Film Library
[Re-annex Délvidék] / Vissza: Délvidék [FL 1501]
The war campaign of Hungary to get back the area Délvidék in 1941, cut off from Hungary by the peace treaties after World War I.Hungary, 1941, Hungarian, 23 min, propaganda film, DVD-ROM[Re-annex Felvidék] / Vissza: Felvidék [FL 1501]
The war campaign of Hungary to get back Felvidék in 1938, cut off from Hungary by the peace treaties after World War I. Cserepy Laszlo, Hungary, 1938, Hungarian, 60 min, propaganda film, DVD-ROM[Re-annex Transylvania] / Vissza: Erdély [FL 1501]
The war campaign of Hungary to get back Transylvania in 1940, cut off from Hungary by the peace treaties after World War I. Banass Jozsef, Hungary, 1940, Hungarian, 90 min, propaganda film, DVD-ROM[Towards the East: Occupying Transylvania] / Kelet felé: Erdélyi bevonulás [FL 1502]
The war campaign of Hungary to get back Transylvania in 1940, cut off from Hungary by the peace treaties after World War I.Hungary, Hungarian, 90 min, propaganda film, CD-ROM[Voice-book] / Hangoskönyv [FL 1477]
Documentary film on the life, person and political career of Imre Nagy, the executed prime minister at the time of the 1956 revolution. Excerpts from Nagy’s diary written in Snagov are read by Gergő Kaszás and historian János M. Rainer interprets and comments on the text. Judit Ember, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian, 180 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM1000 C [FL 980]
Fire breath, pliability of metal, dancing of a hammer - all compose the universe of a blacksmith. It is cinematographically depicted like the site of genesis, when the blacksmith seems to have taken demiurgic power, casting an entire world. This is a story about how to see our immediate life, how even the mundane can acquire mythical components if seen with the right eyes. Irina Uralskaya, Russia, 2002, Russian, 10 min, art documentary, VHS12:08 East Of Bucharest / A fost sau n-a fost? [FL 1116]
12:08 pm Decmber 22, 1989 was the exact time of Ceausescu's fall from power in Romania. Sixteen years on, a provincial TV talk show decides to commemorate the event by asking local heroes to reminisce about their own contributions to the revolution. Securing suitable guests however proves an unexpected challenge and the producer is left with two less than ideal participants - a drink addled history teacher and a retired and lonely sometime-Santa Claus grateful for the company. In the farcical show that follows, the men's fanciful boasts of rebellious glory are hilariously disputed by phone-ins from viewers who recall an altogether different version of events. With entertainingly wry humour, Corneliu Promboiu's debut feature sharply satirises the short memories and inconsistencies of postrevolutionary Romania. Coreneliu Porumboiu, Romania, 2006, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 86 min, fiction film, DVD-ROM12:08 East of Bucharest / A fost sau n-a fost? [FL 1734]
Corneliu Porumboiu’s satirical film depicts the program of the déclassé director of regional television of a small town in Moldova, who wants to find out whether or not a revolution took place in the town on December 22, 1989 prior to 12:08. (12:08 was the moment when the Ceauşescu couple fled by helicopter and is therefore a key to deciding whether there was a real revolution or whether people only took to the streets after the regime fell.) The three anti-heroes – pensioner Piscoci, drunken and heavily indebted history teacher Mãnescu and Jderescu, who runs the local television studio – try to find out what it is that makes a revolution. Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania, 2006, Romanian/Subtitles: Hungarian, 89 min, fiction film, DVD-ROM1956, music, events, phenomena, atmosphere / 1956 Musiken, händelserna, företeelserna, stämmingen [FL 1503]Sweden, 1999, Swedish, radio program, CD-ROM
1956: Recollections of Witnesses and Posterity / 1956 a szemtanúk és az utókor szemével [FL 1465]
A collection of archival footage from the period: 1956-1989. Images of the revolution; BBC report; amateur footage; newsreels from 1956, 1957, and 1958; Opposition demonstrations 1988 June 16, October 23.Hungary, 1956, Hungarian, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM2 or 3 Things I Know About Him / 2 oder 3 Dinge, die ich von ihm weiss [FL 686]
The family of a Nazi war criminal, sixty years after the end of the War. Hanns Elard Ludin found fame as a young officer under the Weimar Republic, after conspiring on Hitler's behalf in the German army. When Hitler came to power Ludin' s career took off; by the time he was twenty-eight, he had an army of no less than 300,000 storm troopers under his command. In 1941 he became Hitler's emissary to the Nazi's vassal state, Slovakia, and looked after the interests of the Third Reich there - including the implementation of the Final Solution. After the war, the Americans handed Ludin over to the Czechoslovakian authorities; he was sentenced to death and hanged. Ludin's youngest son, director Malte Ludin, presents a 'documentary debate' with the three generations of his large family, now scattered all over the world. Although the truth about the father's role in the war has long been on record, his widow, children and children's children argue about their family history, struggling to reconcile private memories with public knowledge. Malte Ludin, Germany, 2004, German, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM26.04.86 A spring in the memory / 26.04.86: Una primavera en la memoria [FL 916]
A story about the medical facility on the island of Tarara where Ukrainian children, victims of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, come to undergo treatment for various rare diseases. The Cuban and Ukrainian governments signed a special agreement prescribing this connection so vital for curing the children depicted by the film. The films tells the story of Celia, mother of one the children under treatment, who has already settled in Cuba, finding a new home, being one of the first parents to bring their children to the island. The documentary also includes archival footage from the site of the Chernobyl disaster. Ariane Dos Santos Pereira, Cuba, 2004, 21 min, art documentary, VHS3 Rooms of Melancholia, The / Melancholian 3 huonetta [FL 1030]
This poetic and very sophisticated documentary is divided into three chapters, in three Rooms. In each of them, the atmosphere is determined by one predominant emotion. With very few words but with lots of eloquent cinematic means, the film speaks about basic emotional and mental states. In the first Room, we follow young boys, obedient cadets at a military school in St. Petersburg. These children of thirteen or fourteen are not here by choice: most of them come from dysfunctional families. Just by observing their morning rituals, the school's rigid discipline and their way of interacting, one gets a notion of their enormous solitude. One of the boys shifts the story to the second Room – Breathing – where we witness the doomed lives of the people of Grozny. The last Room – Remembering – crosses the Chechen border into the neighbouring province of Ingushetia, where people fight out their own tragedy. With a keen eye for detail, especially human faces, and with precise timing, the director successfully creates remarkable, emotionally loaded scenes. By combining vocals from the Orthodox Church with folk and classical music, together with pure sounds from nature, the film becomes uplifting and multilayered. Pirjo Honkasalo, Finland, 2004, English, Finnish/Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM300 Miles to Heaven / 300 mił do nieba [FL 675]
Based on a true story dating back to 1985 when two Polish boys, a teenager and his little brother, escaped from communist Poland to Sweden hidden under a truck. Their father was a history teacher and was fired for his political beliefs. They decided to try a better life in the West. In the film the destination was changed for Denmark. After the successful escape, they are put in a refugee camp. The officials want to send them back to Poland, but a Polish journalist, who escaped some years before, fights for their cause and in the end they receive asylum. She also helps them to contact their parents. In a dramatic phone conversation their father tells them never to come back. Although the actual heroes confirmed in 1989 that this film fully conveyed their experiences, it is not a chronicle of their escape. Rather we see the two boys in two unwelcoming worlds: socialist Poland, and the affluent yet hostile Denmark. Maciej Dejczeb, Poland, 1989, Polish, 89 min, fiction film, DVD-ROM32 Lines / Harminckét sor [FL 1652]
Letters from the prison, family memories and documents invoke the fall and Soviet retaliation of the 1956 revolution in Hungary. Anna Merei, Hungary, 2005, Hungarian, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM37 Uses for a Dead Sheep / 37 Uses for a Dead Sheep [FL 1111]
The Pamir Kirghiz are a tribe of some 2,000 people from the Pamir region of Central Asia. For the last 27 years they have lived in exile in Eastern Turkey. In 2005 an Anglo-Turkish film crew arrives in their village to work with the tribe to tell their story. In a series of scenes divided into "chapters", we see revealing interviews with the Kirghiz, see exciting and entertaining reconstructions shot on film in a variety of different cinematic styles, and comic scenes of the interaction between the film crew and the community. During this process, we learn how the Pamir Kirghiz' antipathy to Communism drove them from Soviet Russia, then later from Maoist China, and finally from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to their current exile. And as the past is explored in interview and reconstruction, we see how the Pamir Kirghiz live today in modern Turkey. The film is part historical document, part ethnographical description of a unique people, part portrait of the conflict between individual and globalised culture, and part comedy about the process of film-making. Wielka Brytania, United Kingdom, 2006, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM4 1/2 [FL 1382]
Portrait of four young, disabled Senegaleze boys who support their families by begging in the streets frequented by tourists. Gianni Padlina, Switzerland, 2006, French, 54 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM6 Yards to Democracy [FL 1253]
6 Yards to Democracy revisits a gruesome incident that took place during an election rally in north India. Thousands of women from poor localities of Lucknow city, lured by the promise of free saris, had been waiting for hours in the harsh sun for the cheap six-yard cloths. A stampede occurred: 22 died and hundreds were injured. This seemingly stray happening uncovers the sordid side of Indian democracy, and connects in significant ways with the daily humiliations forced upon these women and their families. As boomtown dynamics keep pushing them further into the margins, we observe the women's struggles to keep their homes, hopes and dignity intact while petitioning an apathetic state for their dues. Nishtha Jain & Smriti Nevatia, India, 2006, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM66 seasons / 66 sezon [FL 18]
A documentary where, in the words of the filmmakers, “history comes to bathe.” Through several stories that unfold between the years 1936 and 2002, the film brings together 66 seasons at a popular swimming pool, and through this offers a unique look at 66 years of central and eastern European history. From watching World War II fighter planes, through the changing fashion styles, to the moment two lovers met, the pool has always been the social hub. With the help of old footage and some unusual recreations, the visitors join director and Kosice native Péter Kerekes in recounting their memories of the sixty-six seasons of the pool. Péter Kerekes, Slovakia, 2003, Slovak, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 86 min, documentary film, VHS89 mm from Europe / 89 mm od Europy [FL 526]
The short documentary is one of the finest statements made on the prevailing atmosphere of the Cold War in post-perestroika, post-Cold War Europe. The film sketches the transition between two different worlds: Europe and the former Soviet Union. The scene is the railway station at Brest-Litovsk. Before a train can move on from Poland to Belorussia, the wheels of each of the carriages have to be adjusted to meet the conditions of a wider gauge a difference of only »89 mm« yet symbolic for the huge transformation from one mind-set to another. Meanwhile, while the changes are being made, train passengers from France and Germany, Holland and Poland, watch the ceremony mutely as much in dismay as in disbelief. Marcel Lozinski, Poland, 1993, Polish, 12 min, documentary film, VHS8th Bullet, The [FL 1406]
experimental film Marcelo Paganini, France, 2005, English, 15 min, DVD-ROM9 Days of a Year aka Nine Days of One Year / Девять дней одного года [FL 835]
In this drama, a Soviet nuclear physicist and his professor are working in Siberia on a project when an accident leaves them exposed to incredible amounts of radiation. The professor dies, and the physicist is told that any more radiation will kill him. Still he persists on continuing the work. He becomes so obsessed with his work that he ignores his lover who is tempted by his friend. He does finally wake up and marry her. Meanwhile, the good friend teams up with him. Again an accident occurs and the determined physicist is exposed, but this time he swears his friend to secrecy until the experiment is over. Now he spends less and less time with his loving wife and she wonders what she has done wrong. It is nothing; he has gone to Moscow for a life-saving bone marrow transplant. The day before the operation, the friend bursts in with great news: the experiment was successful! Adding to the happy moment is his wife who anxiously awaits outside the operating room. Soon they receive a note from him that promises a great celebration. Mikhail Romm, Soviet Union, 1961, Russian, 104 min, fiction film, DVD-ROM9 Star Hotel / Malon 9 Kohavim [FL 1206]
In Israel's occupied territories, thousands of Palestinians work illegally as construction laborers. After an arduous and dangerous journey, loaded with blankets and bags, they cross the hills to the places where they can find employment. At night they sleep on the hillcrests in improvised huts and coffin-like sleeping cubicles, a stark contrast to the luxury apartment complexes they build by day. But they have made homes for themselves, complete with cozy pillows and even electricity from batteries they have scraped together. The filmmakers follow Ahmed and Muhammad, one a merry collector of found objects, the other a philosophical critic of the Palestinian character. Together, they share food, belongings and stories, and live under the constant threat of arrest - police, soldiers and the secret service are all tirelessly on the alert for illegal workers. With raw, handheld images, this disconcerting yet touching film documents friendship, nostalgia and the uncompromising will to survive. Ido Haar, Israel, 2006, Hebrew, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM9th Company, The / 9 рота [FL 1065]
The Soviet war in Afghanistan. The film follows a group of young recruits from a farewell ceremony with friends and family back home, through their often brutal training up to a bloody battle on a mountain top in Afghanistan against the mujahideen. In the closing episode of the film, after the final bloody fight, where most of the unit perishes, it turns out that the boys were simply forgotten at a post which not longer needed to be defended; yet the unit survivor proudly declares that they “won their war.” Fedor Bondarchuk, Russia, 2005, Russian, 126 min, DVD-ROMA Day to Remember / Wangque de Yitian [FL 1543]
It is 4 June 2005. The cineaste Liu Wei picks up his camera and sets off for Tiananmen Square and the University of Beijing with a question in his head: what day is it? As he poses this question to the various students and people that he encounters on his way, he receives countless evasive replies and the refusal of majority to recall the student protests 16 years earlier. Many affirm that they not know anything about those events and move swiftly onwards while others only stare at the camera. A Day to Remember reflects the great unease surrounding the date of 4 June and how the uprising of that period still remains taboo subject in the People’s Republic of China. Nevertheless, this film by Liu breaks with that silence and explores an entire nation’s feelings of denial. Liu Wei, China, 2005, Chinese, Mandarin/Subtitles: English, 13 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMA Day Without the Sun / Dzien bez slonca [FL 1731] Kazimierz Karabasz, Władysław Ślesicki, Poland, 1959, Polish, 19 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
A Fiery Autumn in the Cold War - Hungary in 1956 / Forró ősz a hidegháborúban - Magyarország 1956-ban [FL 1508]
This documentary made by the 1956 Institute (http://www.rev.hu/rev/), presents the history of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution in a global political context. It examines the processes leading to the status quo in the post-war era, the characteristics of the Cold War and the antecedents of the revolution both in Eastern-Central Europe and in Hungary. The film depicts foreign reactions as well as the political considerations and conduct of the Great Powers. Recently rediscovered contemporary news footages from American, French, German and Russian archives further enrich the visual content of this documentary. Judit Kóthy, Judit Topits, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, German, French, Romanian, Italian, Slovak, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMA Railwayman's Word / Kolejarskie Slowo [FL 1732]
Munk starts to blur the distinction between fiction and documentary in this film. Using real railway workers he shows the co-operative effort through dramatised scenes. Seemingly a “production documentary,” it reinvented documentary as a form of art. Andrzej Munk, Poland, 1953, Polish/Subtitles: English, 22 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMA Road to Mecca – The Journey Of Muhammad Asad / Der Weg nach Mekka – Die Reise des Muhammad Assad [FL 1538]
In the early 1920s Leopold Weiss, a Viennese Jew, travelled to the Middle East. The desert fascinated him, and Islam became his new spiritual home. He left his Jewish roots behind, converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Asad. He became one of the most important Muslims of the 20th century, first as an advisor at the royal court of Saudi Arabia, and later translating the Koran into English. Asad was also a co-founder of Pakistan and its ambassador to the UN. The director follows his fading footsteps, leading from the Arabian desert to Ground Zero. He finds a man who was not looking for adventures but rather wanted to act as a mediator between East and West. A Road To Mecca takes this opportunity to deal with a heated debate on the nature of Islam and its role in today’s world. Georg Misch, Austria, 2008, English, German, Ukrainian, Arabic, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 92 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMA Tornallom [FL 1444]
A Tornallom is a documentary about the struggle to defend de irrigated area used for cultivation known as La Huerta de Valencia. It shows us images and testimonies of the events that occurred between September 2002 and March 2003, when more than 200 residents of La Punta (in the Huerta area) were evicted from their houses. The villages were demolished and the fields bulldozed to make room for the ZAL (logistics activities zone) of the Port of Valencia, which is planned to take up around 600,000 square meters, most of the area of La Huerta. “A Tornallom", is what the agricultural workers of La Huerta call the way they swap work amongst themselves. For heavy agricultural tasks workers usually help each other, pooling their efforts to do the work on one person’s field and going on to another the next day until all the work is done. That's working ‘a tornallom’: work in exchange for work. Enric Peris, Spain, 2005, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 48 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMA Village Romance / Falusi románc [FL 1561]
A dead-end village, one time home of a lesbian community that decided to leave the city. By today little of the community remains. One of them, Mari, lives in poverty but in a very expensive house. She falls in love with M., the poor Roma woman and mother of three next door, who lives miserably with her drunken, abusive husband. Although heterosexual, M. returns Mari’s love, fueling the contempt of the village, which already hates her badly enough for being a Roma. “I have never been loved for who I am” she says. Now she waits for her husband to leave her, so that she and her children can move in with her lover. Bódis Kriszta, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMA World on Display [FL 1467]
In the spring and summer of 1904, the eyes of the nation, and the world, were focused on St. Louis, Missouri, site of a world’s fair commemorating the Louisiana Purchase Centennial. The St. Louis World’s Fair, largest and grandest of all international expositions, displayed America’s economic and artistic resources, the latest technological developments, and models for urban planning. The Fair’s organizers also brought more than 2000 indigenous peoples to St. Louis to live in “authentic” villages, reflecting both the social Darwinism of the age and America’s new role as an overseas power. A World on Display uses reminiscences of elderly Missourians who went to the Fair, interviews with historians, archival motion pictures, and many never-before-published photographs to locate the St. Louis Fair in the social, political and cultural context of American society at the beginning of the 20th century. Eric Breitbart, United States, 2005, English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMa.k.a The Annotation / Et Cetera… [FL 967]
The movie depicts the wars that have marked successive generations of Russians. The inevitability of conflict is slowly grasped as images compiled from a century of wars anonymously cycle before us as certainly as each generation matures. It is a poetical interpretation of war as the unavoidable fate of human beings. The movie is made up of a montage of archival footage from the first world war up to the present conflict in Chechnya. Andrei Osipov, Russia, 2001, Russian, 24 min, art documentary, VHSAbandoned town, The / Napusteni grad [FL 846]
A film about the life of the Italian minority in Croatia (and former Yugoslavia) told through the story of Piemonte (Zavrsje), an almost completely abandoned and ruined town in Istria. Gigi was among the rare ones who stayed in the town when Tito's Yugoslavia demanded that the Italian minority choose between the two homelands. Today, some 50 years later he's still the only "citizen" of the abandoned town. Magdalena Piekorz, Croatia, 2002, Italian, 18 min, art documentary, VHSAbduction of Fire, The / Похищение огня [FL 348]
History of the creation of the atomic bomb in the Soviet Union. The film traces the different itineraries of its emergence - from the foreign agents who cooperated with the Soviet secret services, particularly Klaus Fuchs, to the research institute headed by Igor' Kurchatov. The film combines interviews, archival material, and extracts from fiction films such as "Vybor tseli" (Choice of Purpose, Igor' Talankin, 1974) and others. Vera Storozheva, Russia, 2001, Russian, 160 min, documentary film, VHSAbortion, Right or Wrong? [FL 1455]
Every year, throughout the world, fifty million women have abortions and about thirty five thousand of these abortions are being performed in the Netherlands. Abortion is being legalized in the Netherlands thirty years ago and abortions have since then been carried out safely and in safe surroundings. The right to have an abortion in the Netherlands now seems so fundamental that it is difficult to imagine that it is still not a fundamental right in many countries in the world. This film shows the course of an average day at the oldest abortion clinic in the Netherlands. A seventeen year old girl tells her story and women that used to demonstrate at the clinic against abortion now come to the clinic with their own pregnant daughters. Has this acquired freedom changed personal and social attitudes? Is a woman’s decision to have an abortion any less painful now than it used to be? Sherman de Jesus, Netherlands, 2005, Dutch/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAbout Dogs and people / O psoch a l'ud'och [FL 652]
In 1988. when Miso Suchy immigrated to America, he did not know a word of English. The film "About Dogs and people" reflects his experiences with "the mute," and is filmed almost without words. Dogs are mute animals, yet according to the director they can tell a lot about the society in which they live. This metaphorical film shows the accuracy of the saying that dogs are a reflection of the people who owe them. Miso Suchy, Slovakia, 1993, English, 44 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAbout Georgi Dyulgerov / За Георги Дюлгеров [FL 693]
A documentary surveying the life and works of the famous Bulgrian filmmaker, Georgi Dyulgerov, featuring his students at the Academy of Theatre and Film Arts and members of his team from different productions.Bulgaria, Bulgarian, 33 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAbout Jean Rouch. Bernard Surugue in conversation with /Patrick Leboutte / A propos de Jean Rouch. Conversation Bernard Surugue/Patrick Leboutte [FL 1106]
An interview with Bernard Surugue, Jean Rouch's colleague, rich in details and anecdotes about their common work, demonstrating profound respect and friendship of the two men. NB: Bernard Surugue introduces each film by Jean Rouch in this series. Patrick Leboutte, France, 2004, French, 29 min, VHSAcademician Ivan Pavlov / Академик Иван Павлов [FL 168]
Film about Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, physiologist, researcher into the nervous system and reflexes, Noble prizewinner. The film tells of Pavlov's scientific career, his discoveries and their impact on medicine and psychology. Georgii Roshal', Soviet Union, 1949, Russian, 103 min, fiction film, VHSAcademy of Mr. Kleks, The / Akademia Pana Kleksa [FL 736]
An adaptation of a novel by Jan Brzechwa. 10-year Jaś Niezgódka begins his studies at a strange boarding school located in an old palace. The pedagogue, Mr. Blot, is not merely a teacher, but also an alchemist and a dream-interpreter. He lives on colorful confetti-like “freckles” that are provided for him on a weekly basis by Filip the Barber. When he runs out of “freckles”, he shrinks. Meanwhile, Jaś embarks upon several adventures and discovers the secret of Filip the Barber. The latter desires to ruin Mr. Blot and his Academy. Eventually he succeeds by sending robot named Adolf into the school. Partially animated and with numerous songs, this children’s film was widely acclaimed and seen by over 14 million spectators in movie theatres. It is filled with allusions, mainly to “Star Wars” and “The Muppets”. Krzysztof Gradowski, Poland, 1984, Polish/Subtitles: English, 158 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAddicted to Plastic [FL 1684]
When it was launched, plastic was a miracle, the undisputed material of the future. Wood, stone and cloth were all finite, so a new, cheap and easy-to-handle material was needed to manufacture goods. More than a century later, it would be impossible to imagine our society without plastic. The miraculous material isn't only the raw material for goods and packaging, but also for art. On a trip that spanned three years and five continents, Ian Connacher investigated the impact of so much plastic. After all, the material has a major drawback, as it isn't biodegradable and doesn't get recycled in most countries. This means that the majority of the plastic made in the past century is still stored somewhere on earth. Connacher reveals that traces of the material are even to be found in the stomachs of marine animals, which means that plastic ends up in the food chain. We also learn that plastic might not be as harmless as people originally thought. But there is hope, as a number of companies are putting a completely biodegradable plastic on the market. Nevertheless, the traditional plastic industry is powerful and won't give up its position without a fight. Ian Connacher, Canada, 2008, English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAdisa or a Thousand Years Story / Adisa O La Storia Dei Mille Anni [FL 15]
A voyage among men, women, and children of the Romany people in Bosnia Hercegovina, documenting the reality and the present life in a country still wounded by the consequences of the war. Massimo D. D'orzi, Italy, 2004, Serbian/Subtitles: English, documentary film, Beta SPAdjusted Conversation with Ferenc Merei / Kiigazított beszélgetés Mérei Ferenccel [FL 1627]
A film made by the daughter of Ferenc Merei, founding father of one of the schools of psychology in Hungary, about his involvement and commitment during the 1956 revolution. Anna Merei, Hungary, 1996, Hungarian, 28 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAdmiral Nakhimov / Адмирал Нахимов [FL 204]
Historical costume film set in Russia in the year 1853. After the victory of the Russian fleet led by Admiral Nakhimov over Turkey a strong anti-Russian coalition is created. Nakhimov comes back to defend Russian positions. Vsevolod Pudovkin, Soviet Union, 1946, Russian, 89 min, fiction film, VHSAdmiral Ushakov / Адмирал Ушаков [FL 173]
Historical costume drama about the creation of the Russian Black Sea fleet in 1779. Unwilling to stay at court, Fedor Ushakov receives the permission of Count Grigorii Potemkin to go to Kherson to build the fleet. Despite the raging plague, and the skepticism of the foreigners, he starts to build the fleet, inspiring everybody around him with his enthusiasm. The fleet goes into battle against Turkish ships and wins. A chain of other victories follows, Ushakov becomes a Rear-Admiral. The film was followed by the sequel 'The Ships from the Bastions' (1953). Mikhail Romm, Soviet Union, 1953, Russian, 102 min, fiction film, VHSAdopting a New Homeland [FL 1451]
The film tells the story of a population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1922. Makry (Fethiye - Kayaköy) in Turkey turns out to be Nea Makry (New Makry) in Greece, a new homeland. By this film, people in Nea Makry started to question their feelings towards the Turkish people. They started to share their feelings of the past, present and future. They are the people from the 1st to 3rd generation of population exchange who suffered the sorrow of immigration, force to leave their homeland and move to a new country, and who grew up with the sorrowful stories of their predecessors. The transformation of prejudices into friendship of the people of two cultures that stay apart because of the history they did not create and could not change. Enis Riza, Turkey, 2006, Greek, Modern (1453-), Turkish/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAdvantage / Авантаж [FL 443]
The action takes place during the socialist period in Bulgaria. The central character, nicknamed the Cock is an artistic personality, a man of strong character known as the king of the pickpockets. His keen sense of personal freedom comes up against the universally accepted norms of behavior. The Cock likes a game, adventure and danger, while socialist society needs obedience. The Cock makes a stand against this order; he does not want to play his games according to rules. He is telling the story of his last 20 years: his imprisonment, his love affairs. To him love is a fateful meeting of two persons and has nothing to do with philistinism. The Cock is an amiable chap though being an adventurer, trickster, and an artist by nature, irresponsible and asocial. In the mean time he wastes his gift on virtuoso thefts and monumental banquets which regularly land him in jail. In the jail the imperfect correctional methods and the chaos reigning in his own soul induce him to betray his fellow inmates. In the end the filmmakers allow him to die a dignified death. During an escape attempt before dying he saves the life of a child. His dream of life comes to an absurd end. Georgi Dyulgerov, Bulgaria, 1977, Bulgarian, 138 min, DVD-ROMAelita: Queen of Mars / Аэлита [FL 218]
Based on Alexei Tolstoi's story Aelita. Engineer Los' creates a spaceship to travel to Mars in, and takes off. He is accompanied by Red Army soldier Gusev, who dreams of accomplishing a socialist revolution on Mars, and detective Kravtsov, who suspects that Los' murdered his wife and is trying to escape. The revolution on Mars fails due to Martian minister Evor and the resistance of Aelita, the princess of Mars. When the heroes are on the edge of perishing, Los' wakes up and realizes that the story was just a dream. Yakov Protazanov, Soviet Union, 1924, Russian, 100 min, fiction film, VHSAfghan Breakdown / Афганский излом [FL 999]
The movie tells the story of the last days of a Soviet regiment stationed in Afghansitan, before the main troop withdrawal in 1985. The movie accurately portrays the grim realities of Russian army that have made it infamous: "dedovshina" (officers and NCOs physically harassing, beating and humiliating younger recruits), mixed character of war (you can trade with your enemy one day and kill him the next), life of women at the front lines, documentary footages of helicopter assaults, an endless row of coffins sent home, fatigue, boredom, and anti-war sentiment. It shows that war is a dirty affair, where murder is sometimes condoned, wanton destruction of whole villages for little or no reason is normal, and indiscriminate killing of civilians is overlooked as collateral damage inevitable during war. It was the first movie to talk about the pointless 9-year occupation of Afghanistan and about the trauma of both civilians and the army involved in the conflict. Vladimir Bortko, Russia, 1991, Russian, 140 min, fiction film, VHSAfrican Spelling Book [FL 1400]
A series of short films written, narrated and filmed by a group of boys and girls living in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Each story refletcts their point of view on life in Kenya, and gives the viewer a unique chance to explore their world Angelo Loy, (n/a), 2005, English, 61 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAgainst All Odds: The First Ten Years of the Tribunal [FL 1744]
A documentary about the first ten years of the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and the great battles it has had to fight over the past decade: for survival, for respect and for time. The testimony of the current and former president of the Tribunal: judges Antonio Cassese, Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, Claude Jorda and Theodor Meron; Chief Prosecutors: Richard Goldstone, Louise Arbour and Carla del Ponte; and many other players, document this exciting, important and successful experiment in international criminal justice. Through library footage from the courtrooms and from crime scenes, the film reconstructs the crucial and most dramatic moments - victims testimonies, confessions, forensic evidence, investigations, indictments, judgments - that have marked the decade in which the Tribunal managed not only to survive but to succeed against all odds.Netherlands, 2004, English, Serbian, French/Subtitles: Serbian, 68 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAgainst the Mafia: Petrol Liaisons / Szemben a maffiával: avagy olajozott viszonyok [FL 1264]
An investigative look at the dubious petrol businesses involving high officials after 1989 in Hungray. Irén Kármán, Hungary, 2007, Hungarian, 95 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAge of Gold, The / L'age d'or [FL 1412]
Bunuel's first feature is a pure Surrealist film. The plot involves a man and a woman who are passionately in love with one another, but their attempts to consummate that passion are constantly thwarted by their families, the Church and bourgeois society. Luis Bunuel, France, 1930, French/Subtitles: Hungarian, 60 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAgitators, The / Agitátorok [FL 164]
Hungary, 1918-1919. Young and committed people form the intellectual group within the Hungarian Communist Party. Their aim is to spread communist ideology and to convince working class people. They not only lobby journalists and members of Parliament, but get into a fight at a demonstration. The main topics of their discussions are the need for the revolutionary dictatorship and responsibility towards the masses. Dezső Magyar, Hungary, 1969, Hungarian, 78 min, fiction film, Beta SPAgitators / Agitátorok [FL 1507]
A unique perspective of the paradoxical story of the Hungarian Soviet republic of 1919. The historical background -as formulated by impassioned diputes within the "intellectual group" of the party, philosophical monologues and film archives - serves more as an excuse to search for a general model of revolution which can be applied to later 20th century examples of revolution (1956 and 1968). Dezső Magyar, Hungary, 1969, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 69 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAgony / Агония [FL 162]
A film about the last days of the monarchy. The central figure is Rasputin, who acquired unlimited power at Nikolas II’s court and later fell victim to a court conspiracy. Elem Klimov, Soviet Union, 1974, 143 min, fiction film, VHSAileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer [FL 1237]
Aileen Wuornos, allegedly the first woman serial killer, was convicted of killing seven of her clients. Nick Broomfield tries to arrange an interview with her, first through her friendly but inept lawyer Steve Glazer and then through her “adoptive” mother, born-again Christian Eileen. As the negotiations over fees begin, the film becomes an exploration of the way a “serial killer” is constructed and sold as an image, starkly illustrated by the police officers who worked on the case, and who Broomfield discovers have sold their story to Hollywood producers. When he eventually meets Aileen he encounters a severely disturbed woman, and finds himself questioning her treatment at the hands of the media and the state. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 2004, English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer [FL 381]
This moving and tragic story of Aileen Wuornos, America's first woman serial killer, is a powerful indictment against capital punishment and the execution of the mentally insane. In 1992, acclaimed UK filmmaker Nick Broomfield made "Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of A Serial Killer," which revealed how Aileen's mother, her lawyer, and the Florida state police tried to sell her sensationalized story to the highest bidder. Amidst the frenzy of greed, Aileen emerges as the most sincere person in the film. Twelve years later, Broomfield was summoned to Aileen's final appeal before execution, and his earlier film was shown as evidence that she had not been given a fair trial. However, during the appeal, Aileen suddenly confesses that she committed the murders in cold blood and is ready to die (she later confides to Broomfield that she said this because she could no longer endure life on death row). Broomfield decides to probe deeper into Aileen's troubled life and reveals how her childhood of extreme abuse and neglect led her to become a runaway and teenage prostitute with severe drug problems. Broomfield's powerful film reveals the flaws in the US criminal justice system and the stark inhumanity of capital punishment, particularly of the mentally ill. Aileen Wuornos was executed by the state of Florida on October 9, 2002. Nick Broomfield, United States, 2003, English, 89 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAksuat / Аксуат [FL 617]
"Aksuat" - the name of the village, where the director of the film was born and lived. The modern accessories of life, such as mobile phones, cars, and satellite dishes notwithstanding, the lifestyle here remains essentially traditional, with the decision of the "elder" - local mob leader - controlling any action that is taken in the community. The story line evolves around the relationship of two brothers: Kanat and Aman. Kanat is a quintessential "new Kazakh", flat broke and disenchanted, who comes back to the village with his pregnant Russian wife. The elder brother Aman has lived in the village all his life, built a house, settled down but never married. "Aksuat" marks the breaking point in the development of Kazakh cinema in the era following the collapse of the USSR and the attainment of independence. The fates of the two brothers are the metaphors of the possible nation-building. The ones who leave lose their roots and moral values embedded in the traditional background. Those who stay in the countryside live a hard life in a corrupt, unjust society. But for all the hardships, the protagonists remain on their mothers' land. Thus, Aman's is the punch line of the film: "This is my house, my matches." The premier of the film in Kazakhstan went unnoticed. Later it received a Special Jury prize at IFF "Eurasia - 98"; prize of the Jury at the "Festival of Three Continents" in Nantes - 99, etc. Serik Aprymov, Kazakhstan, 1997, Russian, Russian, Kazakh/Subtitles: English, 78 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAlamar Express: The New Man / Alamar Express: El Hombre Nuevo [FL 1736]
The film documents the story of a group of young Cuban artists striving to create a space for cultural expression in one of Havana's sprawling suburban wastelands. Their community of Alamar, a Soviet relic of the 1960s, was born out of the failed utilitarian concept of a "model city", and their people out of the revolutionary ideal of the New Man. By seeking a future in a country where time stands still, these young artists struggle to transform the cultural desert of Alamar. Using multidisciplinary art, creative performance, and a positive spiritual message, the group tries to awaken their community to a new social reality in Cuba, where artistic expression is one of the last forms of independent thought permitted by the government. A unique cultural and social phenomenon in Cuba, the group rejects the decades-old concept of a New Man and introduces the world to the Hombre Nuevo, living in the collective spirit of today's Alamar community. Under the modern-day backdrop of a vanguard Cuban counterculture movement, "Alamar Express" exemplifies the hopes of a struggling nation through the independent voices of some of Cuba's most unique and talented artists. Patrycja Satora, United States, 2007, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAlexander Askoldov. Destiny of Commisar. / Aleksander Askoldov. Sud'ba Komissara [FL 1109]
Movie director Alexander Askoldov made only one famous movie, The Commissar. The film was too unsettlling for Soviet censorship and was therefore banned for twenty years while the director was prosecuted by the Soviet authorities and erased from the face of Russian culture. Valery Balayan, Russia, 2006, Russian, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAlexander Nevskii / Александр Невский [FL 163]
The 13th century. The warriors of the powerful Teutonic Order have occupied Pskov and are advancing towards the center of Russia. Prince Alexander Nevsky undertakes to lead the troops of Great Novgorod, defeating the Teutonic army on Lake Chudskoe. Sergei Eisenstein, Soviet Union, 1938, Russian, 111 min, fiction film, VHSAlexander Popov / Александр Попов [FL 199]
Biographical film about physicist Alexander Semenovich Popov (1859-1905), the creator of radio. The film presents Popov's research, his observations and discoveries. The film includes episodes about the use of his wireless telegraph in the Far North and its help in rescuing people lost in the ocean. Alexander Razumovskii, Soviet Union, 1949, Russian, 87 min, fiction film, VHSAliens Everywhere / Mindenütt idegen [FL 1351]
Refugee children in Hungary whose only opportunity for a holiday is the yearly camp organized by Menedék, and NGO protecting the rights of refugees in Hungary. Zsuzsa Katona, Péter Nyeste, Hungary, 2007, Hungarian, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAll is love / Всичко е любов [FL 510]
A young man escapes from the school for delinquent youth with a constrained regime, where he lives and studies in his last year. He often makes this short break from the unbearable regime and attitude. This time he meets in Sofia a girl from an elite district and tries to challenge her with his straightforward manners. Acting indifferent and independent at first, Albena soon starts to seek his affection – the unrefined energy and rudeness that Rado demonstrates, invoke her love. Albena’s mother becomes quite upset when she learns about her daughter’s affair. She puts pressure on the responsible institutions to take him back to his school, contrary to their initial intention to give him the freedom to decide when to return. Meanwhile, Rado spends his time with Albena and their passion grows. When Rado returns back to his school, Albena finds out that she is pregnant. He feels betrayed by her at first but when he receives her letter with the news, he runs away back to Sofia. Unfortunately, Albena’s mother had arranged an illegal abortion and she had lost the baby. Exhausted and freezing after the several days’ trip walking and hitchhiking and struck by the news, Rado is left on the staircase in front of Albena’s door and waits for the police to take him away. Borislav Sharaliev, Bulgaria, 1979, Bulgarian, 102 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAll lives have dignity - the world of Zhou Zhou [FL 923]
A fil about Zhou Zhou who is suffering from mental disability. He is the son of a percutionist the Wuhan Filarmonica and his life is centered around music and operatic performances, as he spend most of the time as an "assistent" to the various performances of the Wuhan Filarmonica. The documentary shows the almost permanent harmony of Zhou Zhou's life, which brings him into normality rather than isolation. This is a story o acceptance and adaptation, but it does not convince the viewer about the corectedness of the approach presented. Zhou Zhou's life and environment are lauded, but at times they seem to take on the guise rather of a well-tuned circus show than of an integration in society of a disabled person. Zhang Yiqing, China, Chinese, Mandarin, 55 min, documentary film, VHSAll Quiet on the Western Front [FL 104]
TV movie based on one of the most respected anti-war novels ever written, by Erich Maria Remarque. Delbert Mann, United States, 1979, English, 90 min, fiction film, VHSAll That Jack's / Majstori, majstori [FL 562]
This drama, set in Belgrade, revolves around a group of primary school teachers. As they all gather for the morning shift, the school’s female principle is informed that shy English teacher Gordana has filed a sexual harassment complaint against the principal’s deputy Bogdan and that a young inspector is coming to the school to investigate the charges. In addition, realizing that the cleaning lady is retiring the next day, the principal decides to throw a farewell party. Once he arrives at the school, the inspector does not get much cooperation from the faculty. Bogdan eventually confesses that he did have a relationship with Gordana but says that she invented the accusations because he caught her with another man. During the school performance, the inspector sneaks out to follow Gordana and discovers her half-naked with the gym teacher. Meanwhile, a high-ranking party official and the inspector’s boss arrive at the school party. They rule out the charges, but inform the principle that she has lost contact with her faculty and pupils and has to retire or otherwise the school will be closed down. Finally, a drunken teacher recites a poem about the workers who came to repair the house although nobody called them, as an allusion to what has just happened with the school. Goran Marković, Yugoslavia, 1980, Serbian, 94 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAll White in Barking [FL 1517]
The inhabitants of the London suburb of Barking are having trouble accepting the influx of ten thousand immigrants from around the world. Long–time local residents Susan and Jeff don't even greet their Nigerian neighbours, because they are "not like them". Dave has become a British National Party activist fighting for a white Barking, even though both of his daughters are in relationships with just the kind of people he rants against. By contrast, Jewish Holocaust survivor and boutique owner Monty has an unusual relationship with Betty, a black nurse. Using unexpected humour, All White in Barking allows the long–term residents and their new, culturally different neighbours to air their views. Director Marc Isaacs refrains from being judgmental, but instead attempts to understand the logic of a fast–transforming community and the sometimes grotesque overcoming of the psychological barriers between cultures. The residents' words inadvertently reveal a xenophobic outlook rooted in ignorance and a sense of being threatened. Marc Isaacs, United Kingdom, 2007, English, 73 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAlone in Four Walls / Allein in vier Wänden [FL 1541]
Alexandra Westmeier explores the lives of juvenile felons aged 10 to 14. In Russia, lawbreakers can be tried and convicted as adults at the age of fifteen; younger offenders are given reduced sentences and sent to juvenile detention facilities. Some of the inmates we meet are serving time for theft, some for murder. “They’re animals, not children” – cries out the mother of a murdered teenager. But are they? The director provides glimpses of their home lives, and we begin to realize that, for these children, a correctional facility is sometimes an easier place to be. They are children who never had a childhood and who often take pride in permanent reminders of their criminal pasts: This tattoo means ‘alone among friends’, this one is ‘alone in four walls’ and this star is ‘I’ll never fall on my knees in front of a cop’, says one. Filmmaker Alexandra Westmeier spends enough time with them to see the scared boys beyond the appearance of ‘hard men’. As the merciless statistic shows, over 90% of them will get behind bars again. Alexandra Westmeier, Germany, 2007, Russian/Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAlphabet of Fear, The / Abeceda straha [FL 549]
The story of this WWII crime movie is supposedly based on real events and set in the Croatian Nazi-puppet state. Vera, a young communist, is on a mission to acquire important information – a list of spies that will be sent to the territory under partisan control. Pretending to be a provincial illiterate, Vera gets a job as a maid in the family of a high-ranking government official. Vera’s cover is endangered when the official’s oldest daughter, engaged to a German officer, starts having doubts about her, but her younger sister actually covers up for Vera’s suspicious absences, as she believes that she is having an affair. Since Vera has made little progress on her main task, resistance chiefs plan a decisive action during a dinner party attended by important German and Ustasha officers. Their action is, however, diverted by an air-raid and the party moves to the basement where the officers discover some lost documents and realize that Vera understands German. When she finally sees the list she has been searching for, she is being forced to tell the names of her superiors. The partisans manage to use the confusion created by the air-raid to break into the apartment, escaping with the prisoners. With Vera only slightly wounded the mission is accomplished. Fadil Hadžić, Yugoslavia, 1961, Serbo-Croatian, 99 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAmerican Civil Liberties Union: A History, The [FL 447]
