National Liberation Football

In 2009, the Algerian team won their match against Egypt, thus qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, after significant tensions during the first leg, which included the stoning of the Algerian players' bus. The artist Amina Menia recalls that the collective euphoria of these celebrations seemed almost disproportionate and unreal, reminiscent of the popular jubilation surrounding Algeria's independence in 1962. She draws a parallel between political and sporting history through the use of archival footage and two interviews, one with Rachid Mekhloufi, star of AS Saint-Étienne and an emblematic figure of Algerian football. In the second interview, Slimane Zeghidour, a writer and journalist, offers a detached and critical perspective on the impact of football on the masses. By tracing these links, she examines the relationships between national representation, sense of belonging, fervor and the destiny of a community.

Hit So Hard

The rise to fame (and the near-fatal fall from it) of Patty Schemel, drummer for Courtney Love's seminal rock band, Hole. Given a Hi-8 video camera just before Hole's infamous Live Through This world tour, Patty captured stunningly intimate footage of the scene that has never been seen... until now. Not just an all-access backstage pass to the music that shaped a generation, Hit So Hard is a harrowing tale of overnight success, the cost of addiction, and ultimately, recovery and redemption.

out of frame

Six professionals in the audiovisual field share their experiences through a visual and sound sensory journey

Independent Miss Craigie

Some time after her death, film director Jill Craigie (1911- 99), re-opens an old suitcase, prompting memories of the extraordinary life and loves of this forceful, charismatic woman, whose work has been long neglected. Craigie was one of the first women to direct documentaries. Working outside the British Documentary Movement in the 1940s and early 1950s, her films such as To Be Woman (1951), on equal pay, and Out of Chaos (1944), the first film about artists at work, featuring Henry Moore and Paul Nash, tackled new subjects for the cinema through a unique blend of drama, polemic and humour. Independent Miss Craigie uses the director’s unseen papers, and her films, to reveal her energetic struggles to get her radical projects made and distributed, including her last one, on the Yugoslav conflict, made when she was 83, with her husband, former Labour leader, Michael Foot.

Les Muses du Minotaure

1983, The Marchers for Equality

In the 1980s, young people of North African descent born in France and a priest from the Lyon suburbs organized the "March of the Beurs." Launched on October 15, 1983, by seventeen people from the La Cayolle neighborhood in Marseille following a racist crime, the march concluded two months later—on December 3—on the streets of Paris, with 100,000 participants. This movement demanded equal rights. Was their cry heard?

The Perfumed Garden

THE PERFUMED GARDEN is an exploration of the myths and realities of sensuality and sexuality in Arab society, a world of taboos and of erotic literature. Through interviews with men and women of all ages, classes, and sexual orientation, the film lifts a corner of the veil that usually shrouds discussion of this subject in the Arab world. Made by an Algerian-French woman director, the film begins by looking at the record of a more permissive history, and ends with the experiences of contemporary lovers from mixed backgrounds. It examines the personal issues raised by the desire for pleasure, amidst societal pressures for chastity and virginity. The film discusses pre-marital sex, courtship and marriage, familial pressures, private vs. public spaces, social taboos (and the desire to break them), and issues of language.

Jane: An Abortion Service

This fascinating political look at a little-known chapter in women's history tells the story of "Jane", the Chicago-based women's health group who performed nearly 12,000 safe illegal abortions between 1969 and 1973 with no formal medical training. As Jane members describe finding feminism and clients describe finding Jane, archival footage and recreations mingle to depict how the repression of the early sixties and social movements of the late sixties influenced this unique group. Both vital knowledge and meditation on the process of empowerment, Jane: An Abortion Service showcases the importance of preserving women's knowledge in the face of revisionist history. JANE: AN ABORTION SERVICE was funded by the Independent Television Service (ITVS) with funds provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Elles prennent la parole

Not for Display

This documentary explores how Indian women are taught to conceal something as ordinary as their inner wear while drying it, hiding it under towels or behind doors. Through everyday moments and personal reflections, the film reveals how this small act of shame mirrors a much larger culture of policing women’s bodies and visibility.

Kim Kardashian Theory

Kim Kardashian is the embodiment of our times. She's a total social figure. To analyze her is to talk about ourselves, our relationship with social networks, capitalism and aesthetic standards. Through the eyes of journalists Nesrine Slaoui and Guillaume Erner, this film proposes a theory in the zeitgeist, crossed by questions of race and gender. Journalist and sociologist Guillaume Erner wonders why Kim Kardashian is the most followed woman in the world on social networks "when she does nothing". With the help of journalist and director Nesrine Slaoui, he paints a portrait of this "total social character", who is famous because of... her fame. Fashion icon, star of a never-ending reality TV family saga, savvy businesswoman, future lawyer and activist outraged by the state of American prisons, the beautiful Kim, who is said to be tempted by a political destiny, is in fact not idle at all...

