The film tells a very personal story from two perspectives: our protagonist is both doctor and patient. As a patient, he has struggled with recurring depression for years, and as a doctor he wants to find out why. The search for the origins of his illness leads him into the realm of his own genes and casts light on the fundamental changes facing modern society as a result of the tremendous progress being made in the field of genetic sequencing. Along the way, he meets a host of people – researchers, artists, visionaries – who have developed their own very individual approach to genetic coding and are drawing attention to the social significance of genetic technology. The film does not restrict itself to a scientific view of the subject but also makes use of artistic visions and more playful approaches to genetic blueprints.
Olympia: Part One – Festival of the Nations (1938)
Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. This first half of her two-part film opens with a renowned introduction that compares modern Olympians to classical Greek heroes, then goes on to provide thrilling in-the-moment coverage of some of the games' most celebrated moments, including African-American athlete Jesse Owens winning a then-unprecedented four gold medals.
Olympia: Part Two – Festival of Beauty (1938)
Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. Where the two-part epic's first half, Festival of the Nations, focused on the international aspects of the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, part two, The Festival of Beauty, concentrates on individual athletes such as equestrians, gymnasts, and swimmers, climaxing with American Glenn Morris' performance in the decathalon and the games' majestic closing ceremonies.
Boris Ryzhy (2008)
Russian Poet Boris Ryzhy was handsome, talented and famous. So why did he end his own life at the age of 26? A quest to find the answer takes the filmmaker to the notorious neighbourhood in the cold industrial city of Yekaterinenburg where Boris grew up...
The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003)
When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.
Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids (2004)
Documentary depicting the lives of child prostitutes in the red light district of Songachi, Calcutta. Director Zana Briski went to photograph the prostitutes when she met and became friends with their children. Briski began giving photography lessons to the children and became aware that their photography might be a way for them to lead better lives.
God's Ways (2006)
A dual portrait of young drifters on the streets of Odessa, where every day seems the same and the future keeps getting further away.
Full Metal Village (2007)
The film describes the microcosmos of the small village Wacken and shows the clash of the cultures, before and during the biggest heavy metal festival in Europe.
Is the Crown at war with us? (2003)
In the summer of 2000, federal fishery officers appeared to wage war on the Mi'gmaq fishermen of Burnt Church, New Brunswick. Why would officials of the Canadian government attack citizens for exercising rights that had been affirmed by the highest court in the land? Alanis Obomsawin casts her nets into history to provide a context for the events on Miramichi Bay.
To Singapore, with Love (2013)
Tan Pin Pin employs a strictly external perspective for this portrait of her hometown, the tropical economic powerhouse of Singapore, interviewing political exiles in London, Thailand and Malaysia, who are to this day unable to return home.
Site of Sites (2016)
Filmed with irony, the film describes brief moments in the lives of tourists, workers, and local vacationers around the construction of an artificial beach somewhere in the Caribbean.
Pennhurst (2019)
Segregation, abandonment, and the meaning of home are discussed by the people that lived in, worked at, and crusaded for one of the largest and oldest Intellectual and Developmental Disability Institutions in the United States. The facility, in its closing, challenged society's perception of those with intellectual disabilities and ultimately fought for better rights.
This Is How a Child Becomes a Poet (2023)
The last day of Patrizia Cavalli’s home. Before it’s all gone.
Egyptian Joan of Arc (2016)
Egyptian Jeanne d’Arc’ is a creative documentary that explores issues of female emancipation in ‘post post-revolutionary’ Egypt. Beginning with the return journey to Cairo of a filmmaker long absent from her own country, the film weaves a series of intimate portraits composed of interviews, poetic voice-over and dance; exploring themes of oppression, guilt and faith with Egyptian women, many of them artists. Reflecting on Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 film ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ – in which the female figure is martyred by the patriarchal forces surrounding her – ‘Jeanne’ is a contemporary commentary that melds documentary and dance with poetic storytelling and myth to arrive at the core of the filmmaker’s enquiries into the circumstances of women in Egypt today.
Canvas of My Life (2016)
Jason Momoa's story of fatherhood, craftsmanship, and the legacy he'll leave behind.
Dosed (2019)
The documentary follows one woman's quest to overcome anxiety, depression, and opioid addiction through the use of psychedelic medicines.
Incident at Restigouche (1984)
Incident at Restigouche is a 1984 documentary film by Alanis Obomsawin, chronicling a series of two raids on the Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nation (Restigouche) by the Sûreté du Québec in 1981, as part of the efforts of the Quebec government to impose new restrictions on Native salmon fishermen. Incident at Restigouche delves into the history behind the Quebec Provincial Police (QPP) raids on the Restigouche Reserve on June 11 and 20, 1981. The Quebec government had decided to restrict fishing, resulting in anger among the Micmac Indians as salmon was traditionally an important source of food and income. Using a combination of documents, news clips, photographs and interviews, this powerful film provides an in-depth investigation into the history-making raids that put justice on trial.
Jesus Camp (2006)
Jesus Camp is a Christian summer camp where children hone their "prophetic gifts" and are schooled in how to "take back America for Christ". The film is a first-ever look into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America's political future.
An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.