For 80 years, one legal organization has supported the rights of the individual against the majority and the government, igniting rage in conservatives and liberals alike, That organization is the ACLU. The film, with commentary from Oliver North, Dave Barry, and Nobly Ivies, traces the tumultuous history of that organization from its inception by founder Roger Baldwin, through dozens of legal challenges over the past century, including the Scopes trial, the 1930s labor strikes, Japanese internment, the HUAC hearings and blacklisting, the Vietnam war crimes trials, the American Nazi Party's bid to march in Skokie, Illinois, and others. Lawrence R. Hott and Diane Garey, United States, 1997, English, 57 min, fiction film, VHSAmerican Torso / Amerikai anzix [FL 164]
North Carolina, last days of the American Civil War. The film portrays the struggle of three Hungarian army officers, who emigrated from Hungary after taking part in the 1948-1949 revolution. The use of light, shadow, and special effects makes the film appear as a composition of 'found' archival footage. Gábor Bódy, Hungary, 1975, Hungarian, 91 min, fiction film, Beta SPAmong Blind Fools / Mezi zaslepenymi blazny [FL 279]
Documentary about the fate of Slovak Jews during the Holocaust. Also about rabbi Michael Weissmandl, spiritual leader of the "Working Group", who rescued thousands of Slovak Jews. Petr Bok, Slovakia, 1999, English/Voice-over: English, 165 min, documentary film, VHSAmor Sanjuan [FL 1198]
At the beginning of the twentieth century Palmira emigrated with her family to Argentina. In 1934 they were deported by the military dictatorship from the Gral. Uriburu to Spain on the eve of its civil war. "Amor Sanjuan" is her testimony recorded onto 82 years of audio tapes collected by her grandson, sociologist Luis Misis. Luis Misis, Spain, 2007, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 37 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAmsterdam 1898-1920 [FL 1748]
Archival footage from the period 1898-1920 shot in Amsterdam.Netherlands, 1999, Dutch, 60 min, archival collage, DVD-ROMAn Ambiguous Feeling [FL 964]
The film tells the stories of several gay men in their own words and gives an overview of the trial in 1964 in Sofia, which ended with jail sentences for 32 people, among them actors and singers. The contemporary development of the social attitudes is also presented in a simple and dignified way. The attitude of the church, which is also documented, adds a suplementary facet of the overall complex approach pursued by the movie on the topic of homosexuality in contemporary Bulgaria. Ilko Dundakov, Bulgaria, 1997, Bulgarian, 57 min, documentary film, VHSAn Andalusian Dog / Un chien Anduluou [FL 1335]
1. An Andalusian Dog by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali. Perhaps the most famous avant garde film of all; the slit eyeball, the ants emerging from the human palm, the severed hand in the street. A series of visual shocks symbolizing nothing. Successful attempt at pure surrealism. With synchronized music score selected by Luis Buñuel.France, 1926, (silent), fiction film, VHSAnatomy of Evil, The / Ondskabens anatomi [FL 1073]
What makes genocide possible? Serbian paramilitaries who took part in massacres in Kosovo during the late nineties, describe their experiences and try to explain what made them do such horrendous acts. They seem to have felt that their security was threatened, and that it was a matter of killing or being killed. Director Ove Nyholm draws a parallell to the second world war and the German massacres of jews. Warning: This film includes disturbingly explicit scenes. Ove Nyholm, Denmark, 2005, Albanian, English, Danish/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAnatomy of Pain, The / Anatomija bola [FL 284]
Film about the NATO bombing of the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation's headquarters in Belgrade on April 23, 1999, when according to official reports 19 were killed. Janko Baljak, Yugoslavia, 2000, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 32 min, documentary film, VHSAnd Along Came a Spider [FL 921]
This is a grimly fascinating documentary about Iranian serial killer Saeed Hanaei, who murdered 16 women whom he believed to be prostitutes. Filmmaker Maziar Bahari gives Hanaei a lot of screen time to describe and explain what he did, and it's hard to imagine a human being appearing more monstrous than Hanaei does here, as he proudly defends his abominable actions as holy. One feels tremendous empathy for the young daughters of one victim, now orphans, as they describe how they'd like to see Hanaei punished for his crimes. Bahari is fairly direct and economical in his approach. While the film gives more time to Hanaei and his supporters (including his wife and teenage son) than it does to more reasoned voices like the victims' relatives and the judge who heard Hanaei's case, there's a strong feminist bent to the film, underscored by Bahari's choice of a female narrator, and his interviews with an outspoken woman reporter, whom he also uses to interview the killer. Then, of course, there are the interviews with the two young daughters of one victim, who express themselves with surprising eloquence. The film's underlying critique of the harsh patriarchy of Iran reaches its apex in these segments, as the children's obvious love for their murdered mother reemphasizes all of the victims' humanity. Through these interviews, the film achieves a transcendentally poignant power. Maziar Bahari, Iran, 2002, Persian, 118 min, documentary film, VHSAnd Behold, There Came a Great Wind [FL 1272]
Benny and Rachel Yafet—bereaved parents from the agricultural community of Nezer Hazzani, and Rabbi Raffi Peretz—Lieutenant Colonel in reserves and head of the pre-military training academy in Atzmona. They are three strong and rooted characters who lived in Gush Katif until last August. The film follows their lives over the course of 8 months, until that same fateful day in which they were asked to leave their homes and their life`s work, entirely against their will and their beliefs. Benny and Rachel lived in Nezer Hazzani for 28 years and were among the first settlers in Gush Katif. In 2000 they lost their fourth son, Itamar. Above all, the Disengagement Plan threatened the family`s livelihood. In the words of their son Gilad: "What kind of future awaits my father at age 56 without no source of income?" Peretz, on the other hand, knew that he could restart his academy, but nothing could mitigate his ideological crisis. As an educator, the Rabbi needed to make decisions not only concerning himself and his family, but for nearly 200 students on the most dramatic moment in their lives. What values are of importance at such a time? Is violence a legitimate form of resistance? Should one accept compensation? When to pack? And how should one relate to the State of Israel and to the IDF? These are the questions faced by each one of the protagonists in this film. Ziv Alexandrony, Israel, 2006, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAnd the day came [FL 508]
On the 9th of September 1944, the day that Soviet troops liberated Bulgaria, partisans come down from the mountains. Mustafa, a young partisan, and Pshenichka, a young partisan-girl and his lover are among them. The first days of popular exhilaration and the activities of the new authorities are shown through the eyes of Mustafa. His constant imaginary companion is Matei – a dead partisan and intellectual, who killed a child by mistake during a mission, due to his lack of experience and subsequently had committed suicide. Mustafa judges the acts of his comrades and his own doings in an imaginary dialogue with Matei. The days after the revolution are marked by retaliations on the part of the partisans for the disgraceful actions of the fascist police and the murder of fascist collaborators orchestrated by the communists after the takeover of power. Georgi Dyulgerov, Bulgaria, 1973, Bulgarian, 86 min, DVD-ROMAnd your love too / …und Deine Liebe auch [FL 130]
Berlin 1961: a love triangle develops as the Berlin Wall is being constructed. Eva, a young East German girl, must decide between two very different brothers - Klaus, who believes in making quick cash as a taxi driver in West Berlin, and the quiet, shy electrician Ulli, who stands firm behind the socialist ideology of the GDR. On August 13, 1961 Ulli stands guard at the border between East and West and, gun in hand, forbids his brother to cross into the West. When Klaus is later arrested for trying to flee, Eva makes her decision. With a small team Frank Vogel filmed on the streets of Berlin and observed the everyday life of the people with precision and humor. Frank Vogel, Germany, 1962, German/Subtitles: English, 92 min, fiction film, VHSAndalusian Dog / Un chien andalou [FL 1412]
In a dream-like sequence, a woman's eye is slit open--juxtaposed with a similarly shaped cloud obsucuring the moon moving in the same direction as the knife through the eye--to grab the audience's attention. The French phrase "ants in the palms," (which means that someone is "itching" to kill) is shown literally. A man pulls a piano along with the tablets of the Ten Commandments and a dead donkey towards the woman he's itching to kill. A shot of differently striped objects is repeatedly used to connect scenes. Luis Bunuel, France, 1929, French/Subtitles: Hungarian, 16 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAndrei Rublev / Андрей Рублев [FL 1015]
Based on the life of a 15th century icon painter, Andrei Rublev is comprised of seven episodes following Rublev through the political and social upheavals of medieval Russia. The film was commissioned by the government in order to celebrate Rublev's anniversary. Andrei Konchalovsky wrote the scenario, which was originally titled “The Passion according to Andrei” and Tarskovskii used the fact that it did not record much about the painter's life by making a biographical film projected with his own philosophical and theological vision of an artist. Rublev in the film is not portrayed as a saint at the peak of his art, but as an incredibly human monk, who takes a route of sufferings wandering at the bottom of life to reach the truth of art. When the original version (205 min) was presented in 1966, the audience applauded, but as the government's committee demanded a number of cuts which director refused and thus the film was banned until 1971. The director had to wait for seven years for his next film. Andrei Tarkovsky, Soviet Union, 1966, Russian/Subtitles: English, 205 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAngel on the right / Farishtay Kitfi Rost [FL 949]
Upon spending a decade in Moscow's jails, tough-nut Hamro returns to his small poverty-stricken community in the former soviet republic of Tajikistan. Hamro is selfish and cruel; nothing is sacred to him, and he would sacrifice anything to satisfy his desires. Having upped and left with a huge amount of debt hanging over his head, the local Mafia is threatening his life in order to receive the money he owes to them. This anti-hero embarks on disingenuous schemes like plotting to sell his supposedly dying mother's house in order to pay his creditors and the fallen angel puts his mothers unselfish love to the test. With the help of his young son and a pretty nurse Savri, Hamro tries to gain acceptance back into the community. It takes the traditional wisdom of his discarded elder to put him on the path towards the straight and narrow, and his mother's invention brings about a life-enhancing miracle. In this dark comedy, writer-director Jamshed Usmonov cast the population of Asht as its own persuasive self and his own mother and brother as the fractured yet formidable domestic couple Djamshed Usmonov, Tajikistan, 2002, 88 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAngelmakers, The [FL 1049]
A small village in the Hungarian countryside appears to have a dubious past: in 1929, a series of arsenic murders was exposed here, and 51 women were arrested on suspicion of poisoning their husbands and relatives. The arsenic they used had apparently been taken from flypaper. In total, there were 140 cases of murder, for which many women went to prison. Besides a reconstruction of the killings, this film is a portrait of the present inhabitants of Nagyrév, who all remember something different about the murders. They also muse about the current exodus from the village, are worried about a melon theft and complain that life in the village is boring: there is no cinema or aerobics club. The desolation and isolation of the village is captured quietly and carefully: a stooped man shuffles past, a house stands empty on the edge of the village. The director filmed at the kitchen table, on the ferry and on a bench in front of a house, where an elderly couple recalls how they got married within two months of meeting one another: "He needed someone to mend the fishing nets." Astrid Bussink, Netherlands, 2005, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 35 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAngola: Saudades From the One Who Loves You / Angola, Saudades de quem te ama [FL 689]
An insider’s portrait of an unknown, oil- and diamond-rich, war-damaged country. This journey across Luanda, the Angolan capital, introduces both the past and the present of the country, and its hunger for a new future after 27 years of the civil war. The memories of Portuguese colonial rule, the scars of the clashing interests of cold war superpowers, the years of foreign military occupation, and the long, long civil war, intensified by the conflicting interests in natural resources – all of these traces fuse in the dense life of the cosmopolitan metropolis. The journey takes us into the lives of characters from diverse backgrounds: a fish seller, street boys, a school teacher, an old peasant, two fashion models, and a rap musician whose songs denounce corruption and will get you into trouble if you try singing them in public. The film is a collaboration between Namibian director Richard Pakleppa, and Angolan musician and performer Paulo Flores. The letters are written by Paulo Flores, Richard Pakleppa, and Albano Cardoso. Richard Pakleppa, (n/a), 2005, English, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 64 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAnna Akhmatova File, The / Дело Анны Ахматовой [FL 294]
A moving portrait of the extraordinary Soviet poet, Anna Akhmatova. Although her work was banned and went unpublished for 17 years, her poem "Requiem" became the underground anthem for the millions who suffered under Stalin. This unique film, which uses Akhmatova's diaries for text, also includes portraits of Akhmatova's friends and contemporaries--Boris Pasternak, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Mikhail Sostchenko. Semyon Aranovich, Soviet Union, 1989, Russian/Subtitles: English, 65 min, documentary film, VHSAnna, 7 Years on the Frontline [FL 1522]
This film is about Anna Politkovskaya, Russian journalist who won international recognition for reporting work on the conflict in Chechnya in which she sought to expose human rights abuses. She spent seven years on the frontline, often in extremely dangerous situations. Anna Politkovskaya was murdered in Moscow on October 7, 2006. This film is about a woman who felt very lonely, but could never stop doing what she did. To understand Anna's personality, her work and duties, as much as her fears and feeling of loneliness, we meet her friends and colleagues who stood by her during hard times. Galina Musaliyeva shared a room with Anna in the editorial office of Novaya Gazeta for the last seven years. Lidia Yusupova is a lawyer from Grozny searching for the lost people in Chechnya. Svetlana Gannushkina, Chairman of the Committee "Civil Assistance" and a Board Member of Memorial Human Rights Center, has also worked with Anna helping fugitives and emigrants from the former Soviet Union republics. Vyacheslav Izmailov, another colleague of Anna from Novaya Gazeta, started his own investigations, trying to find out who killed Anna. Masha Novikova, Netherlands, 2008, Russian/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAnything Can Happen / Wszystko moze sie przytrafic [FL 797]
Tomek, the director's six-year-old son, makes friends with some old people sitting on a park bench. Naiveté and curiosity confront experience. This is a film essay about initiation, bitterness, the passage of time, and life's power. Marcel Lozinski, Poland, 1995, Polish, 39 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMApaches, The / Apaci [FL 933]
Very propagandistic documentary about the Serbian community in the Sirinic valley in Kosovo. The director attempts to depict the tense and dangerous life-situation in which the people in this area live. However, the film is full of nationalistic innuendoes and is trying to mock the SFOR. Miroslav Nikolic, Serbia and Montenegro, 2002, English, 25 min, documentary film, VHSApocalypse Unlimited / Apokalipsa bez granic [FL 1458]
Freedom fighters in Aceh, Indonesia. The Free Aceh Movement. Krystian Matysek, Poland, 2006, English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAral: Fishing in an Invisible Sea [FL 639]
In the last few decades the Aral Sea has lost over 80% of its surface area. This is due in large part to the mismanagement of irrigation in the Amudariya and Syrdariya rivers basin, and the growing cotton industry in the first half of the twentieth century. The disappearing sea leaves behind a polluted desert, destroying the lives of the local inhabitants, traditional fishermen of Aral. The Uzbek village of Moynak, once located in the shores of the Aral Sea, today is little more than a wasteland with a few grassy shallows containing the last remaining fish. A majority of the local population has already been forced to move to neighboring kazakhstan, as fishing had always been the primary and very nearly the only source of livelihood in Moynak. This Uzbek -Italian co-production is an intimate portrayal of the three generations of the family trying to make a living in the desolute area. "I cannot imagine the grandfather's stories of an immense sea, which was sailed on by great shipsm are based on the truth," says little Janibek Anuarov, who with his father tries day after day to catch at least a few fish for dinner in the frozen shallows. The laconic style of shooting utilizes long shots, which, combined with the disturbing music of A.R. Mutti, reflects the belak situation of the locals, Even thoughthe level of water in the Aral sea has slightly increased in the last few years, according to estimates it will most certainly disappear by the year 2010. Saddat Ismailova, Carlos Casas, Uzbekistan, 2004, Uzbek/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMArarat / Ararat [FL 530]
A film within a film, this is a contemporary story of the making of a historical epic about the Armenian holocaust between 1915 and 1918. The story line follows how making the film transforms the life of an 18-year-old man hired as a driver on the production. Interrogated by a customs officer, a young man recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the Armenian genocide. Atom Egoyan, Canada, 2002, English, 115 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMArcana / Arcana [FL 1186]
Arcana is an investigative project focusing on the old prison of Valpraiso, which closed down in April 1999. The project consists of a film, a book, and a website and its objective is to capture the way of life within the prison during its last working year.The film attempts to convey the experience of connecting directly to the day-to-day life inside the prison. It contemplates the various different ways of life that exist within the prison, not through a simply objective observation of what is visible, but through the more subjective means of seeing and feeling the prison from its interior. Cristobal Vicente, (n/a), 2006, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMArchitecture of Doom,The / Undergångens arkitektur [FL 780]
Featuring never-before-seen film footage of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi regime, "The Architecture of Doom" captures the inner workings of the Third Reich and illuminates the Nazi aesthetic in art, architecture and popular culture. From Nazi party rallies to the final days inside Hitler's bunker, this sensational film shows how Adolph Hitler rose from being a failed artist to creating a world of ponderous kitsch and horrifying horror. Adolph Hitler worshipped ancient Rome and Greece, and dreamed of a new Golden Age of classical art and monumental architecture, populated by beautiful, patriotic Aryans. "Degenerate" artists and "inferior" races had no place in his lurid fantasy. As this riveting film shows, the Nazis went from banning the art of modernists like Picasso to forced euthanasia of the retarded and sick, and finally to the persecution of homosexuals and the extermination of Jews, Roma, Slaves, etc. Peter Cohen, Sweden, 1991, 113 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMArchive of Memory [FL 1504]
The Archive of Memory is a visual essay of a filmmaker's response to the work of German art historian Aby Warburg. It is not a traditional film biography— Warburg himself only appears once, in a photograph, at the very end—but an attempt to translate some of Warburg's ideas from print to film. There are two interviews—philosopher Raymond Klibansky, who worked with Warburg in the 1920s, and British art historian Margaret Iversen who has written about him. The major part of the film combines excerpts from Warburg's lecture on his visit to the Pueblo and Hopi Indians with archival and contemporary film footage, photographs, and engravings. Eric Breitbart, United States, 2003, English, 25 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAre There Still Any Sheperds? / Anda Ha Pastores? [FL 1399]
An Isolated and forgotten valley in the Portuguese mountains hides the last shepherds of Serra da Estrela Mountain Range. There is no electricity, no water public utilities, and no asphalted roads around here. Nowadays, the eldests are dying and the youngests show no interest in the demanding job of being a shepherd. Herminio, 27 years old, is the youngest shepherd living in this valley. For how long will he maintain this occupation? After all, do the shepherds still exist? Jorge Pelicano, Portugal, 2006, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 73 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAre You Among Them? / Czy jestes wsrod nich [FL 1731] Jerzy Hoffman, Edward Skórzewski, Poland, 1954, 8 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
Arna's Children [FL 1249]
Documentary about a Jewish woman who set up a theater center for Palestinian children in a West Bank refugee camp, and some of her pupils who later became suicide bombers in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Contains amazingly candid views of warriors behind the scenes of battle. Juliano Mer Khamis, Danniel Danniel, (n/a), 2003, English, Arabic, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMArsen / Арсен [FL 188]
Based on a 19th Georgian century epic, the film tells the story of Arsen, son of a poor villager who starts to fight the tsarist representatives in Georgia. He lives in the mountains and helps the poor against the armed Cossacks as well as speculative merchants. Caught once, having been betrayed, he manages to escape from prison with his friends' help and forgives the betrayer. Yet the same person kills Arsen when he attempts to start an armed uprising. Mikhail Chiaureli, Soviet Union, 1937, Russian, 77 min, fiction film, VHSArticle Zero / Paragraph zero [FL 1730] Włodzimierz Borowik, Poland, 1957, Polish, 16 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
As God Hath Foreordained…Film of Olga / Ahogy az Isten elrendelte...Olga filmje [FL 1509]
Explore a world rarely seen by outsiders as documentary filmmaker Sándor Mohi turns his camera on the citizens of the rural Gypsy community of Kászonújfalva, Transylvania. A culture whose system of communication and familial relationships have baffled outsiders for centuries, this film attempts to demystify it by focusing on a series of interviews with a young girl named Olga. Sándor Mohi, Hungary, 2000, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 68 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAshes and Diamonds / Popiol i diament [FL 100]
Maciek, a young Resistance fighter, is ordered to kill Szczuka, a Communist district leader, on the last day of World War II. Though killing has been easy for him in the past, Szczuka was a fellow soldier, and Maciek must decide whether to obey his orders. Andrzej Wajda, Poland, 1958, Polish/Subtitles: English, 105 min, fiction film, VHSAsia: The Next Generation [FL 1385]
The documentary about the impact China, and its Asian partners will have over the next 15 years. This film profiles China's past, present and future with a focus on understanding China's culture and its interaction with Asian neighbors. Hosted by 10 year old Dylan MacRiner, this documentary is targeted towards parents who have a concern about the tremendous economic and environmental impact the China-Asia rise will have on their children's future, and on the planet. Rob MacRiner, China, 2007, English, 32 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAsphalt Tango / Asfalt Tango [FL 61]
A disgruntled and cynical picture of early 1990s Romanian realities. Marion (Charlotte Rampling), a sly and sophisticated French madame, convinces a beautiful bevy of Romanian women to board a bus and travel to Paris, where they believe lucrative careers as exotic dancers await them. Among them is ballet dancer Dora. Her husband Andrei tries to save her from prostitution. To get his wife back, Andrei must convince Marion to give him one night to make an appeal to Dora. Marion guesses correctly that Andrei's sincerity is no match for her worldly wiles. In the end his efforts are repaid, but the result is surprising. Nae Caranfil, Romania, 1993, 100 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAssault / Überfall [FL 1335]
3.A grim account of a street robbery presenting sordid facts in an objective light. Once banned as "brutalizing and demoralizing" . Erno Metzner, Germany, 1929, (silent), fiction film, VHSAt the Epicentre [FL 702]
Ruhi Hamid’s film tells the story of a village flattened by last year’s Tsunami. 7000 people and the domed Mosque were the only survivors in Lampuuk and amid constant earthquakes, safety and emotional hazards, Ruhi Hamid tells the story of those who escaped with their lives. "Capturing the stories of my characters was often upsetting, but my motivation was to tell their incredible stories of courage, resilience and hope in rebuilding their lives and observe the complexities of the politics around the disaster," said Ruhi about her film."Everyone is taking care of each other here… and we are becoming a solid community," says Anita, one of the 100 villagers who returned to Lampuuk six weeks after the tragedy to begin the reconstruction. Anita is convinced that the tsunami is a punishment. "it is a warning from Allah," she says, "because we have neglected our faith." Ruhi Hamid, United Kingdom, 2005, English/Dubbing: English, 49 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAt the Trial of the Main Nazi Criminals in Nuremberg / На процессе главных немецких преступников в Нюрнберге [FL 594]
Recorded by famous director and cameraman Roman Karmen in court, this short film consists entirely of footage from the Nuremberg trial, featuring the main defendants as well as the judges from the allied countries. Various fragments of the extensive Nuremberg footage were later used in numerous films condemning Nazism (The Trial of Nations) as well as for drawing an often manipulative parallel with contemporaries (Nuremberg 40 years later). Roman Karmen, Soviet Union, 1946, Russian, 17 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAtomic Café, The [FL 970]
As a history film, Atomic Café takes us to experience three levels of time. The first is the internal time, the Cold War, communism versus the free world, when propaganda about the atomic bomb was made to persuade the people that only nuclear weapons would protect them from the "Evil Empire". The period of the'Nuclear Free' movement comes next. And thirdly, the present time, when the world is changed but has to face the same irony that still is just as relevant today, the fear of weapons of mass destruction. "The Atomic Cafe" is an example of Eisenstein's notion of montage on the macro level. this film achieves it rhetorical potency simply by editing together old film and documentaries from the 1940's and 1950's. By putting a cartoon of Tommy the Turtle teaching school children to "Duck and cover" next to film of actual atomic bomb tests, "The Atomic Cafe" renders the Cold War both ludicrous and chilling at the same time. It is all about editing raw material and splicing segments of military training films, civil defense films, archive footage, interviews, newsreel material, and fifties music. Without narration and by using a few choice songs to accompany some of the clips, this documentary finds a surprising strong voice against the insanity of nuclear destruction. Generally speaking, Atomic Café gives us an historical perspective for reconsidering the effect of the issues of war, nuclear warfare and weapons of mass destruction. Kevin Rafferty, Pierce Rafferty, Jayne Loader, United States, 1982, English, 88 min, documentary film, VHSAtonement / Engesztelő [FL 1615]
A film investigating the kidnapping and murder of engineer Lajos Hargitay and translator Rudolf Hadady on 12th December 1956, by Communist vigilantes. The wife and two daughters together with the director set out to find out what really happened to the two men who disappeared more than 30 years before. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1989, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 72 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAugust: A Moment Before the Eruption [FL 945]
AUGUST is partly a documentary, partly a fictional film that portrays a month in the life of filmmaker Avi Mograbi and his wife. The film documents the month of August 2000 - a tense and seething period just before the Al Aqsa intifada. It takes the viewer from a group of Jewish settlers marching through the streets of Tel Aviv dressed as Arabs to a peace demonstration in front of the Ministry of Defense. From a young Palestinian refugee throwing stones across the Israeli-Lebanese border to a crowd of angry soccer fans. Through the lens of Avi Mograbi's camera, the month of August becomes an apt metaphor for all that is brutal and hateful in Israel. The filmmaker always sees himself in between: «My film is a report of what I have seen and the interpretation that I give. (…) If we absolutely want to find a message in it, it would be something along the following lines: «Israel these days is not the best place to live.» But people do not need my film to ascertain this. I just want to say that it behoves the two peoples residing in Palestine/Israel to find a way to live together.» Avi Mograbi Avi Mograbi, Israel, 2002, Hebrew, 72 min, documentary film, VHSAuschwitz - A documentary film on German crimes at Oswiecim [FL 984]
This Soviet Army film of the liberation of Auschwitz Concentration Camp was awarded the Red Banner in 1945. It contains dramatic footage of the survivors and some of the atrocities perpetrated in this most notorious of camps, including captured German film of medical experiments performed on prisoners. Photography by cameramen of the First Ukrainian Front: N. Bykov, K. Kutub-Zade, A. Pavlov, A. Vorontzov. N. Bykov, K. Kutub-Zade, A. Pavlov, Soviet Union, 1945, English, 21 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAustralian Atomic Confessions [FL 1163]
Australian servicemen and nomadic aboriginals reveal the devastating effects of British atomic weapons testing carried out in Australia in the 1950s. For the first time, members of the Royal Australian Army, Navy, and Air force describe former top secret aspects of those tests.With the use of rare archival film and photographs, as well as eyewitness accounts, Australian Atomic Confessions chronicles the hidden history of these tests and also exposes previously unknown government cover-ups. Sydney’s new nuclear reactor continues to pose a threat to the environment and civilians, and the problem of removing and disposing of the old nuclear reactor remains an unanswered question posed by politicians and leading environmentalists. Prominent aboriginal elders also warn that an imminent catastrophe may occur in Central Australia as a result of two uranium mines. Achilling expose of nuclear testing and its damaging legacy, one that continues to this day. Kathy Aigner and Greg Young, Australia, 2005, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAutumn Marathon / Осенний марафон [FL 106]
Comedy with Andrey Pavlovich Buzykin, an absent-minded English translator, divided between his wife and a mistress. Buzykin's faulty memory and his inability to plan his time properly lead to no end of trouble in that triangle. Georgi Daneliya, Soviet Union, 1979, Russian/Subtitles: English, 90 min, fiction film, VHSAvalanche / Лавина [FL 76]
A team of climbers are preparing for their new mountain climbing expedition. They are brought together by their mutual love for this dangerous sport, for its challenges. They differ, however, in character, in problems and notions of honor and dignity. Already up in the mountain, they are expected to pull unite fully, in order to obey the directions of their leader and forget about the tensions that have accumulated among the members of the team. The team falls victim to an avalanche, possibly because they have failed to become a good team. A few survive and it is then that they think again about what friendship and responsibility mean and how valuable life is. Irina Aktasheva, Hristo Piskov, Bulgaria, 1982, Bulgarian, 133 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAvant-Garde: Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and 30s CD 1 [FL 1330]
In the latter half of the 20th Century, Raymond Rohauer was one of the nation's foremost proponents of experimental cinema. Programming diverse films at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles, and making the films in his personal archive available for commercial distribution, he helped preserve and promote avant-garde cinema. This two-DVD collection assembles some of the most influential and eclectic short films in the Rohauer Collection, including works by Man Ray, Hans Richter, Marcel Duchamp, Watson & Webber, Fernand Léger, Joris Ivens, Dimitri Kirsanoff, Jean Epstein, and Orson Welles. Contents: Disc 1 * Le Retour à la raison (Man Ray, France, 1923, 2 min.) * Emak-Bakia (Man Ray, France, 1926, 16 min.) * L'Étoile de mer (Man Ray, France, 1928, 15.5 min.) * Les Mystères du château du Dé (Man Ray, France, 1929, 20 min.) * The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra (Slavko Vorkapich, Robert Florey, U.S., 1928, 13 min.) * Ménilmontant (Dimitri Kirsanoff, France, 1926, 37 min.) * Brumes d'automne (Dimitri Kirsanoff, France, 1928, 12 min.) * Lot in Sodom (James Sibley Watson, Melville Webber, U.S., 1933, 27 min.) * Rhythmus 21 (Hans Richter, Germany, 1921, 3 min.) * Vormittagsspuk (Ghosts Before Breakfast) (Hans Richter, Germany, 1928, 9 min.) * Anémic cinéma (Marcel Duchamp, France, 1926, 6.5 min.) * Ballet mécanique (Fernand Léger, France, 1924, 11 min.) * Symphonie diagonale (Viking Eggeling, France, 1924, 7 min.) * Le Vampire (Jean Painlevé, France, 1939, 8.5 min.) * The Hearts of Age (Orson Welles, William Vance, U.S., 1934, 8 min.)(n/a), /Subtitles: English, 375 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMAvant-Garde: Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and 30s CD 2 [FL 1331]
This two-DVD collection assembles some of the most influential and eclectic short films in the Rohauer Collection, including works by Man Ray, Hans Richter, Marcel Duchamp, Watson & Webber, Fernand Léger, Joris Ivens, Dimitri Kirsanoff, Jean Epstein, and Orson Welles. Disc 2 * Überfall (Ernö Metzner, Germany, 1928, 22 min.) * La glace à trois faces (Jean Epstein, France, 1927, 33 min.) * Le Tempestaire (Jean Epstein, France, 1947, 22.5 min.) * Romance sentimentale (Sergei Eisenstein, Grigori V. Alexandrov, France, 1930, 20 min.) * Autumn Fire (Herman G. Weinberg, U.S., 1931, 15 min.) * Manhatta (Paul Strand, Charles Sheeler, U.S., 1921, 10 min.) * La Coquille et le clergyman (Germaine Dulac, France, 1926, 31.5 min.) * Regen (Rain) (Joris Ivens, the Netherlands, 1929, 14 min.) * H2O (Ralph Steiner, U.S., 1929, 12 min.) * Even -- As You and I (Roger Barlow, Harry Hay, LeRoy Robbins, U.S., 1937, 12 min.)(n/a), 1999, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBad Blue Boys / Panj pun olova [FL 1542]
The daily life of a man aged 35, married, with three children. He joined Croatian Army at the very beginning of war, and was not discharged until the very end. Now he is unemployed in Zagreb, and tries to live “like others” – sharing meals with his family, toiling in his workshop, outings with friends. Even so, his routine might seem somewhat unusual. Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, disregarded by society and government, together with two fellow veterans he does things that other people find bizarre, even crazy, but which help them to find peace and preserve the appearance of “normal” Croatian citizens. This film speaks about the problems of Croatian war veterans whose condition and needs are understood only by few. A faceless confession of pain and a testament to the profound and lasting effects of war. Branko Schmidt, Croatia, 2007, (No dialogue), 28 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBad Luck / Zezowate szczęscie [FL 741]
Based upon a novel by Jerzy Stefan Stawiński. The story is the odyssey of a little man through Poland from 1930 to 1950. The terrible opportunist desperately tries to play up to the current powers and trends, but always fails and is “one step behind”. In the 1930s, he tries to get involved in an anti-Semitic riot, but is taken for a Jew. He also dreams of wearing an officer’s uniform because this brings prestige and impresses women. He finds one and puts it on, but only in September 1939: he is captured by the invading Nazis as a POW. In the POW camp he pretends to have been heroic, but is taken for a collaborator. When socialism arrives, he eventually seems to have found his place, becoming an overzealous office clerk, and for the first time he manages to conform. But not for long. A widely acclaimed bitter-sweet comedy, where romantic heroism gives way to a critique of opportunism. Andrzej Munk, Poland, 1962, Polish, 108 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBAG [FL 863]
A documentary about Karlobag, a small coastal town with very few people, a lot of trucks and heavy winds. It presents a community decresing in numbers with the passing of every year, thus being dominated more by the traces of the past than by its members' present existence. The emptied landscape is now taken over by trucks and gas stations as the town is on the road to Split. These signs of the intruding present create a striking contrast with the sad poetry of this fading place. Dalibor Matanić, Tomislav Rukavina,Stanislav Tomic, Croatia, 1999, Croatian, 20 min, art documentary, VHSBagatelle / Bagatela [FL 1685]
Bogotá, Colombia, has one of the highest crime rates in the world. Director Jorge Caballero focuses on one day at a court in the city; cases are heard and sentences handed down for minor offenses. While in many cases the root of the problem is essentially social, the solution in Colombia has centered around the criminalization of these forms of conduct. Most scenes feature interviews with defense attorneys and defendants, revealing both the alleged crime and the protagonist’s standard of living. Colombian criminal law is extremely rigorous: selling bootleg CDs, stealing a cell phone or simply sleeping on the street can mean years in prison. High sentences are, however, reduced or overturned if the defendant pleads guilty. As a result crime clear-up rates in Bogotá are very high. Defense lawyers hear similar stories every day: their clients include people on low incomes, who are often unemployed, homeless, drug addicts or supporting large families. If they escape prison today, how long will it be before they are back in court? A portrait of justice and a portrait of society through petty crimes that take place non-stop on the streets of Bogotá – a city used to living with both violence and inequality. Jorge Caballero, Colombia, 2008, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 74 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBai Ganyo on his way to Europe / Бай Ганьо тръгва из Европа [FL 503]
This is a film adaptation of the popular turn-of-century novel “Bai Ganyo” by the publicist Aleko Konstantinov. The main character in the novel has since long entered the national mythology and has been adopted as a designator of a host of genuinely "Bulgarian" features. Brute table manners and uncivilized public conduct, failure to differentiate between public and private, to constrain the urges of the body, lacking sense of appropriateness – through these accents the film authors build the character of Bai Ganyo. On his tour through the “high-culture” topoi of Western/Central European civility (the home of the Czeck Irecek, a former minister in Bulgaria, the Vienna opera, the coditorei and the barber shop, the restaurant and the hotel, the culture club of Bulgarian emigrees) Bay Ganyo Balkanski gives his unmediated “Balkan” response to refinement and good manners. He is apperantly unable to understand and unwilling to constrain himself into the public code, always ready to break the good tone in order to suit his immedeate interests. Ivan Nichev, Bulgaria, 1991, Bulgarian, 94 min, DVD-ROMBalkan Expres 2 / Balkan Ekspres 2 [FL 456]
A sequel to the 1983 original continues following a group of musicians gathered in a band called “Balkan Express”, in fact a quintet of small-time crooks. After, by chance, they became helpers of Yugoslav partisans at the beginning of the Second World War, they now have to lie low for a while. The majority of the band escapes to another part of the country to the bordello “Marlene Salon,” with the Gestapo on their trail. Instead of peace and rest, they get involved in new complications as a series of agents try to recruit them for some kind of espionage. After a series of situations, all the original band members are finally together again and they plan a great closing scam. Their plan typically goes wrong, but in the finishing bloody showdown they manage to escape, under fire from the Gestapo, and fly off in a plane. The only problem is that their pilot actually does not know how to fly a plane. Aleksandar Đorđević, Predrag Antonijević, Yugoslavia, 1988, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: English, 108 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBalkan Express / Balkan Ekspres [FL 568]
This madcap comedy, set in the last days before the German invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, follows the adventures of a group of petty-thieves, wandering around disguised as the music ensemble called “Balkan Express.” They find plenty of opportunities to practice their trade amidst the confusion which erupts everywhere as people flee the invading Nazis. However, when the Nazis actually move in, things take a turn for the worse and the group's only concern now is to stay alive under the first horrors of the war. Through chance and necessity, these people from the dregs of society grow out of their meaningless destinies and become unlikely war heroes . The film was a great success thanks to its unprecedented comic treatment of the mythic partisan struggle during WWII, and was soon followed by a sequel focusing on the same group of characters. Branko Baletić, Yugoslavia, 1983, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 88 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBalkan spy / Balkanski špijun [FL 451]
This tragicomedy is set in the midst of communist era in Yugoslavia. Ilija Čvorović, a former Informbureau member who spent years in prison because of his activities, is called in by the police to answer routine questions about his new subtenant. After working in Paris as a tailor for twenty years, Petar Jakovljević recently returned to his homeland where he wants to open a tailor’s shop. Though the inspector does not find anything suspicious in Ilija’s report, Čvorović is soon convinced that his subtenant represents a threat to national security. When the police ignore his warnings, he begins his own hilarious surveillance operation against the innocent man. His paranoia grows every day and he even manages to convince his wife and twin brother that the subtenant is an agent of imperialist powers. Assured that he has uncovered a major conspiracy, Ilija invites his brother to help him “dispose of the enemy.” In the final confrontation, he suffers a heart attack and Jakovljević manages to escape after first calling the ambulance. Ilija’s last thoughts are still focused solely on stopping the “enemy.” Božidar Nikolić, Dušan Kovačević, Yugoslavia, 1981, Serbian, 95 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBanished from the Party 1, 2, 3 / Kizárt a párt I, II, III [FL 1638]
In 1988 the Socialist Party banished four members. Political scientist, Mihaly Bihari, literary historian, Zoltan Biro, journalist Zoltan Kiraly and economist Laszlo Lengyel talk about the background of the decision thus depicting the curious mechanisms of the communist regime. Bela Szobolits, Hungary, 1988, Hungarian, 173 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBare Ground / Ledina [FL 486]
The film is set in the early autumn of 1995 in the outskirts of Belgrade where a family of musicians just moves in. Dragan, a cellist and a teacher in a music school is Serbian and his wife, a flute player is Croatian. The whole family finds it hard to adapt to the new environment. Nine-year-old son Petar can not make friends with other children, who tease him because he comes from a mixed marriage. The wife is frequently provoked by ethnically related comments and in fact, most of this noisy neighborhood, full of refugees from all over former Yugoslavia, is hostile to the newcomers, especially the crazy chairman of the building Ostoja and a trio of bitter idle middle aged women. In the atmosphere of constant distrust and rampant racism, any situation can inflame brutal responses. A tragic finale is set when Ostoja decides to cultivate a yard in front of the building. Driven to insanity by the local delinquents who constantly ruin his efforts, he loads his gun ready to kill the first intruder. Unfortunately, the victim happens to be little Peter and the marriage finally breaks up. Ljubiša Samardžić, Serbia and Montenegro, 2003, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: English, 78 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBarricade / Barrikade [FL 273]
The Berlin Wall - its construction, the reaction of the people who live near it and dramatic escapes over it by East German civilians and soldiers - is the subject of this short documentary.Germany, 1966, (silent), 13 min, documentary film, VHSBarrier, The / Бариерата [FL 501]
An attractive girl gets into the car of a famous composer Antony Manev, claiming that he should take her home. The composer soon discovers that her only home is a lunatic asylum where she has been institutionalised with schizophrenic disorder. Antony takes the girl to his apartment, offers her to copy notes for him and frequently consults with her supervisor in the hospital. The doctor’s intention is to help her patient socialize outside the hospital environment, since she reckons that Doroteya has recovered well enough. However, after being together for more than a year, Doroteya persuades Antony to fly with him over the apartment blocks. They both take off the ground. “Crossing the barrier” creates finally full confidence between them and they make love for the first time. This event astounds the composer so much that he takes a day off, and goes to the mountains to think about it. In his absence Doroteya attempts another flight and is found dead on the next morning quite away from her supposed take-off ground. Hristo Hristov, Bulgaria, 1971, Bulgarian, 114 min, DVD-ROMBased on a True Story / Baseado em estórias reais [FL 796]
In 1972, during Brazil's dictatorship, a young man is arrested while attempting a bank robbery. A journalist who witnesses the event writes an article for her newspaper. In a parallel story, a woman bakes a cake from a recipe. Gustavo Moraes, Brazil, 2002, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 15 min, short film, DVD-ROMBattle for Life / Bitva o život [FL 11]
Using a mixture of documentary material they shot themselves, historical material and half-scripted scenes, the filmmakers show a year in the life of the village of Bystré, in the Orlické mountains, a former textile region experiencing significant economic and demographic change. The film combines "conventional" documentary footage with discussions on drink and democracy, and a record of social events and festivities in which the villagers greet the millennium, view the eclipse, and re-enact scenes from Czech history. Miroslav Janek, Vнt Janeиek, Roman Vávra, Czech Republic, 2000, Czech/Subtitles: English, 89 min, documentary film, VHSBattle for the Railway / Dvoboj za južnu prugu [FL 576]
Without a coherent structure, but with plenty of action, this is typical, if not particularly successful, example of Yugoslav films celebrating the partisan struggle during WWII. At the end of 1941 the partisans from South Serbia and Macedonia receive a message from central headquarters: “Observe the communications and transportation network, especially the main Niš-Skopje-Solun and Niš-Pirot-Sofia railroads. These railroads are to be incapacitated on time, virtually at all costs.” The message originates from Tito himself, and marks the beginning of the lengthy and exhausting battle for this southern railroad – Hitler’s main transportation artery for supplying his troops on the Mediterranean and the Eastern fronts. Following these orders, the people of south Serbia rose up with the partisans against German, Bulgarian and other anti-partisan formations, attacking them from the liberated territory and from locations in the hinterland. Zdravko Velimirović, Yugoslavia, 1978, Serbian/Subtitles: Slovenian, 105 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBattle of Neretva, The aka Battle of the River Neretva, The / Bitka na Neretvi [FL 564]