Where Have All the Lesbians Gone?

A bunch of Vancouver dykes take hand held hi8 to new heights. In this improvisational short, which offers a wake up call to political complacency. Short on plot, big on subtext. Amidst comic moments these intrepid lesbians go searching for political dykes. What else can you do when the lesbian centre becomes a tattooparlour?

Sociology Is a Martial Art

"I often say sociology is a martial art, a means of self-defence. Basically, you use it to defend yourself, without having the right to use it for unfair attacks." (Pierre Bourdieu) The world has witnesses who speak out loud what others keep to themselves. They are neither gurus, nor masters, but those who consider that the city and the world can be thought out. The sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu is one such witness." Over a three- year period, Pierre Carles' camera followed him through different situations: a short conversation with Günter Grass, a lively conference with the inhabitants of a working-class suburb, his relations with his students and colleagues and his plea that sociology be part of the life of the city. His thinking has a sort of familiarity, which means it is always within our reach. It is the thinking of a French intellectual who has chosen to think his times.

Bellissime

Documentary consisting of archival footage that depicts the evolving conditions of Italian women during the first half of the 20th century.

She's Nobody's Baby: American Women in the 20th Century

This documentary goes back to the turn of the century to show how women shaped the nation’s history.

Bontok, Rapeless

Two Filipina victims of sexual abuse search the truth behind the finding of a renowned anthropologist: that merely a few generations ago, the Bontok Igorot lived in what seems an unthinkable utopia—a rape-less society.

Golden Gate Girls

The film traces the life and times of Esther Eng, a San Francisco native known as Hong Kong’s first “directress.” She directed 10 Cantonese talkies.

Subversivas

"Subversivas" is a documentary that reveals the brazilian military dictatorship from the perspective of women. Teresa Angelo, Gilse Cosenza, Thereza Vidigal, Angela Pezzuti and Delsy Gonçalves joined the resistance to the military regime in different ways. Their memories bring out events that marked that time and their life. These statements reveal their effort for freedom and democracy not only in political actions, but also in their family, work and everyday relationships, imbued with a belief and search for a fair and free country.

Fashion As A Social Control

A look at the ways fashion has been used to socially control women in Canada, both historically and in the 20th century.

Rape Is A Social Disease

A presentation of the historical process of rape, followed by a more recent approach of current studies that reinforce ÒRape Reliefs own statistics.

Fed Up

Fed Up blows the lid off everything we thought we knew about food and weight loss, revealing a 30-year campaign by the food industry, aided by the U.S. government, to mislead and confuse the American public, resulting in one of the largest health epidemics in history.

Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.

Fat Head

A comedian replies to the "Super Size Me" crowd by losing weight on a fast-food diet while demonstrating that almost everything you think you know about the obesity "epidemic" and healthy eating is wrong.

Come See Me in the Good Light

In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

What Is a Woman?

Matt Walsh's controversial doc challenges radical gender ideology through provocative interviews and humor.

Miss Representation

The film MISS REPRESENTATION exposes how American youth are being sold the concept that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality. Explores the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America, and challenges the media's limited portrayal of what it means to be a powerful woman. It’s time to break that cycle of mistruths.

Strip Down, Rise Up

The feature documentary follows women of all walks of life, all ages and ethnic backgrounds, as they shed trauma, body image shame, sexual abuse and other issues locked in their bodies, and embark on a journey to reclaim themselves. The film also gives a rare window into the world of Pole artistry and expression.

Samsara

Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.

My Mom Jayne

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.

Super Size Me

Morgan Spurlock subjects himself to a diet based only on McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days without exercising to try to prove why so many Americans are fat or obese. He submits himself to a complete check-up by three doctors, comparing his weight along the way, resulting in a scary conclusion.

Directed by John Ford

A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain

An intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon. This unflinching look at Anthony Bourdain reverberates with his presence, in his own voice and in the way he indelibly impacted the world around him.

Above Majestic

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.

Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett

A special celebrating the origins and legacy of Star Wars' legendary bounty hunter, Boba Fett.

Maidentrip

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.

Nothing Like a Dame

BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.

McQueen

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.

The September Issue

A documentary chronicling Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour's preparations for the 2007 fall-fashion issue.

Embrace

Embrace follows body image activist Taryn Brumfitt's crusade as she explores the global issue of body loathing, inspiring us to change the way we feel about ourselves and think about our bodies.

Marvel's Behind the Mask

A documentary special that explores the power of identity behind the iconic superheroes we know and love today. These legendary Marvel creations and stories have not only reflected the world outside our window – they have become a reflection of our own identities and who we truly are.