cross, though the box office returns are unknown. Footage shot for the documentary by Yoshimitsu Banno would later be reused in the 1974 Toho production Prophecies of Nostradamus.
A talented group of orphaned children in Swaziland create a fictional heroine and send her on a dangerous quest.
Many geneticists and archaeologists have long surmised that human life began in Africa. Dr. Spencer Wells, one of a group of scientists studying the origin of human life, offers evidence and theories to support such a thesis in this PBS special. He claims that Africa was populated by only a few thousand people that some deserted their homeland in a conquest that has resulted in global domination.
Without a Fight is a feature length documentary film that explores how soccer can facilitate social change in Kibera, one of Africa's largest slums. Footage of violent clashes fueled by polarizing national presidential elections is intertwined with profiles of youth from different religious and ethnic backgrounds as they navigate daily life and prepare for the final championship soccer game of the season. The film provides a glimpse-often a very positive one-into an Africa few have seen. It attempts to break stereotypes associated with people who live in extreme poverty while depicting sports as a tool that could be used to prevent violence among at-risk youth. The film made its World Premiere at the 11 MM Festival in Berlin, Germany in March 2012 and its North American Premiere at the Full Frame Documentary Festival in Durham, NC in April 2012. - Written by Beth-Ann Kutchma
Shot with stunning elegance and clarity, NAKED SPACES explores the rhythm and ritual of life in the rural environments of six West African countries (Mauritania, Mali, Burkino Faso, Togo, Benin and Senegal). The nonlinear structure of NAKED SPACES challenges the traditions of ethnographic filmmaking, while sensuous sights and sounds lead the viewer on a poetic journey to the most inaccessible parts of the African continent: the private interaction of people in their living spaces.
In a fascinating geopolitical drama, Danish filmmaker Mik-Meyer closely follows Ravalomanana as he attempts to return from exile in South Africa to Madagascar, under the threat of arrest and bodily harm.
Four young people from Tanzania and Cameroon complete a year of weltwärts voluntary service in Germany. For each of them, it is their first visit in Europe. The film follows the volunteers throughout their year of service, it expresses different expectations, enthusiasm, goals and challenges. The volunteers describe subjectively their personal experiences as well as their view of Germany. The documentary is a thoughtful and exciting vision of the exchange program seen by four young people.
Africa, that huge drop of strange land that hangs from Europe, resembles in many ways that road that only takes the railway route teaching you the back room of factories and cities. Here you can see the planet from behind the scenes. In the African situation, imposed by the rich countries of the north, all the defects of capitalism are condensed and the true nature of the world order is in this disaster.
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
The life of Canadian mountain climber Marc-André Leclerc as he pushes the boundaries of climbing while on an expedition to Patagonia.
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.
49 Up is the seventh film in a series of landmark documentaries that began 42 years ago when UK-based Granada's World in Action team, inspired by the Jesuit maxim "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man," interviewed a diverse group of seven-year-old children from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Michael Apted, a researcher for the original film, has returned to interview the "children" every seven years since, at ages 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and now again at age 49.In this latest chapter, more life-changing decisions are revealed, more shocking announcements made and more of the original group take part than ever before, speaking out on a variety of subjects including love, marriage, career, class and prejudice.
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.
Explore the evolution of Buzz Lightyear from toy to human in the making of Pixar’s Lightyear. Dive into the origin and cultural impact of everyone’s favorite Space Ranger, the art of designing a new “human Buzz,” and the challenges faced by the Lightyear crew along the way.
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.
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
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
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
14-year-old Laura Dekker sets out on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to become the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone.
Join former first lady Michelle Obama in an intimate documentary looking at her life, hopes and connection with others.
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
This documentary focuses on the actors and their journey over two summers to create the remake to the original IT, by Stephen King. The documentary originally released as bonus material, bundled with IT: Chapter Two.
Serving life in prison for murdering their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez speak out in this documentary explaining the shocking crime and ensuing trials.
In June 2013, Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her.
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
A special celebrating the origins and legacy of Star Wars' legendary bounty hunter, Boba Fett.