This Hollywood style war-flick is based on the historic German offensive against the Yugoslav partisans in 1943 in Western Bosnia. The film’s international reputation is mostly due to its enormous budget and the fleet of international film stars who played major roles, including Yul Brynner, Sergei Bondarchuck, Orson Welles, Hardy Krüger and Franco Nero. The film tells several interwoven stories stressing the importance of comradeship in wartime with obvious pro-communist leanings. Cornered by the overwhelming joint German, Italian and Chetnik forces, Yugoslav partisans together with 4500 wounded find themselves surrounded near the Neretva river. The only way out is by the bridge over the river, but with heavy enemy forces waiting on the other side, partisan headquarter decide on a strategic trick – to destroy the bridge. Predicting that the partisans will attempt a suicidal sortie, the surprised joint Axis forces transfer their forces to the other side of the river, not knowing that, during the night, the partisans will build a temporary bridge near the destroyed one and cross to the other side, thus outsmarting the enemy. In the epic final scene several of the main characters are killed and thousand of innocent people lose their lives. Veljko Bulajić, Yugoslavia, 1969, Serbo-Croatian, 105 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBattle of Russia, The Part 1 [FL 258]
The fifth in the "Why We Fight" series of seven army information films, "Battle for Russia" gives the brief history of Russia and the wars fought on her homeland. Then it moves to WWII and the invasion by Nazi forces, using newsreels of the actual fighting. The Nazis are victorious at Moscow and Leningrad but, like Napoleon's troops, are utterly defeated at the battle of Stalingrad. Frank Capra, United States, 1946, English, 96 min, documentary film, VHSBattle of Stalingrad, Part I-II / Сталинградская битва (серии 1-2) [FL 171]
The film shows the battle for Stalingrad during World War II. The war is represented by the two parallel lines - the battles taking place at the front and Stalin commanding from the Kremlin. The latter line dominates: the film contains numerous meetings of the Soviet generals with Stalin, who has a wise solution to any problem. He is thus portrayed as the genius winning the battle of Stalingrad. Vladimir Petrov, Soviet Union, 1949, Russian, 175 min, fiction film, VHSBattleship Potemkin / Броненосец Потемкин [FL 128]
Based on historical events, the movie tells the story of a mutiny on the battleship Potemkin in 1905. What started as a protest strike when the crew were given rotten meat for dinner ended in a riot. The sailors raised the red flag and tried to ignite the revolution in their home port Odessa. Sergei Eisenstein, Soviet Union, 1925, Russian/Subtitles: German, 65 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBBB (Bad Blue Boys) [FL 856]
A documentary featuring the Bad Blue Boys, football fans from Zagreb who became the symbol of popular political opposition during Tudjman's regime in Croatia. Claiming that "Dinamo" was a name imposed by the communist system, Tudjman renamed the football team "Croatia". The football supporters' struggle to bring back the old name "Dinamo" was opposed by all means. It is a movie about sports becoming a medium for protest. Sasa Podgorelec, Croatia, 1998, Croatian, 45 min, art documentary, VHSBBC Horizon - Inside Chernobyl's Sarcophagus [FL 939]
Updating the original award winning programme, this HORIZON Special looks at what has changed at Chernobyl 10 years after the world's worst nuclear accident. With the concrete sarcophagus still crumbling the future of the power station remains uncertain. This video traces three of the original scientists from the investigation team who talk openly about their findings, what has since happened and what remains to be done. At the same time, the documentary deals with the consequences upon these people's life of their heroic activity and research in the immediate proximity of the sarcophagus. Edward Briffa, United Kingdom, 1996, Russian, 50 min, documentary film, VHSBeach Guard in Winter / Čuvar plaže u zimskom periodu [FL 464]
The story evolves around young Dragan, who has just finished school but cannot find a job in the profession. His aunt finds him some odd jobs through her connections, but Dragan’s father, a railway employee, wishes him to get some permanent employment. He suggests that Dragan should go to Sweden to work for his long-time friend Mr. Dunjić, but doubting the existence of this mysterious Swedish friend, Dragan refuses. In addition he has just found a girlfriend and in order to have his own life and get away fromthe constant quarrels of his parents he marries. He manages to find a home and starts working as a beach guard during wintertime in return for a free accommodation in a beach house. With faith in himself and in his love he struggles with poverty, but his hopes are shattered when his wife abandons him, and his father unexpectedly dies. Dragan has to recuperate and start anew. With the help of Mr. Dunjić who proves to be a real when he shows up at his father’s funeral, Dragan leaves for the more promising Swedish future. Goran Paskaljević, Yugoslavia, 1976, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: Slovenian, 85 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBeach Tree Dance, The / La Danse De L'Hetre [FL 1137]
In one of the most magnificent stately homes of France, the park of Chamarande, a choreographer, Armelle Devigon, fell in love with two majestic trees: a copper-beech tree and a plane tree. She leads three dancers during four seasons in a choreographic quest which bring into close contact the human body and the plant forms. In sinuous sequences where the female body winds against the tree roots, where the male dancers whirl and turn in the air, we appreciate a beauty and a physical energy which are rare in the contemporary world. The film follows the cycle of the seasons as the dancers move from training to performance, understanding more deeply the nature of contemporary dance and art, as well as the natural world. The director followed the choreographer during a year, from the artistic research with her dancers to the performance. We invite the audience to discover the magic of creative moments and to contemplate how this work arises season after season in harmony with nature. Marie-Agnes Blum, France, 2006, French/Subtitles: English, 82 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBear 007, The / Medved 007 [FL 134]
Political satire. A woodsman is requested by the local authorities to organize a bear hunt for a political VIP visiting the hunting ground. The only problem is that bears have already been extinct in the area for many years. Therefore the only solution is to set up a hoax with a circus bear. The film was banned by the producer TV Belgrade. Zelimir Gvardiol, Yugoslavia, 1986, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: English, 52 min, VHSBeauty Exchange, The / Ženy pro měny [FL 819]
"The Beauty Exchange" looks at how the media (in particular, commercials and the so-called glossy women's magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Harper's Bazaar) make contemporary Czech women conscious of their appearance, and the ways in which they shape today's stereotypes of feminine beauty. It focuses on four women: a trendy 20-something who buys all the latest beauty products; an overweight woman who will try anything to lose the extra kilos; a 15-year-old who enters a competition to be a model and eventually succeeds; a mother who undergoes plastic surgery. The latter, Eva, says she can work on other parts of her body, but once her breasts sag there's nothing she can do about it. Except have plastic surgery, which she hopes will mean a complete turn-around in her life and self-esteem. Well, things do not quite work out the way she hoped: the operation requires further surgical treatment and Eva still cannot wear her favorite clothes which are now too tight at the top. The operation is shown at length and in detail, which some viewers may find difficult to watch. Erika Hníková, Czech Republic, 2003, Czech/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBeauty of the Fatherland / Isamaa Ilu [FL 386]
The film focuses on two protagonists whose views seem at first to embody opposing values and viewpoints: ex-Miss Estonia Tiina Jantson runs beauty contests, while Anne Eenpalu promotes traditional family values as leader of the Girl Scout troupe known as Home Daughters. Each has her own history: Tiina was a supermodel in the Soviet Union, Anne is a granddaughter of Kaarel Eenpalu, one of the presidents of the pre-war Republic of Estonia. Yet the main characters have more in common than might first appear. They are brought together by their very conservative notion about the role of women in society. Both claim to help the talents of young girls unfold, both project their own ideas and desires on them. Jaak Kilmi, Andres Maimik, Estonia, 2001, Estonian/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBeauty of the Sin, The / Lepota Poroka [FL 481]
This film drama opens with a portrayal of the way of life in the remote Montenegrin mountain village, almost untouched by modern civilization. People there still follow strict and Draconian archaic codes which instruct a husband to kill his wife with a hammer over a loaf of bread if she is proven unfaithful. In this environment, a young married couple apparently lives harmoniously, but in poverty. They accept an invitation from their friend who has left for the sea coast in search of money and follow his example. While the husband manages to get a job in a salt factory, she starts working as a cleaning lady in a nudist camp. They are both shocked by the reality of the modern way of life although the hundreds of naked bodies they see and the atmosphere of joie de vivre make them slowly question their rigid norms. Traditionally brought up, the wife is initially terrified of nudity, but under the influence of two young foreigners whose apartment she is cleaning, she starts freeing her chained sensuality. The tragic outcome resolves this dilemma between the beauty of sin or the ugliness of virtue. Živko Nikolić, Yugoslavia, 1986, Serbo-Croatian, 111 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBecause a Man is Human / Weil der Mensch ein Mensch ist [FL 1276]
Summer holidays in a self-run youth camp. The children democratically vote-in their own parliament, which gives them the possibility of organising the camp on their own. Eleven-year-old representative Nils however is not lucky: Soon others get interested in his power and in his position - just like in the real world of politics. When the children overthrow Nils, his political career comes to a sudden end, while at the same time his social decline begins. The others start mobbing him. Frauke Finsterwalder & Stephan Hilpert, Germany, 2007, German/Subtitles: English, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBecause We Were Born / Puisque nous sommes nés [FL 1686]
Brazil, Nordeste, the state of Pernambouc. A petrol station in the middle of an arid landscape provides Cocada (14) and Nego (13) with dreams and distractions. They meet there every day to make a little money, to support themselves and their families. Cocada dreams of becoming a truck driver, yet for now he washes windscreens, grazes pigs at a waste dump, makes bricks, and sleeps in a truck cab each night. His father was murdered, and he has found a substitute in Mineiro, a driver who takes the time to talk with him and helps him when the temptation of easy but illegally earned money becomes too strong. Nego lives from hand to mouth in a favela with his mother and nine brothers and sisters, helping them eke out a living; he dreams of having a house of his own. Besides begging from long-distance buses, he does temporary work as an errand boy and this doesn't leave him much time for school. With his friend Cocada, they watch the endless movement of trucks and travelers. Everything speaks to them about this big country which they don’t know. Mature beyond their years, thanks to the many adversities they have suffered, the two boys wonder what lies ahead. Jean-Pierre Duret, Andréa Santana, France, 2008, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBed and Sofa / Третья Мещанская [FL 154]
A married couple has a small apartment in Moscow. When an old friend of the husband's arrives in the city, he is unable to find lodgings. Kolia, the husband, invites his friend to move in with them. While Kolia is away on business, sensual Liuda and attractive Volodia fall in love and have an affair. After his initial outrage, the husband calms down. Kolia winds up on the sofa, and the three settle into a menage-a-trois until the wife finds herself pregnant. The two men are trying to decide what to do, but Liuda is strong enough to make her own decisions. Considered a landmark film because of its humor, naturalism, and sympathetic portrayal of the woman. Abram Room, Soviet Union, 1927, (silent), 70 min, fiction film, VHSBeekeeping after War [FL 1446]
A documentary about the former Yugoslavia, as told by the beekeepers of the land. The war-scarred lands of the former Yugoslavia are home to a great history of Beekeepers. These men and women are woven into the culture and narrative of the bitter past of this beautiful and scarred terrain. Their stories are that of the Balkans. They have seen some of the bitterest fighting in World War 2. They have lived forcibly united under Communism and they have suffered under the NATO sanctions and bombing. All the while, they have produced outstanding honey. Beekeepers from across the land tell us their stories, patiently, passionately. Sister Nektarina, an orthodox nun talks of how bees have always been part of monastery life. The Ba_i_ Brothers bemoan the quality of honey now that they can no longer move their hives freely from pasture to pasture. 22 year-old Marko wishes that the authorities would see the good that beekeepers do and help them build the economy. Tomas Leach, Italy, 2006, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBefore Flying Back to Earth / Pries parskrendant I Zeme [FL 1021]
After his daughter survived eight months of treatment for leukaemia, the Lithuanian filmmaker Arunas Matelis did not turn his back on the hospital. He filmed the kids in the leukaemia ward in Vilnius during their day-to-day routine, without becoming sentimental. For the parents, their worst nightmare has come true, but what do the children themselves think? A life among medicine and tubes does not prevent them from just carrying on. Their adaptability is incredible. One of the mothers says her son has not grown dejected in hospital, because he has gotten used to it and does not know any better. The children practise karate or dream of getting hamburgers and Coke instead of the same old cabbage soup. The future is often brought up, as if it were not finite: they hope they will not turn blond when their hair grows back, or they want to become a doctor, "but not in the leukaemia ward." Before Flying Back to the Earth is interlaced with black-and-white pictures showing the children in the middle of a smile, yawn or gesture, momentarily freezing time in this thorough documentary that does not deal with death, but with life. Arunas Matelis, Lithuania, 2005, Lithuanian/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBeginning, The (aka The Debut) / Начало [FL 438]
A story of a young factory girl, Pasha Stroganova (Inna Churikova), who lives in provincial town and believes in her talent. From an amateur theater she is invited to play Jeanne D'Ark in a film, meanwhile her own life makes her face hard challenges. Gleb Panfilov, Soviet Union, 1970, Russian, 87 min, fiction film, VHSBehind the Fence [FL 905]
In June 2002 Israel began construction of a 115-kilometre-long security fence along or near the "green line" separating the West Bank from Israel proper. Dubbed by its critics "The Berlin Wall of the Middle East" and the "Wall of Apartheid" it is being built at the cost of $1 million per kilometre. The aim, the Israeli government has stated, is to prevent Palestinian "terrorists" from infiltrating into Israel. For many Palestinians however it is nothing more than a sinister ploy to grab more of their land and further reinforce the occupation through the "ghettoisation" of their communities. At the same time many Israelis and Palestinians wonder if it could turn out to be the borderline for a future Palestinian state. Inigo Gilmore, United Kingdom, 2003, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSBehind the Rent Strike [FL 1246]
A film documenting the various political and social aspects of the fourteen month long rent strike undertaken by tenants on the Tower Hill Estate in Kirkby, on the outskirts of Liverpool, which commenced in 1972 in protest against increases in council house rents resulting from the Housing Finance Act. It gives a picture of social conditions in the area as well as the organisation of the strike. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1974, English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBehind the Wall: "Perfectly Normal Lives in the GDR?" [FL 1414]
This documentary film, based on in-depth research by UCL students and staff, is the first to explore the complexity of ordinary lives in the relatively stable middle period of the GDR’s history, between the building of the Wall in 1961 and the economic decline and political unrest of the 1980s. Using extensive oral history interviews, archival sources and film footage, it portrays a more complex picture of life in the GDR, allowing East Germans to tell their own stories and inviting viewers to an informed debate on key questions of contemporary German history and identity. Mary Fulbrook, United Kingdom, 2007, English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBelly Dancer / Rakasa [FL 1343]
Rakasa is a documentary about the lives of three Palestinian women who dance for joy, expression and sometimes money. Certain images come to mind when an American says, “I’m a dancer.” However, the dancing found in Rakasa (Arabic for “bellydancer”) comes from an irrepressible urge to rebel, to be free, and to be wholly and utterly a woman in a culture that would have one deny that Goddess-given gift. This form of dancing also crosses religious barriers, bringing Israeli Jews and Arabs together to dance. For this, rakasa—and the women whose lives are shared within—should be celebrated. Iris Rubin, Israel, 2006, Hebrew, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 73 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBelovs, The / Беловы [FL 514]
In a Russian village lives twice widowed Anna Fedorovna Belova with her alcoholic brother Michail Fedorovich who philosophies about social and political matters, regularly gets drunk, and time to time threatens to kill his sister. Two other brothers visit them. They drink a great deal of tea, steam in a Russian bath and discuss whether there exists "a measure to measure ordeals." With this simple scenario, the director captures the everyday life of a rural family at once repetitive and shaken by the ongoing changes in the society. Viktor Kossakovskii, Russia, 1993, Russian/Subtitles: English, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBelow Sea Level [FL 1687]
About 300 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles and 6 meters below sea level, a commune of outcasts lives in the middle of the desert. They are not a hippie colony, just a group of people who have turned their backs on society and want to be left alone. On this bare, arid plain, we see a mobile home here and there, a car or an impromptu house. The people who live here answer to imaginative names like Bulletproof, Insane Wayne and Bus Kenny. They kill time by messing around, doing odd jobs, talking and living. For some of them, this desolate place with no electricity or running water is a temporary address, while for others it's a permanent vacation. A Vietnam veteran who now goes by the name of Cindy opened a hair salon here. Lili is a new arrival who lost custody of her only son and now does acupuncture. Mike Bright grieves over his dead daughter and fills his days writing songs. Everyone has his or her own reason for being here, and especially a reason not to be somewhere else. Gianfranco Rosi, Italy, 2008, English, 110 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBelow the Line / Ispod crte [FL 565]
This family drama set in contemporary, post-1990 Zagreb centers around youngster Toni, whose neighbor and ex-girlfriend Zrinka announces she is leaving with her mother for Italy in search of work. He finally realizes that he loves her and wants to leave with her. But there is yet another reason for his decision – Toni desperately wants to get away from his difficult family situation. His whole family is terrorized by his father, a traumatized war veteran with a serious case of PTSP. After nervous Toni unintentionally provokes the latest family incident, his mother ends up in hospital after a beating from his father, who is taken into custody. At that point, Toni’s grandfather and grandmother, who never accepted their son’s wife and blame her for all of his troubles, decide to kidnap Toni’s little sister Klara. Backed with political connections, they wish to take care of her and provide her with a proper moral upbringing. So Toni finds himself torn between his loved one, who is already packing her bags for Italy, and his family which he cannot leave in this hard times. The final sentimental scene finds them all in the yard in front of the hospital where the father, having escaped from prison, threatens to blow up everyone with the hand grenade. Petar Krelja, Croatia, 2003, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 105 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBerlin Alexanderplatz [FL 770]
After being released from prison, Franz is determined to finally lead a decent life. But it is difficult to get used to living outside of prison again. In the local bar, he meets Reinhold, leader of a gang of criminals. Unable to convince Franz to join the gang, Reinhold persuades him to have a ride with them one night. When Franz realizes that they are on their way to a job, he refuses to participate and is thrown out of the car while it is still moving. Franz survives, but loses his right arm. Having now lost all faith and sure he’ll never make it on “the straight and narrow”, Franz gives in and joins Reinhold’s gang. Franz’s new girlfriend Mieze, however, finds out what’s going on and starts making trouble. To get her out of the way, Reinhold kills her. When Franz learns of Reinhold’s treachery, he grabs his revolver and heads to the local bar to confront the gang leader. But the bar is already swarming with cops… In court, Franz is acquitted and Reinhold is sentenced to 15 years in prison. Although he’s hit rock bottom, Franz still finds the strength to go on. Working as a street vendor selling tumbler toys on Alexanderplatz in Berlin, Franz has finally found happiness in a simple, but decent and honest life. Piel Jutzi, Germany, 1931, German, 85 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBerlin: Symphony of a Great City + Opus 1 / Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt + Opus 1 [FL 759]
Director Walter Ruttman, an experimental filmmaker, approached cinema in similar ways to his Russian contemporary Dziga Vertoz, mixing documentary, abstract, and expressionist modes for a nonnarrative style that captured the life of his countrymen. But where Vertov mixed his observations with examples of the communist dream in action, Ruttman re-creates documentary as, in his own words, "a melody of pictures." Within the loose structure of a day in the life of the city (with a prologue that travels from the country into the city on a barreling train), the film takes us from dawn to dusk, observing the silent city as it awakens with a bustle of activity, then the action builds and calms until the city settles back into sleep. But the city is as much the architecture, the streets, and the machinery of industry as it is people, and Ruttman weaves all these elements together to create a portrait in montage, the poetic document of a great European city captured in action. Held together by rhythm, movement, and theme, Ruttman creates a documentary that is both involving and beautiful to behold. The original score by Timothy Brock is lyrical and dramatically involving, complementing the mood and movement marvelously. Also included on this DVD is "Opus 1" (1922, 10 min.), a rare example of the German avant-garde cinema. Director Walther Ruttmann's hand-colored film is an abstract exploration of animated shapes and geometry of movement. Walther Ruttman, Germany, 1927, (silent), 77 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBerlin / Берлин [FL 954]
The film is interspersed with German newsreel shots narrating the Nazis' plan of global hegemony. The documentary describes the final major battle of the war with Nazi Germany, with its outcome, the German army's unconditional surrender. This film alongside other Soviet ones were shown in Cannes immediately after the end of the war. Film from the private archives of Nazi advisor Goebbels is used to bridge the history line between Mussolini, Hitler, and the emerging fascist movement in the 1960s among both East and West Germans. Yuli Raizman and Yelizaveta Svilova, Soviet Union, 1945, Russian, 57 min, war reports, DVD-ROMBeshkempir / Бешкемпир [FL 614]
A Kyrgyz/French co-production, the film "Beshkempir" restores the traditional Kyrgyz way of life in such a full value and such a precision as to create an impression of a documentary. Director Aktan Abdukalykov believes that the aesthetics of the film that is built upon the combination of several observation-episodes recalls of the aesthetics of the traditional Kyrgyz patch-work quilt - kurak, or tekemet, where each patch of fabric is a memory of concrete person. Not accidentally then, the film opens with a splash of color - a close-up of a beautiful tekemet, which introduces the film's theme and structure. The film starts with the picture of five women - besh kempir - holding a ceremony of socialization for an infant: an orphan baby adopted by a childless family. In order to protect the boy from the evil eye they give him the name - Beshkempir. Once a teenager, the boy learns that he was adopted and starts to look at his parents differently. The only person with whom he prefers not to analyze the matter of relations is his grandmother who dearly loves him. However, there comes a moment of growing up when the issue of origins stops bothering him. Aktan Abdykalykov, Kyrgyzstan, 1998, Kyrgyz/Subtitles: English, 78 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBetter than Escape / Bolje od bekstva [FL 554]
In this love melodrama, Stamena, an American woman of Yugoslav origin, comes for the first time to Belgrade wishing to learn the language. She meets young Belgrade actor Aleksa, falls in love with him and gets married. At first they live happily and she fully adapts to the new environment. However, unsatisfied with the stereotypical roles that he usually plays and troubled by the constant lack of money, Aleksa gradually turns to drink. Still, they manage to endure this difficult period when their son is born. Aleksa quits drinking and starts acting in a popular TV comedy series which brings him both money and new ethical dilemmas. Though the premiere of his ambitious politically engaged play turns out to be a huge success, it is immediately taken off the repertoire. Aleksa now starts to drink even more heavily and has serious fights with his wife. When he eventually causes a car crash with fatal consequences and ends up in jail Stamena returns with her son to America. The final scene finds them both in her American home – in what is to be their last encounter. Now talking in English, he can only see how her life completely changed and that his son does not even recognize him, let alone speak his language. Miroslav Lekić, Yugoslavia, 1993, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 100 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBetween a Star and a Crescent - Bricha / Mezi Hvězdou a Půlměsícem - Otec uprchlíků [FL 74]
"Bricha" is the Hebrew name given to the Jewish underground movement which after WWII attempted to move as many of the displaced Jews as possible to Palestine. Czechoslovakia was involved with this Zionist movement, even when the country was already under Soviet rule. Petr Bok and Martin Smok, Czech Republic, 1998, /Voice-over: English, 53 min, documentary film, VHSBetween a Star and a Crescent - Father of the Refugees / Mezi Hvězdou a Půlměsícem - Otec uprchlíků [FL 74]
In the summer of 1967 the body of Charles Jordan, a man who wanted to change the very core of the conflict in the Middle East, was fished out of the Vltava river in Prague. His death remains a mystery to this day. The filmmakers discovered new details about the case, while the Czech detectives are still unsuccessfully investigating it. Petr Bok and Martin Smok, Czech Republic, 2004, /Voice-over: English, 52 min, documentary film, VHSBetween a Star and a Crescent - Trials / Mezi Hvězdou a Půlměsícem - Otec uprchlíků [FL 74]
The post-war tragedy of Jewish Communists is also mostly forgotten today. These people rejected their family traditions because they believed, naively, that the Bolshevik New World Order would eradicate anti-Semitism and racist hatred forever. Petr Bok and Martin Smok, Czech Republic, 1998, /Voice-over: English, 53 min, documentary film, VHSBetween the Lines: India's Third Gender / Between the Lines: Indiens drittes Geschlecht [FL 1227]
The film follows Delhi-based photographer Anita Khemka as she sets out to explore the hidden hijra subculture of Bombay. Since she was a child, Khemka has been fascinated by the ornate femininity and captivating spiritual powers of the outcast hijras - biological men who dress as women but reject identification with either gender. Following three hijras, Asha, Rambha and Laxmi, Khemka enters the vibrant yet struggling hijra communities, openly discussing intimate details of their lives such as their matriarchal surrogate families, castration ceremonies, thoughts about sexuality and relationships and the challenges of overcoming economic dependence on begging and prostitution. Uniquely engaging because of Khemka's ability to initiate personal dialogue about femininity, sexuality and persistent cultural stereotypes about gender, this artful film provides fascinating insights into a social group that is a growing leader in the fight for gender and sexuality rights in India. Thomas Wartmann, Germany, 2006, English, German, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 95 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBetween Two Fires [FL 1012]
This is a documentary that exposes American involvement in what the director calls "one of World War II’s best-kept secrets." The film shows how Russian anti-Communists were held on American soil until the U.S. agreed to forcibly repatriate them, placating Stalin, but violating the Geneva Convention treaty on the treatment of prisoners of war. The downside of this film is that it doesn't analyze the actions and nature of the Osttroppen. It looks only at the relationship with the Nazis, overlooking their often involvement into anti-Jewish and ethnic atrocities. Douglas Smith, United States, 2002, English, 50 min, documentary film, VHSBeyond Borders: Personal Stories from a Small Planet [FL 1196]
A creative project made by teenagers overcoming huge obstacles and ignorance within their lives. A compilation of 11 short films written, shot and edited by teenagers who weave documentary filmmaking, animation and archival footage to tell personla stories about what they most fear and how they build security to overcome those fears. Austin Haeberle, United States, 2005, English, Ukrainian, Spanish, Korean/Subtitles: English, 66 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBeyond Reasonable Doubt [FL 1743]
From 1995 the massacre at Srebrenica has been surrounded by denial. The ICTY called it genocide and three men have pleaded guilty acknowledging their participation in the executions of more than 7,000 men and boys and the deportation of nearly 30,000 women and children. The film presents the testimonies of those who organized and perpetrated the killings, those who tried to cover it up - digging mass graves and reburying bodies, as well as the testimonies of the victims and their relatives. Mina Vidakovic, Netherlands, 2005, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBeyond the Call [FL 1572]
In an Indiana Jones meets Mother Teresa adventure, three middle-aged men – former soldiers and modern-day knights – travel the world delivering life-saving humanitarian aid directly into the hands of civilians and doctors; in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earth, the front lines of war. Adrian Belic, United States, 2006, English, 82 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBeyond the Sea: a history of the Mariel boatlift / Más allá del mar: una historia del exodo de Mariel Más allá del mar [FL 751]
It began with a bus crashing through the gates of an embassy in Havana and unraveled into one of the most dramatic episodes in the history of human migrations. In a few short weeks, nearly 130,000 Cubans left their homeland in an unrelenting stream of vessels bound for America. More than two decades later, the personal stories surrounding the infamous Mariel Boatlift continue to resonate with an energy that can only be described as surreal, powerful. Weaving together these riveting stories along with rare, historical images, and footage from present-day Cuba, this film recreates this "explosion of 1980," a crisis that shook the very foundations of Cuban as well as American society. Lisandro Perez-Rey, Cuba, 2003, Spanish, English/Subtitles: English, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBezhin Meadow / Бежин луг [FL 175]
Reconstructed version of the film, which was banned and destroyed by Soviet censors. The script was based on the incident of Pavlik Morozov, who denounced his father as a kulak and was killed by him. The reconstruction took place in 1971 from surviving single shots of various scenes, which were preserved by the film editor. Sergei Eisenstein, Soviet Union, 1937, (silent)/Subtitles: English, 32 min, fiction film, VHSBig Animal / Duźe zwierzę [FL 740]
The screenplay for this film was originally written by Krzysztof Kieślowski and was supposed to be his debut. Sawicki - a respected citizen of small mountain town – one day starts walking around with a camel left there by a circus crew. The community is shocked. The authorities demand that the animal be registered and taxed. They start receiving anonymous letters saying that the animal distracts children at school, fouls the streets and – worst of all – could be carrying some special kind of African venereal disease. Sawicki and his wife are slowly excluded from the community. Others, such as a local photographer or the TV station, want to make money out of the animal. Sawicki resists all these pressures but feels increasingly trapped. A tongue-in-cheek, but ultimately sad film about the fear of the “Other”. Jerzy Stuhr, Poland, 2000, Polish, 73 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBig Family / Da Jia Ting [FL 1230]
Zhue Zhe’s is one of the top families in the village. He is a pitiless patriarch who rules his family strictly. In the 1980s he made a fortune from a brick factory but since he invested in agriculture he has fallen deeply in dept. Zhue Zhe expects his children and their spouses, who all live under the same roof, to renounce any personal ambitions and help him in his time of need. However, the difficult economic conditions, Zhue Zhe’s bad temper and the younger generations’ desire for independence lead to an inevitable clash. Bitterness, suspicion and sorrow predominate, marriages crumble, but the family has to stay together, come what may. Ultimately, Zhe has to bow his head for the first time in front of everyone. The family tragedy that unfolds with all candor before the camera touches on bigger themes like the transformation of traditional lifestyles and family patterns, women's rights, and conflicting generational expectations in today’s rural China. Huang Lingping & Zhu Shengwei, China, 2005, Chinese, Yue/Subtitles: English, 82 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBig Sellout, The [FL 1124]
Has the practice of privatization become similar to warfare, dehumanizing us and reducing us to mere statistics? Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and former chief economist at the World Bank, certainly thinks so, as does Bongani, a self-described "electro-rebel" in Soweto, South Africa, who illegally restores electricity to the homes of people too poor to pay the incessant bills of the newly privatized provider. Simon, a train driver who has worn the uniform of countless firms since his beloved British Rail was privatized, recounts the steady decline in service and maintenance and the sharp increase in accidents that have followed. In the Philippines, where the privatization of health care has led to an exodus of nurses and doctors, Minda struggles to afford the kidney dialysis treatments needed to keep her son alive. Meanwhile, martial law is declared in Cochabamba, Bolivia as protesters fight the privatization of water. A compelling portrayal of a complex subject, The Big Sellout offers an empathetic and sobering study of the human impact of global economics. Florian Opitz, Germany, 2006, English, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 94 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBirth of energy / Рождение энергии [FL 350]
The film tells the story of the creation of a booster rocket by general engineer-designer V. P. Glushko. The film traces the history of space research and opposition between two prominent researchers, Korolev and Glushko. Yu. Sal'nikov, Russia, 2000, Russian, 26 min, documentary film, VHSBittner Case, The / Ich Bin Doch Keine Morderin [FL 1127]
"The Youth Welfare Office should've realised themselves that we needed help, and not asked us if we needed help. They should have been aware of it. (...) They should have acted on their own. Then things would have gone differently." When asked about his responsibility in his son's death, Falk Bittner remains silent, but when the role of the Youth Welfare Office comes up, he suddenly explodes. The Bittner Case analyses a family tragedy in the East-German city of Cottbus. Just before Christmas 2001, six-year-old Dennis, one of the 10 Bittner children, died of continued abuse, neglect and malnutrition. His mother Angelika hid his corpse in the freezer, where it was discovered in June 2004. Family, friends and neighbours all believed that Dennis had been staying in a Berlin children's hospital. Falk contends that he never doubted his wife's explanation, and that he was shocked when he became aware of his son's fate.The film consists of a series of probing interviews with the Bittners, alternated with excerpts from court proceedings and medical reports. While they wait for a verdict in the case, the Bittners reveal this baffling story bit by bit. Overcome with emotions, Angelika is the one who explains what happened. Falk just sits there and shakes his head. Caterina Woj, Germany, 2006, German/Subtitles: English, 86 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlack Against White / Preto contra branco [FL 1459]
In one of the southern suburbs of São Paulo, on the border between the favelas and the better neighbourhoods, is a soccer field where blacks and whites meet once a year to play against each other. A white and a black friend initiated the event thirty years ago, with fraternisation as their goal. The rest of the year, the match is food for stories, legends and jokes. The film looks at this community that it trying the get rid of the racial phantoms with more or less success. Wagner Morales, Brazil, 2004, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlack Bomber, The / Crni Bombarder [FL 466]
Set during the presidential elections in the near-future Belgrade, the story follows popular radio-speaker Crni (Black) who tries to stir up spirits with his rocking anti-establishment radio show “The Black Bomber.” One night he meets Luna, a passionate punk-rock singer who wants to go to London and tries to convince her to stay here and follow her artistic vision. After an incident at radio-station when an armed madman barges in the studio during Crni’s show and insults a president, Crni is sent on temporary leave. Still he refuses to give up his “mission.” He continues to broadcast revolutionary programs from a van, inviting the youth to go out to the streets and protest, with the police constantly on his trail and Luna desperately trying to get to him. He finally succeeds in instigating riots, but gets arrested and ends up talking with the president who, surprisingly, turns out to be quite a liberal, interested in his opinions and willing to give him his own radio show. He manages to meet with Luna before she leaves for London and in a finale has a vision of both of them flying over the town. Darko Bajić, Yugoslavia, 1992, Serbian, 113 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBlack Cat, White Cat / Crna mačka, beli mačor [FL 483]
The film evolves around three generations of Gypsy men living along the banks of Danube, as they try to resolve their complex affairs. 80-year-olds, garbage dump gipsy “Godfather” Grga Pitić and cement dealer Zarije Destanov, have been friends for years. Zarije’s naïve son Matko comes to Grga asking for a loan for his robbery project. Unfortunately he is double-crossed by his partner, gangster Dadan, who now expects Matko’s son, Zare, to marry his miniature sister. However, Zare is in love with blonde Gipsy waitress Ida, and Dadan’s sister is also unhappy with the arrangement. Then Zarije’s sudden death seems to offer a way out for Zare, since no gypsy would have a wedding and a funeral on the same day. But Dadan delays the announcement by hiding Zarije, packed in ice, in the attic and the wedding gets underway. While guests celebrate, Dadan’s miniature sister flees her own wedding and on the run meets Grga Pitić’s son Grga Veliki and they fall in love with each other. Finally free, Zare embarks with Ida in a boat and sails down the Danube Emir Kusturica, Yugoslavia, 1998, /Subtitles: English, 124 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMblack have endured, and I?, The / Crnci su izdrzali, a ja? [FL 861]
The film is shot during Christmas time in 2000. It focuses on a group of friends and their interactions, while in the meantime also catched glimpses of the filmakers hometown and its people. Zvonimir Juric, Croatia, 2001, Croatian, 35 min, art documentary, VHSBlack Ice / Гололед [FL 820]
A young female attorney finds herself caught in a maze of conflicting and deadly agendas when she discovers a tape proving the guilt of a prominent client she is defending. With a plot as labyrinthine as a hall of shattered mirrors, this hip, contemporary Moscow-set thriller sends the viewer hurtling through a blind alley of seemingly unconnected plot strands with relentless force. Mikhail Brashinsky, Russia, 2003, Russian, 77 min, fiction film, VHSBlack Notebook Of Zinaida Gyppius, The / Le Cahier Noir de Zinaida Gyppius [FL 942]
This is the Russian revolution, as seen and retold on a day-by-day basis by one of Russia's most interesting poets, Zinaida Gyppius. A woman of extraordinary talent, with a sharp, analytical mind, who was called "the witch" due to her acid tongue, she recorded all of the events in her diary, as a person felt and lived through them "from the inside." Her diaries provide a key to many of the events that would prove fatal for Russia, rerouting the course of European and world history. Having left Russia in 1900, she "buried" her diaries by turning them over to the Petersburg library under a false name. These diaries, discovered 80 years later and set to a timeline of the events of that era, form the basis of this film. Zlatina Rousseva, Belgium, 1997, Russian, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlack Series 1 (Polish School of Documentary Movies) / Czarna Seria 1 [FL 1730]
"Czarna Seria" is the part of NInA Publishing's series "Polish School of Documentary Movies". Edited by Tadeusz Sobolewski, the series is devoted to different Polish documentary filmmakers and contains selected documentaries from their artistic output. The series includes films made by recognized film directors, as well as by some of the forgotten masters and débutante directors.Poland, 2008, Polish/Subtitles: English, French, Russian, German, 113 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlack Series 2 (Polish School of Documentary Movies) / Czarna Seria 2 [FL 1731]
"Czarna Seria" is the part of NInA Publishing's series "Polish School of Documentary Movies". Edited by Tadeusz Sobolewski, the series is devoted to different Polish documentary filmmakers and contains selected documentaries from their artistic output. The series includes films made by recognized film directors as well as by some of the forgotten masters and débutante directors.Poland, 2008, Polish/Subtitles: English, German, Russian, French, 120 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlind Chance / Przypadek [FL 92]
Witek runs to catch a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life. One: he catches the train, meets an honest Communist and himself becomes a Party activist. Two: while running for the train he bumps into a railway guard, is arrested, tried and sentenced to unpaid labour in a park, where he meets someone from the opposition. He, in turn, becomes a militant member of the opposition. Three: he simply misses the train, meets a girl from his class, returns to his interrupted studies, marries the girl and leads a peaceful life as a doctor unwilling to get mixed up in politics. He is sent abroad with his work. In mid-air, the plane he is on, explodes. Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1982, Polish, 122 min, fiction film, VHSBlind Loves / Slepe lásky [FL 1537]
To find one’s true calling and happiness in this world is hard enough for those of us who can see. How much more difficult is it for the blind? Blind Loves is a sensitive and powerful reflection on the most intimate feelings and emotions of blind people. Peter, a music teacher at a school for the blind, and his wife, Iveta, live in a tiny apartment, but simultaneously occupy a vast and amazing imaginary world. Miro and the partially sighted Monika are in love, but their relationship is complicated by her parents' objections to Miro's Romany ethnicity. Elena and Laco are expecting a baby – and their fears, hopes and dreams for their unborn child are magnified by the fact that they are both blind. Then there is fourteen-year-old Zuzana who, like any teenager, spends hours in online chat rooms and longs to fall in love. She is about to start high school, where she will be the only blind student, and worries that she will have trouble fitting in with the other teens. Each of these individual's stories offers a uniquely tender and humorous perspective on the world. Juraj Lehotský, Slovakia, 2008, Slovak/Subtitles: English, 77 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlind Man's Bluff / Жмурки [FL 525]
Dark and comic gangster film set in Russia of the 1990s. Three loosely defined bandit groups are up against each other, meshing with corrupt policemen and government officials. The film's elliptical plot hinges on the hunt for a briefcase of heroin. The prime players are Sergei (Alexei Panin) and Simon (Dmitry Dyuzhev), a pair of street enforcers for the local crime boss Mikhailych (Nikita Mikhalkov). While Sergei has a hint of brains behind his operating tactics, the truly moronic Simon is adept only with his trigger. Sergei and Simon have to deliver a suitcase full of heroin to Mikhalych or else they will be killed. For all the problems they meet on the way they have a single solution: a shot in the head. Ten years on, times have changed. Mikhalkov's character, no longer a crime boss, works as a security guard. Meanwhile, Sergei and Simon have gone with the flow and moved into politics, complete with an office fronting Red Square. Aleksei Balabanov, Russia, 2005, Russian, 107 min, fiction film, VHSBlockade / Блокада [FL 1023]
Blockade provides a remarkable insight into the siege of Leningrad during the Second World War. Loznitsa managed to track down reels of unused footage that had been sitting in the archives for over half a century. The material offered snapshots of everyday life amongst Russian civilians during the siege. The reels had not been used by the state because they were deemed inappropriate for propaganda purposes. Loznitsa's Blockade seems to be the total opposite of typical Soviet representations of the siege of Leningrad with their lofty pathos, celebration of martyrdom, and scenes of heroic labor. It is remarkably non-sensationalist, it has neither music nor running commentary – a cinematographic example of what Barthes famously termed “writing degree zero”. Yet it manages to capture and freeze in time the spirit of suffering in the struggling city. The depth of the shots and their graphic minimalism work to create a truly epic narrative, one that leaves room for the viewer's very own, un-mediated response. Sergei Loznitsa, Russia, 2005, (silent), 52 min, archival collage, DVD-ROMBlonde / Zuta [FL 158]
The film follows life of a somewhat naive Belgrade prostitute, her troubles with her pimp, the police and her companion. Finally she gets a decent job and finds the way out from a vicious circle of poverty and her dreams. Vladimir Tadej, Yugoslavia, 1973, Serbo-Croatian, 80 min, fiction film, VHSBloodplot / Midőn a vér… [FL 1625]
A film looks back at the notorious 1882 "blood libel" trials at Tiszaeszlar, Hungary, and examines the blood libel accusations after the Holocaust. Edit Koszegi, Sandor Simo, Andras Surannyi, Hungary, 1994, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBloody Cartoons [FL 1573]
When in September 2005 the Danish newspaper Jyllands–Posten published a series of caricatures of the prophet Mohammed, it sparked unprecedented protests around the Muslim world. The demonstrations were so intense and so well organised that it led to questions as to whether they were really a spontaneous expression of Muslim anger. Danish investigative journalist and documentary maker Karsten Kjaer attempted to find out who could have had an interest in the protests spreading so far and an escalation of hatred towards the West. He conducted dozens of interviews in an attempt to untangle the web of events which followed the publishing of the cartoons; he spoke to religious leaders responsible for instigating violence, demonstrators who had set embassies on fire, journalists and newspaper publishers. Kjaer visited Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Turkey and Qatar, often posing the question of where the border of free speech, one of the pillars of democracy, lies. Karsten Kjaer, Denmark, 2007, English, Danish/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlue Angel, The / Der blaue Engel [FL 763]
"The Blue Angel" deals with the humiliation and breakdown an inhibited, overbearing, sexually-repressed instructor at a boys' prep school. Professor Immanuel Rath discovers some of his students passing round seductive photographs of a sexy cabaret singer. His best pupil confesses that Lola Lola sings and dances at the "Blue Angel," a variety club near the docks. Rath visits the club that night to put a stop to this indecency, but is entranced by his first glimpse of Dietrich straddling a chair crooning "Falling in Love Again" in top hat, stockings, and bare thighs. Rath's self-righteousness cannot survive the seductive voice of the siren. Three of Rath's pupils are watching from the dark, though they duck out of sight of their teacher. Rath decides to corner Lola for "misleading" his pupils while she is in the dressing room preparing for her next appearance. They spend the night together; for the first time in his life, he arrives late for school the next morning to find his class in an uproar. When the principal shows up to investigate the goings-on, Rath leaves his job and marries Lola. The mismatched couple enjoy themselves until they have spent every cent of Rath's bank account. Consumed by desire and tormented by his rigid propriety, Rath's morality degenerates. Lola finally forces him to return to his home town and appear as a clown there. The performance ends scandalously. Lola leaves him for another man. A broken old man unable to bear the humiliation any longer, Rath returns to his old classroom and falls dead on the floor. Josef von Sternberg, Germany, 1930, English/Subtitles: Hungarian, 87 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBlue Collar White Christmas / Nede på jorden [FL 1078]
December 2001. The workers at the lifeboat factory Viking are preparing for the coming Christmas holiday when news arrives that Viking is to open a new factory in Thailand. Redundancy looms. Throughout the Christmas month we follow the four main characters - Diana, Lotte, Kragelund and Tobiesen. While notification of who is to be laid off draws closer, the air becomes thick with rumours and predictions. Life continues nevertheless. "Blue Collar White Christmas" is a series of humorous everyday chronicles dealing with the fear and necessity of change. Max Kestner, Denmark, 2004, Danish/Subtitles: English, 82 min, documentary film, VHSBlue Roads / Голубые дороги [FL 184]
World War II is over, but deep in the sea there still are mines left by the Nazis. An unusual mine is discovered in the port of Odessa, and Captain Ratanov works on defusing it. Suddenly it explodes and the captain is severely wounded. Having recovered, he returns back to his dangerous profession. Vladimir Braun, Soviet Union, 1947, Russian, 89 min, fiction film, VHSBolse vita [FL 133]
Set in Central Europe following the fall of Communism in 1989, this German-Hungarian ensemble piece centers on the reactions and attempts to get by in a brand new environment. Yura and Vadim are Russian musicians trying to get to Belgrade for a performance. Impoverished Sergei is trying to get there too. He sells knives to earn the money he needs. British Maggie and American Susan have drifted to Hungary in search of excitement. All five characters accidentally collide in the Bolse Vita bar in Budapest. While Sergei continues selling his cutlery in the open-air market, Yura and Maggie begin an affair as do Susan and Vadim. Much of the story chronicles the short-lived euphoria that followed the demise of oppression, but unfortunately, the people's happiness abruptly ended when the realities of life set in. So it goes for the characters as they all begin drifting towards their disparate destinies. Ibolya Fekete, Hungary, 1996, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 101 min, fiction film, VHSBomb Harvest [FL 1580]
Laos: the most bombed country, per capita, on the planet. Australian bomb disposal specialist Laith Stevens has to train a new young “big bomb” team to deal with bombs left from the US “Secret War”, but meanwhile, the local children are out hunting for bomb scrap metal. This timely story vividly depicts the consequences of war and the incredible bravery of those trying to clear up the mess. Kim Mordaunt, Australia, English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBond, The / Naata [FL 369]
Mumbai is the city of contrasts: extreme richness and extreme poverty. It is a city of film stars and large slums. Two friends - Hindu Bhau Korde and Muslim Waqar Khan - live and work in a multi-ethnic neighbourhood of Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia. The making of a poster and an amateur film, initiated by the two friends, becomes an important step to unify the community and bring about ethnic amity. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians are played by children, each of them representing 'the other' religion. This work is part of other grass-roots programs for inter-religious amity. Yet Waqar and Bhau's work raises several uncomfortable questions for the filmmakers, so-called modern, middle-class, secular, urban beings. The meta-story of the film reflects on their own position of (im)partial observers/outsiders. By using abstract and anonymous everyday objects, standing in for detachment and reflection, the process of filmmaking itself becomes a subject of analysis. Anjali Monteiro, K. P. Jayasankar, India, 2003, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 45 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBonus, The / Премия [FL 812]
In this officially recognized film, which won the State Prize of the Soviet Union, the inadequacies of the Soviet system are to a certain degree acknowledged. This alone provoked some interest in the film at the time of its release, in 1975. Based on the very popular and prize-winning play by Aleksandr Gelman, it tells the story of a group of factory workers, led by Potapov, (Yevgeny Leonov ) who uncharacteristically refuse to accept a pay bonus because it is clearly in error. They know this because the entire factory has consistently been run in a slipshod manner. Sergei Mikaelyan, Soviet Union, 1974, Russian, 84 min, fiction film, VHSBoomer / Бумер [FL 230]
A chain of events with showdowns and shootouts has brought four men, four friends and car-thieves who live outside the law, together. In a life without rules, they have no way back, and the black BMW carries them ever further from Moscow, into the wild isolation of the Russian hinterlands. None of them wanted to die. But they will have to travel this road to the end. Petr Buslov, Russia, 2003, Russian, 110 min, fiction film, VHSBorder Street a.k.a That Others May Live / Ulica Graniczna [FL 886]
In sweeping, multistoried fashion, the film recreates the last days of the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943. Director Aleksander Ford concentrates on the repercussions that war, prejudice, resistance and oppression have upon the children-specifically the young Jewish ghetto dwellers on one side, and the Hitler Youth on the other. The film was banned in Poland as it depicted Jews, rather than communists, as the heroes of anti-German struggle. Just before beginning to make this film Ford was demoted from the directorship of Film Polski. Before leaving the country, he did not present the script to the new industry management. Even though Border Street obtained permission for distribution, opponents accused the film director of neglecting socialist ideology. Similar objections to Ford’s new production appeared during the Congress of Filmmakers in Wisla in 1949, where the high-ranking political leaders instituted “socialist realism” as the leading filmmaking style. There Ford was accused of offending Polish national feelings. Aleksander Ford, Poland, 1949, Polish, 110 min, fiction film, VHSBorder, The / Granica [FL 573]
This excellent film openly deals with complex ethnic relations between Hungarians and Serbs in the ethnically mixed province of Vojvodina. The story takes place in a village close to the Yugoslav-Hungarian border just after the end of WWII. The war and communist revolution have changed the lives of two families, a native Hungarian and an immigrant Serbian one, leaving each of them with different traumas and deep suspicion towards their new neighbors. This mutual dislike stands firmly in a way of a possible love story that might otherwise easily emerge between Etel, the beautiful young daughter of Hungarian landlord who was raped by Soviet soldiers and now has a baby to support and the young son of the Serbian incomer to the village. As both families experience the tough first years of the new regime as are equally harassed by the brutal young officials of the new government, many joyous and sad, proud and humiliating situations develop. Events force these two families to change irreversibly and gradually break with their former prejudices, allowing free rein to the love between two young people of different ethnic backgrounds. Zoran Maširević, Yugoslavia, 1990, Serbian, 88 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBorderline [FL 1328]
Borderline occupies a unique place in British cinema history. Kenneth Macpherson's masterpiece was made only a year after Dziga Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera (1929) and it features iconic star Paul Robeson and his wife Eslanda, as well as other members from the editional board of the film journal Close Up, such as the post H.D. (Hilda Doolittle), Robert Herring and Bryther. Kenneth Macpherson, United Kingdom, 1930, (silent), 71 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBorder-line Case / Határeset [FL 1045]
In August 1989, having lived in Weimar in the German Democratic Republic, Kurt-Werner Schulz and Gundula Schafitel and their 6-year-old son were crossing Hungary on their way to the Western world. As so many of their East German fellow compatriots, they were planning to cross the border illegally. However, they had no hope of succeeding if all three of them stayed together. The story is told in the manner of a criminal investigation, spiced with some humour. Péter Szalay, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian, German/Subtitles: English, 32 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBorderline: The People V. Eunice Baker / Borderline: The People V. Eunice Baker [FL 1135]
Six years ago, Eunice Baker, a borderline retarded woman, was left babysitting a three year old girl. A wire in the house short-circuited leading to the temperature in the child’s room soaring. The girl died of heat exhaustion. But despite clear evidence the death was accidental, Eunice was arrested for pre-mediated murder. This personal and compelling film follows her trial. It’s a case that raises fundamental questions about the treatment of mentally handicapped people in the US legal system. Slawomir Grunberg, United States, 2005, English, 77 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBoris Godunov / Борис Годунов [FL 213]
Historical costume film, adaptation of Pushkin's poem "Boris Godunov". The director, Sergei Bondarchuk, himself plays the title role, the Russian boyar who murdered the son and heir of Ivan the Terrible, the boy Dimitri, and usurped the throne. But Czar Boris suffers from the knowledge of his deeds, and an ambitious young monk now claims to be the murdered child fully grown -- he's called the False Dimitri -- and has raised an army in Poland to attack Boris. Sergei Bondarchuk, Soviet Union, 1986, Russian, 141 min, fiction film, VHSBoris I / Борис Първи [FL 41]
Prince Boris I ruled Bulgaria in the late 9th century: the film is a hagiographic account of his life. In his youth, he suffered military defeats, but succeeded in keeping the territorial integrity of the country by seeking peace with the Slavic neighbors. During his reign, Bulgaria breaks with paganism and joins the Christian community, albeit paying a heavy death toll. When one of his sons wants to return to paganism, Boris condemns and blinds him. Having unified and Christianized the country, as well as having secured a Cyrillic alphabet for the nation, Boris retires to a monastery and is later included in the pantheon of Bulgarian saints. Borislav Sharaliev, Bulgaria, 1984, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 148 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBorn Dead [FL 1085]
When juvenile delinquents are locked up in prison for years, they lose touch with the outside world and run the risk of getting used to being isolated from the outside world. An experimental program offered young men a possibility to do social work and thus empowered some to face challenging jobs. The filmmaker presents a portrait of a recidivist prisoner who starts working in a social care home for seriously handicapped children. Robert spent eight years in a penal institution. We observe the 24-year-old protagonist for several months turning from a bored prisoner to an experienced social worker. Yet for others the program created a chance to escape. The two runaways make the prison authorities question the meaning of the program. Jacek Blawut, Poland, Polish, documentary film, DVD-ROMBorn with the century / Родени с века [FL 536]
The film follows the life histories of dozen Bulgarian men and women from various backgrounds and life occupations, born in 1900. Starting with stories from their childhood, deeply imprinted in their consciousness, their lives unfold through their young years of education and emigration for some, their love and marriage, work in factories and in the fields. The film reveals curious details that bring the flavour of town and countryside life at the turn of the century. The memories of the personal past involves the backdrop of majour historical events – the Balkan wars and the WWI figuring prominently in everyones’ memories, the emigration tides to Argentina, Nazi parades in Berlin and the segregation of Jews, the encolvement of youth in the communist movement, the “fascist” actions in Bulgaria through the experience of a seasoned young lady communist and the far more detached account of a non-believer, the coming of Soviet troops, collectivization and the mass killings by the communists. The combination of the narration of personal events, photos from family albums and the well selected archival footage, displays the convergence of personal and historical time, as well as the different meaning that grand events have in people’s lives. Eldora Traikova, Bulgaria, 2000, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 58 min, DVD-ROMBosko Buha / Boško Buha [FL 477]
This children’s movie celebrates the youngest Yugoslavian communist revolutionary hero, pioneer and partisan Bosko Buha. This essentially propagandistic, but well crafted and sentimental movie is based on a allegedly true story about a group of children, barely teenagers, who joined the Yugoslav partisans after they lost their whole families in the Second World War. At the beginning of the movie, the partisans want to get rid of these children, regarding them as a burden which will only slow them down. Eventually though, they let them join combat ranks and fight shoulder to shoulder with the elders. Among these, stands out Bosko Buha, played by the first Yugoslav child movie star Slavko Štimac. Buha soon becomes a legend due to his extraordinary skill in destroying German, Ustasha and Chetnik bunkers with hand grenades. Though he behaves like a real war hero, at moments of rest his true childish nature comes to the surface. In the tragic moralistic end, after many battles and exhausting marches, Bosko gets killed, but there is no doubt that he died for a good cause. Branko Bauer, Yugoslavia, 1978, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: Slovenian, 117 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBota Shqipetare [FL 234]
Film about terror in Albania under communism.Albania, Albanian, 58 min, documentary film, VHSBoxing Ring, The / Ringul [FL 63]
The film is about the meeting of two boxers who are long-term adversaries. One of them, now a long-distance truck driver, is a former prisoner in a concentration camp, while the other, currently a semi-professional boxer, is a former SS officer. The two meet again at a boxing championship in a "capitalist" country and try to settle the score. The film concentrates on a psychological and physical conflict between a victim and a perpetrator and includes very violent fighting scenes. Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romania, 1985, Romanian, 70 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBoy turns man / Момчето си отива [FL 428]
The action centers on Ran and his schoolmates who are in the last year of school. Ran succeeds publishing an article in the local newspaper against the decision of the schoolmaster to get all boys cut their hair right before their graduation ball. Preparations for the graduation ball makes everyone excited, give a chance for the family to show off. While parents and children make plans for the future it is also the time of first love attempts. Ran is meeting three women to which he is attracted in a different way. His most burning affair sprinkled with comical situations is the silent infatuation he has with a saleswoman. He takes up an adventurous trip with a pop celebrity that comes to town, playing the tough guy on a motorbike. For the scope of the small town he lives in this turns into another embarrassing situation for young man. His schoolmate Mariana, whose wishful glances Ran never cared for at first, succeeds to display her feminine beauty on the morning after the ball. Lyudmil Kirkov, (n/a), 1971, 101 min, DVD-ROMBoy Who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan, The [FL 383]
In March 2001, the ruling Taliban destroyed the tallest stone statues in the world, the 'Buddhas of Bamiyan'. This film, shot over the course of a year, focuses on one of the refugees who now live among the ruins: an 8-year-old boy called Mir. Through Summer, Winter and Spring we follow Mir's life - the scrapes, the fun and the naughtiness - against the magnificent backdrop of Bamiyan and its ruined statues. His playground is the rubble and tunnels of the destroyed Buddhas, the shelled and burnt-out town bazaar, the orchard of the local militia. Through his eyes we see the destruction of the town, the ever-present militarization and the wary welcome given to the Americans. As Mir grows, the adults around him reveal what life has been like over the past two decades, when hundreds of thousands of children like Mir have been killed. Meanwhile, Mir hasn't got a clue about history but he knows how to have fun. Phil Grabsky, United Kingdom, 2003, Dari/Subtitles: English, 96 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBoy who rushed, The / Decko kojem se zurilo [FL 858]
An intimate story about a filmmaker searching for her brother gone missing in 1991 during the recent war in Croatia. The director’s brother, along with many other young soldiers, mysteriously disappeared in Vukovar. While searching for him, the director filmed the events and people she encountered. The film begins with a rather moving confession by the filmmaker about her psychological state, and about her family and native country, which were drawn into the nightmare of the war. In a quite humorous manner, she speaks about the history of Croatia in the previous century and refers to missing soldiers who represented every generation in her family. In a way, it is a "sequel" to her grandmother's story: her husband was killed in World War II, but all her life she's been waiting for him. Biljana Cakic-Veselic, Croatia, 2001, Croatian, 53 min, art documentary, VHSBreak Up the Dance / Rozbijemy zabawe [FL 1731] Roman Polański, Poland, 1957, Polish, 8 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
Brezhnev / Брежнев [FL 993]
This historical drama tells of the last days of Leonid Iliich Brezhnev, the Secretary General of the USSR. Knowing he doesn’t have long to live, Leonid Iliich tries to take pleasure in his final hours – spending time with his wife, going hunting, conversing with his associates. . . but the hours bring him more memories than pleasures, and all the most amazing events in his life come back to him – his conspiracy against his mentor Krushchev, his struggle to get to the top, and the difficult decisions he had to make while in power. While awake, he is recalling his life and his career. Most depressing are his painful thoughts about his treason against Khrushchev, who promoted Brezhnev to the top. Other senile members of the Politbureau are nervous about the choice of a successor. Sergei Snezhkin, Russia, 2005, Russian, 208 min, documentary film, VHSBride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan [FL 1]
In Kyrgyzstan, it is not unusual for a girl to go to school in the morning without a care in the world, but to end up a bride in a family of strangers by nightfall. In Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, men abduct a bride if they are not rich enough to pay a dowry. The kidnapping is often discussed beforehand in the potential groom's family: who has a car available, what the girl should be able to do, and where she will live. After the abduction, the new in-laws inform the girl’s parents, who often accept the “proposal.” Kidnapping a bride is common practice. “We have all been abducted,” a women tell a freshly kidnapped girl who reluctantly stands in a corner. Director Petr Lom films the brides, the grooms and the in-laws, and tells the story from this remote country in five chapters. Petr Lom, Canada, 2004, Kyrgyz/Subtitles: English, 51 min, documentary film, VHSBrides of Allah / Sahida [FL 1528]
A poignant chronicle of the lives of women serving time in prison for involvement in terrorist attacks in Israel. Filmed over the course of two years, the film strives to uncover the motivations behind the actions of these women. We share their daily prison lives, giving birth, meeting families, attending classes, and gossiping about clothes. One woman coyly describes wanting to blow up a hospital which treated her for severe burns following a kitchen accident, even though the Israeli doctors were kind. Another cuddles her son and says she wanted to destroy an Israeli kindergarten. Yet another, a mother of five, is serving three life terms for transporting male suicide bomber, who is told killed pregnant women but shows no signs of retraction. We hear of religious ideology, but also of discrimination and despair in the world these women come from. A journey into the world where the greatest cruelty lurks beneath the most striking beauty, where a lullaby whispered lovingly in a baby's ear echoes with the sting of hatred, and where compassion and cold blooded disdain live together behind the same penetrating eyes. A moving film full of contradictions. Natalie Assouline, Israel, 2008, Hebrew, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 76 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBridge at the End of the World, A [FL 1367]
Once upon a time youth had dreams and ideals for a better future, and in Turkey in order to practice their ideals they built a bridge over the Zap River in a Kurdish city called Hakkari as a creative symbol of rebellion to protest against the big investments made in the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul. Bahriye Kabadayi, Turkey, Turkish, Kurdish/Subtitles: English, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBridge Over the Wadi / Gesher Al Ha'wadi [FL 1215]
In 2004, Arab and Israeli parents embarked on a joint initiative to establish a bilingual elementary school in Kara, a village in Israel's Wadi Valley. Fierce debates preceded the opening of the school. Although the initiative was idealistic and noble, the reality was that parents still had some major hurdles to overcome. In addition, they were forced to defend their decision in the face of opponents and skeptics. The school, which is called Bridge over the Wadi, has places for 50 Jewish and 50 Arab students, but is located in the Arab part of the valley. The filmmakers observe how students, faculty and parents struggle to coexist peacefully during the first exciting year. Teachers spend a great deal of time teaching mutual respect, and they arrange field trips to the mosque and the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Some parents feel reciprocal integration is going too far when students are asked to participate in each other's religious festivities. An Arab teacher has more and more difficulty in meeting the demands of parents. Yet by the end of the year, it appears that they have succeeded in laying the foundations, however shaky and unpredictable they may be. In 2005, twice as many students signed up to attend the school. Barak Heymann & Tomer Heymann, Israel, 2006, Hebrew, English/Subtitles: English, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBridge, The / Most [FL 842]
Film about the delicate issues of ethnic relations in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina, told through the story of two young inhabitants of a divided town of Mostar. They create an alternative artistic workshop bearing the name "Young Bridge" that, through its activities, attempts to perform a share of the work required for the re-harmonizaton of life in the war-traumatized town of Mostar. Maja Zrnic, Croatia, 2001, Croatian, 33 min, art documentary, VHSBridging Minds / Die Brücke der Verständigung [FL 1435]
recounts the difficulties in the making of Helmut Käutner’s Die Letzte Brücke (The Last Bridge) (1954), an Austrian-Yugoslav-West German coproduction under the aegis of Columbia Pictures that received a special award at Cannes together with an honorable mention to actress Maria Schell for her remarkable performance. The insightful interviews alone with many professionals associated with that milestone production – save for the late Helmut Käutner (1908-1980) and Maria Schell (1926-2005) – make Knezevic’s Bridging Minds must viewing by the committed cineaste. Srdan Knezevic, (n/a), 2007, German/Subtitles: English, 105 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBrief Encounters (aka Short Encounters) / Короткие встречи [FL 229]
Nadja, a country girl, moves to the city and becomes Valya's maid. Valya, a member of the District Soviet, does not know that Nadja fell in love with Valya's currently absent husband, a geologist, when he was at her village on a recent expedition. Kira Muratova, Soviet Union, 1967, Russian, 96 min, fiction film, VHSBrigade Blues / Brigád Blues [FL 1639]
A documentary about a socialist brigade that aided orphans as voluntary social work. The brigade members and orphans talk about the apparatus of compulsory charity. Bela Kortesi, Hungary, 2005, Hungarian, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBrother of a hero / Брат героя [FL 1001]
A children's story about a school boy whose brother is attempting to break a world record at flying a plane. The heroism of the elder borther is matched on the ground by the younger one, who as he is developing, also manages to change all the other children around him, becoming a role model for the entire school. Mark Donskoy, Soviet Union, 1940, Russian, 67 min, fiction film, VHSBrothers by Blood / Ahim Ba'dam [FL 1182]
Two brothers to the Adaki household, Ehud and Zamir, both in their early 70's, live on two separate sides of the world; one in Israel and the other in the United States.They were both born and raised in Israel and survived by their parents, Mazal Melamed, a Jerusalem-born teacher, and Yehiel Adaki, a prominent Yemenite cantor who was recognized for his radio broadcasts on "Kol Yerushalayim" (Jerusalem Voice radio) in the 1940's. Rivalry had existed between the two brothers since early childhood. As a result in later years, the two brothers found themselves in a conflict which instigated after their father's death; the issue over inheritance, which till this day hasn't been resolved. manara Nivram, Israel, 2005, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBrunet Will Call / Brunet wieczorowa pora [FL 789]
A satirical comedy and a parody of English crime stories. Michał - a modest editor, has got rid of his wife and kids for the weekend and is trying to relax in his house on the outskirts of Warsaw. His quiet evening is only disturbed by the chance prediction made by a Gypsy woman, that the same evening he will murder a mysterious "brunet". At first he does not take this seriously, but when all the predictions made by the woman start coming true – he finds a lost watch, lottery numbers she gave were drawn. Michał leaves the house, hoping to escape his grim destiny, but soon a body is found there. All the evidence points to Michał as the murderer. Together with a friend, Michał sets up a trap for the real murderer. Soon it turns out who the Gypsy woman really was… Stanisław Bareja, Poland, 1976, Polish/Subtitles: English, Polish, 90 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBudapest Retro: Genres from 60's and 70's, Part 1 / Budapest retró: Életképek a 60-as, 70-es évekből [FL 333]
Archival footage of everyday life across two decades of recent Hungarian history. Gábor Zsigmond Papp, Hungary, 2003, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 80 min, DVD-ROMBudapest Retro: Genres from 60's and 70's, Part 2 / Budapest retró: Életképek a 60-as, 70-es évekből [FL 334]
Archival footage of everyday life across two decades of recent Hungarian history. Gábor Zsigmond Papp, Hungary, 2003, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 80 min, VHSBuddha's Lost Children [FL 1240]
In the borderlands of Thailand's Golden Triangle, a rugged region known for its drug smuggling and impoverished hill tribes, a former Thai boxer turned Buddhist monk, Phra Khru Bah Neua Chai Kositto (aka the Tiger Monk), travels widely on horseback, fearlessly dispensing prayers, health care and education to villagers and recruiting novice monks for his monastery, The Golden Horse Temple. Once there, young boys undertake a program of kick-boxing, religious practice and horse rearing designed to teach them empathy on their path to enlightenment. Through the boys’ personal stories, the intriguing and controversial character of Phra Khru Bah is explored. His personal cult status within the local community explains only some of his success. Guided by the teachings of the Buddha, the monk reveals his soul-searching journey for truth. A warm reminder that compassion is not lost in this world. Mark Verkerk, Netherlands, 2006, Thai, 97 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBuilding Security [FL 926]
Film about a peace camp created mainly by Israeli and Palestinians peace-activists, but also by people of other nationalities, as a form of protest against the building of the Security Wall. The main argument is that this wall works against peace and security and it will also produce more impovrished and frustrated people, as it breaches their lands and their means of communication and of living. Their immediate aim is to save the land and house of a Palestinian family. The director makes a direct comparison with the Berlin Wall, anticipating similar negative, destructive effects with the one built by the state of Israel. Olof Sjolund, Sweden, 2004, 35 min, documentary film, VHSBulb and the Flower, The / A lampada e a flor [FL 796] Pablo Ferreira, Brazil, 2003, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 17 min, short film, DVD-ROM
Burial Ceremony of Stalin / Похороны Сталина [FL 361]
Final tribute to the "Great Leader of Nations". General mourning. Funeral ceremony, Red Square, Moscow. Endless rows of Moscow people, representatives of various Soviet Republics and towns, countries from all over the world on the day of the funeral, March 9, 1953. On the top of the Mausoleum: Viacheslav Molotov, Kliment Vorosilov, Georgii Malenkov, Nikita Khruschev, Lavrentyii Beria. Funeral orations. Laying of the coffin in the Lenin Mausoleum. Closing event: military parade on Red Square, Moscow.Soviet Union, 1953, Russian, 72 min, propaganda film, DVD-ROMBurial of a Potato, The / Pogrzeb kartofla [FL 728]
Set in 1946, the film tells the story of a Polish villager returning home after years in a concentration camp. Mateusz is an old-timer, a saddler, who finds nothing but hostility when he makes it home after years away. He is not a Jew, though the villagers brand him one and give him a hard time. They have already taken his property; now they feel guilty about the death of his son at the end of the war, and do not want the father around. In the background we see the beginning of the communist takeover in Poland, but this is not the major focus of the film. Rather, it is Mateusz's struggle to fit in. Kolski, pace national-Catholic literature and film, presents the villagers as superficially religious brutal antisemites. Jan Jakub Kolski, Poland, 1990, Polish, 96 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMBurma VJ - Reporting from a Closed Country [FL 1688]
The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) consists of a group of about 30 Burmese reporters who secretly film the abuses taking place in their country. The footage is then smuggled across the border and broadcast via satellite from the headquarters in Oslo. These are the images that could be seen across the globe when a revolution was about to erupt in the late summer of 2007. Led by Buddhist monks, more than 100,000 people took to the streets to march peacefully against the military dictatorship that has held the country in an iron grip for 40 years. Burma VJ - Reporting From a Closed Country was compiled almost exclusively from footage shot by DVB reporters. One of them supplies the voice-over. From his hiding place in Thailand, he uses the telephone or Internet to stay in touch with colleagues who report on the uprising: shaky hand-held images of emergency deliberations by protesters, of the crowd being dispersed, of monks and civilians getting knocked down. Their cameras hidden in bags or clenched under their armpits, the DVB reporters risk their lives to take the viewer right into the heat of the turmoil. Anders Østergaard, Denmark, 2008, Burmese/Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBushamn's Secret [FL 1346]
When South African filmmaker Rehad Desai travels to the Kalahari to investigate global interest in ancient Bushmen knowledge, he meets Jan van der Westhuizen, a fascinating Khomani San traditional healer. Jan’s struggle to live close to nature is hampered by centuries of colonial exploitation of the San Bushmen and of their land. Unable to survive as they once did hunting and gathering, the Khomani now live in a state of poverty that threatens to see the last of this community forever. One plant could make all the difference. Hoodia, a cactus used by Bushmen for centuries to suppress appetite, has caught the attention of a giant pharmaceutical company as a weight-loss option for westerners. It now stands to decide the fate of the Khomani San. Bushman’s Secret features breathtaking footage of the Kalahari landscape, and exposes us to a world where modernity collides with ancient ways, at a time when each has, strangely, come to rely on the other. Rehad Desai, (n/a), 2006, Afrikaans, English/Subtitles: English, 65 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBut the Hour Is Near / Bet stunda nak [FL 656]
The film applies methods commonly used with actors to real people and the world at large. The main characters Erik and Daniel are out on the streets of Riga preaching the Gospel and their understanding of the modern Christian lifestyle. Although friends, they assume radically different idealist and materialist views. The film is a grotesque and simultaneously real story about people who are trying to reconcile fanatical faith with worldly desires in the face of the demands of life in the rat race. “But the Hour is Near” (2004) focuses on contemporary human confusion, phobias and the search for God. The film sparked a lively public debate; fast becoming the most talked about Latvian documentary film of the year. It was awarded the prize of best Latvian documentary at the National film festival ‘Lielais Kristaps’. Juris Poskus, Latvia, 2003, Latvian/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBut We are Strong [FL 1300]
The film tells the stories of five young women who survived Sierra Leone’s civil war. This documentary series highlights these young women’s strength and their resilience to the horror and atrocities that took place in their home. Sarah Wishart & Jeni Lee, Australia, 2006, /Subtitles: English, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBy the Blue Sea / У самого синего моря [FL 830]
Filmed in glowing sunshine, spaced by a menacing storm, "By the Blue Sea" is about two shipwrecked sailors, Yussuf and Aliosha, cast away on an island in the Caspian Sea. They start working as sailor and mechanic for the fishing boats of the "Lights of Communism" fishing kolkhoz. Here the two friends will fall in love with lanky blond Misha, chair-lady of the board. She, however, remains faithful to her sailor fiancé who is away battling the nation's maritime enemies. Boris Barnet, Soviet Union, 1935, Russian, 70 min, fiction film, VHSByzantine Blue / Vizantijsko plavo [FL 561]
This enigmatic artsy movie is a not very successful attempt at a screen adaptation of several different short stories by Serbian writer Milorad Pavić, internationally acclaimed author of “The Dictionary of the Khazars.” In its basics, it is a genuine if strange love story between two completely different people. She is in her twenties, a funny, playful and beautiful girl who makes hasty decisions and is a bit cynical about men. She also studies mathematics and is skilful with her computer where she stores her intimate thoughts, though this “emotional relationship” only shows her loneliness. Following a trail of blue dust the girl meets an unusual man and soon a bizarre intellectual and carnal romance develops between the two. He is older then her and always had to work hard and thus accepts that sometimes things slip from his hands, although he has talent, intelligence and hidden energy. Recently, he broke with his past and now searches obsessively for the fourth, secret element of the “Byzantine blue”, that special nuance of blue used by medieval Byzantine icon painters. It turns out at the end that he was searching for the formula of eternity. Dragan Marinković, Yugoslavia, 1993, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 88 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMCabal in Kabul / Cabale A Kaboul [FL 1231]
Isaac Levy and Zebulon Simantov are the two last Jews in Kabul. They hate each other with a vengeance and haven't spoken to each other in ten years. The elderly Isaac lives on the ground floor and makes a living by selling amulets to his Muslim neighbors. Middle-aged Zebulon lives on the top floor and haggles with the same Afghans over his illegally produced wine. There is no love lost between them; the two Jews systematically abuse and insult each other at every turn. Isaac is happy to divulge the fact that Zebulon collaborated with the Taliban and bribed them with favors. Zebulon, for his part, claims that Isaac converted to Islam; why else would he be called “Mollah Isaac?” Friends with both men, the director acts as double agent, bouncing between the two rivals, collaborating, refusing to judge yet emphatically exposing the smallest Jewish community on earth. Dan Alexe, Belgium, 2006, Hebrew, Farsi, Eastern/Subtitles: English, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCage, The [FL 911]
The documentary which reflects the real life stories of Palestinian civilians who have lost their land, their ability to move freely and their access to resources as a result of the construction of what the director call the "Colonial Wall" being built by Israel within the Palestinian territories. The historical narrative behind this documentary should be taken with a grain of salt, as it is highly biased despite its matter of fact presentation. Omar Nazzal, (n/a), 2006, Arabic, 27 min, documentary film, VHSCall of God, The / O chamado de Deus [FL 1257]
Six young people with vocations for the religious service reveal how they decided to dedicate their lives to the church. The film is a portrayal of the Brazilian Catholic Church at this turn of the century, in the lives of these six young people. The Catholic Renewal Movement, led by Father Marcelo Rossi (interviewed by the filmmaker), has sharply divided church opinions. Jose Joffily, Brazil, 2000, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCalling the Ghosts / Prozivanje Duhove [FL 701]
Jadranka Cigelj and Nusreta Sivac, childhood friends and legal professionals, enjoyed lives of "ordinary modern women" in Bosnia-Herzegovina, until they were put into a concentration camp, and raped and tortured by their neighbors. This powerful and sensitive film, chronicles the remarkable transformation of these women as their personal struggle for survival evolves into a larger fight for peace and justice. They formulate a mission--to put rape into the international lexicon of war crimes. Their success can be judged by the fact that their very torturers now stand indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal. "Calling the Ghosts" reaches beyond the anonymous "victim" compelling viewers to personalize women's stories and embrace a sense of universal humanity. Mandy Jacobson, Karmen Jelincic, Croatia, 1996, English, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: English, 63 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCamouflage / Ziemia obiecana [FL 102]
A group of students at a university summer science camp are drawn into an incredible quagmire of conflicts, ranging from the relatively simple conflict between an engaging and forthright young teacher and his manipulative older colleague, to a contest pitting political correctness against free scientific inquiry. Krzysztof Zanussi, Poland, 1977, Polish/Subtitles: English, 106 min, fiction film, VHSCampaign! The Kawasaki Candidate / Senkyo [FL 1533]
In the fall of 2005, 40-year-old, self-employed Kazuhiko “Yama-san” Yamauchi’s peaceful, humdrum life was turned upside-down when Liberal Democratic Party selects him at the last minute as its official candidate for a place on the Kawasaki city council. With zero experience in politics and without the support of voters, Yamauchi has one week to prepare for an election critical to the future of the party and his own life. He visits social events, meetings with pensioners, bus stations and stops, shaking hands with all he meets. Can a candidate without either political experience or charisma win in elections? The film presents a humorous view of political strategy, values and tradition in contemporary Japanese society. Kazuhiro Soda, Japan, 2007, Japanese/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCantata / Oldás és kötés [FL 1485]
A young surgeon, Ambrus Jámbor, from a peasant background, who earned his university degree in the early communist times undergoes a spiritual crisis when professor Ádámfy, one of the “old intellectuals to be replaced” carries out an extremely difficult heart operation proving that he is very good in his profession and is a strong humanist personality. Young Jámbor goes back to his village and tries to take heart from his father’s faith, humanity and responsibility. This is Jancsó’s most antonionian film. Miklós Jancsó, Hungary, 1963, Hungarian, 107 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMCaptain's Daughter, The / Русский бунт [FL 160]
Historic epic drawn from two of Alexandr Pushkin's most beloved works, The Captain's Daughter and A History of Pugachev. The film opens with young cadet Pyotr Grinyov leaving for his remote encampment after Empress Catherine II has her husband Peter killed. On the rookie soldier's journey, he lends his fur coat to runaway Emelian Pugachev, who soon believes that young Pyotr is in fact Tsar Peter III. Later, at the fortress, Pyotr finds himself competing with his fellow soldiers for the attention of Masha, the gorgeous daughter of the fort's commanding officer, while Pugachev masses rebel forces against the fort. Alexandr Proshkin, Russia, 2000, Russian, 129 min, fiction film, VHSCarla's List / La liste de Carla [FL 1224]
Filmmaker Marcel Schüpbach was given unprecedented access behind the scenes at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. In an atmosphere of high tension, prosecutor Carla Del Ponte and her team relentlessly pursue Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić, notorious perpetrators of crimes against humanity. Both Serbia and Croatia — as well as the international community —pledge total cooperation in helping to locate the suspects, but this does not seem to produce any concrete results. And time is running out: in September 2007, Del Ponte’s appointment as prosecutor ends. Moving between The Hague, New York, Zagreb, and Washington, Carla’s List vividly brings to life Del Ponte’s dogged race against the clock in pursuit of justice. Marcel Schüpbach, Switzerland, 2006, French/Subtitles: English, 101 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCarmen Meets Borat [FL 1690]
17-year-old Carmen lives in a gypsy village in Romania, where the men spend their days tying one on and exchanging coarse words in her father's bar. In the evenings, she watches a Spanish soap opera and dreams of a better life in Spain, where the men are romantic and decent. Her plan to emigrate falls to pieces when an American film crew descends on her village to shoot Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. The villagers don't understand a single word of English and laugh in good faith for the camera. This footage is later presented in Borat as the supposedly Kazakh home village of the protagonist, with local inhabitants featuring as primitive caricatures. Carmen's grandfather poses for the camera with a welding apparatus and is presented as an abortion expert. A woman Borat embraces is introduced as his sister and one of the best whores in Kazakhstan. When the film is released, the world press throws itself on the village and jealousy and suspicion triumph. The chaos is made complete when an American lawyer holds out the prospect of a $30 million insurance claim to the villagers. Enchanted by the financial prospects, the villagers – among them Carmen’s father - set out on a world odyssey in search of the offender. Meanwhile, Carmen’s life is taking an unexpected turn. Mercedes Stalenhoef, Netherlands, 2008, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCartola- The Samba Legend / Cartola [FL 1149]
Cartola—The Samba Legend, about one of the most important composers of Brazilian music, is a history of samba and its relation to capoeira (a Brazilian martial art/dance), the Olympia bar scene in Rio de Janeiro, the favelas, and the formation of the famous Samba Schools. Using recreated scenes; reminiscences of musicians and people who knew Cartola; early footage of Cartola playing, performing, and composing; and fabulous found footage of early carnivals and parades, the film fashions a love letter to the city of Rio and a powerful reflection on the construction of national memory and identity. Lirio Ferreira and Hilton Lacerda, Brazil, 2006, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCartoneros [FL 1281]
Cartoneros is a documentary committed to expose the way in which thousands of unemployed workers come daily into the city of Buenos Aires in order to sort and classify the garbage that neighbors leave behind every evening on their doorsteps. The movie, which took two years to film, shows the process of sorting and selling the trash collected by cartoneros that work independently as well as by those who have created coops in order to protect themselves from abusive middle management. The documentary follows the trash through the whole process: from the neighborhood’s sidewalk all the way to the paper mill. Among the many stages of garbage the film also offers a reflection on the relation between garbage and art. Ernesto Livon-Grosman, Argentina, 2006, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCastells [FL 1218]
Castells are human towers, traditionally built as part of large competitive events in various Catalan communities. These human pyramids are made up of hundreds of people and reach a height of up to ten meters. In fierce competitions the different groups measure their prowess in narrow market-places and demonstrate how perfectly their small communities are holding together. This poetic film follows the fortunes of the Colla Joves team, from the small town of Valls near Tarragona. Driven by their rivalry with the other group from the town, they struggle for victory in the final derby. But their high hopes seem to be endangered by a terrified five-year-old, the tip of the pyramid. Gereon Wetzel, Germany, 2006, Catalan, Catalan/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCeausescu Trial [FL 232]
Television broadcast of the trial and execution of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu.Romania, 1989, Romanian, 41 min, political program, VHSCeausescu's Trial and Execution / A Ceausescu - per és temetés [FL 327]
Hungarian TV program "Panorama" on the trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu.Hungary, 1989, Hungarian, 83 min, VHSCemetery Club / Mo'adon beit ha'kvarot [FL 1216]
Poignant, intimate, at times hilarious, this documentary chronicles a social club of elderly, opinionated Polish-born Jerusalemites who meet every Sabbath to eat and discuss matters simple and sublime at the Mount Herzl National Cemetery, burial place of Israel’s leaders. Bossy 80-year-old Lena, a lawyer and judge, and her 85-year-old sister-in-law, mild-mannered Minia, a laborer, have known each other since their girlhood in Lodz. Both Holocaust survivors, they share a history and numerous family secrets, but hold different values. Bound together by fate, they have an intense, often quarrelsome relationship. They are also, respectively, the great-aunt and grandmother of filmmaker Tali Shemesh. More than 20 years ago, Lena was among the founders of “The Academy of Mount Herzl, ”a group whose goal is to “dissipate loneliness in the Golden Years, draw people together and offer mutual aid.” The group’s charter states that meetings will take place even if the number of members diminishes. Sadly, during the five years that Shemesh followed the group, a number of them did die, and eventually ill health forced those who remained to move the meetings to a protected housing project in Jerusalem. Tali Shemesh, Israel, 2006, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCenter, The / Die Mitte [FL 973]
The stated goal of Polish director Stanistaw Mucha is to ascertain the precise middle point of an ever expanding Europe. Though we do indeed get to see our share of maps and markers, produced by many a concerned EU citizen, Mr. Mucha is not interested in geography so much as a kind of anthropology. His intriguing premise is but an excuse to allow he and his film crew to film a real-life human comedy, gallivanting about Germany and everything East, visiting villages with plaques, countrysides with monuments, and townspeople with legends to sell, all proclaiming that the center lies HERE! The joy to be found here lies in its unique status as a road movie without a narrative trajectory, without an ending or completion. It is a celebration of the myriad faces the camera collects and their hopes, illusions, and good-humored resolve in the face of their sometimes tenuous everyday existence. That this journey takes the film crew as far East as Ukraine should speak volumes of not only the uncertain legacy left by the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but the even more uncertain one beginning in the era of the European Union. Stanislaw Mucha, Germany, 2004, /Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCertified: no mines (aka Provereno nema mina) / Проверено - мин нет [FL 187]
1944, Belgrade has been liberated, the fascist troops have withdrawn, but before leaving thay decided to blow up the city. The people are unaware of the new dangers. The soldiers are searching the city carefully yet deep under the surface, the whole drainage sytem is stuffed with mines. A group of Soviet and Yugoslav soldiers manage to prevent the explosion. Zdravko Velimirović, Yurii Lysenko, Yugoslavia, 1965, Serbo-Croatian/Voice-over: Russian, 80 min, fiction film, VHSChance, A / Az esély [FL 1242]
”I had a bit of a cold, and all of a sudden I fell off the bed, paralyzed. I'd had a stroke... When I recovered months later, I was fired from my job”, says forty-year-old Kata, the most cheerful member of the group. The others – also participants in the reintegration project run by the Pécs-based company UWYTA – face cancer, post-cancer recovery, mental problems or simply ”socialization disadvantages”. After the change of the political regime in Hungary hundreds of workplaces were closed down, and many people working in heavy industry or mining were made redundant. They haven’t been able to find a new job since. Our documentary focuses on a European Union-financed project launched in autumn 2006 under the name ‘Social Change = Chance’. It follows those who joined, their hopes, the program’s daily activities, its difficult and more successful moments. But in the end the project itself is threatened... Klára Trencsényi, Hungary, 2007, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChang: A Drama of the Wilderness [FL 1317]
Before they dreamed up that oversized ape, King Kong's creators filmed this magical story of a Thai family's struggle to survive the forces of nature. Shot entirely in Siam, the film tells the story of a farmer and his family who have settled a small patch of land on the edge of the jungle. Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, United States, 1927, (silent), 67 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMChap XV:12 / Cap XV:12 [FL 1185]
John 15:12 "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you." This is a documentary about a woman, who happens to be a prostitute, opening her heart. She never charges a dime for it. Despite all the different worlds co-existing in society, the social barriers and the economical boundaries, there are some characteristics in the human condition that brings us together: our emotional needs. All humans organized their communities in families structured by the intensity and closeness of feeling, resemblance of ideals, cultural identity or by dependence. Undressed of our professional duties and hierarchical status, behind the human circus where people exhibit the most bizarre aspects of personality and sometimes are forced to be someone there are not, we are all part of a family and we all have a preferred color. Undress we are only heart. What?s your preferred color? Fernando Pinheiro, Brazil, 2006, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 13 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChapayev / Чапаев [FL 226]
The film is based on the life story of the Bolshevik political commissar Furmanov, who fought alongside Chapayev during the Civil War in Russia (1918-1922). Vassilii Ivanovich Chapayev is a Red Army hero. This illiterate head of a cavalry unit is portrayed as a protector of the common folk and a brave soldier, a menace to the evil White Army. Georgii and Sergei Vasilievs, Soviet Union, 1934, Russian, 92 min, fiction film, VHSCheated, The / Prevareni [FL 1179]
In 1993 a family swapped a house in Zagreb for a house in Bosnia through verbal agreement. The house however was not what they had expected and returned to Zagreb in 1977 with the help of teh UNHCR. With their help the family took the case to legal grounds in hope of justice. Silvio Mirosnicenko, Croatia, 2006, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 29 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChechen Gambit / Чеченский гамбит [FL 450]
Reflexions on the first round of war in Chechnia. Contains extracts from interviews with soldiers and civilan population, bringing out the economic interests behind the war. The film also contains the images of destroyed towns in Chechnia and scenes of life of the soldiers drafted to serve in the army there. Sergei Bosenko, Russia, 2001, Russian/Subtitles: English, 39 min, documentary film, VHSCheckpoint / Makhsomim [FL 1044]
The West Bank and Gaza Strip have been under Israeli military authority since 1967. Over three million Palestinians live in a nation under Israeli occupation. When they want to move from one village or city to another, to visit relatives or doctors, or to go to work, they have to pass through Israeli checkpoints. After years of terrorist attacks, dozens of these heavily guarded checkpoints have been set up. From 2001 to 2003, director Yoav Shamir has filmed and created an incredibly honest and moving verité record of various occurrences at these checkpoints. This experiential film conveys a saddening series of encounters between the humiliated Palestinians and the heavily armed, often very young soldiers, who sometimes feel uneasy in their commanding roles. But these men are often self-assured, too, apparently taking pleasure in intimidating the Palestinians, having them wait for hours in the burning sun or pouring rain. The tension is palpable when a large group of Palestinian people ignores the order to return and collectively pass the roadblocks. The general impression is one of an endless situation, in which people on both sides are forced into positions that leave little room for human dignity. Yoav Shamir, Israel, 2003, Hebrew, English, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChekist / ЧЕКИСТ [FL 1005]
Srubov is a part of CHEKA, the secret police Lenin established after the Bolshevik Revolution. They arrest, interview for a minute, try in ten seconds, and execute intellectuals, aristocrats, Jews, clergy, and their families. In the building basement, five people at a time are shot as they stand naked facing wooden doors. No one to remember their last words; no martyrs, just anonymous bodies. Daily, the kangaroo court, the executions, the loading of bodies onto wagons. Srubov is cold, distant, sexually dysfunctional, and a deep thinker, hated by former friends and his family. As he tries to reason the nature of revolution and the purpose of CHEKA, he slowly goes mad. What makes this film especially potent is the matter-of-fact manner its protagonists go about their grisly duties. Director Alexandr Rogozhkin doesn’t embellish or sensationalize the film’s countless executions in any way, which makes them all the more unnerving to watch. Rogozhkin is less effective in presenting the characters’ lives outside the killing chamber, where they tend to speak in political slogans rather than dialogue. The film is at its most potent in scenes of undiluted horror, and the way Rogozhkin presents the grotesquerie is intriguing, beginning with cutaways and then gradually adding detail until, by mid-film, the shootings are graphically and relentlessly portrayed in a near-montage of remorseless slaughter. Aleksandr Rogozhkin, Russia, 1991, Russian, 60 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMChernobyl Heart [FL 502]
On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history occurred when a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, releasing 90 times the radioactivity of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Sixteen years later, award-winning filmmaker Maryann De Leo took her camera to ground zero, following the devastating trail radiation leaves behind in hospitals, orphanages, mental asylums and evacuated villages. Following Adi Roche, founder of Ireland's Chernobyl Children's Project, CHERNOBYL HEART opens in the exclusion zone, the most radioactive environment on earth. From there, Roche travels to Belarus, home to many of the children she seeks to aid. The film reveals those hardest hit by radiation, including thyroid cancer patients and children suffering from unfathomable congenital birth and heart defects. Despite the fact that 99% of Belarus is contaminated with radioactive material, many people refuse to leave their homes behind. Asked why he would not move, the father of a radiation victim replies, "To leave the motherland where you were born and raised, where your soul is connected to the earth - I would not want to. To move to a new place is difficult, especially in terms of a job in Belarus and abroad." Maryann De Leo, United States, 2004, Russian/Subtitles: English, documentary film, DVD-ROMChicken Ranch [FL 1247]
Documentary which looks at the luxury legalised brothel in Nevada called the Chicken Ranch, 70 miles from Las Vegas and the lives of the prostitutes who work there. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1983, English, 74 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren (Kosovo 2000) / Деца-Fëmijët (Kosovo 2000) [FL 704]
Kosovo in the spring of 2000. Winter is over but in a meteorological sense only. Ruins and pain. The marks of devastation in the sunny landscape. Wounds that never heal, the hesitating, vague gestures of a new beginning. Paradoxes. In black and white, with the broken images of memory imprints in color. Two words: деца and fëmijët, they mean children in Serb and Albanian. These expressions have no place in the irrational dicitionary of war. It is these children, though, who are the most defenceless victims of this war governed by mad hatred. Their suffering has become an indelible chapter of the chronicle at the end of the century, the dawn of the new millennium. Besarta, Violeta, Edmond and Valdrin, Miljana and Jelena are Albanian and Serb children, the film tells their story in black and white with colour Super8 images shot by the children themselves. Ferenc Moldoványi, Hungary, 2001, Albanian, Serbian/Subtitles: English, French, Hungarian, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren Are Our World [FL 1660]
Documentary film about Step By Step, an Open Society Institute funded educational program founded on modern pedagogical and development theories. Based on the principles of democracy, respecting differences, the right of each child to receive quality education this program emphasized the active involvement of families and the community in the education processes. Tom Downey, United States, 2003, English, 20 min, documentary film, VHSChildren in Exile: Recollections of Childhood in the Soviet Gulag [FL 1297]
In Children in Exile survivors of Soviet deportation to Siberia describe their experiences as the youngest victims of the massive crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Soviet system. It is a documentary about the youngest victims of the repressions carried out by the Soviet Union during the Second World War, the children and teenagers deported to Soviet Siberia and Kazakhstan. These abuses, part of a larger campaign of ethnic cleansing, have never been confronted. No one was put on trial, and no reparations have ever been paid. Americans need to know about these crimes against humanity because their shadow lingers over current events. Joseph Stalin infamously said that one death is a tragedy, but a million deaths are a statistic. The Soviet Secret Police deported millions, and somehow the world remains indifferent. Children in Exile hopes to challenge this indifference by filling in the human face to this terrible statistic and monumental tragedy. Chris Swider, United States, 2007, Russian/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren in the Shadow / Schattenkinder [FL 1207]
Many films have already attempted to portray what it is like to raise children with disabilities – from the parents’ perspective. But what is it like to grow up as the brother or sister of a disabled child? Always a slightly in the background, slightly in the shadow. This film pioneers this approach by presenting the lives of three "shadow" children. Three different children, three different stories with one common feature: their childhood spent in the shadow. Caroline Haertel, Mirjana Momirovic, Germany, 2006, German, 29 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren Kosovo 2000 / Деца-Fëmijët (Kosovo 2000) [FL 1069]
In the spring of 2000, Albanian children in Kosovska Mitrovica confess to the camera the deepest pain they have experienced in their short lives: being forced to witness their parents being brutally humiliated, tortured or killed. In some cases, children had to bury a parent themselves. The black-and-white photography, often shot with a hand-held and deliberately shaky camera, reveals the Apocalyptic reality of Kosovo: its devastated villages and half-destroyed houses, where some of the children are forced to live, seem to come straight from a futuristic horror movie. Now and then, color Super 8 images, filmed by the children themselves, since they are the only ones that can see their world as it really is, alternate with shots of the destroyed areas. Ferenc Moldoványi, Hungary, 2001, Albanian, Serbian/Subtitles: English, French, Hungarian, 90 min, DVD-ROMChildren of Congo: From War to Witches [FL 1470]
Over five million people have died during the past decade as a result of the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Few people are aware of the unimaginable scale of human suffering, death, and destruction that has occurred in this vast country deep in the heart of Africa. In the aftermath of this brutal war, children have endured the brunt of the suffering. This 67 minute film documents the plight of thousands of street children living in Kinshasa and confirms the wide-spread accusations of child witchcraft, torture and child prostitution. The film also examines the efforts to reintegrate demobilized child soldiers, displaced refugees, and orphaned children following the eruption of the massive Nyiragongo volcano, near the city of Goma in Eastern Congo. These heroic efforts are finally bringing some measure of hope and stability to the lives of the Congolese people. Dan Balluff, United States, 2008, English, English, 67 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren of Leningradsky, The / Dzieci z Leningradzkiego [FL 1017]
An intimate and heartbreaking chronicle of a few days in the life of a group of homeless children aged from 8 to 14, living in Leningradsky Railway Station. They spend their days begging, playing, sniffing glue, drinking vodka, and missing their mothers. They’ve been beaten, abandoned, used, and discarded by drug-addicted or alcoholic parents, abusive passerbys and inhuman policemen. Many will never live to see their 15th birthdays. The camera descends into the children’s murky underground dwellings or slyly captures a policeman viciously pouring glue over a young boy’s head. The scenes in this raw, verité documentary combine footage of the children and of the Moscow authorities, who prefer to ignore or suppress the problem. This remarkably honest, compelling journey into the hidden world of Moscow’s homeless children was nominated for an Academy Award in Best Documentary Short Subject in 2004. Hanna Polak, Andrzej Celinski, Poland, 2004, Russian/Subtitles: English, 35 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren of the Golden Horse [FL 1265]
Ten-year old Jattae is a so-called "Hilltriber", one of over 100,000 members of ethnic minorities currently settled in the mountains of North Thailand. Under Thai law these nomadic peoples do not have citizenship, and are prevented from farming using their traditional methods. Consequently most, like Jattae, live in poverty, with many turning to drugs and prostitution. An invitation to join a Buddhist Temple offers Jattae a chance to escape such a fate Claudia Pelz, Italy, 2007, German/Subtitles: English, 29 min, DVD-ROMChildren of the Prophet / Kinder des Propheten [FL 1214]
The film follows four protagonists in Tehran during the Shiite mourning rituals of Ashura, commemorating the death of Imam Hossein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad. All over Tehran and other Iranian cities people relive Imam Hossein’s story with passion plays and processions carrying the Alam, heavy, ornate metal structures up to 20 meters wide. The director looks at the Moharram from the perspective of average citizens of Tehran. For non-orthodox youngsters, the ritual is mainly an opportunity to meet members of the opposite sex. A middle-aged woman and her female friends put their energy into the preparation of an enormous feast. Young religious men come closer to each other during this major event, which ends with the Day of Ashura, known for its traditional flagellation ritual. A rare, intimate insight into Shiite beliefs as well as life in contemporary Iranian society caught between tradition and modernity. Sudabeh Mortezai, Austria, 2006, Persian/Subtitles: English, 86 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren Who Never Existed / Ninos que nunca existieron [FL 1280]
Somewhere in the world where blood is mixed with soil and childhood bears the name of a soldier. David Valero, Spain, 2007, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 20 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren. As Time Flies / Kinder. Wie die Zeit vergeht [FL 1544]
Children. As Time Flies is the third film in Thomas Heise’s “Jammed”- Trilogy about families from Halle-Neustadt, Germany. Now the director focuses on one family: Jeanette and her two sons Paul and Tommy, her parents and her youngest brother Tino. Everybody seems to have gone their own way: Jeanette has a daughter, a lasting relationship and a job as a bus driver, as she always wanted. Paul excels in school and football, unlike his brother Tommy, who fights his way through life and struggles to stay in school at all. He has severed all contact with his mother. Jeanette’s parents have moved to the countryside and rarely communicate with their daughter. With them lives Tino, who identifies himself as a Nazi but can’t talk to his father about it. Today’s footage is intercut with material from 1999 and creates a picture of speechlessness and stagnation. A social close-up of an ordinary family. Life as it flows. Thomas Heise, Germany, 2007, German/Subtitles: English, 86 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren's Palace [FL 369]
In the entrance hall of Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace there is a board inscribed with President Kim Il Sung's handwriting: "Children are the emperors of our country". Every surface in the lobby is covered with marble. In the center of the hall there is also a huge space shuttle. Mangyongdae Palace opened in May 1989. It stands at the end of Kwangbok Street, a 13-lane artery with no traffic lined with 42-storey high-rise apartment blocks. Children's Palace is a comprehensive center of after-school education for schoolchildren. The visit ends with a variety performance, where a children's choir sings: "We Are the Bodyguards and the Shock Brigades". Simojukka Ruippo, Jouni Hokkanen, Finland, 2002, (No dialogue), 3 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChimera of Heroes / La quimera de los heroes [FL 1473]
Portrait of a white rugby coach in Argentina's remote Formosa jungle, as he tries to build up a team composed of Toba tribesmen. The film follows his efforts to train them into a nationally recognised sporting team. Daniel Rosenfeld, Argentina, 2003, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 70 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChina Blue [FL 1118]
China Blue is a powerful and poignant journey into the harsh world of sweatshop workers. Shot clandestinely, this is a deep-access account of what both China and the international retailers don't want us to see: how the clothes we buy are actually made. Following a pair of denim jeans from birth to sale, China Blue links the power of the U.S. consumer market to the daily lives of a Chinese factory owner and two teenaged female factory workers. Filmed both in the factory and in the workers' faraway village, this documentary provides a rare, human glimpse at China's rapid transformation into a free market society. Micha X. Peled, United States, 2005, Chinese, Mandarin, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChris Welsby [FL 1329]
Chris Welsby is a landscape artist and pioneer of the moving-image installation in Britain, whose subtle meditations are exhibited in museums and galleries around the world. Featured on the DVD are works from different stages in his career, uniquely tracing his development as an artist, from his early critical responses to British structural filmmaking and Minimalism of the 1970s to his mature, contemplative landscape works of the 1980s and 1990s. The films are: Stream Line, Park Film,Windmill lll, Seven Days, Wind Vane, Sky Light, Drift, and River Yar (made with William Raban). Chris Welsby, United Kingdom, English, 161 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCinema on back, A [FL 923]
A documentary about a group fo three people who are travelling to isolated ares of China carrying the components of a movie theater, which they ar einstalling every time they stop in a place. However, their cinema is not the regular one, for these people also innovate with composition and setting in relation to the whole cinematographic experience. This si a warm film about dedicated people who in complete isolation achieve a very interesting level of cinematic performance.China, 1988, Chinese, Mandarin, 40 min, documentary film, VHSCine-Truth 13 (October Anniversary) / Киноправда 13 (Октябрьская) [FL 352]
Parade on Red Square, Trotsky's speech, German ambassador, Chicherin, other Soviet politicians on Red square, Red Army soldiers, demonstrations, speeches on Red square, military parade, scenes from the air - panorama over a city, scenes from the Civil War, 1918-1921. Trotsky, Budennyi at the front, Kolchak and the White Army detachments, funeral scenes, including Volodarskii's burial. Hunger scenes, starved children, dead bodies. Towns under the NEP, people reading Pravda, anniversary articles, demonstrations on the streets, physical exercises, mass gymnastics. Industrial scenes, parade on Red Square. Steel factory, other scenes of construction. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1922, 19 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCine-Truth 15 / Киноправда 15 [FL 352]
Map of the USSR, factory scenes, negotiations with Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Polish representatives in Moscow. Anti-clerical episode, the removal of icons from houses, mocking parade with priests and rabbis, "Atheist” posters , anti-religious demonstrations, pioneers and komsomol members, the opening of a monument to Herzen and Ogarev, komsomol 'Christmas', carnival, meeting on the anniversary of the revolution, parade on Red Square, soldiers in clubs, reading, plan for a monument to Timiriazev, Pokrovskii, Sosnovskii, and Timiriazev's son speaking at the meeting. Children in laboratory, children in theater. Monument to Herzen. Demonstrations on the streets, schoolchildren. Leaflets, hands pick up newspapers, people reading. Skiing scenes, hockey, sailors doing gymnastics. Warships, army detachments, soldiers skiing. Military parade on Red Square. Soldiers register. Intertitle "Danger of New War". Map of Germany, the map starts burning. German soldiers, cavalry. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1922, 15 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCine-Truth 20 / Киноправда 20 [FL 352]
Pioneers marching, the youngest pioneers of the factory, the leader of the pioneer unit speaks of excursions to a village and a zoo. Village scenes, fields, peasants working. Children on horses. Street scenes. Village cooperative. Posters advertising cooperative. People taking out goods from cooperative. Village entertainment, dancing, a man playing the harmonica. Excursion to the village: pioneers marching along the main street. A train is going, pans from the movement. Arrival in the station. Komsomol members cut wood for the villagers, pioneers help. Pioneers working in the fields, ploughing. Lunch. Reading newspapers and journals to the peasants. Excursion to a zoo. Pioneers marching, young biologists with animals. Elephant. Children. Kangaroo, Monkeys, other animals. Children are playing with animals. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1925, 12 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCine-Truth 21 (aka Lenin's Cine-Truth) / Киноправда 21 (Ленинская) [FL 352]
Worker from Lenin factory tells of the assassination attempt on Lenin. Memorial at the scene of the attempt. Gun with which Lenin was wounded. Lenin after the attempt. Scenes from the Civil War, map of 1919, Lenin's speeches from the time of the Civil War. Red Army detachments marching. Soldiers taking an oath. Lenin's speeches. Komintern session, Lenin's speech. Demonstrations in Central Asia, veiled women march, scenes of unveiling in front of the camera. Children marching. Soldiers, mass demonstrations, tractors ploughing the soil. Machines working. 1921, crisis, hunger, epidemics, Lenin's speeches. New Economic Policy, a fair in Nizhnii Novgorod. Machines in factories and in the fields. 1922-23, news about Lenin's health: temperature, pulse, breathing - presented with the help of animation. Announcement of Lenin's death on January 21, 1924. Lenin in the coffin, masses of people coming to the House of the Soviets for a farewell ceremony. Krupskaia, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Stalin, Kalinin, Rykov, Iaroslavskii, and other politicians around the coffin. Klara Zetkin, Carl Radek. Dzerzhinskii, Frunze, Stalin, Voroshilov, Budennyi. Orchestra, a group of soldiers, pioneers passing by the coffin. Crowds on the streets. Cartoon image of a capitalist happy about Lenin's death and crying at the sight of the growing number of Communist Party members. Street scenes, people waiting in line to enter the House of the Soviets. Workers who entered the party in 1924. Meeting at a factory, new party members are accepted. Delegates of 13th Party Congress go to the mausoleum on Red Square. Pioneers on Red Square. Village scenes: young pioneers distribute Lenin's portraits among village kids. Meeting of peasants and workers, who speak about the union of village and city. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1925, 25 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCine-Truth 22 (Lenin is alive in the peasant's heart) / Киноправда 22 (В сердце крестьянина Ленин жив) [FL 352]
Memorial meeting a year after Lenin’s death. Peasants giving speeches, manifestations on the streets, visits to Mausoleum. Krupskaia's speech. Peasant masses on the streets, on Red Square. Peasants arrive in Moscow, railway station, arriving peasants go to the dormitory. Canteen, lunch is served, people eating. A peasant woman giving a speech about the transformations in her village. Red square, soldiers visit the mausoleum. Changing of the guard. Peasant delegation visiting various sights of Moscow. Further meetings, Iaroslavskii talks. Other speeches, including some predicting colonial uprisings with scenes from various African countries and India. More meetings. Orchestra plays. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1925, 15 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCine-Truth 23 (aka Radio-Truth) / Киноправда 23 (Радиоправда) [FL 352]
Country landscape, local post-office, people pick up packages. Children rush to meet the newcomers to the village. Villagers cut down trees, take them back to the village. People make poles, set up antennas. Village children and adults watch with interest and curiosity. Cartoon explanation of principles of telegraph and radio transmission. A telegraph station at work. First radio transmissions, people with headphones listening to concerts and speeches. Children learn about the radio. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1925, 15 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCirca Oasis / Circa Oaza [FL 864]
A film about a house in the Croatian coastal town of Rovinj that is inhabited by people coming from five different nationalities all with different histories and political opinions. Using cinema verité Bozic reveals the conflicts that arise and how people from such vastly different backgrounds can learn to coexist and live the same roof. Tajana Bozic, Croatia, 1999, Croatian, 20 min, art documentary, VHSCircus, The / Цирк [FL 151]
A highly popular Soviet musical comedy. Marion Dixon is an American circus artiste, on tour with her German manager, von Kneischitz. When she falls in love with a Russian engineer, her manager tries to blackmail her by revealing that she has given birth to a child out of wedlock, and that the baby is black. His plot backfires when she finds happiness and acceptance among the Soviet people. Grigori Aleksandrov, Soviet Union, 1936, Russian, 89 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMCitizen Havel / Obcan Havel [FL 1514]
Subtitled Scenes from the Presidential Kitchen, the film takes us behind the scenes of the political and private dramas of Václav Havel's years as president. It captures the former dissident in a great variety of situations: both in political negotiations and in moments when he is not usually before the media, for instance cursing the stitching on a shirt. Among the truly unique events captured on film is Bill Clinton's State visit to the Czech Republic in January 1994, including the private part of the visit in the Reduta jazz club in Prague. Other events are the death of Havel's wife Olga and her funeral in January 1996, the celebration of his 60th birthday in the Archa Theatre, Prague, in October 1996, the forming of the new governments after the elections of 1996, 1998, and 2002, and the preparations for, and course of, the historic 2002 NATO Summit in Prague. We see Havel among friends and colleagues, with world and Czech politicians, even with the Rolling Stones. In the course of 13 years the crew has filmed 45 hours of images and recorded 90 hours of sound material. A truly unique look into events in a country’s transition to democracy. Pavel Koutecký & Miroslav Janek, Czech Republic, 2008, Czech/Subtitles: English, 120 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCitizen Piszczyk / Obywateł Piszcsyk [FL 674]
A sequel to "Zezowate Szczęście," although made by a different director and with different actors, spanning the period between 1952 and 1960. The hero is as zealous and as unlucky as ever. He is put in prison after being caught writing anti-socialist slogans on a toilet wall. In 1956 he is released, but finds it hard to adjust to the new reality. He meets youngsters – fascinated by his troubles and eager to know why he was imprisoned. Piszczyk avoids answering, but he falls in love with Renata, daughter of a party official. Thanks to Renata’s father’s connections, Piszczyk goes to a sea resort. He meets a writer there and tells him his life story. When he comes back to his room, an importunate woman awaits him. He resists, but Renata catches them in an unmistakable situation. Piszczyk find out that Renata is pregnant only after she has left him. He tries to win her back and gets a job to provide for the family. In 1956, during the student protests, he defends Renata during a riot, and gets arrested again. During the trial Renata abandons him; he gets a two year sentence. In 1960 he watches "Zezowate Szczęście" and feels betrayed – the writer to whom he told his story has grossly distorted it. Andrzej Kotkowski, Poland, 1989, Polish, 72 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMCity Killer / Grad Na Nisanu [FL 1285]
Gripping and alarming film, based on amateur footage of Vukovar. In an apocalyptic urban landscape, a sniper looks for prey. The battered walls of the city prove that violence is an everyday occurrence here. In his rush to leave town, the cameraman forgets to switch off his camera. Much to our relief, the disappearing city is replaced with a rural no man's land. The images are turned upside down. It's plain to see: all values are reversed here. Damir Cucic, Croatia, 2007, Croatian/Subtitles: English, documentary film, DVD-ROMCity of Men [FL 1299]
The story of men who work in the remote area of Asslooye in the south of Iran in petrochemical complexes and gas refineries. Saeid Shokrani, Iran, 2006, Persian, 24 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCity Zero / Город Зеро [FL 440]
An engineer in charge of the production line of a factory in Moscow is sent to a small town to try to specify the distributor the new dimensions of a mechanic part they need. But in this town everybody seems to be crazy: a secretary works naked, a group of people take the engineer as a rock & roll player, and, in addition, he becomes a witness to a suicide, becoming trapped inside the town. What we see is more than just an absurd story. Strange situations dot not merely describe an awkward way of life, they portray an end of the Soviet life as such. Overall "Gorod Zero" became a prophecy. The one from which it was nowhere to "run". Karen Shakhnazarov, Soviet Union, 1988, Russian, 98 min, fiction film, VHSClass Z / Clase Z tropical [FL 796]
A parody of Hollywood's action independent films using the typical trailer of a post-Tarantino B-movie. Miguel Coyula, Cuba, 2000, Spanish, 6 min, short film, DVD-ROMClose up [FL 1495]
Hossain Sabzian a film lover and huge fan of popular Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, meets Mrs. Ahankhah, also a fan of one of Makhmalbaf’s films. Posing as Makhmalbaf, Sabzian visits the Ahankhah family several times over the next couple of weeks. He flatters them by saying he wants to use their house for his next film and their sons as his actors. He even obtains a substantial amount of money from them, ostensibly to prepare for the film. Mr. Ahankhah has his suspicions and finds proof that Sabzian is indeed an impostor, who is then arrested by the police. The film, however, does not progress chronologically, and the scenes are re-enactments. The rest of the film is documentary about the trial. By becoming the leading actor in the filmed trial, his obsession with films becomes a reality. The film also gives a unique glimpse of the Iranian legal system. Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1990, Persian/Subtitles: English, 93 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMClosed District [FL 646]
"During the filming of the lives of the people living here, I felt surrounded by the constant thought of death," says Belgian director Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd, who in 1996 set off to southern Sudan. For more than thirty years this area has been tormented by war between Arab Muslims from the North and Black Christians from the South, the war that claimed the lives of at least 2 million people. Seven years after the beginning of filming the author decided to edit his material and add his own commentary. With the passage of time and the benefit of a hindsights he is able to to reflect on individual images. In the remote village of Mankien, Vandeweerd has faithfully captured the daily lives of the villagers, from the traditional religious rituals to the absurdly horrific martial training of the local paramilitary units. With the use of balck-and-white footage, the film's powerful composition serves to underscore the ever-present dust and dryness of this extremely unhospitable countryside where villagers are forced to struggle for the survival. During this period they are oblivious to the fact that within a few years their village will be complitely decimated by the government military. Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd, France, 2004, French/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMClosely Watched Trains / Ostre sledované vlaky [FL 107]
Comedy-drama about a young man employed in a tiny station during World War II. Milos Hrma, a bumbling dispatcher's apprentice at a village railway station in occupied Czechoslovakia, longs to liberate himself from his virginity. Oblivious to the war and the resistance that surrounds him, he embarks on a journey of sexual awakening and self-discovery, encountering a universe of frustration, eroticism, and adventure within his sleepy backwater depot. Milos becomes involved in a plot to blow up a German ammunition train, but when the plan backfires, he is forced to commit the ultimate act of courage. Jiří Menzel, Czechoslovakia, 1966, Czech/Subtitles: English, 92 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMClose-up / Nema-ye Nazdik [FL 528]
In this brilliant meditation on the power of movies, master Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami turns the medium upside-down and back again, blurring the lines between documentary and narrative film. Inspired by the true story of a lonely film buff who impersonated Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Kiarostami reenacts some of the man's trial and incorporates some footage from the actual event, using the real people involved as "actors." By making the filmmaking process as central as the story, Kiarostami avoids the pitfalls of the so-called "docudrama," creating something far more meaningful. His masterstroke comes when the real Makhmalbaf meets his impersonator. "...we are ultimately left defenseless against the extraordinary power of its final scenes, which are as transcendent--and as shrewd--as anything in cinema" (Godfrey Cheshire, New York Press). Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1990, Persian, 100 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCoal Miners / Gornicy 88 [FL 296]
Documentary film about a strike in a coal mine in Poland, organized and supported by Solidarity members. Andrej Piekutowski, Poland, 1988, Polish/Subtitles: English, 118 min, documentary film, VHSCoca - The Dove From Chechnya / Coca - Die Taube aus Tschetschenien [FL 1019]
Her parents called Zainap Gashaeva “Coca” – the Dove. Born in exile in Kazakhstan, she raised four children and became a businesswoman. Since 1994, Zainap has been documenting what have become daily events in Chechnya: discrimination, abduction, torture, murder. Zainap is a founder of Echoes of War, a group of Chechen women who document the atrocities that the Russian government has committed in Chechnya while declaring war on terror. The videos, hundreds of them, are hidden by the women, buried under floorboards, stashed in the backs of closets and in hollowed out walls, and smuggled out of the country by Gashaeva and others in nondescript shopping bags as often as they can get them out. In addition to the mountains of dusty tapes, Gashaeva and her partners have built a database of information linking and cross-referencing facts about Chechens who have disappeared at the hands of the state police – a painstaking record which they hope will someday be used as a reckoning, and perhaps as a link to find out what happened to the missing. With Chechnya closed to the international media, Zainap Gashaeva is now bringing these tapes to the United Nations and other international organisations to serve as evidence so that the guilty will be punished. Eric Bergkraut, Switzerland, 2005, Russian, English, German/Subtitles: English, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCold blooded aka Stiff Dead / Mrtav ‘ladan [FL 550]
This black comedy centers on a train traveling from Belgrade to the provinces. Two petty criminals, brothers Lemi and Kiza are broke, and are transporting their dead grandfather to a hometown funeral as if he was a regular passenger. A small-time drug dealer, Limeni, is traveling with a 7-year-old Ana, whom he received as a guarantee for a drug payment from her addict mother. But he is much more concerned with beautiful Marija sitting opposite and his packet of drugs which, in fear of the police, he slips into the “sleeping” grandfather’s pocket. When the four of them leave for the restaurant car, train makes an emergency stop and a suitcase falls on grandfather’s head. The remaining passengers think that the old man has just been killed, and since no one wants the police around, they throw him out of the window and the search for grandfather ensues. In a series of comical situations the corpse is constantly moved around with the group trying to follow its trail. When a policeman finally shows up, he only makes things worse by treating everyone as a suspect. According to the rules of the genre, everything ends up nicely, with grandfather properly buried at last, and Limeni and Marija happily falling in love. Milorad Milinković, Yugoslavia, 2001, Serbian, 105 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMCold Coke in the Days of the Cold War, A / Една студена кока-кола през Студената война [FL 1060]
This is a story of how Coca-Cola has entered Bulgaria during the time of Communist regime in the mid-1960s. Till 1965 the communist propaganda described Coca- Cole as an alcoholic drink of the American soldiers. Bulgaria happened to be the very first socialist country where Coca-Cola has succeeded to break the ideological rules by having a trade contract and opening bottling factories. The contract was possible due to initiative of Mr. Toncho Michajlov, who has made the first contact with the Coca-Cola Company in 1965 with Mr. Alexander Makinsky. This is a story of a battle - the battle between the propaganda type of economy and the free market economy, a battle between the ideological communist society and the enterpreneur spirit. A story about the unknown sides of the communist history and the times of the Cold War. Evgenia Atanassova, Irina Nedeva, Damian Petrov, Bulgaria, 2005, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCold War on CNN, Part 1: Comrades 1917-1945 [FL 250]
This TV documentary series tells how in the twentieth century two superpowers and their allies clashed, and prepared for a conflict that could have ended the human race. Each of the 24 programs features one major topic and may be viewed on its own. The series begins in 1945, with a flashback to the Bolshevik Revolution, and advances to 1991. Part 1: Once allies against Hitler, the Soviet Union and the United States confront each other at the end of World War II. Looming over the postwar landscape is the awesome, mushroom-shaped cloud of the atomic bomb.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 10: Cuba 1959-1962 [FL 253]
In the 1960s the United States claimed its place as the world's leading defender against communism. But by the end of the decade, the nation was convulsed by dissent, riot, assassination and an increasingly unpopular war.United States, 1998, English, 140 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 11: Vietnam 1954-1968 [FL 253]
It was a conflict that devastated one nation and divided another. Vietnam brought a new dimension to the Cold War -- and forced the United States to rethink its goals in the superpower rivalry.United States, 1998, English, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 12: Mad 1960-1972 [FL 253]
With Cold War tensions heightening at the start of the 1960s, the superpowers are drawn into an escalating arms race. The world's safety depends on a nuclear paradox known as "mutual assured destruction."United States, 1998, English, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 13: Make Love Not War: The Sixties [FL 254]
In the 1960s the United States claimed its place as the world's leading defender against communism. But by the end of the decade, the nation was convulsed by dissent, riot, assassination and an increasingly unpopular war.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 14: Red Spring: The Sixties [FL 254]
In the 1960s, as dissent and protest swept through the West, nations of the Warsaw Pact were experimenting with reforms. But hopes for change were crushed by palace coups and, in the case of Czechoslovakia, outright invasion.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 15: China 1949-1972 [FL 254]
The emergence of the People's Republic of China signals a new and dangerous phase in the Cold War. But a split between Moscow and Beijing opens the door for a change in U.S.-Chinese relations.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 16: Dйtente 1969-1975 [FL 255]
By the end of the 1960s, the United States and Soviet Union faced a choice: slow down their Cold War competition -- a process that would be called détente -- or continue an arms race that could end in all-out war.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 17: Good Guys, Bad Guys 1967-1978 [FL 255]
The Cold War takes on a new dimension as the Soviet Union, the United States and their allies become involved in wars between rivals in Africa and the Middle East.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 18: Backyard 1954-1990 [FL 255]
Central America, the Caribbean and South America become the battleground for a test of wills between the United States and the U.S.S.R. -- as the Cold War comes to America's "backyard."United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 19: Freeze 1977-1981 [FL 256]
In 1976, Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev promised to reduce East-West tensions. But within four years those promises turned to anger and mistrust. The Cold War was far from over.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 2: Iron Curtain 1945-1947 [FL 250]
In the months following their victory in World War II, the alliance between the Soviet Union and the West quickly proves to be little more than a marriage of convenience. Suspicion clouds relations -- while a curtain descends over Europe.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 20: Soldiers of God 1975-1988 [FL 256]
For centuries, nations had tried to conquer Afghanistan. None succeeded. But the Cold War -- and an Afghan civil war -- would bring a terrible toll of death and destruction to the people of this traditionally Islamic land.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 21: Spies 1945-1990 [FL 256]
The Cold War was fought on two fronts. In public, it was a series of confrontations and crises. But the East and West also battled in the shadows, as intelligence agents risked their lives to steal secrets.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 22: Star Wars 1980-1988 [FL 257]
In 1981, Ronald Reagan -- a strident Cold Warrior -- enters the White House on a platform of "making America strong again." Convinced the United States is lagging in the arms race, Reagan increases defense spending and proposes a "Star Wars" anti-missile system -- alarming leaders in Moscow.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 23: The Wall Comes Down [FL 257]
For nearly three decades, the Berlin Wall symbolized the Iron Curtain that separated East from West. But by 1989, the Wall was starting to crumble -- and by the end of the year it would collapse.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 24: Conclusion 1989-1991 [FL 257]
It is the twilight of the Soviet empire. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Kremlin loses its iron-fisted grip on Eastern Europe. As events spiral out of control, Mikhail Gorbachev finds his authority challenged from within -- both by communist hard-liners, and by a popular reformer named Boris Yeltsin.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 3: Marshall Plan 1947-1952 [FL 250]
With hunger and discontent plaguing postwar Europe, the U.S. proposes an aid program to rebuild the ruined continent. But the Marshall Plan also solidifies the deep ideological differences between East and West.United States, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 4: Berlin 1948-1949 [FL 251]
Three years after the end of World War II, the Nazis' former capital, Berlin, would once again find itself the target of an allied air fleet. This time, the air armada was working to save, rather than destroy, the city.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 5: Korea 1949-1953 [FL 251]
It was one of the few times the Cold War went hot. The conflict on the Korean peninsula claimed millions of lives, and set the stage for the way both sides would view each other for years to come.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 6: Reds 1947-1953 [FL 251]
As the Cold War intensifes, so do fears in the Soviet Union and the United States of outside influences -- prompting massive campaigns to purge the "enemy within."United States, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 7: After Stalin 1953-1956 [FL 252]
In 1953, the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin creates a power vacuum in the Kremlin's leadership. It also unleashes a wave of unrest in Eastern Europe, as some Soviet satellites test the limits of Moscow's tolerance.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 8: Sputnik 1949-1961 [FL 252]
The Soviet atomic bomb gives birth to a new arms race -- which turns into a space race. But any promising technological advances are overshadowed by the threat of long-range nuclear destruction.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 9: The Wall 1958-1963 [FL 252]
For years, West Berlin was an escape route for East Germans seeking to flee communism. But growing Cold War tensions forced the Soviet bloc to erect a deadly blockade across the city -- a Wall that divided Berlin for nearly three decades.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold Waves / Razboi pe calea undelor [FL 1523]
An earthquake, three mysterious deaths, and a bomb attack. The puzzling story of the Romanian section of Radio Free Europe. An original look at the Cold War through the story of the Romanian section of Radio Free Europe. While socialist propaganda had less and less to do with reality, in thousands of houses across Romania, like in other Eastern European countries, millions of people listened to Radio Free Europe in secret. On the other side of the Wall, in Munich or Paris, the Radio personnel listened too. They were hunting any information coming out of the country, meeting immigrants or tourists, receiving secret messages and scanning the Romanian press for hidden hints. But soon they found themselves to be hunted in a more violent way. In Bucharest, a special unit called the “Ether group” was set up in the Romanian secret police in 1980. While the Romanian population was lead by fear, the Romanian leaders were themselves afraid of Radio Free Europe. So they decided to silence the Radio for which Ceausescu employed Carlos the Jackal. An eccentric alliance was thus forged, between a national-communist dictator and international terrorists. They placed bombs at RFE’s Munich headquarters, editors were attacked in Germany and France, and three of the directors died after being X-rayed. The film not only digs up unknown facts from the past, it also addresses the issue of propaganda in today's society. Alexandru Solomon, Romania, 2007, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 108 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMColegiales, People's Assembly / Colegiales, asamblea popular [FL 1287]
On December 19, 2001 in Buenos Aires, after President Fernando De La Rúa declared a state of siege, people took over the streets marching to Plaza de Mayo. During those agitated days, neighbors from Colegiales' as well as other areas of the city, began holding meetings on the streets. Aníbal, an unemployed mechanic, hosted an assembly in his home to resist eviction but after a few weeks of living together, the relationships among the assembly members became strained. Gustavo Laskier, Argentina, 2006, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 64 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMColonel Redl / Redl ezredes [FL 1491]
The story is set during the fading glory of the Austro-Hungarian empire. A young boy, who is selected to go to a military academy despite his poor origins, quickly makes friends with the son of a baron and impresses the school's director with his patriotism. Alfred Redl rises quickly through the ranks until he finds himself stationed on the Russian border. However, it becomes quickly apparent that his nationalism and moral Puritanism serve only to alienate him from his fellow officers and in trying to compensate for his lower origins with excessive zeal he only manages to make an enemy out of the man who used to be his best friend. Promoted again, this time to the general staff to be the head of Austrian military intelligence, the colonel naively blunders into the intrigues of the Archduke Ferdinand who might well be trying to start what would later come to be known as World War I. István Szabó, Hungary, 1984, Hungarian, 167 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMColor of Olives, The / El color de los olivos [FL 1152]
The Amer family lives surrounded by the infamous West Bank Wall, where their daily lives are dominated by electrified fences, locked gates, and a constant swarm of armed soldiers. This unique and intimate documentary shares their private world, allowing a glimpse of the constant struggles and the small, endearing details that sustain them. A reflection on the effects of racial segregation, the meaning of borders and the absurdity of war. Carolina Rivas, Mexico, 2006, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 97 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMColor of Pomegranates / Саят Нова [FL 116]
Biography of the Armenian troubadour Sayat Nova, which concentrates more on the poet's life as revealed through his poetry than on a conventional narration of important events in Sayat Nova's career. We see the poet grow up, fall in love, enter a monastery and die, but these incidents are depicted in the context of what are presumably images from Sayat Nova's poems, poems that are seen and rarely heard. Sergei Paradzhanov, Soviet Union, 1968, Armenian/Subtitles: English, 75 min, fiction film, VHSCOMECON - industry of nuclear energy / СЭВ - индустрия атомной энергии [FL 412]
Soviet educational propaganda film on nuclear energy G. Davidenko, Soviet Union, 1985, /Voice-over: Hungarian, 21 min, educational program, VHSCommissar, The / Комиссар [FL 203]
The film is based on an early story by V. Grossman. During the civil war in Russia, the Red Army takes a small southern town. Between the two battles commissar Vavilova gives birth and stays with the Jewish family of a craftsman, who himself has many children. Together with them she experiences the hardships of the Civil War. When the Red Army returns, she leaves her child with the Jewish family, and joins her comrades in arms. Alexander Askol'dov, Soviet Union, 1967, Russian/Subtitles: English, 104 min, fiction film, VHSCommune of Bliss / Kommune der Seligen [FL 1296]
Far away from the big cities and major roads -in the vast expanse of the Northern Prairies- a withdrawn people are practising their headstrong way of life and beliefs. Few outsiders have ever had a chance to get to know more about their communal life-style. The German rooted Hutterites are direct descendants of radical Anabaptists from the days of the Reformation in Europe. After hundreds of years of fierce persecution, having moved about from country to country, they have now chosen to live apart from the modern world. Until today, they have been able to preserve their spiritual heritage and strict way-of-life by rejecting modern media. They still speak an odd Alpine dialect and wear their traditional medieval clothes: the men in trousers with suspenders and the women in old-fashioned kerchiefs. Ιt took 6 difficult years of preparation before the film-makers could gain the trust of the community and were finally permitted to "take the picture." For the Hutterites, film and photography are part of worldly sins like fostering vanity and "the lust of eyes." Klaus Stanjek, (n/a), 2004, German/Subtitles: English, 96 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCommunist Charity [FL 973]
A documentary on China's death penalty and the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners. Harry Wu & Nancy Morgan, United Kingdom, 1995, English, 14 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCommunist Charity [FL 27]
In this investigative documentary, Chinese activist Harry Wu tries to prove the shocking connection between the execution of prisoners and organ transplants. Raw footage of public executions are set against the testimonies of doctors and others involved, in which we learn among other things that during one heart transplant operation a prisoner was brought to the hospital garage, 100 meters from the operating room, where he was shot in the head. Harry Wu, United States, 1998, English, 29 min, documentary film, VHSCommunist Youth Organization's Secretaries / KISZ Titkárok [FL 521]
Interviews with former secretaries of the Hungarian Communist Youth Organization (KISZ) on their activities in the 1970-80s. Lajos Kudelich, Hungary, 2005, Hungarian, 55 min, documentary film, VHSCompetition, The / Konkurs [FL 88]
This two-part comedy consists of "Why Do We Have All These Brass Bands?" and "The Audition." In the former, two brass bands practice to compete in an honorary ceremony. The two units are made up mainly of elderly musicians, but each has a youthful member as well. When the two young musicians forego practice to attend a motorcycle race, they are kicked out of their respective bands. The two musicians simply join up with the rival units to compete in the upcoming competition at the ceremony. In "The Audition," two young teenage girls vie for a part in a musical play. When the winner is stricken with stage fright, the second girl is slated to perform, amidst concerns about her supreme overconfidence. Milos Forman, Czechoslovakia, 1963, Czech/Subtitles: English, 85 min, fiction film, VHSComrade Couture / Ein Traum in Erdbeerfolie [FL 1729]
Most think of East Germany as having been drab, gray and boring. But an underground fashion scene did its best to spice things up. A new documentary takes a look at the perils of creating avant-garde couture in a communist country. Comrade Couture is a journey into the wild nether world of the ‘fashionistas’ and Bohemians of East Berlin. Director Marco Wilms, a former model of the GDR’s fashion institute, sets out to once more resurrect this life’s unique lifestyle, economic freedom, and longing to be different, in the here and now. The film undertakes a journey into the parallel universe of East Berlin’s fashion designers and experts in the art of survival showing how, in the midst of the constraints of life in the GDR, there existed a fantasy world where it was possible to dance to another tune, be individual and even provocative. But this certainly wasn’t something that could be bought off the peg in the GDR. In this parallel universe it was up to you to create your own individual image – with your own hands. This film tells the story of the desires, the passion and the dreams that were tried and tested, lived and performed in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. Marco Wilms, Germany, 2008, German/Subtitles: English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMConcrete Revolution, The [FL 653]
"We are not just good at destroying the old world, but also at building the new one," announced Mao Tse-tung many years ago, and even he could not have forseen the extent to which China is fullfilling his words at the beginning of the 21st century. Most notably Peking, in connection with the organizing of the 2008 Olympic Games, has become one giant construction site. This symbol of the "New China" is built by hand by approximately one million laborers travelling for work mainly from the poorer villages in the countryside. A number of them have not yet received their wages after several months, while their families wait desperately for the money. All of this is part of the transformation of Peking into a modern metropolis with a Western character. Young Chinese writer and documentary filmmaker Xiaolu Gao has succeeded in creating a visually rich an imaginative film essay that conveys the character of contemporary Chinese society, whose polished appearances have been created at the expense of the suffering of the ordinary people. The film is interlaced with playfully generalized passages of the turning points in Chinese history, ironic and bitterly humorous commentary of the other side of the "Chinese miracle." A high-quality soundtrack mix by Matt Scott is also worthy of notice. Xiaolu Guo, China, 2004, Chinese, Mandarin/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMConfidence / Bizalom [FL 1489]
During World War II in Budapest, a woman, Kata is told that her husband has gone into hiding, and that she must assume a new identity as wife of János Bíró, with whom she has to pretend to be husband and wife, and rent a room from a family whose son is off at war. Their relationship evolves from mistrust into love and then into trust, which in the film's scheme is the most unattainable thing of all. István Szabó, Hungary, 1979, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 115 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMConfrontations in Cuba / Confrontaciones en Cuba [FL 1393]
Confrontations in Cuba is a film in which all the scenes have been shoot in one take without cuts. Hurricane Wilma approaches and the baseball season is close at hand. Despite the tension life goes on in its daily rhythm for Cubans: dominos are played, the band searches for a common tune at rehearsals. The different scenes and atmospheres of the film make up a whole where in the middle of tension and happiness blossoms the Cuban identity in all its richness. Arto Halonen, Finland, 2007, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 18 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMConnecting with Moldova / Möten i Moldavien [FL 1474]
For six years Hagar Lövgren worked in Moldova on a Swedish aid project. She was training home care staff working with the elderly and the disabled. During this time she became close friends with several people in Moldova. In the film we meet some of them. Their stories and experiences are also part the story of Moldova. These life stories mixed with the reflections of the director from a journey throughout Moldova paint a varied, personal picture of Moldova and its people. A country situated in Europe but as embarrassingly unknown in Europe as in the rest of the World. Kurt Skoog, Sweden, 2005, Russian, Romanian, Swedish/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMConstantin and Elena / Constantin si Elena [FL 1691]
In a Romanian village, an elderly couple has been happily married for almost 55 years. Constantin and Elena know that life must end, but are happy with everything that they've had. They fill their days with chores in and around the house, going to church and welcoming visitors, not to mention a catnap every now and then. Everything that these two old lovebirds do, they do slowly: from helping each other get dressed and climb ladders to weaving Elena's beautiful tapestries. Often they sing old Romanian songs at the top of their voices, or Constantin's old battle songs from his army days. Constantin and Elena aren't afraid of death, and discuss it in a practical way. They're proud of what they're leaving behind and happy with their love. But they do think it's unfortunate that they have so little time left together. As Constantin puts it, "With one eye I cry, with the other, I laugh." Andrei Dascalescu, Romania, 2008, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 100 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMConsultation, The / La Consultation [FL 1229]
The daily routines of a general practitioner, in stark contrast with the highly specialized world of today’s medical practices. Doctor Luc Perino is a hero in his own unspectacular way. He receives people at all stages of life: from newborn babies to the dying, and everyone else who knocks at his door with their complaints: a young man of North-African descent who feels nervous and can't get a job; a young Asian woman with an unwanted pregnancy; a woman with anxiety attacks and an uncommunicative unemployed husband; an older woman whose main problem seems to be that she does not feel at home among the other elderly people in her service flat, and a host of other patients. There are as many people as there are pathologies, as many stories as there are pains, as many situations as there are issues. Doctor Perino does what he can, but during many a conversation you sense a certain despair, which is confirmed by a number of direct comments to the camera after consultations. What can a doctor do in a world with high work pressure, unemployment, bad marriages and fragile old people? Doctor Luc Perino may not be perfect, but he is the best guide we can wish for in the territory of humanity in medicine. Hélène de Crécy, France, 2006, French/Subtitles: English, 91 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMContaminated life / La vie contaminee [FL 948]
Bielorussia, a former Soviet republic, was the most affected in the region by the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The film gives us an account of a country devasted by this event, despite the passing of almost two decades since the disaster. The local population bears witness to the dire consequences of both the accident and of the neglect by both domestic and international authorities. David Desrame and Dominique Maestrali, France, 2001, Belarusian, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMContract / Kontrakt [FL 93]
The Contract is set during an "arranged" wedding ceremony. The bride and groom barely know each other, but this matters not at all to their tradition-bound families. At the last minute, the bride balks. Only slightly nonplussed, the groom's father, a status-seeking doctor, decides to go ahead with the expensive reception anyway. Krzysztof Zanussi, Poland, 1980, Polish/Subtitles: English, 100 min, fiction film, VHSControlled Conversations / Rozmowy kontrolowane [FL 737]
A continuation of the story of "Miś" and the first film that tried to look at the period of Martial Law with irony and without taking sides. The sports club manager Ochódzki is ordered to infiltrate the Solidarity movement. Armed with a photograph with Lech Wałęsa, Ochódzki sets off for provincial Suwałki. When Martial Law is declared, Ochódzki decides to go back to Warsaw. On the way he causes a car accident and continues his journey in a borrowed car. He is stopped by a police patrol who find Solidarity brochures in the car boot. Ochódzki tries to escape and by accident destroys the tank that is chasing him. This makes him into an undisputed Solidarity hero and one of the most wanted people in the country. The secret police officer who initially recruited Ochódźki now wants to eliminate him. Ochódźki must now flee for Sweden disguised as a woman. He does not do so, but succeeds in blowing up the Palace of Culture and Science – the symbol of communist power in Poland – by flushing the toilet. Sylwester Chęciński, Poland, 1991, Polish, 93 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMCooking History [FL 1692]
Military cooks are never mentioned in history books and yet they helped to influence the course of history. Peter Kerekes collected their stories from all over Europe to take us behind the scenes of dates, facts, declarations of war, battles, and peace agreements. The recollections of those who witnessed the European wars of the 20th century provide subjective perspectives on historical events that diverge from conventional history. In separate episodes addressing WWII, the Franco-Algerian war, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the war in Chechnya, and the Balkan bloodbaths, Kerekes lets his subjects hold forth in monologues, prompted by his off-camera questions. Through their subjective recollections, food preparation becomes a metaphor for battle strategy. Cooking History opens up a dimension of history one won’t find in textbooks or archives. The directness of the anecdotes and destinies of the people in this film conveys a sense of hope, longing, and survival strategies in the midst of destruction and despair. Peter Kerekes, Austria, 2009, Hungarian, Russian, German, French, Slovak, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCorridor #8 [FL 1588]
In 1997, the European Union commissioned Corridor #8, an extraordinarily ambitious rail and road system intended to join Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania—neighboring countries that, logically, should already have been connected. The effort would create a pathway between the Black and Adriatic seas, put an end to the wariness between the nations and lift the economic hopes of working-class residents along its route. Or so it was hoped. Ten years and millions of euros later, progress is scarcely visible. An incomplete tunnel in the Bulgarian town of Gyueshevo is used to grow mushrooms and store cheese, rather than connect two villages as had been intended. Threats of blood feuds along the Albanian roadside expose growing cultural unrest. And, despite the hyperbole, proclamations of progress and continued promises made by visiting delegates, train travel between Bulgaria and Macedonia is impossible despite their capital cities, Sofia and Skopje, being just 100 miles apart. In this remarkable debut feature, Bulgarian filmmaker Boris Despodov journeys along the haphazard Corridor #8 to expose the ironies and absurdities of the massive infrastructural project and to reveal three countries whose people remain deeply suspect of each other—and even more so of the European Union. Boris Despodov, Bulgaria, 2008, Albanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian/Subtitles: English, 74 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCossacks of the Kuban / Кубанские казаки [FL 156]
Comedy about the love relationship of Galina and Gordei, the competetive managers of two rival collective farms. Ivan Pyriev, Soviet Union, 1949, Russian, 105 min, fiction film, VHSCossacks, The / Казаки [FL 197]
The film is based on Leo Tolstoi's story. A young aristocrat, disillusioned by life in the capital city, goes to live with the Cossacks in a small settlement on a Chechen border. He falls in life with a young woman, who is engaged to another Cossack. Despite his attempts to win over the woman, she remains with her fiancée, Lukashka. Unable to integrate in the borderland cossack life, the aristocrat leaves the village. Vasilii Pronin, Soviet Union, 1961, Russian, 91 min, fiction film, VHSCowboys 1, 2 / Kovbojok 1, 2 [FL 1611]
The documentary shows that in 1985 Hungary was already experiencing the demise of the independent farmer because of large cooperatives. A problem endemic throughout the world by the late '90s is seen illustrated here in one group of six people. They acquire some cattle from a large state cooperative because the cooperative does not have the personnel to manage the cattle. Once the transfer has been effected, the six discover that they are given nothing else to take care of their new business: no fodder, no grazing land, and insufficient stables. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1986, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 160 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCowboys 3 / Kovbojok 3 [FL 1612]
The documentary shows that in 1985 Hungary was already experiencing the demise of the independent farmer because of large cooperatives. A problem endemic throughout the world by the late '90s is seen illustrated here in one group of six people. They acquire some cattle from a large state cooperative because the cooperative does not have the personnel to manage the cattle. Once the transfer has been effected, the six discover that they are given nothing else to take care of their new business: no fodder, no grazing land, and insufficient stables. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1986, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 67 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCradle of Terror, The [FL 1365]
The documentary examines Pakistan's role in promoting and sustaining the forces of terror under the grab of Jihad and also looks at the role that the Pakistani state played in Nuclear Proliferation under the auspices of Dr. A.Q. Khan. Iqbal Malhotra, India, 2006, English, 45 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCranes are Flying, The / Летят журавли [FL 201]
The film tells the story of one extended family, whose lives were shattered by the World War II. In the center of the film - a woman, played by T. Samoilova, who loses her beloved at the front, marries another man, remaining a very strong, independent and positive character, quite atypical of the Soviet cinema of the time. Mikhail Kalatozov, Soviet Union, 1957, Russian, 93 min, fiction film, VHSCricket in the ear / Щурец в ухото [FL 16]
Two young people living in the country decide to move to the big city at all costs. They set off hitchhiking, but on the road uncertainty and remorse seize them. Is this the right decision? In their journey they face both good intentions and perfidy. Will they finally make it to the big city or will they come back to their village? A Bulgarian "road-movie," in which the protagonists barely make any progress. The road rolls along beside them displaying different characters and life stories. The narration is arranged in separate novels which feature some of the most brilliant Bulgarian comedy actors. Georgi Stoyanov, Bulgaria, 1976, Bulgarian, 95 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMCrime and Punishment / Ziu Yu Fa [FL 1515]
An insightful portrait of everyday life of a Chinese border police station. Reinforced units fight crime, though the results are often confused and grotesque despite the diligence of the inexperienced young officers. A mentally ill man calls them out over a "corpse" he has found in his bed which turns out to be a crumpled duvet. Another man suspected of robbery cannot be made to answer questions, even using violence, because he is most likely dumb. The long and penetrating shots of director Zhao Liang gradually uncover human stories from a China that is both regimented and rapacious. This witty picture, whose comedy often has a chilly edge, provides us with an insight into how the social structure is influenced by omnipresent police repression. Zhao Liang, China, 2007, Chinese, Mandarin/Subtitles: English, 122 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCrime that Changed Serbia, The / Vidimo se u čitulji [FL 544]
This short but powerful documentary is concerned with a soaring crime in Serbia during the early 1990s. Made up of interviews with genuine criminals and gang members, showing uncensored photographs where they are fully equipped with guns, this documentary has a strong ring of authenticity to it. Set against the background of poverty and uncertainty in ex-Yugoslavia where especially the young could easily be tempted by the money and glamour of the criminal milieu, this is a real-life story about the generation whose idols were not pop stars, but rather notorious criminals such as Arkan. Desperately trying to appear as tough as they can, these young gangsters do not hesitate to brag openly about their misdeeds, assess the positive and negative aspects of their “profession” or explain the order of the day within the world of Belgrade crime. Almost all of the leading actors of the movie are dead by now, some of them did not even live to see the film itself finished. In fact, the film concludes with shots from the funeral of three men who appeared in the film, but were killed in gang clashes soon afterwards. Janko Baljak, Yugoslavia, 1995, Serbian, 35 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCriminal Life of Archibaldo De La Cruz, The / Ensayo de un Crimen [FL 300]
Due to a childhood experience with the death of the family maid (under erotic circumstances,) Archibaldo grows up with psychopathic killer tendencies toward women. He is constantly thwarted in his efforts to carry out any muderrs. The film not only pokes wicked fun at the decadent bourgeoisie and the Latin male, but also at the director's own obsessions - foot fetishism and surrealism. The film's oddball humor links it with Bunuel's later classic "Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie." Luis Bunuel, Mexico, 1955, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 91 min, fiction film, VHSCroatia E(n)d-en on Earth [FL 1286]
In 2004 in Croatia, Law on Asylum came into force. In the next two years, 300 people asked for the asylum status in Croatia. No one has got it yet. The film follows the activities of Centre for Peace Studies in the campaign revealing why government institutions are still not willing to begin the integration of people with potential asylum status into the society. Oliver Sertić, Croatia, 2006, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 36 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCross and the Star, The: Jews Christians and the Holocaust [FL 795]
"The Cross and the Star" finds disturbing echoes of antisemitism in the otherwise profound and lyrical Gospel of St. John, the sermons of st. Augustine, the writings of Martin Luther and in the voices of the Crusaders and the Spanish Inquisitors, all of which may have helped sow the ideological seeds that developed into Nazism's racist ideology against the Jews. John Michalczyk, United States, 1992, English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCross Inscribed in the Star of David Documentary, The / Wpisany w gwiazde Davida [FL 924]
A compelling portrait of a man in search of his identity. On his 35th birthday, Father Romuald Jakub Weksler-Waszkinel, learned that he was a Jew saved from the Ghetto of Swieciany as an infant by a Christian woman. Now he must reconcile his Jewish roots with his life as an ordained Priest. Grzegorz Linkowski, Poland, 1997, Polish, 27 min, documentary film, VHSCrossing the Line / Hvor går grænsen … - Dilemmaer for mennesker [FL 1070]
The documentary investigates the extent of personal morality and how it stands up in extreme circumstances. With examples from the UK, Germany, former Yugoslavia and Iraq, Petersen invites us to question where the 'line' between good and evil should be drawn. In Iraq, an American lieutenant colonel puts a gun to a prisoner's head, forcing him to reveal his assassination plans. The officer saves his men but is later tried by a military court. In the UK, former home secretary Jack Straw is confronted with numerous examples of violence and abuse in British prisons. But improving conditions for prisoners doesn't bring in votes. In The Hague, the Human Rights Court finds a former Bosnian soldier guilty. Esad Landzo talks from prison about how he turned from a young man, dreaming of an artist's life, into an unquestioning torturer. In Frankfurt, a German police officer physically threatens a kidnapper to save a small child in a case that divides the nation. Lars Feldballe Petersen, Denmark, 2006, Danish, English, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 59 min, DVD-ROMCrossroads - Ukraine and the Triumph of Democracy [FL 1199]
Through the eyes of six Ukrainians, this film examines the history and current events of Ukraine as a context for exploring the even deeper question of democracy and what it means to be - or become - an autonomous, free ,and self-governing people. It is an intricately woven story for those who wish to understand and experience its complexity as Ukraianians do on a daily basis. Paul Tremblay, United States, 2007, English, Uzbek/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCrown of Fire, The / Coroana de Foc [FL 68]
Drama set in the Middle ages. In the background of the plot is the story of a prince of Wallachia who exiled his brother, but was later killed by his brother's son helped by a group of Crusaders. He takes the throne and his wife gives birth to twins. One of them is expelled from the palace and brought up as a decent young man by a captain (played by Sergiu Nicolaescu himself), the other stays in the palace and becomes a nasty, selfish villain. As both of them turn 20, they go to seek a mythical Crown of Fire, guarded by Time itself. Yet only the pure-hearted one can have it. Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romania, 1990, Romanian, 97 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMCrows, The / Vrane [FL 459]
Set in Yugoslavia of the 1950s, this is the story of an aged boxer, Đuka, who now earns his living with a series of odd jobs. On his way home, he meets his relative Čedo and his two ballerina friends. He takes them all home, but finds out that his sick mother has also moved in. During a failed attempt to rob a warehouse, Čedo kills Đuka’s boss and Đuka is left without a job or a home. The party signs into a hotel and tries to get money from a restaurant owner who likes the company of the young. When he makes a move towards Čedo, they beat him up, rob him and Čedo kills him. Now Đuka, his mother and Svetlana decide to get away from nervy Čedo. In the meantime though, Čedo has promised to marry his old girlfriend and her family is getting impatient. When he invites Đuka and Svetlana over, the wedding guests are already gathering, not knowing that Čedo plans to steal the money from the poor girl’s father. As something goes wrong and Svetlana is shot, Đuka goes mad, beats up Čedo and leaves for his home village, only to see Čedo and the two dancers appear again laughing like crows. Ljubiša Kozomara, Gordan Mihić, Yugoslavia, 1969, Serbian, 70 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMCrude [FL 1693]
Can 30,000 plaintiffs from five Indigenous Ecuadoran tribes expect justice from Chevron, one of the world’s largest oil producers? Who is responsible for the unconscionable dumping of 18 billion gallons of toxic oil waste in the Ecuadoran Amazon, poisoning the most biodiverse place on the planet? In a sophisticated take on the classic David and Goliath story, Berlinger took three years to craft a cinema vérité portrait centering on the charismatic lawyers in the U.S. and Ecuador who have doggedly pursued the case against all of the forces a corporation can bring into courts of law. The film makes a genuine effort to show the case from all sides: from the scientists and lawyers employed by Chevron, to Ecuadoran judges, to celebrity activists and humanitarian organizers, to the role of the media, to the dramatic intervention of Rafael Correa himself, the first Ecuadoran president to sympathize with the Indigenous point of view. In a tale that spans the globe, Crude looks beyond compassion for the disenfranchised and the corruption of those in power to ask how justice itself is being defined in the twenty-first century. Joe Berlinger, United States, 2009, English, 104 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCrude Awakening: The Oil Crash, A [FL 1255]
OilCrash, produced and directed by award-winning European journalists and filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack, tells the story of how our civilization’s addiction to oil puts it on a collision course with geology. Compelling, intelligent, and highly entertaining, the film visits with the world’s top experts and comes to a startling, but logical conclusion – our industrial society, built on cheap and readily available oil, must be completely re-imagined and overhauled. Basil Gelpke, Ray McCormack, Switzerland, 2007, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCrude Impact [FL 1162]
An exploration of the interconnection between human domination of the planet and the discovery and use of oil. This documentary exposes our deep-rooted dependency on the availability of fossil fuel energy and examines the future implications of peak oil — the point in time when the amount of petroleum worldwide begins a steady, inexorable decline. Journeying from the West African delta to the heart of the Amazon rainforest, from Washington to Shanghai, from early Man to the unknown future, CRUDE IMPACT chronicles the collision of our insatiable appetite for oil with the rights and livelihoods of indigenous cultures, other species and the planet itself. James Jandak Wood, United States, 2006, English, 98 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCruise, The / Rejs [FL 677]
"The Cruise" is the mother of all cult films in Polish cinematography, yet a strange one with its incredibly banal plot. A stowaway sneaks aboard a ship departing on a cruise down the Vistula River. The captain takes him for a Communist Party cultural coordinator and the intruder gladly adapts to his new role, immediately setting to work to manipulate the passengers and crew into silly and vaguely humiliating games. They quickly formed “cruise committee” and organize a birthday party for the captain. The plot is overshadowed by the dialogues between the cruise participants, resting, sunbathing and chatting. The dialogues initially seem accidental, yet as the film unfolds they reveal their paradoxical inner logic and prove justifiable, but perhaps not easily understandable for a non-polish audience. They refer to the Polish reality of the late 60s, disclosing its absurdities. Shot in quasi-documentary style, "The Cruise" features a handful of professional actors. Most of the cast are carefully selected amateurs who follow the script rather loosely and were provoked rather than directed by Piwowski and Glowacki – a writer and a co-author of the screenplay. Marek Piwowski, Poland, 1970, Polish, 66 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMCry from the Grave, A [FL 947]
The film tells the story of the Srebrenica massacre of 1995, in which the Bosnian Serb army killed an estimated 7,000 Bosnian Muslims. A Cry from the Grave tells the story of the Srebrenica massacre of 1995, in which the Bosnian Serb army killed an estimated 7,000 Bosnian Muslims. It follows hour by hour the story of the killings. Through the testimony of survivors and relatives of those who died it explores the pain felt when no one is brought to justice.There are interviews with investigators from the UN-sponsored court at The Hague and from the UN special prosecutor. But the underlying message of the film is bleak indeed - no matter what is done, it will never be enough. The documentary was been shown at the UN, and it was used during a war crimes trial at The Hague. Leslie Woodhead, United Kingdom, 1999, 104 min, documentary film, VHSCséplő Gyuri [FL 1493]
This situational documentary tells the saga of an intelligent, ambitious young Gypsy man who, without almost any schooling, goes from his isolated village to the capital, Budapest to find work. He studies and works but finds himself constantly discriminated against due to his ethnicity. Finally, he decides to return home but realizes that the time away has changed him considerably and his old life has become a stranger to him. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1978, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 103 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCuba Rebellion / Cuba Rebelion! [FL 1728]
Cuba RebelioN! is a documentary about Cuban underground punk-rock and metal musicians who rebel against the Castro-regime. It shows the daily struggle of artists who dare to make a statement with their songs. One of these musicians is Gorki Luis Águila Carrasco, from the punk-rock band Porno Para Ricardo. With anti-communist songs like ‘El Commandante’ and ‘El Cake’ the band became very popular in Cuba. In 2003, when Gorki had just produced an award-winning video and was announced as the third most popular rockstar in Cuba, he was suddenly arrested on charges of drug trafficking. Human Rights organisations say that his arrest is just a way to silence him for political reasons. After two years Gorki was released, but he is still blacklisted. The documentary also follows Porno Para Ricardo, the metalband Escape and the rap/rock band QVA Libre, featuring concert footage and interviews with these musicians. It shows the painful reality of artists who can’t express themselves publicly. Dutch filmmakers and musicians Alessio Cuomo and Sander de Nooij went to Cuba with their camera and their guitars and illegally filmed the rise of a new generation of young artists who want to make a change with their music, even at the risk of imprisonment. Alessio Cuoma, Sander de Nooij, Netherlands, 2008, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCure, The / Kuracja [FL 1067]
The imposing building of baroque grandeur is a temporary resting-place: a spa named Ciechocinek – very well known all across Poland. The guests stay here for a few days or weeks, far from their everyday life, their relatives and friends: here they are supposed to recuperate and heal, far from everything that made them sick. Here there’s no time-clock – life has a different rhythm defined by sleeping, eating, healing. The camera follows the summer-guests through the foyers of the spa, through the parks; watches them sitting on the benches – observed observers. Extremely long takes and the absence of a musical score or comment fit well with the quiet of the place. But even when it sometimes seems that nothing is happening, life has not stopped – on the contrary, it demands its due. The process of healing can also be seen during activities: people flirt, dance and celebrate – and, yes, also drink and quarrel. This is how this life – seemingly removed from normality – nevertheless mirrors what happens beyond the green lawns and avenues. Maciej Cuske, Poland, 2004, Polish/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCurse of the Hedgehog, The / Blestemul ariciului [FL 516]
ollows the life of an extended Roma family for a whole year. They belong to the “Baesi” group of Roma and live in extreme poverty. The filmmaker accompanied them on the way from their dwelling place in the mountains to the lowland villages, where they try to trade handmade goods for food or money. These winter tours are survival trips for them, as they have no other income whatsoever. However, the film is more than the story of their struggle to survive. During the 100 minutes, it becomes clear why they refuse to work the land and how they relate to the Romanian shepherds, and to the rich Baesi from their village whom they call “businessmen,” who make large fortunes from selling fake rings abroad. Mythological thinking comes into play in their everyday life, along with their Christian Orthodox religiousness. This enables a better understanding of the absurdities and the pain that fill the lives of these people on the fringe of society. Through wit and humour, they survive, but also with a lot of cursing. Dumitru Budrala, Romania, 2004, Romanian, 93 min, documentary film, VHSCycles of the Mental Machine, The [FL 1294]
This 57 minute-documentary film aims at telling about the social and musical destiny of Detroit, from Blues, to Gospel, to Rhythm and Blues, to Jazz, to techno. Within the maze of this city, which bares the marks of its different periods of peak, decline and rebirth... with "The Electrifying Mojo's" itinerary, the passer, the brilliant unifier of all styles, the creator of techno philosophy and Mad Mike the legendary creator of the first independent label Underground resistance, and the brilliant DJ and producer Carl Craig. Jacqueline Caux, United States, 2006, English/Subtitles: French, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDaddy and Lili Marlene / Taticek a Lili Marlen [FL 1450]
The life of each of us is unique and unrepeatable. The cycle “ Private Century ” tells authentic stories based on private family film archives. The “Private Century ” shows the history as a set of intimate human stories. Their intensity can affect also others because the essential events take place in every single one of our lives. “Daddy and Lili Marlene” is a lose sequel to “the King of Velichovky” part of the series. The story is narrated from the point of view of little Eva who recollects her memories of Velichovky and her parents: daddy and Lili. Life was captured on private archive films in 30’s and 40’s of the last century. Jan Sikl, Czech Republic, 2005, Czech/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDamn Circumstances / Maldita circunstancia, La [FL 916]
Candido finds his life crumbling away when his small house floods and he gets caught up in the red tape of government bureaucracy. A satirical glimpse at contemporary life in Havana. Eduardo Eimil, Cuba, 2002, Spanish, 11 min, short film, VHSDamnation / Kárhozat [FL 1479]
While at the time of its making, before the fall of the Berlin wall, the film was widely understood as the representation of the last days of communism, however there is more to it than that: it is about the hopelessness of human existence, and not only in an evil society. In the unspecified mining town in Hungary it has been raining for days, stray dogs fight among the dilapidated buildings. There are no birds on the dull grey sky and the buckets of the mine run squeaking disagreeably. The protagonists Karrer, Sebestyén and his wife are pathetically vegetating void beings. One day Karrer is hired by the bar owner to do a smuggling trip but he lets the job to Sebestyén, the husband of the singer Karrer longs for. Béla Tarr, Hungary, 1987, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, 116 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDamned, The / Prokleti [FL 1217]
Filmed in Congo, the documentary investigates a custom which connects evil and witchcraft by labeling unwanted children as possessed by the devil. Exorcisms are performed on such children and if they fail, the children are banished from the community and become homeless. Hundreds of them live on the streets of today's Kinshasa, with no way to survive except by begging or petty theft. The journey into the dark heart of the black continent leads through various characters who manage to make a profitable business out of this hellish medieval drama. The viewer becomes witness not only to bizarre stories from the lives of children, but also to an incredible array of characters. Portraits of shamans and modern-day exorcists gradually reveal the mechanisms of a system that feeds on poverty and desperation. Damnation turns out to be profitable scam for everyone - except the children. Petr Orozovič, Czech Republic, 2006, French/Subtitles: English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDancing Bear Park / Парк За Танцуващи Мечки [FL 538]
Bulgaria is the last country in Europe where not long ago, dancing bears could be spotted in the streets, led on chains by bear-keeping gypsies. With the financial help from the Brigitte Bardot foundation, the world's largest and most sophisticated Dancing Bear Park was built near the small mountain town of Belitsa, and the surviving animals were resettled there. The film tells the story of the bears and of the people – the former bear-keepers who have been left without their livelihood, and the local impoverished population, who say with envy: "In Belitsa bears live better than people!" The goal-oriented NGO leader buys off the bears from their keepers for what they consider small money. He is happy with his state-of-art bear park explaining the initial skepticism of locals. Yet the ex-owners are not only shedding tears of separation, but have serious insecurities about the future income. Eldora Traikova, Bulgaria, 2004, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 54 min, DVD-ROMDanube waves, The / Valurile Dunarii [FL 50]
The movie is about the tumultuous years of the final period of World War II in Romania. When a Romanian port on the Danube is sabotaged by partisans, the Germans ask for a barge to collect what is left after the explosion. Bargee Mihai, takes along his new wife, Ana, on his voyage up the Danube, despite wartime bombs and mines, but it ultimately proves to be a journey of personal discovery for them both. It’s 1944, and his cargo of arms for the retreating Germans, as well as the convergence of Nazi “protectors,” newly insurgent partisans, and suspicious crew members, mark him as a man in the middle, faced with an unexpected moral choice. Liviu Ciulei, Romania, 1959, Romanian, 100 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDaughter from Yan'an / Enan no musume [FL 377]
A Chinese woman's search for her real parents, members of the Red Guard who abandoned her shortly after she was born. Haixia has spent her entire life in Yan'an and she longs to know why she was abandoned. Through her single-minded quest for her parents, the viewer is offered an intimate glimpse of events which occurred in China in the mid-1960's, Mao inaugurated his Cultural Revolution, including the slogan "Young people will learn the roots of the revolution from peasant farmers." Haixia's parents were among sixteen million students to whom this slogan applied. The indisputable existence of the daughter of Yan'an forces the forsaken children of the revolution to confront the bitterness of the past - a period in which the smiling masses, resolutely looking forward to a splendid future, concealed the unbearable private suffering of so many individuals. An exceptionally personal view of the legacy of Cultural Revolution in China. Kaoru Ikeya, Japan, 2001, /Subtitles: English, 120 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDaughter in Law / Невестка [FL 621]
The film is based on a true story witnessed by the director of the film. At the very railway junction where he spent his childhood there lived two people - an old shepherd and his daughter in law. The shepherd's son died at the front. The young wife, however, never accepted his death and kept waiting for her husband's return. The film "Daughter in Law" portrays the usual lifestyle of Turkmen shepherds with much insight and sympathy for the deeper meaning of traditional values. The wealth of detail and the laconic, iconographic, imagery prompted certain critics to call this film an "encyclopedia of Turkmen life." The cast of the movie is also noteworthy, especially the performance of the young actress Maya-Guizel Aymedova, who later became one of the best-known actresses of Turkmenistan. The film received the USSR State prize and was awarded numerous prizes at international film festivals, including Locarno, Tbilisi, Sorrento, Venice, etc. Hodzhakuli Narliev, Turkmenistan, 1972, Russian, Russian/Subtitles: English, 75 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDavid Bek / Давид-Бек [FL 1096]
Made during the years of the WWII to inspire patriotic feelings, the film is a historical costume epic set in the 18th century, presenting the liberation struggle of Armenians under the leadership of David-Bek against the Persian conquerors. Amo Bek-Nazarov, Soviet Union, 1943, Russian, 90 min, DVD-ROMDavid the Tolhildan / David der Tolhildan [FL 1139]
This film is a portrait of David Rouiller, a young Swiss man who joined the Kurdish freedom movement six years ago. Rouiller, the son of a university Professor and a former President of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, gave up a comfortable and safe existance in Switzerland, and the amenities of a Western lifestyle, to commit his life and strength to the ideals of the Kurdish freedom fight. Is he an adventurer, a dreamer, an idealist, a hero? Is his commitment visionary or illusionary? The film, "David the Tolhildan" encourages viewers to confront their own outlook on oppression, respect, human dignity, freedom, and violence. It also provides an impressive, realistic and up-to-date view of the current situation of the Kurdish freedom movement. Mano Khalil, Switzerland, 2006, German, French, Kurdish/Subtitles: English, 54 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDay I Will Never Forget, The [FL 80]
As many as 100 - 140 million women worldwide have been subjected to female circumcision, a practice that dates back to ancient Egypt and which can be found in many traditional cultures today. It is estimated that as many as two million young girls undergo this painful and life threatening operation every year. Set in Kenya, the film explores the tradition of female circumcision in both Kenyan society and among the large group of Somali émigrés. Even though the practice is officially outlawed, cultural acceptance in these societies depends heavily on the fact of female circumcision, and the practice shows no signs of declining. Men support it as a way of guaranteeing fidelity, but it is women, mothers who were circumcised themselves, who are often the most outspoken supporters of the practice. Increasingly, young girls seek to defy their parents and avoid this painful and debilitating ritual. Kim Longinotto, England, 2002, Swahili (macrolanguage)/Subtitles: English, 92 min, documentary film, VHSDay of Freedom - Our Armed Forces / Tag der Freiheit - Unsere Wehrmacht Tag der Freiheit - Unsere Wehrmacht Tag der Freiheit - Unsere Wehrmacht Tag der Freiheit - Unsere Wehrmacht [FL 261]
The 7th Nazi Party Congress with glorious marching of German troops during the colorful ceremonies in Nuremberg on German Armed Forces Day 1935. Leni Riefenstahl, Germany, 1935, German/Subtitles: English, 31 min, propaganda film, VHSDead Presumed Missing? [FL 1302]
About two thousand people dissapeared in Cyprus between 1963 and 1974. One third are Turks, and the remaining are Greek Cypriots. The issue of the missing persons in Cyprus has remained obscure to this day. The film investigates the destiny of the missing persons in both sides. Were they killed? When and under what circumstances? Where are their remains buried? Stories of the families of the missing persons are corroborated with statements of the officials. To this day, the fate and whereabouts of the missing persons on both sides has remained an official secret. By following the desperate attempts of two Greek Cypriot women to discover what happened to their loved ones, the film explores the significance of mortuary rituals, and the political lives of the dead bodies of both the Greek and the Turkish Cypriots. Colette Piault, Paul Sant Cassia, (n/a), 2003, , Greek, Modern (1453-)/Subtitles: English, 40 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDeath in Gaza [FL 665]
In the spring of 2003 director James Miller and reporter Saira Shah traveled to the Middle East to record the way in which ordinary children grow up under extraordinary conditions. The main characters in their film are Ahmed, Mohammed, and Najla, three friends living in the city of Rafah on the edge of the dangerous Gaza Strip, Ahmed and Mohammed spend their free time playing soldiers or throwing stones at the Israeli tanks or bulldozers. Their deeply-engrained hatred towards Israel, created by the conditions in which they grew up and fostered by a well-developed system of brainwashing, suggests that they are well on their way to becoming suicide bombers. During the making of the documentary, however, a shocking event occurs. Director and cameraman James Miller, father of two small children, is himself killed by an IDF soldier. Miller becomes another victim of the conflict whose destructive impact on the lives of Palestinian children he was trying faithfully to record. James Miller, United Kingdom, 2004, English, Arabic, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 79 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDeath of Yugoslavia, The Part 1 [FL 280]
Film on the disintegration of Yugoslavia, 1987-1994. Angus MacQueen, United Kingdom, 1995, English, 49 min, documentary film, VHSDeath of Yugoslavia, The Part 2 [FL 281]
Film on the disintegration of Yugoslavia, 1987-1994. Angus MacQueen, United Kingdom, 1995, English, 48 min, documentary film, VHSDebt, The / Dlug [FL 682]
A gripping thriller about two entrepreneurs who become tangled in the web of a Russian thug. Two friends begin a business venture of importing Italian scooters into Poland. With no collateral, they turn to a Russian acquaintance that offers money and support in the beginning and then inexplicably turns violent and vicious. Tension mounts as the two friends begin to understand what must be done. Based on a true story, "The Debt" is a terrifying tale of ordinary men pushed to their limit. Stars Robert Gonera, Jacek Borcuch, Andrzej Chyra. Krzysztof Krauze, Poland, 1999, Polish/Subtitles: English, 97 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDecent Factory, A [FL 661]
Director Thomas Balmes follows Nokia, the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones, in his quest to tackle the problem of sustainable enterprise. Is it possible to make a profit and conduct business ethically at the same time? When the film begins, the originally Finnish company Nokia has just hired hanna Kaskinen as an "ethnical and environmental specialist," to propagate the concept of sustainable enterprise within the company. Apparently, Nokia managers are still quite unfamiliar with the phenomenon. Director Balmes follows Kaskinen and her English advisor to China, where they visit and inspect a number of Nokia suppliers. The filmmakers's direct cinema style mercilessly records the discomfort among the British managers, who walk the tightrope between profit and law. The executives' initial frankness changes when they find out that the film is not solely intended for internal use. By this time, though, we are already haunted by images of factory girls on as assemby line, putting together adapters day in and day out for less than the required minimum wage. Thomas balmes, Finland, 2004, Finnish, Macedonian/Subtitles: English, 79 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDeclaration of Love, A / Объяснение в любви [FL 994]
This is the story of a writer's love that spans over many decades. An elderly writer is visiting his wife at a medical establishment to give her a copy of his latest book. As he travels, he remembers how they met during the chaos surrounding the Russian Civil War (1918-21). She came to the door of his apartment looking for a room and was carrying her infant son with her. He took her under his wing, but his job of conveying the meaning of the revolution frequently sent him on trips which placed him in danger. The two of them married, but around the beginning the Second World War, his wife left him following the accidental death of her then-teenaged son. On an assignment to the front, he meets an injured publisher who tells him about her life since she left him -- her affairs and so on -- before he dies of his wounds. After the war, he returns to his apartment, which the two of them shared together for so many years, and he finds her sitting there in a darkened room. Ilya Averbakh, Soviet Union, 1977, Russian, 135 min, fiction film, VHSDefeat of Nazi Troops Near Moscow, The a.k.a. Moscow Strikes Back / Разгром немецких войск под Москвой [FL 954]
The film is based on documentaries showing Moscow and the Moscow region and people digging defense trenches, defense factories' selfless work, severe fighting, and the liberation of towns and villages near the capital. It is a story about the heroism people demonstrated defending the capital, but it also portrays the scale of destruction and loss. A total of two million troops, 2.700 tanks, and 2.000 aircraft were engaged in the mortal combat near Moscow in late 1941. The battle of Moscow was Hitler's first defeat. By pushing Nazi troops back by 150 to 400 kilometers, the Red Army staved off the threat on the Soviet capital and it also drastically changed the situation on the front. Leonid Varlamov, Ilya Kopalin, Soviet Union, 1942, Russian, 58 min, war reports, DVD-ROMDéjà vu aka Reflections / Već viđeno aka Déjà vu [FL 461]
The story follows a music teacher at a Belgrade educational center in the 1970s. Once a brilliant piano player, Mihailo now cannot even touch the piano as he is deeply traumatized by the events of his youth. When young Olgica, giving modeling lessons, enters his school, everything changes in his lonely life and they start a relationship. Instantly, pictures from the past and scary premonitions of the future start flashing before him. With time, the situations which encounters seem to him as if they were repeated – a déjà vu. Living in an unhappy environment, Olgica sees the opportunity of a lifetime in the organization of a major socialistic event in the centre. She manages to involve everybody in the preparations and persuades Mihailo to play the piano. Still, Mihailo’s old traumas will not leave him. Frustrated with his inability to play, bemused with the merging of past and present in his mind and driven by jealousy towards a married karate teacher, Mihailo commits a terrible crime. 20 years later, the narrator from the beginning of the film now reveals himself as Olgica’s brother and has a chance for revenge. Goran Marković, Yugoslavia, 1987, Serbo-Croatian, 92 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDéjà vu / Дежа вю [FL 221]
Retro-comedy. After Mick Nich, a 1930's Chicago gangster, sells out his own gang to the police, the Mafia hires the best hitman in town, Johnny Pollack, to follow him to Odessa, USSR. Upon arrival, Pollack loses his memory and goes on various adventures with a group of thick-headed Odessa locals who think he is a harmless butterfly collector. He subsequently regains and loses his memory several more times while trying to track down Mick Nich, who has taken it upon himself to create his very own alcohol smuggling syndicate filled with inept thugs. After a serious of comic misunderstandings, Pollack gives up and turns himself in. Juliusz Machulski, Soviet Union, 1989, Russian, 105 min, fiction film, VHSDemocracy isn't built on demonstrators' bodies [FL 927]
Documentary movie made by a group of Israeli left-wing activists. Its starting point is a demonstration of its members against the security wall in the occupied territories. It consisted of an attempt to breach it, but ran into the harsh response of the Israeli Army and one of the demonstrators was shot. The authors of the film use the response of the media and of the politicians to the footage of their friend's shooting as a motif to discuss the importance of a left-wing alliance in Israel against the political establishment and against the army that would provide enough civil opposition in order to stop and reverse the building of the wall. The main message is that the security wall just encourages more and more lack of transparency and increases violence rather than bringing democracy and security. David Masi, Israel, 2004, Hebrew, 33 min, documentary film, VHSDeserter / Дезертир [FL 448]
A young soldier drafted to serve in Chechnia deserts from the army. He shares his army experiences in front of the camera, still living in illegality and hoping for a pardon. Sergei Bosenko, Russia, 2001, Russian/Subtitles: English, 31 min, documentary film, VHSDestination Nowa Huta! / Kierunek – Nowa Huta! [FL 1732]
Andrzej Munk’s first short documentaries evolved from social realist pieces to personal artistic statements, captivatingly combining lyricism and satire. This film is a model propaganda poster of the Polish cinema of the Stalinist era, glorifying the giant construction of the steel works and town of Nowa Huta. The treatment of the workers is self-consciously “heroicizing,” emphasizing muscled bodies against the skyline. Andrzej Munk, Poland, 1951, Polish/Subtitles: English, 13 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDetour Calcutta / DÉTOUR PAR CALCUTTA [FL 946]
One day, the director meets a friend of the mayor of Calcutta who asks him: "You're a film maker, aren't you? Why don't you make a film about our mayor?!" That is how the film was born. Originally planned as a simple portrait of Calcutta's mayor, it gradually becomes - through various difficulties met on location (bureaucracy, the director's preconceived ideas, heat) - an essay on tinkering about, and chaos, and a reflection on the documentary genre. In this shooting diary, the director speaks in first person voiceover, without trying to hide what's off camera. On the contrary: that's where he points his lens, looking for a good subject, because his main character - the mayor - disappears after the first third of the shoot. We are taken through an Indian sub-continent metropolis of 17 million inhabitants, led by astonishing chances which the director - a little Swiss - reorganizes in his own style, so that his beautiful escape becomes ours too. François Rossier, Switzerland, 2004, 50 min, art documentary, VHSDevils Don't Dream! [FL 362]
A film about Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, elected President of Guatemala, overthrown and chased out of the country four years later by a CIA-orchestrated coup. Andreas Hoessli, Switzerland, 1995, German/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDevil's Miner, The / Devil's Miner, The [FL 1115]
The Devil's Miner follows two brothers, 14-year-old Basilio and 12-year-old Bernardino, who live in poverty with their mother in the mountains of Bolivia. They work long shifts in the Cerro Rico silver mines, braving deadly conditions to earn enough money to attend school.Through the children's eyes, we encounter the sixteenth century mine, where devout Catholics must sever their ties with God each time they enter the shafts, because of the ancient belief that the devil, as represented in the hundreds of statues constructed in the tunnels, determines the fate of all who work there.Raised without a father, the boys assume many adult responsibilities and must work to afford the clothing and supplies vital to their education. Basilio believes only the mountain devil's generosity will allow them to earn enough money to continue the new school year. Without an education, the brothers have no chance to escape their destiny in the silver mines. Richard Ladkani, Kief Davidson, United States, 2005, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 82 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDevil's Wind, The [FL 1363]
India was the romantic literary muse of the famous 19th century English writer Rudyard Kipling. Out of this romance came his most famous book 'Kim' whose central is an English boy, disguised as an Indian, who spies for his British masters against Russian designs to conquer India. This was a tale of imperialism, knowledge and power that gave universal recognition to the term Great Game and also endowed the British Raj's intelligence service and its mapmakers with an adventurous mystique, in their shadowy game of domination with the Russian empire in 19th century Central Asia. This was the playing field of the Great Game; a vast swathe of land that stretched from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet in the East to Ashkabad, the capital of what was then Russian Turkistan in the West. This distance of several thousand kilometers, following ancient caravan trails, encompassed the great mountain ranges of the Pamirs and the Himalayas, great rivers like the Indus and the Oxus, the world's highest passes, grassy and sandy steppes and salt marshes, great lakes, remote cities and fierce and indestructible people. In this film, Iqbal Malhotra follows in the footsteps of Kipling's Great Gamers' and tries to juxtapose the lessons of the past with the reality of the present. The result is an unusual travelogue about Central Asia set in the backdrop of history and politics. The film captures unusual images of this region that are interconnected to one another and transcends the boundaries of time. Iqbal Malhotra, India, 2007, English, 46 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDiagonal Symphony / Symphonie Diagonale [FL 1337]
A tilted figure, consisting largely of right angles at the beginning, grows by accretion, with the addition of short straight lines and curves which sprout from the existing design. The figure vanishes and the process begins again with a new pattern, each cycle lasting one or two seconds. The complete figures are drawn in a vaguely Art Deco style and could be said to resemble any number of things, an ear, a harp, panpipes, a grand piano with trombones, and so on, only highly stylized. Viking Eggeling, France, 1924, (silent), 42 min, fiction film, VHSDiamond Arm / Бриллиантовая рука [FL 146]
Semyon Gorbunkov goes on a cruise. In Istanbul, he slips and breaks his arm. What he doesn’t know is that this is a signal for a gang of smugglers, who are also on board. So his arm gets bandaged with gold and diamonds. After he returns home, the gangsters are trying to get their loot back, while the police try to catch them using Gorbunkov and his arm. Leonid Gaidai, Soviet Union, 1968, Russian, 95 min, fiction film, VHSDiamonds of the Night / Démanty noci [FL 94]
Tense, brutal story of two Jewish boys who escape from a train transporting them from one concentration camp to another. Ultimately, they are hunted down by a group of old, armed home-guard members. The film goes beyond the themes of war and anti-Nazism and deals with man's struggle to preserve human dignity. Jan Nemec, Czechoslovakia, 1964, Czech/Subtitles: English, 63 min, fiction film, VHSDinka Diaries [FL 1589]
Dinka Diaries tells the story of some of America's most recent arrivals: Sudanese refugees who would have never dreamt a few years ago that they'd be living in America. Over the course of ten months, the film follows the lives of three Sudanese refugees who resettle in the Philadelphia area and adjust to the new American culture and way of life. Dinka Diaries represents an important attempt to empower refugees by giving them the opportunity to represent themselves and their experiences through film. Filmon Mebrahtu, United States, 2005, English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDinner with the President [FL 1594]
Dictator, democrat, defender or dummy - what do Pakistanis really think of President Musharraf? From the middle classes to the mullahs and Musharraf himself, this insightful and timely documentary from acclaimed film-maker Sabiha Sumar explores issues of political power and human rights in Pakistan, considered geopolitically to be one of the most important, and troubled, countries in the world. Sabiha Sumar, Sachithanandam Sathananthan, Pakistan, 2007, Urdu/Subtitles: English, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDirected by Andrei Tarkovsky / Regi Andrej Tarkovskij [FL 297]
This documentary on Andrei Tarkovsky was made by the co-editor of his last movie "The Sacrifice". Michal Leszcylowski interviews Tarkovsky, considered the most important and influential Soviet director of the post-World War II era. Interviews with his widow in addition to television interviews with the legendary director give an insight into the vision and inspirations for his films. Michal Leszczylowski, Sweden, 1988, Russian/Subtitles: English, 102 min, documentary film, VHSDisowned / Kitagadottak [FL 385]
The story of an extended (mostly Roma) family living in Northern Hungary, near the Slovak border. The starting-point of the family story is an old photo which suggests that they might have been of aristocratic origin. Following the different branches of the family tree, searching for ancestors together with the characters, the filmmakers interview family members leading different ways of life, as the family includes miners, musicians and farmers. This social and cultural 'in-betweenness' determines their life: where do they belong, with whom they can identify, what family stories will they pass on to the next generations? Edit Kőszegi, Péter Szuhay, Hungary, 2000, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 93 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDissident: Oswaldo Paya and the Varela Project [FL 1433]
The 20-minute documentary portrays a grassroots pro-democracy movement -- the Varela Project -- struggling to peacefully advance human and political rights in Cuba. Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, leader of the movement, shares his uncensored story of this civic campaign, which calls for a referendum on open elections, freedom of speech, freedom for political prisoners and free enterprise. Heidi Ewing, United States, 2003, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 20 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDivine Nubia / Un Dia Na Vida de Uma Estrela [FL 1132]
A day in the life of Divine Nubia, a transexual in Rio aspiring to be a rich and famous star. Ricky Mastro, Brazil, 2006, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 20 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDivorce Iranian Style [FL 1054]
Hilarious, tragic, stirring, this fly-on-the-wall look at several weeks in an Iranian divorce court provides a unique window into the intimate circumstances of Iranian women’s lives. Following Jamileh, whose husband beats her; Ziba, a 16 year old trying to divorce her 38 year old husband; and Maryam, who is desperately fighting to gain custody of her daughters, this deadpan chronicle showcases the strength, ingenuity, and guile with which they confront biased laws, a Kafkaesque administrative system, and their husbands’ and families’ rage, to win their divorces. Longinotto and her Iranian co-director Ziba Mir-Hosseini spend several weeks following the complainants in and outside of court as they go to great lengths to convince the patient judge to free them. Dispelling images of Iran as a country of war, hostages, and “fatwas”, and Iranian women as passive victims of a terrible system, this film is a subtle, fascinating look at women’s lives in Iran. Kim Longinotto, Ziba Mir-Hosseini, United Kingdom, 1998, /Subtitles: English, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDmitrii Likhachev: I Recall / Дмитрий Лихачев: я вспоминаю [FL 340]
Academic Dmitrii Likhachev tells his life story, starting from childhood before World War I, university years, his imprisonment in the Solovki labor camp, release, later years of work and final academic acceptance and success. The film includes extracts from a non-fiction film "Solovki" (1927). V. Vinogradov, Soviet Union, 1988, Russian, 70 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDo You Remember Dolly Bell? / Sjećaš li se Dolly Bell? [FL 557]
This film debut by world-famous director Emir Kusturica is a coming-of-age drama, set in 1960s Sarajevo and revolving around a 16-year old boy Dino. To the chagrin of his strict, hard-drinking communist father, Dino is more into hypnosis and self-help mantras than Marxism and spends his time in the local culture center. When petty criminal Braco introduces him to a girl named Dolly Bell he agrees to hide her in his attic until Braco returns, unaware that she will be working as a prostitute. Soon, Dino enlightens Dolly about hypnosis and gets some kissing lessons in return. Then, suddenly, Dino's father falls ill and leaves for hospital. In the meantime, local party officials decide to form a band as a way of fighting teenage delinquency. Tormented by his father’s illness and his guilty conscience over Dolly, Dino cannot concentrate on the music and goes to find Dolly who is receiving her customers in a hotel. They renew their emotional bond, which results in Dino’s sexual initiation. Suffering from lung cancer, Dino’s father changes his behavior toward his children, even dropping his objections to Dino’s philosophical ideas. When he dies, Dino finally accepts the role of a lead singer and guitar player at the official dance in culture center while his family, after a lengthy wait, move into a newly built skyscraper. Emir Kusturica, Yugoslavia, 1981, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: , 105 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDocu - Zsolt Csalog Speaks / Doku - Csalog Zsolt beszél [FL 1655]
A documentary portrait of renowned ethnologist and sociologist Zsolt Csalog. He talks about friends, lovers, and politics. Istvan Javor, Hungary, 1999, Hungarian, 105 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDoes Gandhi Matter? [FL 1511]
Produced by the Public Diplomacy Division of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, this film searches for the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi in today's Indian society and not only. A series of interviews with prominent public figures, students, passers by and tourists, the documentary shows interesting views on how Gandhi's heritage lives on in the 21st century. Manoj Raghuvanshi, India, 2008, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 31 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDog Who Loved Trains, The / Pas koji je voleo vozove [FL 465]
A girl named Mika, convicted for drug smuggling, escapes from the transport train. Mika dreams of going to her brother to Paris, but without money or passport she is forced to accept the help of a former stuntman who is now touring provincial towns presenting primitive rodeo shows. On the road they pick up a boy in search of his long lost dog who was trained to jump on and off trains. When the youngster realizes that the cowboy is going give up Mika to the police, he offers her a ride to Belgrade on his motorcycle. There she attempts to get a passport with money she stole from the cowboy, but her criminal friends deceive her and the boy’s bike is destroyed. In desperation, Mika tries to get rid of the affectionate boy who still wants to help her and jumps on a passing train. Trying to catch up with her, the boy injures himself and falls under the train. With the horrific scene moving further and further away from her, Mika notices the boy’s dog peacefully riding her train. Goran Paskaljević, Yugoslavia, 1977, Serbian/Subtitles: Slovenian, 83 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDog's Night Song / Kutya éji dala [FL 1616]
A disconcerting portrait of a Hungarian town thrown into disarray by the arrival of a new parish priest, the film is a web of fragmented and often intersecting narratives: The audience follows a wheelchair-bound veteran of the 1956 uprising unable to commit suicide; an astronomer who moonlights in a punk band; the abused wife of an explosives officer who runs away to join the band; and their son, who films his world with a German tourist's Super 8 camera. A pioneering work of European cinema. Gábor Bódy, Hungary, 1983, English/Subtitles: English, 160 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDon Quixote / Don Quijote [FL 772]
The French version of G.W.Pabst's monumental three-language (English, French and German - separate versions each) filming of Cervantes' classic novel. Pabst adaptation is starrring Russia's legendary opera singer, Fedor Shaliapin as Don Quixote. Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Germany, 1932, French/Subtitles: German, Hungarian, 82 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDon’t Get Me Wrong / Nu te supara, dar… [FL 1547]
"How do you stop the rain?" one of the patients in a psychiatric hospital in Romania repeatedly asks his discussion partner. The latter explains that he is in close touch with God and that he is a supernatural being. But his inquiring friend is not easily convinced. Both men suffer from schizophrenia and spend their days in the clinic endlessly repeating the same discussions. Other patients keep themselves busy by compulsively moving pebbles, staring at liquid projections on the wall, or patiently caring for fellow patients. Without comment, the camera registers everything, pausing at the details: water dripping from the shower head in the bare white-tiled bathroom, a drainpipe attached to the outer wall, the reflection of the air in the puddles in the concrete courtyard. Days go by filled with routine and endless conversations about life, death, God, and the weather forecast. What is divine and what is not? Who brings and who stops the rain? What is normal and what is not? In a contemplative and refined way the film follows the daily life of a community that shows profound humaneness in an inhuman setting. Adina Pintilie, Romania, 2007, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDonkey in Lahore [FL 1600]
Donkey in Lahore tells the real life tale of Brian, an Australian Goth whose skills as a puppeteer takes him on a journey that transcends borders, religion and love. While visiting Lahore in Pakistan to perform at a puppet festival, Brian meets Amber, 17. Ten years Brian's junior, Amber doesn't seem a likely match for this tear-away Goth. She's a devout Muslim and still lives at home with her tight-knit family. Yet in a whirlwind two-week romance during which the pair are never alone together, they fall in love. Over the next two years, Brian and Amber continue their relationship by correspondence. Brian converts to Islam in order to be accepted by Amber's family and so that he can marry her. Brian's struggle to marry Amber is fraught as he battles the Australian immigration system, costly trips between the two countries, his own religious conversion, lifestyle changes and last but not least the stern disapproval of Amber's parents! What unfolds is a real life Romeo and Juliet tale that spans the globe, a captivating story of love that borders on obsessive. From Brisbane to Lahore, from Christianity to Islam, can these star-cross'd lovers live happily ever after? Faramarz K. Rahber, Australia, 2008, English, Arabic, Urdu/Subtitles: English, 117 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDon't Fence Me In: Major Mary and the Karen Refugees from Burma [FL 1452]
The film chronicles the life of 70-year-old freedom fighter Major Mary On and her people's struggle for self-determination. Major Mary's charismatic storytelling is accompanied by rare, clandestine footage smuggled out of the refugee camps along the border between Burma and Thailand. The film reveals the Karen refugees' spirit and determination to survive as political and historical forces conspire against them. Ruth Gumnit, United States, 2004, English, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDon't go away / Не си отивай! [FL 500]
A sequel to the film “Boy turns man” by the same director and script-writer. The protagonist Ran is a grown up already. After university he returns to his hometown and is appointed as school-master. His former classmate Mariana is now his wife. The young couple shares an apartment with his parents, which brings tension into their relationship. In his workplace Ran is principled and enters into conflict with his older colleagues who are driven by routine and egoism. Ran cherishes the idea that the teachers should not impart the children’s self-esteem, in a period when they build up their personalities and are extremely sensitive to the outer world. Parallel to his conflicts at school Ran has problems with his wife. She insists that he uses his influence as a schoolmaster and arrange a flat where they could move in. He rediscovers the object of his infatuation in young years – the elder shop-assistant, who now serves at a buffet – an enterprise of her husband. Profit seeking counterpoised as usually to beauty and idealism enkindle the feelings of Ran. In the end of the film Ran is chased out of his position at the school, due to the conflicts his attitude provokes. Lyudmil Kirkov, Bulgaria, 1975, Bulgarian, 95 min, DVD-ROMDon't Leave Your Lovers / С любимыми не расставайтесь [FL 139]
A divorce case brings up numerous mutual frustrations - sometimes bitter, sometimes funny - in the court-room. Yet after the divorce process is successfully completed, the couple look back at their relationship and decide to start everything all over again. Pavel Arsenov, Soviet Union, 1979, Russian, 78 min, fiction film, VHSDon't Worry, It Will Probably Pass / Du Ska Nog Se Att Det Gar Över [FL 390]
Even in such a liberal environment as Sweden, coming out in public about one's sexual orientation is not an easy step. Especially when a person comes from a small town, where any noticeable difference is taboo for the local people. The director of the film, who lived through the same situation, in an effort to achieve complete sincerity, decided to give small digital cameras to the girls and let them document themselves. The result is a colorful story enriched by varied music, where changing moods correspond to the maturing process of the main protagonists. Cecilia Neant-Falk, Sweden, 2003, Swedish/Subtitles: English, 74 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDoomed Souls / Осъдени души [FL 19]
The action takes place during the Spanish Civil War. The accidental meeting of British noblewoman Fanny Horn with Father Eredia, a Jesuit, reverses their destinies. The attraction between them is very strong, yet the priest is devoted to his faith. Influenced by his religious strength, Fanny Horn follows him to a place where a typhus outbreak is raging. Against the background of this inferno, a crime of passion is committed. Fanny fights for Eredia's love but is in the end rejected by his fanatic aescetism. Exhausted by her experiences, Fanny starts taking morphine. Valo Radev, Bulgaria, 1975, Bulgarian, 141 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDossier on general Vlasov / Досье на генерала Власова [FL 353]
Film introduces the story of general Vlasov, one of the great Soviet military leaders, who fought on the Moscow front, received the highest Soviet military awards and was made “Hero of the Soviet Union”. After being taken prisoner, he created a "Russian Liberation Army" (ROA) of hundreds of thousands of Soviet prisoners who fought on the Nazi side. After the end of the World War II all of those who remained in the Soviet Union were arrested and sent to concentration camps, while the memory of the ROA was completely suppressed. The film puts together fragments of personal memories and remaining documents, trying to reconstruct the scope of the phenomenon and the destinies of the participants. L. Danilov, Soviet Union, 1990, Russian, 58 min, documentary film, VHSDouble of Yesterday Meets Tomorrow, The / Le Double d'hier a rencontre demain [FL 1106]
Jean Rouch among his friends before the premier of his last film " Le rêve plus fort que la mort " in Niamey during the retrospective devoted to the Nigerian cinema. The shooting took place four days before Rouch's tragic death on a road to Tahoua in Nigeria. The last moving images of the great director and his African 'family.' Luc Riolon and Bernard Surugue, France, 2004, 10 min, VHSDouble, The / Двойникът [FL 77]
Assistant professor Denev is a talented scientist who cannot properly manage his time, caught between his scholarly and public activities. Suddenly he comes up with the idea of bringing his look-alike cousin Ivan from the countryside. Ivan appears on the committee boards and wherever his cousin’s presence is required, while Denev attends to his research work. With uncertainty at first but gradually gaining confidence Ivan takes up his new role and his determination to gain material benefits at every occasion becomes threatening. When at last the double seduces his cousin's colleague, who had been attracted to the scientist, the latter finally tries to put the record straight and chase the double from his life. Nikolai Volev, Bulgaria, 1979, Bulgarian, 100 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDown with the masks / Dolje s maskama [FL 857]
A simple but vivid documentary about an initiative on February 20th 1998 to hold a union strike on the main square of Zagreb. The aim of the film was to depict reactions of common people, avoiding the typical style of the TV documentaries at the time, which were mainly focused upon the conflict between demonstrators and police. Mladen Petricic, Croatia, 1999, Croatian, 27 min, art documentary, VHSDr. Caligari / Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari [FL 756]
A milestone of the silent film era and one of the first "art films" to gain international acclaim, this eerie German classic from 1919 remains the most prominent example of German expressionism in the emerging art of the cinema. Stylistically, the look of the film's painted sets--distorted perspectives, sharp angles, twisted architecture--was designed to reflect the splintered psychology of its title character, a sinister figure who uses a lanky somnambulist as a circus attraction. But when Caligari and his sleepwalker are suspected of murder, their novelty act is surrounded by more supernatural implications. With its mad-doctor scenario, striking visuals, and a haunting, zombie-like character at its center, Caligari was one of the first horror films to reach an international audience, sending shock waves through artistic circles and serving as a strong influence on the classic horror films of the 1920s, '30s, and beyond. It's a museum piece today, of interest more for its historical importance, but "Caligari" still casts a considerable spell. Robert Wiene, Germany, 1919, (silent), 46 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDr. Todt, Mission & Achievement / Dr. Todt: Berufung und Werk [FL 784]
At the time of his death in 1942, Dr. Fritz Todt was among the most powerful men of the Third Reich. By training a civil engineer, Todt first caught Hitler's attention in 1932 by emphasizing the importance of road building for national economic recovery. Upon taking power, Hitler made Todt responsible for what would become Germany's great Autobahn project. Every aspect of Autobahn construction--its design, aesthetic (to harmonize with the German landscape), and model role in National Socialist labor relations--was stamped with Todt's personality. As was his other great achievement, the building of the massive network of bunkers and fortifications known as the West Wall--described here as the first battle in the war against France. With the outbreak of war, Todt's organization provided German troops an exemplary corps of engineers, filling out Germany's expanding imperium with new roads, bridges, aircraft fields, and fortifications. All of this is lavishly documented in this film, which supplies extensive and often rare footage of Todt's life and work, concluding with remarkable footage from his state funeral inside the Chancellory in Berlin.Germany, 1943, German/Subtitles: English, 37 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDream Brigade / Álombrigád [FL 95]
Story of a "worker's brigade" attempting to produce a play by a Soviet writer on the Hungarian stage. Their conversations about censorship and brutal law enforcement may have had something to do with the difficulty the film had being released. András Jeles, Hungary, 1985, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 107 min, fiction film, VHSDreaming By Numbers / Die Träume Neapels [FL 1043]
Naples has many neighborhoods with small betting shops. The daily customers don’t pick numbers at random: some play the numbers which correspond to the dates of birth or death of relatives, others play the numbers of their dreams. Dreams are translated into numbers with the help of the Italian numbers book Grimas and by the knowledgeable owners of century-old lottery offices. A "reasoned bet" happens, for example, when someone has had a dream about his father stepping into a bucket of water. The lottery vendor takes the book out: father is 81, foot is 53, water is 39 and bucket is 4, so these are the numbers to bet on. When a regular customer's brother gets murdered, people even use this incident to stake their bets. The obsession with numbers sometimes reaches hilarious proportions ("which numbers can be derived from a dream about a cockroach with a limp?"), but behind the gambling, there are often tragic stories. A historian sees parallels with Pythagoras' theory of numbers, which is kept alive in Italian popular culture. Anna Bucchetti, Netherlands, 2005, Italian/Subtitles: English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDreaming of Space / Космос как предчувствие [FL 804]
The film is set in 1957 in a small port town on the edge of the Soviet empire. The bright beaming eyes of Konyok and Lara - a simple-hearted restaurant cook and his waitress girlfriend - follow the movement of the first sputnik with delight. The film’s main protagonist is a “simple Soviet man.” His alter-ego, friend-enemy, the mysterious Gherman with a strange name and even stranger behavior appears out of nowhere and is prepares to escape from the Soviet Union. He practices sports, swims in icy water, learns a single English phrase about political asylum, and finally seduces Konjok’s girlfriend in order to gain access to foreign ships. Alexei Uchitel, Russia, 2005, Russian/Subtitles: English, 86 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMDreams from the railway station / Snovi na peronu djetinjstva [FL 867]
A film about the life of the children who live, sleep and “work” at Zagreb's main railway station. It tells the story of their every day life and of their dreams, which will probably never come true. Silvio Mirosnicenko, Croatia, 2001, Croatian, 32 min, art documentary, VHSDream / Мечта [FL 191]
Psychological drama. Anna, a young peasant girl looks for work in one of the towns of Western Ukraine. She rents a room in a cheap hotel named "Dream". Working as a waitress, than as a maid, she is exploited and mistreated by her employers. Mikhaiil Room, Soviet Union, 1941, Russian, 100 min, fiction film, VHSDrifter [FL 1545]
The ordinary life of three young homeless people who live by Berlin’s Bahnhof Zoo station. Aileen (16), Angel (23) and Daniel (25) escaped from the remnants of their families and the confines of their small towns to the anonymity of the metropolis. They work as prostitutes to support their drug addiction. At night, they find shelter in halfway houses, in the homes of acquaintances or with regular clients. They have hopes and dreams and a vague plan for their lives, but one which remains a construction site, much like their world: a universe of transitions, unstable in-betweens, the highways, the back ways, the stores, niches, and places of transit. Sebastian Heidinger followed these young people for a period of nine months. The camera soberly and persistently records their unbearable reality – from shooting up heroin in the station toilets, and looking for a place to sleep, to their contacts with “customers” and emergency doctors. A film about a hopeless present and a future that is not much brighter. Sebastian Heidinger, Germany, 2007, German/Subtitles: English, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDrink to Forget / Bere per dimenticare [FL 1443]
Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and other dictators appear on the labels of wine bottles sold in Italy. “Drink to Forget" attempts to unravel the complex emotional, ethical and legal issues raised by the selling and buying of these images through interviews with various actors including the producers and buyers, legal experts, politicians, partisans and members of Italy's Jewish community. M. Calabresi, P. Heeren, C. Molino, Italy, 2006, Italian/Subtitles: English, 40 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDrinking water and freedom III / Pitka voda I sloboda III [FL 851]
Drinking Water and Freedom III is a documentary film whose story spans twenty-seven years, telling of the destiny of two stone memorial tablets and a brass water faucet, representing the everlasting change in the political reality of the area. Nevertheless, is the change for real? Rajko Grlic, Croatia, 1999, Croatian, 15 min, art documentary, VHSDriver For Vera, A / Voditel Dlya Very [FL 1010]
During the Khrushchev “thaw” in Russia, an ambitious limousine driver, Viktor, serves an army general and his pregnant and unmarried daughter, Vera. The background scenery (Moscow and Sevastopol of the early 1960's) is spectacular and the music is extremely powerful. In the geopolitical background there is the power struggle between the figures of the police, the army, and the special services, a struggle that ensued in the power void after Stalin's death. Career, ambition, love, sex, power, violence, birth and death are a devilish mix in the film's shockingly realistic story line. Pavel Chukhraj, Ukraine, 2004, Russian, 110 min, fiction film, VHSDriving Me Crazy [FL 1246]
Both uproariously funny and unerringly cautionary, Broomfield's behind teh scenes document of the making of a musical becomes a ceremonius unmaking-of as egos, budgets and general calamity conspire to ruin the best efforts of all involved in teh New York rehearsals for an extravagant, glitzy production. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1988, English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDrugdje [FL 1409]
There are over a billion of them in their motherland. There are ten thousand of them in Serbia and several hundreds in Zagreb. Can they become somebody more than numbers and strangers identified by the red lanterns here, in the small Croatian town located somewhere between East and West? It is difficult to give a straightforward answer to this question now. The Chinese started to come to this place in 2002. Some of them stayed, set up home and stayed here for good but new ones continually appear who simply come and go. It is easier for the Croatians to accept the former ones; some accept the latter, some do not. The Chinese seem to be glad. They give their children Croatian names and set up businesses. They are most happy because they do not need to work all the time here. They have free Sundays, they work shorter on Saturdays and they can take a month or two of holidays and spend this time in China. Natalija Zupan, Croatia, 2005, Croatian, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 20 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDybbuk, The / Dybbuk, Ha- [FL 880]
Boundaries separating the natural from the supernatural dissolve as ill-fated pledges, unfulfilled passions and untimely deaths ensnare two families in a tragic labyrinth of spiritual possession. Inspired by S. Ansky's ethnographic research of Jews living in the Polish-Russian countryside just before the first World War, The Dybbuk reflects Ansky's deep perception of the shtetl's religious and cultural mores, as well as his insightful appreciation of its hidden spiritual resources. The film's exquisite musical and dance interludes evoke the cultural richness of both pre-WWI shtetl communities and Polish Jewry on the eve of WWII. This movie is, in a loose sense, a ghost story with a familiar theme: malevolent fate works through human passions, destroying our protagonists, who do not realize until too late what lies ahead. A young man and young woman, promised in marriage before they are even born, fall in love with one another on their own volition. The girl's father, seeking out a wealthier son-in-law, tries to wriggle out of the deal. In desperation, the boy kills himself--whereupon his soul is transferred to the girl during the wedding ceremony. It is up to the Wonder Rabbi (A. Morewski) to sort things out. Michal Waszynski, Poland, 1937, (silent), 125 min, fiction film, VHSEagle of the Steppe, The / Салават Юлаев [FL 441]
A Bashkir national hero, Salavat Yulaev, joins the Pugachev uprising in the 1770s to fight for the freedom of his people against the imperial oppression. The film emphasized a common social enemy of the Bashkirs and the Russians as well as their strong 'brotherly' ties. The script is based on a novel by Stepan Zlobin. Yakov Protazanov, Soviet Union, 1940, Russian, 71 min, fiction film, VHSEagles Fly Early / Orlovi rano lete [FL 578]
The film celebrates the contribution of Yugoslav children to the partisan struggle in WWII. The film is an screen adaptation of the novel by Serbian writer Branko Čopić. Just before the beginning of WWII, in the mountainous region of Serbia, a group of pupils, dissatisfied with their strict village teachers decide to turn into “hajduks” – the name by which autonomous outlaws from the Turkish times were known – and live in the woods. The first part of the movie portrays the adventures of this group of youngsters, revolving mainly around the wooden hut which they construct to provide themselves with a safe hideout when playing truant. However, once the war starts, the young “hajduks” need to grow up fast. As the fighting approaches their homes, their innocent childish game turns serious and soon they are fighting and trying to help their village and nearby partisans. In the same hut where they used to hide from their school teacher, the young “hajduks” now hide from the enemy. In the moralizing and happy finale, they manage to trick them and steal ammunition, thus providing the partisans with a crucial advantage that brings victory in an important battle. Soja Jovanović, Yugoslavia, 1964, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: Slovenian, 85 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMEarly Cinema: Primitives and Pioneers 1 [FL 1326]
The BFI's fascinating collection of 60 short films all made before 1911 comes to DVD with the aim of giving wider access to some of the extraordinary film material held in the National Archive, much of which has been restored. Although most films made at this time were actualities and newsreels, this collection contains mostly fiction films, ranging from the dramatic to the comic and the fantastical. This double-disc set provides an entertaining look at how many film devices such as the close-up, the cut-away and editing, were first invented by film-makers before the turn of the century. Amongst the many gems in this compilation are: * 13 shorts by the Lumire brothers, which formed the first projected film show to a paying public in Britain - at Regent Street Polytechnic in 1896. * George Mlis' Voyage a travers l'impossible. * Birt Acres' Rough Sea at Dover. * Nine films by the Path Brothers, including Ali Baba et les quarante voleurs and an example of early film voyeurism in Peeping Tom. * Five films from the Hepworth Company, including the highly successful kidnapping drama Rescued by Rover. * An actuality publicity film commissioned by the biscuit company Peek Frean & Co. * A Day in the Life of a Coalminer, a documentary produced by the Kineto Production Company in 1910. * From the Edison Company; Dewar's It's Scotch (reputedly the first advertising film), Edwin S Porter's The Gay Shoe Clerk, The Great Train Robbery and the popular The Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (adapted from Winsor McCay's comicstrip). There are also films by R W Paul, George Albert Smith, Sheffield Photographic Company, Walter Haggar, James Bamforth and James A Williamson. New improvised scores provided by Neil Brand, John Sweeney and Stephen Horne, pianists at the BFI's National Film Theatre, accompany the films.United Kingdom, (silent), 187 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMEarly Cinema: Primitives and Pioneers 2 [FL 1338]
Second volume of pre-1910 films with piano accompaniment by Neil Brand and commentary by Barry Salt. Features HEPWORTH MANUFACTURING CO: How it feels to be Run Over (1900), Explosion of a Motor car (1900), Rescued by Rover (1905), The other Side of the Hedge (1905), That Fatal Sneeze (1907). CRICKS AND MARTIN: A Visit to Peek Freans Biscuit Works (1906). KINETO PRODCUTION: A day in the Life of a Coalminer (1910). PATHE FRERES: Par le trou de serrure (1901), Histoires dun Crime (1901), Ali Baba et les quarantes voleurs (1905), Reve et realite (1901), La Revoliution en Russie (1905), Aladin ou la lampe merveilleuse (1906), Le Chevel emballe (1907), The Physician of the Castle (1908), Magic Bricks (1908). EDISON MANUFACTURING CO: Dewars - its a Scotch (1898), The Gay Shoe Clerk (1903), The Great Train Robbery (1903), The Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906).(n/a), English, 95 min, fiction film, VHSEarth / Земля [FL 175]
The years of collectivization in Ukraine. Activist Vasil starts a collective farm in his village and organizes the local youth to join it. He also brings a tractor to the village which is to become the beginning of the new life. The kulaks, fearing for their possessions, kill Vasil, but his ideas and undertakings take root. Alexander Dovzhenko, Soviet Union, 1930, (silent)/Subtitles: Russian, 71 min, fiction film, VHSEdi [FL 749]
The film tells a story of two scrap pickers in a Polish town of Łodz- the title hero Edi and his friend Jureczek. Edi spends his idle hours poring over books found in the trash. He lives quietly, avoiding "the brothers," booze-running thugs who rule their neighborhood. The brothers are maniacally protective of their sister, Princess. They hire Edi to tutor her, and Edi becomes embroiled in her affair with a gypsy, evincing a gentleness and self-knowledge that belies his lowly social station. Through this entangelment Edi is wrongly accused of having raped the girl. He severely punished for that but accepts his fate taking care of the girl's child. Piotr Trzaskalski, Poland, 2002, Polish/Subtitles: English, 98 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMEgypt: We Are Watching You [FL 1575]
In 2005 George W. Bush described Egypt as a country which could serve as an example to the Middle East as a democratic state. President Hosni Mubarak, meanwhile, declared the first "free" presidential elections in Egypt in spring of that year. He neglected to mention that opposition candidates had been barred in advance. However, three Egyptian women refused to accept the arrogance of the government and set up a movement called Shayfeen.com – We Are Watching You. Insisting that genuine democracy could only be based on the free will of the people, they began working to increase their fellow citizens' understanding of the fundamentals of democracy. This film records the successes and failures of the movement in the first year of it existence. We see the founders speaking with ordinary people on the street, at demonstrations and remand centres, enjoying small victories and suffering betrayal and frustration. In a country where state propaganda presents an Islamic fundamentalist movement as the only alternative, Egypt: We Are Watching You shows the inner courage of all three women and their belief in democracy, freedom and justice. Leila Menjou, Sherief El Katsha, East Germany, 2007, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEija-Liisa Ahtila: Cinematic Works [FL 1319]
In Eija-Liisa Ahtila's films and videos, ordinary suffering inhabits the bodies of her female subjects and takes over, spilling into such neurotic activities as crawling on a freeway overpass, lying face up in a puddle of mud, acting like a dog or blocking up all the windows and doors of a house so as to keep out distractions. This volume on the cinematic works of Ahtila aims not only to introduce the spectator to her narrative-driven psychological films but also to consider the working process of an artist and filmmaker. Published here for the first time is a complete set of Ahtila's original film manuscripts plus a two-hour DVD with all of her film work to the present, presenting an all-too-rare opportunity to view the work of a time-based artist outside the exhibition space. Included are Me/We, Okay, Gray, If 6 was 9, Today, Consolation Service and Love is a Treasure. Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Finland, Finnish/Subtitles: English, 102 min, art documentary, DVD-ROMElder Blossom / Holunderblüte [FL 1586]
This film takes us to the village of Gastellovo in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave bordered by Poland and Lithuania. This territory was formerly part of north–eastern Prussia. After the Second World War, Stalin deported the German population and the area was settled by people from all over the Soviet Union. Director Volker Koepp tells the stories of children from the third generation of these new residents. The camera unobtrusively follows them while they work and play. It lets them talk about themselves, show their drawings and read their favourite passages from books. In an agricultural region where churches have become dilapidated and are used as granaries, the boundaries between human dwellings and the wildness of nature have become blurred in this visually impressive documentary. What makes an even stronger impression is the difference between the children's world and the world of adults, who often succumb to alcohol in this godforsaken place. What future awaits these boys and girls, who have their dreams and who have already got it into their heads that they are never going to drink? Will they have the strength to change things? Or will they follow the example of their forebears? Volker Koepp, Germany, 2007, German/Subtitles: English, 89 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMElechek / Элечек [FL 657]
Sairash was an exemplary wife for twenty years. After her wedding, she put her former life 'on hold' and began to create a new one with her husband, building a house with the modest means available and finding joy in every new success on the road to their future together. When the new home was finally completed, her husband brought a new, younger, wife into the household, deciding to form a family with both the women, and their children. Sairash rebelled, however. She couldn't stand the new order and after a while she left home. In rebelling against the accepted order, did she become a bad wife, or an example and model for all oppressed women? Weaving together scenes from Sairash's daily routine with frank interviews – both with Sairash herself and those close to her – the filmmaker creates a picture of her transformed life. She thus portrays the inner workings of a woman who has found a new meaning in life, but whose happiness will never be complete without a husband and her children. The documentary is also a commentary on the current post–war situation in Kyrgyzstan where the number of women exceeds that of men, thus leading to frequent cases of polygamy. Sairash, rebelling against the strong, but unfair, order, still wears the elechek – the traditional high headdress worn by elderly married women in Kyrgyzstan. The filmmaker sensitively contrasts her rebellion with the conservative majority view that families should stay together, no matter what the cost. Nailya Rakhmadieva, Kyrgyzstan, 2006, Kyrgyz/Dubbing: Russian/Subtitles: English, 26 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMElusive Summer of '68, The / Varljivo leto '68 [FL 778]
Set against the backdrop of a liberalization in Marshal Tito's Yugoslavia in 1968, this comedy is about the coming of age of Petar (Slavko Stimac) as he looks for love just about anywhere, now that he has discovered it exists. His father (Danilo Stojkovic) is a distant sort who wants him to focus on his grades so he will have a chance at a good future (and be a good Marxist), but Petar's card-shark of a grandfather understands and offers him the advice he needs. Meanwhile, Petar has a crush on his beautiful teacher and wreaks havoc with his academic standing by trying to get back at her for bathing in the river with her male companion. This affront to his feelings is soon forgotten when he meets a charming young miss who is visiting the town with a youth orchestra -- and love takes off from there. Reminiscent of the theme of budding adolescence in earlier films like "Black Peter" by Milos Forman or Jiri Menzel's "Closely Watched Trains," director Goran Paskaljevic shares his famous fellow Czechs' comic insight into the throes of first and uneasy love Goran Paskaljević, Yugoslavia, 1984, Serbian/Subtitles: Slovenian, 85 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMEnd of Second Class, The [FL 1123]
The End of Second Class is a powerful documentary that traces the debate on same sex marriage in Canada up to the passage of equal marriage legislation on July 20, 2005. The story is told from the perspective of three couples from B.C., Ontario and Quebec and lawyers and activists who sought to uphold the Charter rights of lesbians and gay men. The End of Second Class vividly paints the context in which gays and lesbians fought to overcome a history of discrimination and second class status and sought to persuade both the courts and the Parliament of Canada to affirm their right to marry. Nancy Nicol, Canada, 2006, English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEnd of St. Petersburg, The / Konets Sankt-Peterburga [FL 896]
In a film designed to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, Pudovkin again portrays the dawning of political awareness. THE END OF ST. PETERSBURG stars Ivan Chuvelyov as a young peasant working a moribund farm. When his wife dies in childbirth in 1914, the young man heads for St. Petersburg, hoping to get help from his cousin (Aleksandr Chistykov), a factory worker. He's stunned by the pace of the city and awed by the mountainous buildings. His cousin is too preoccupied with the strike he's leading to be of any help to the lad, and the man's wife (Vera Baranovskaya) suggests he should return whence he came. The farmer unwittingly joins a group of strike breakers and naively tells the factory manager that the strikers he's curious about have been meeting at his cousin's house. Deaf to his attempts at atonement, his cousin's wife angrily tosses him into the street. Seeking revenge against the factory manager, the young man rolls through his office like a malefic tsunami before the police take him away. His education has begun. Vsevolod Pudovkin and Mikhail Doller, Soviet Union, 1927, (silent), 106 min, fiction film, VHSEnd of the Rainbow [FL 1520]
A multinational mining company negotiates with the Guinean government before beginning to mine gold in the West African country, paying the original inhabitants compensation. As soon as the mine goes into operation the multinational provides work to poor local villagers. However, inevitable misunderstandings and conflict gradually arise between the community and the white gold–miners, with the investors calling on the army to quell the trouble. This tribal society, which has for years been dependent on small finds of gold, has barely any understanding of the rules of a globalized economy, let alone the opportunity it creates for carpetbagging. The villagers keep searching illicitly for the precious metal, ending up in jail if they are caught. When the mining company leaves with its gold bars what remains is a stripped landscape and greater poverty than before. The film is not concerned with political or ideological rhetoric; it is more a meditation on how traditional societies are finding it ever harder to resist developed modern civilization. Robert Nugent, Australia, 2007, French, English/Subtitles: English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEnd of the Road, The / Az Út Vége [FL 372]
Eastern Hungary in 2001-2002. One family sets off in search of opportunities, a second one waits for the opportunities to come to them - both families hope for a better life. Tamás Almási, Hungary, 2002, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEnemies of Happiness [FL 1487]
The Constitutional Assembly of Afghanistan in 2003. A woman, Malalai Joya criticizing the Afghan rule, including the oppression of women, is thrown out of the Assembly. Threatened, she has to leave her family and house, too buts she continues her political fight in spite of the assassination attempts. In 2005 she runs as a candidate for Parliament - the first time women are allowed to - and wins a seat as the youngest member of the Parliament. She also engaged in protecting women's rights. Eva Mulvad, Afghanistan, Arabic, English/Subtitles: English, 59 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEntr'acte [FL 1337]
A surrealistic film in which somebody gets killed, his coffin gets out of control and after a surrelistic chase it stops. The person gets out of it and let everybody who followed the coffin disapear. Rene Clair, France, 1924, fiction film, VHSEqual Access: Integrated Education for Romani Children in Bulgaria [FL 1390]
Throughout Central and Eastern Europe, racially-based segregation denies thousands of Romani children equal academic opportunity as they attend substandard schools in Romani ghettos. In the year 2000, Romani activists from the Bulgarian town of Vidin spearheaded the first initiative for educational desegregation in Europe. Equal Access tells the story of two seventh graders who met and became friends only when Romani children joined their peers in mainstream schools. The video calls on authorities to fully endorse nation-wide policies in support of educational integration of Romani children.Bulgaria, 2006, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 16 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEscape from Gulag / So weit die Füße tragen aka Побег из Гулага [FL 520]
As prisoner of war Clemens Forell, a German soldier during WW II, is sentenced to a labour camp in far east Siberia. After four years working in the mines he escapes from the camp (in 1949) and tries to get home to his wife and children. For three years he journeys through Siberia. An odyssey of 14,000 kilometers, set against a backdrop of desolate and inhospitable landscape, beset by danger (from both animals and humans). Constantly battling the worst nature can throw at him, Forell makes his way, step by step towards Persia and the longed-for freedom. Sometimes riding on trains, sometimes by boat, mostly on foot, he never knows if his next step won't be his last. His prosecutor Kamenev is always right behind him, and more than once it seems that Forell is captured again. Hardy Martins, Germany, 2001, Russian, 154 min, fiction film, VHSEscape into Love / Menekülés a szerelembe [FL 1223]
“I met Eta at the river Bódva, close to the forest. It was her laughter that made me notice her. She was wearing a red jumper sliding barefoot in the snow. “I’m not cold – she said – my heart makes me warm.” Eta was 14 when she married Boldi, the master basket-weaver of the entire region. They lived poorly in Szendrőlád, but in love, peace and harmony. Eta bore him 7 children, one daughter, and 6 sons. The eldest had their own families already. Boldi and Eta even had a handful of grandchildren. Only Iván and Roki, the two youngest, still at school, still lived with them. One day I got a call from Eta. She asked me to visit and make a film of Boldi, so that she would have a record to remember him by forever. We went there and we filmed what she wanted, and the way she wanted it. Then she was left all alone. She tried to come to terms with her situation. She acted like a strong man – and she had to, since she still had two adolescent children. She did everything she could to earn money. By picking and selling mushrooms, harvesting potatoes, she managed to send Roki to secondary school in Tokaj, so that he would become a chef. And she called us to visit again, to witness that she had achieved. A couple of years later she introduced a man from Romania, Zsolti. Her eyes were shining. She was in love, and didn’t care about the borders – neither that between countries, nor those within the family. She wanted to live.” Edit Kőszegi Edit Kőszegi, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 40 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEssay on the Subject Soon to be Gone / Сочинение на уходящую тему... [FL 833]
This short documentary visits the scenes of mass celebrations and gatherings in the Moscow Gorky Park on Victory day, 2000. Several interviews with war veterans are interposed with short sequences from war-time films showing the grime and horror of war. The director also interviews several younger people who were children during the war and who now recall the hardships of evacuation. The most effective part of the film is the contrast between the dispassionate, seemingly nonchalant tone with which the stories of suffering and deprivation are told by the war generation and the expressionless faces of the youngsters who flock to the park to "celebrate" V-day, turning it into yet another occasion to have a drink in the open. The director Sergei Govorukhin is the son of the famous Stanislav Govorukhin, director, actor and politician, and is himself a veteran of the Chechen campaign. The film is lyrical and sensitive without being melodramatic or resorting to the usual clichés in order to capture the complexity and inherent tragedy of Russia's experience during the war. Sergei Govorukhin, Russia, 2000, Russian, 30 min, documentary film, VHSEternal Jew, The / Der Ewige Jude [FL 319]
One of the most notorious of the Nazi propaganda films. Produced under the close supervision of Joseph Goebbels, it depicts the Jews of Poland as a less-than-human species, living like rats and endangering racial "purity" while also controlling world commerce. Offensive in every regard, the film's hateful lies may seem obvious to day, but this movie remains a terrifying record of how widely they became accepted. Fritz Hippler, Germany, 1940, German/Voice-over: English, 62 min, VHSEternally Aliens / For Alltid Fremmed [FL 373]
Portraits of young people in Norway and France who live between two cultures. The Western culture of their homeland and their parents' Islamic cultural heritage both affect their lives. As a result, they feel homeless. In their homeland these young people are considered foreigners, but when visiting their roots they long for home. They feel eternally alien. The movie talks about life on the border-line between two cultures. What is it like to be an alien in one's own country? How does it feel to experience racism at the hands of one's fellow countrymen? And most important of all, how can one cope in spite of all the hatred that must be faced? Hisham al-Zouki, Norway, 2003, /Subtitles: English, 23 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEva A 5116 [FL 943]
During WW II, a Hungarian child in a concentration camp is saved and raised by a Polish family. After 19 years, the young woman publishes a letter in local papers looking for her long-lost family. This documentary from László Nádasy follows the search for her relatives, commenting on the realities she faced in the camp and the emotions of those involved in her life. László Nádasy, Hungary, 1963, Hungarian, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEven if She Had Been a Criminal / Eût-elle été criminelle… [FL 1220]
This stunning and masterful film covers a lot of ground for its short running time. Initially we’re exposed to a blur of archival footage rushing by at high speed, which despite its pace, captures the insanity and devastation of France during World War II. The dizzying images start to slow as the film focuses on the triumphant celebration of a liberated country. Then abruptly the celebration turns to cruelty as we witness the public humiliation and punishment of women accused of having been the lovers of German soldiers during the war. Their heads are shaved, they are beaten and forced to paint swastikas on their faces. As the camera pans through the crowd the film shows the shocking breadth of emotion present: from the shame of the victims to the hatred and joy in the eyes of the perpetrators, it is evident that the atrocities of the war lived on long after Hitler’s armies were defeated. A quite different look at the liberation of France. Jean-Gabriel Périot, France, 2006, (silent), 10 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEvery day God kisses us on the mouth / In fiecare zi Dumnezeu ne saruta pe gura [FL 46]
Dumitru is a killer twice over: he is a butcher and an murderer. Dumitru is just out of prison, for the first time since the fall of communism. On his way home he kills twice, once because of a card game and second because he finds his wife pregnant by his own brother. This triggers a whole series of murders. By the end of it all, Dumitru decides to kill himself but finds out that God has other plans for him. Sinisa Dragin, Romania, 2001, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 100 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMEverything For Sale / Wszystko na spozedaź [FL 788]
Inspired by the tragic death of the great Polish actor Zbigniew Cybulski, this Andrzej Wajda film focuses on the behind-the-scenes lives of a director and his actors when they are disrupted by the mysterious murder of their leading man. It is, in director Wajda’s words, "a story about the people who make films – the directors and the actors." Film fiction mixes with reality as some of the actors play themselves. Everything For Sale can also be viewed as a glimpse into the way in which Wajda deals with his past and with his friendship with Cybuski. Andrzej Wajda, Poland, 1968, Polish/Subtitles: English, Russian, German, French, Polish, Italian, Spanish, 94 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMExam (aka The Test) / Изпит [FL 509]
The begining of the 20th century. The young cooper Lio is recognized by the cooper guild as a master of his trade, but no one believes in his abilities. Even the local Moslem priest, for whom Lio made his first barrel, doubts its strength because the hoops are made of wood. Lio throws the barrel in the foaming rocky cauldron of the mountain river, wins a bet against the priest and shaves his beard as has been agreed. This is a parable about genuine mastery and the creative spirit. Georgi Dyulgerov, Bulgaria, 1971, Bulgarian, 53 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMExile Family Movie / Einmal Mekka und Zurück [FL 1212]
The bittersweet story of a family torn apart by politics, scattered across continents, divided by cultures, and their attempt to come together for their first true family reunion in decades. 20 years ago the Persian filmmaker Arash emigrated from Iran to Austria with his father, mother and little sister. Many other extended family members ended up in the West, while others stayed behind. Despite the distance between them, the family ties remained strong. Arash's film charts his risky journey to Mecca to take part in the family get-together. He and other exiled family members had to pretend to be Muslim pilgrims in order to avoid suspicion by the authorities. This is both a personal and a universal story of family love, of what unites and divides us. Arash T. Riahi, Austria, 2006, Persian, English, German/Subtitles: English, 92 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMExtraordinary Accident (part 1) / Чрезвычайное проишествие, часть 1 [FL 200]
The film is based on a historical incident of 1954 involving the Soviet tanker "Tuapse" (in the film called "Poltava"). When the tanker is captured by the Taiwan military the Soviet sailors declare a collective hunger strike in protest. They refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the Taiwan government or renounce their Soviet citizenship. The crew is isolated in a villa and decently treated at first, but not allowed to send messages outside. Yet the sailors succeed in informing the Soviet Union about their situation, and survive months of provocations, ranging from offers of high salaries and visits to brothels to physical torture and starvation. One of the sailors pretends to defect to the other side and starts playing a double game, sending messages to the others with crossed fingers. After 13 months the Soviet government succeeds in bringing the sailors home. Viktor Ivchenko, Soviet Union, 1958, Russian, 74 min, fiction film, VHSExtraordinary Accident, 2 part / Чрезвычайное происшествие, 2 часть [FL 1089]
2nd part of the film based on a historical incident of 1954 involving the Soviet tanker "Tuapse," captured by the Taiwan military. By the end of the film, after 13 months captivity, the Soviet government succeeds in bringing the sailors home. Viktor Ivchenko, Soviet Union, 1958, Russian, 88 min, VHSEye of the Needle, The / Nalsogat [FL 1167]
A close look at the Swedish and European migrational policy and the living situation for refugees in Europe coming from all troubled areas of the world. The film captures the daily life of four people all marked by the order of New Europe - a man hiding assylum seekers from the authorities, an official at the Swedish Migration Board, a young Bosnian woman living underground, and a Macedonian man waiting for his assylum application to come through. Jonas Soderqvist, Sweden, 2005, Swedish, English, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: English, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEye of Vichy, The / L'Oeil de Vichy [FL 687]
"The Eye of Vichy" is a carefully chosen compilation of long forgotten film footage and newsreels produced by the Nazis and French colloborators during World War II. From the small town of Vichy in central France, Field Marshall Petain's puppet government worked with their Nazi overlords in creating pro-Nazi propaganda. Seeking to turn the tide of public emotion against both the Allied Forces and the Jews, they skillfully produced a strange alternative hsitory of the war years that is shocking and grimly fascinating. French New wave founder Claude Chabrol creates a masterful look at Nazis and media manipulation that is engrossing as any of his thrillers. Claude Charbol, France, 1993, English, French/Subtitles: English, 110 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFace of Russia, The Part 1: The Face on the Firewood [FL 247]
The Face of Russia is a personal interpretation of Russia’s cultural history by one of America’s pre-eminent Russian scholars, James H. Billington. Part 1: The painting of icons, or holy pictures, was the first art that Russia made her own. By 988, the Eastern tradition of icon painting had been nearly destroyed by a series of Byzantine emperors, the original iconoclasts. But the newly converted Russians revived the art, combined it with powerful symbols of indigenous folk culture, and made it an inspiring expression of Christian faith. In this first episode, viewers see how the purely religious tradition of the icon soared toward abstraction in Russia, influencing the birth of modern art in the early 1900s, and then helped legitimize secular political power in the Soviet era. Audiences witness the rededication of a monastery that had been used as a military barracks. They also see an Old Believers baptism and experience the isolated serenity of Ferapontovo in the North, with its ethereal frescoes by Dionysius and the melodious bells that symbolized both power and faith. Viewers then visit the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev and go inside the beautiful Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin at the time of the attempted Communist putsch of August 1991. Murray Grigor, United States, 1998, English, 60 min, documentary film, VHSFace of Russia, The Part 2: The Facade of Power [FL 248]
The Face of Russia is a personal interpretation of Russia’s cultural history by one of America’s pre-eminent Russian scholars, James H. Billington. Part 2: This program traces the growth of Russian architecture from the Eastern-inspired onion domes and tent roofs of the early wooden churches to the sprawling palaces and vertical spires of secular St. Petersburg. Viewers visit baroque palaces such as Peterhof, with fountains and classical statuary that echo the elegant parks of Italy and France; Rastrelli’s famed Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, and his Summer Palace at nearby Tsarskoe Selo. The program also explores the novel, especially the extraordinary achievement of writer Nikolai Gogol, who saw St. Petersburg as a heartless city—a city for parades rather than for people. The program takes an in-depth look at Gogol’s work of literary genius, Dead Souls, an inspiration to the radicals of the nineteenth century, dissidents of the Soviet period, and filmmakers and theater producers today. Murray Grigor, United States, 1998, English, 60 min, documentary film, VHSFace of Russia, The Part 3: Facing the Future [FL 249]
The Face of Russia is a personal interpretation of Russia’s cultural history by one of America’s pre-eminent Russian scholars, James H. Billington. Part 3: Old Russia considered instrumental music to be the work of the devil; and no musical instruments were permitted in Russian Orthodox churches. The imperial court played Italian-style music; but only in the late nineteenth century, coinciding with the rise of the Russian revolutionary movement, did Russian music suddenly explode through the efforts of talented, unconventional composers. In this episode, viewers meet Musorgsky, the genius of this group, who dramatized in his operatic masterpiece, Boris Godunov, the conflict between Russia’s rulers and its people, its reverence for tradition and its passion for revolution. The program then introduces Sergei Eisenstein, the film director and brilliant innovator, who united all forms of Russian art into the new icon of film. His revolutionary cinema of the early Soviet period retold history with such power that the images became more real than the events—challenging today’s filmmakers to use the cinema to continue reshaping the face of Russia. Finally, the program examines how Russia’s traditional and new art forms are influencing the country’s current political process and its emerging democracy. Murray Grigor, United States, 1998, English, 60 min, documentary film, VHSFace of the Revolution, The. In Search of a Budapest Girl / A forradalom arca. Egy pesti lány nyomában [FL 1024]
A young man and a girl on Muzeum boulevard in Budapest, shoulder to shoulder, looking directly into the camera. The above image appeared on the inner front page of the 30 October 1956 issue of Paris Match. 45 years after the photo was taken, historian Eszter Balázs and journalist Phil Casoar set up a journey to trace the young couple and find out who they were, whether they survived the revolution, and if yes, where they live. The film follows them in their quest. Since there was more information available about the girl, she is the one whose path the filmmakers trace. It turns out that the Paris Match image of the revolutionary girl is not simply a record of a moment in her life, but actually the publication of the photo in the Western press influenced her entire life. She had to flee Hungary partly because of that photo. On the other hand, that photo made her one of the best-known immigrants. She tried to become identical with the image of that photograph, therefore in the eyes of her acquaintances she remained the Hero of the Revolution. In the film, witnesses of her life, as well as the photographer tell their stories. Attila Kékesi, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian, English, French/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFace to Face with Communism [FL 269]
This propaganda film, produced by the US Government, portrays the mock seizure of an American town by communists. Scenes show the tactics of communists arresting and sentencing citizens, and the actions of an Air Force sergeant in resisting the communist takeover.United States, 1951, English, 26 min, propaganda film, VHSFall of Berlin, The / Падение Берлина [FL 785]
Over 40 Byelorussian and 1st Ukrainian Army cameramen contributed footage of this remarkable documentary of the fall of Berlin, including captured German footage. Directed by Yuri Raizman. Yuri Raizman, Soviet Union, 1945, Russian/Subtitles: English, 72 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFall of Berlin, The / Падение Берлина [FL 215]
Film about the Second World War. The story presents the vicissitudes of a soldier at the front and his sweetheart in a German forced labor camp, juxtaposed with sequences of Stalin and Hitler conducting the war. Stalin, wise, kind and, of course, a supreme military leader is hilarious, Hitler is a mere caricature. Mikhail Chiaureli, Soviet Union, 1949, Russian, Hungarian, 144 min, fiction film, VHSFall of Rock and Roll, The / Kako je propao rock and roll [FL 454]
This comic omnibus consists of three independent stories about Belgrade youngsters in the late 1980s. The stories are interconnected through the character of Green Tooth, a comic book hero, who appears at the beginning of each story. In the first one named "Two paths to the brook" young Koma makes a bet that he will sell more records than his dad, a folk singer and a record company owner. With the help of his girlfriend he signs for his dad’s company as a mysterious ninja singer and eventually wins the bet. In the second part “Love isn’t everything, there is something in money too,” Dracula, guest at a costume party, seduces a young girl, but she doesn’t share his views of their future relationship. After he tries to avoid making any commitments, eventually he falls in love and she moves to his place. The final part, "Do not send me letters", focuses on a young couple – Eva and Đuro. One day an anonymous letter appears, apparently addressed to Eva and jealous Đuro does everything to find out who wrote it. When their homosexual neighbor is revealed as its sender, a happy end follows. Goran Gajić, Zoran Pezo, Vladimir Slavica, Yugoslavia, 1989, Serbo-Croatian, 106 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMFalling Into Ashes [FL 1348]
In a remote Iranian village a small girl of about 11 is withdrawn from doll making classes by her parents to be married to a middle aged man. Mahmoud Shoolizadeh, United Kingdom, 2006, Persian/Subtitles: English, 9 min, short film, DVD-ROMFalse Word, The / Falsche Wort, Das [FL 1007]
This documentary explores the round-up and extermination of Europe's Roma and the propaganda associated with it. It includes rarely seen archival footage of Nazi "scientists" carefully measuring the features of Roma children and conducting other experiments. This moving documentary attempts to shed light upon the plight of the Roma during WW2.. Melanie Spitta and Katrin Seybold, Germany, 1987, German/Subtitles: English, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFamily Nest / Családi tűzfészek [FL 1481]
A documentary-fiction about a working class couple. Irén with her little daughter Krisztike moves in with four people of her husband’s family in a single room flat in one of the outer districts of Budapest while the husband is doing his military service. In the incredible small space every minor problem turns into a murderous quarrel. The father-in-law arouses his son’s jealousy, undermining his marriage. Irén and her daughter move in a shabby sub-standard flat as squatters, hoping that they would not be evicted. She is sure that living on their own would solve all problems. Béla Tarr, Hungary, 1977, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, German, French, Dutch, 108 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMFamily Vilakati [FL 1156]
Life is tough for the Vilakati family. Their parents are gone - Dad, dead from the aids scourge which has orphaned 65,000 in the country and Mum MIA and, possibly, also dead. As a result it is left to the two older siblings to tend and care for the younger pair. This is a touching and revealing documentary short, with director Xanthe Hamilton capturing the day to day activities of the family, without seeming to intrude. There is space to for the eldest son to talk about his aspirations for the future, which largely centre on his family but also time to watch the family interacting, all pitching in to run the household. Tough and intimate, Hamilton captures both the sense of tragedy and the strength of the family's bond. Let's hope she gets to paint her portraits on a larger canvas soon. Xanthe Hamilton, (n/a), 2006, 10 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFantastic Airship 1904-1908, The / Het fantastische luchtschip 1904-1908 [FL 1321]
6 experimental short films of Georges Melies. Georges Melies, France, (silent), 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFaraway / Messzi távol [FL 1720]
Kányád is a small village in the heart of Transylvania, Romania. Hiding in an idyllic valley, this community of merely 300 people evokes times when there were more carriages than cars passing by on the road. The protagonists of this film are the young girls and boys of the village whose lives we learn about through the village holidays. They talk about their hopes and fears while living in a world where time stands still. Márton Vécsei, Hungary, 2008, Hungarian, 47 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFarewell Russians! / Isten veletek oroszok! [FL 1658]
The liberating-invading Soviet army sets out to leave Hungary after 45 years of occupation. A farewell with mixed emotions on both sides. Janos Veszi, Hungary, 1990, Hungarian, 65 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFate of the Lhapa [FL 1591]
Fate of the Lhapa is a feature-length documentary about the last three Tibetan shamans (lhapas) living in a Tibetan refugee camp in Nepal. With no other descendants to carry on their healing practices and a younger generation attending schools, acculturating, and modernizing, these "sucking doctors" are practicing an endangered tradition. Each lhapa requested that their story be filmed so that an historical record would be created. Their fear was that the next heir might not appear until after the old men's deaths. Subsequently, with no lhapa alive to mentor the children, the documentary would be used to transmit the knowledge to the next generation. These tales of nomadic childhoods, shamanic callings and apprenticeships, cosmologies of disease and treatments, and of their flight from Tibet during the Chinese occupation in the late 1950s will be juxtaposed with images of present-day life in the camp, current healing practices and shared concerns of the future and the fate of their tradition. This is a touching portrayal of life in exile in a refugee camp in Nepal. Sarah Sifers, United States, 2007, /Subtitles: English, 63 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFather Figures / Apaképek [FL 1648]
Eight outstanding Hungarian artists, all past 60, talk about their fathers. A generation looks back at the father figure that was shaped by war, POW and concentration camps. Andras Sipos, Pal Schiffer, Hungary, 2000, Hungarian, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMfather, a son, a Holy Ghost, A / Otac, sin, sveti duh [FL 972]
"A Father, A Son, A Holy Ghost" is a social and anthropological vision of the aftermath of war in former Yugoslavia. Zelimir Gvardiol employs the triptych approach, presenting three separate scenarios that are connected by shared inevitability and intense misfortune. Three children with psyches that have been permanently altered through intense loss and destruction show a suffering that is simultaneously impossible and true. Part One: The story of a twenty-year-old boy. A deserter of the war in Bosnia and Hercegovina, the young man finds himself taking on the care of his half sisters and half brother after his stepmother is killed by the common father. Part Two: A sixteen year old whose life has been traumatized by both the divorce of his parents and the ensuing war. Part Three: An unborn child is deprived of health as a war breaks out just before his birth, a war which claims the life of his father and forces his mother to give birth in the sewerage. Zelimir Gvardiol, Germany, 1998, Serbo-Croatian, 19 min, documentary film, VHSFather / Apa [FL 105]
After his father is killed in World War II, a young Hungarian boy named Tako concocts a fantasy image of the parent he never really knew. Convincing himself of his father's unstinting bravery, the boy grows into a man who hopes to emulate his father’s heroism. István Szabó, Hungary, 1966, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 98 min, fiction film, VHSFavela Rising [FL 1120]
Favela Rising documents a man and a movement, a city divided and a favela (Brazilian squatter settlement) united. Haunted by the murders of his family and many of his friends, Anderson Sá is a former drug-trafficker who turns social revolutionary in Rio de Janeiro’s most feared slum. Through hip-hop music, the rhythms of the street, and Afro-Brazilian dance he rallies his community to counteract the violent oppression enforced by teenage drug armies and sustained by corrupt police.At the dawn of liberation, just as collective mobility is overcoming all odds and Anderson’s grassroots Afro Reggae movement is at the height of its success, a tragic accident threatens to silence the movement forever. Matt Mochary, Jeff Zimbalist, Brazil, 2005, Portuguese, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFavourite No 13 / Любимец 13 [FL 78]
Radoslav and Radosvet are twin brothers. Radoslav plays in a football team. On the beach in the Black Sea town of Varna he meets Elena – a beautiful girl from Sofia and falls in love with her. Radosvet is to the opposite of his brother - a gambler, prosecuted by the police. He decides to take advantage of his striking resemblance to his brother and take his place. He pretends to be the football player and accepts a proposal to move to Sofia and get a big apartment and a nice salary. Radoslav also arrives in Sofia looking for Elena. Elena meets Radosvet, mistakes him for the one that she likes and, offended by his daring conduct, gives him a slap in the face. After this incident Elena meets Radoslav, and they clear up the misunderstanding. During a footbal game the swap is discovered by the rest. Rejecting an offer to stay in the team Radoslav takes Elena and they leave for the seaside. Vladimir Yanchev, Bulgaria, 1958, Bulgarian, 89 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMFear and despair [FL 912]
Short documentary about the wall built by the Israeli army in the Occupied territories. Various individuals and personalities, of different national, religious and occupational affiliation discuss the material and symbolic consequences of this wall for the people living in Palestinian territories and for the Israelis and their state as well. Michael Dwyer, United States, 2004, English, 10 min, documentary film, VHSFelix and Otilia / Felix si Otilia [FL 399]
Felix and Otilia are cousins. The two youngsters fall in love with each other. However, the social and financial position of Felix does not make him a good match for Otilia, who is courted by Pascalopol, a Romanian nouveau riche. At the same time, Otilia's family is desperately searching for the hidden fortune of Otilia's step-father, who is now confined to bed. The film is an adaptation of the novel "Otilia's Enigma" by George Calinescu, which describes the Romanian families confronting economic, social, and political challenges of the early 20th century. Iulian Mihu, Romania, 1972, Romanian, 139 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMFestive Nuremberg / Festlisches Nürnberg [FL 266]
The film features highlights from the Party rallies at Nuremberg in 1936 and 1937. Throughout its spectacular sequences--night rallies, torchlit marches, massed throngs and fireworks--the film argues its case for an ever-growing bond between party and nation. Leni Riefenstahl, Germany, 1937, German/Subtitles: English, 21 min, propaganda film, VHSFetishes [FL 1593]
Filmed at Pandora's Box, the luxurious S&M parlour in New York, the film reveals a full range of fetishes; from rubber and infantilism, to asphyxiation and mummification. Several festishes take on a bizarre sociopolitical twist: Jewish clients into Nazi fantasies, black clients into plantation slave scenarios, a white policeman submitting to a black master. As one client remarks: "Fetishes are the eroticization of the worst thing you can ever imagine happening to you." Clients pay upwards of $10,000 a night to submit to a mistress who creates highly elaborate role-playing scenarios designed to meet her client's specific fetishistic needs. Doctors and nurses, naked wrestling to bullwhipping, are played out in diverse theme rooms, including the customary medieval torture chamber with racks, cages and guillotines. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1996, English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFetishes [FL 1247]
For two weeks, Nick Broomfield and a documentary crew visit Pandora's Box, an up-scale house of bondage on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, where clients pay $175 an hour to be subservient to mistresses. Mistresses talk about their craft; a few clients, usually masked, are interviewed as well. Then, the camera watches sessions organized around fetishes: rubber, wrestling, corporal punishment, masochism, and infantilism. Mistress Raven, the owner of Pandora's Box, explains that pain need not be part of the subservient experience: it is, at its root, a transfer of power. After their session has ended, clients talk about how drained, relaxed, relieved, and at peace they are. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1996, English, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFever of Love aka Love Fever / Groznica ljubavi [FL 566]
The film revolves around two youngsters, Vesna and Bane; they are passionately in love, but when she goes abroad for the summer holidays, he cheats on her. On her return Vesna finds out about Bane’s infidelity, and though he deeply regrets it, breaks up with him. New problems arise when she realizes that she is pregnant. She cannot have an abortion and wants to keep her baby, but her mother has more ambitious plans for her. She forces Vesna to hide her pregnancy from everyone, including Bane, and through a lawyer arranges an illegal adoption by a German couple. Confused Vesna sees no alternative but to agree to this immoral plan. Still, when Bane finally finds about his ex-girlfriend's pregnancy and the wheeling and dealing that have taken place, he kidnaps the newborn baby. Realizing her mistake, Vesna forgives Bane for his infidelity and joins him and their friends in a joint endeavor to keep the baby. The lawyer, however, reports the kidnapping to the police and Bane gets arrested, while the baby is returned to the German couple. It seems that there is no way out of the situation, but a happy end is assured as Vesna’s father finally decides to protect his daughter and helped by their devoted friends, the young couple manages to get their son back. Vlastimir Radovanović, Yugoslavia, 1984, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 98 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMFifteen-Year-Old Widows, The / Les veuves de quinze ans [FL 1106]
A sketch for The Adolescents or La fleur de l'age (The Age of Awakening). One of four film sketches on the problems of adolescents facing the adult world in the 1960s. The three other sketches were directed by Michel Brault, Hiroshi Teshigahara, and Gian Vittorio Baldi. Jean Rouch, France, 1965, French, 24 min, VHSFighters, The / Истребители [FL 165] Eduard Penzlin, Soviet Union, 1939, Russian, 91 min, fiction film, VHS
Film Without Title. Working Russia / Фильм без названия. Трудовая Россия [FL 360]
Chronicle of the 1993 October events in Moscow from a communist perspective. The film features excerpts from various news and political television programs.Russia, 1993, Russian, 135 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFinal Solution [FL 1293]
Final Solution is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb/March 2002 - July 2003, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Moslems in Gujarat. It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscient of the Nazi Germany of early/mid-1930s. Final Solution is anti-hate/ violence as “those who forget history are condemned to relive it”. Part 1: Pride and Genocide deals with the carnage and its immediate aftermath. It examines the patterns of pre-planned genocidal violence (by right-wing Hindutva cadres), which many claim was state-supported, if not state-sponsored. The film reconstructs through eyewitness accounts the attack on Gulbarg and Patiya (Ahmedabad) and acts of barbaric violence against Moslem women at Eral and Delol/Kalol (Panchmahals) even as Chief Minister Modi traverses the state on his Gaurav Yatra. Part 2 : The Hate Mandate documents the poll campaign during the Assembly elections in Gujarat in late 2002. It records in detail the exploitation of the Godhra incident by the right-wing propaganda machinery for electoral gains. The film studies and documents the situation months after the elections to find shocking faultlines – voluntary ghettoisation, segregation in schools, formal calls for economic boycott of Moslems and continuing acts of violence. Rakesh Sharma, India, 2004, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 149 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFinal Solution. Part I: Pride and Genocide [FL 753]
"Final Solution" is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb/March 2002 - July 2003, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Moslems in Gujarat. It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscient of the Nazi Germany of early/mid-1930s. Part 1 of the ""Final Solution" deals with the carnage and its immediate aftermath. It examines the patterns of pre-planned genocidal violence (by right-wing Hindutva cadres), which many claim was state-supported, if not state-sponsored. The film reconstructs through eyewitness accounts the attack on Gulbarg and Patiya (Ahmedabad) and acts of barbaric violence against Moslem women at Eral and Delol/Kalol (Panchmahals) even as Chief Minister Modi traverses the state on his Gaurav Yatra. Rakesh Sharma, India, 2003, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFinal Solution. Part II: Hate Mandate [FL 754]
Final Solution is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb/March 2002 - July 2003, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Muslims in Gujarat. It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscient of the Nazi Germany of early/mid-1930s. Part 2 "The Hate Mandate" documents the poll campaign during the Assembly elections in Gujarat in late 2002. It records in detail the exploitation of the Godhra incident by the right-wing propaganda machinery for electoral gains. The film studies and documents the situation months after the elections to find shocking faultlines – voluntary ghettoisation, segregation in schools, formal calls for economic boycott of Muslims and continuing acts of violence. Rakesh Sharma, India, 2003, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 76 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFine Dead Girls aka Nice Dead Girls / Fine mrtve djevojke [FL 543]
Situated in contemporary Zagreb, the film centers on a young lesbian couple, Iva and Mare. They rent a shady flat next to the railway station, but soon realize that this seemingly quiet neighborhood is full of dark secrets and prejudices. Among their new neighbors are a sleazy gynecologist, a prostitute and a war veteran who regularly beats his wife. Still the worst of all seems to be their landlady Olga who constantly observes the new tenants, and when she realizes that two girls are lesbians, immediately gives them notice. Hearing this, Olga’s aggressive son Daniel, whom she pathologically adores, rapes Iva. In an emerging clash, in which literally the whole neighborhood is involved Danijel falls under a train and Marija is killed under suspicious circumstances. Up to this point, we learn about this story retrospectively, through the testimony of Iva, who is by now married and has a son who has just been kidnapped. She is telling her story to the police inspector assigned to the case, how Marija’s murder remained unsolved, and when Iva became pregnant with her new husband, Olga was convinced that the baby was her grandson and the illusion drove her into kidnapping. Eventually, the boy is rescued, while Iva’s secret remains safe from her husband. Dalibor Matanić, Croatia, 2002, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 77 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMFire, Water and... Pipes of Glory / Огонь, вода и… медные трубы [FL 138]
Fairytale with kind and innocent Vasia and Alena, malicious Baba-Iaga and immortal Koschei. Good defeats Evil. Aleksandr Rou, Soviet Union, 1968, Russian, 88 min, fiction film, VHSFirst Teacher, The / Первый учитель [FL 439]
Soviet Kirgizia, the first years of the Soviet regime. A young tecaher Dyushein has just come to a little country village. He is a teacher, sent by the Communist Party to teach the ignorant masses. Although the children accept him, many adults barely tolerate his presence since they see him as a threat to their way of doing things. The movie shows Diuishen, propelled by his ideological fanaticism, learning to be human and the townsfolk, equally fanatic in their desire to keep the outside world at bay. Soon his love to a young Altynai breaks the traditions leading to dramatic events. Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovskii, Soviet Union, 1965, Russian, 96 min, fiction film, VHSFit for the Streets / Utcaképes [FL 375]
The filmmakers follow one hundred homeless adults and children as they wander the streets of Budapest. What makes the authors' attitude remarkable is their ability to get close to controversial social phenomena: they search for general human values in the behavior and mentality of their chosen characters. All this depends not only on creating situations which seem to be spontaneous, but also on the filmmakers' empathetic, human approach. The film's circular structure - returning to events of certain families' life - reflects the hopeless stages which characterize this temporary way of life full of traps and specious solutions. Márta Elbert, Hungary, 2003, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 95 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFlag-Officer / Флагман [FL 342]
Film about admiral Nikolai Kuznetsov, who headed the Soviet Navy during World War II. B. Smirnov, K. Orozaliev, Russia, 2002, Russian, 39 min, documentary film, VHSFlowers Don't Grow Here [FL 1178]
Much of Eastern Europe has been devastated by the rapid transition from communism to capitalism. Fifteen years since independence from the former USSR, the Ukraine Europe’s second largest country is struggling to regain economic and social stability. “Flowers Don’t Grow Here” filmed undercover over four months and told through the eyes of a gang of Kiev’s street kids - offers an intimate and uncompromising portrayal of young people paying the ultimate price for political reform. Young mothers, united siblings, close friends and sworn enemies form a troubling underworld of society, governed by their own rules, and haunted by prostitution, substance abuse, crime, violence and murder... Shira Pinson, United Kingdom, 2005, Russian/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFlowers Don't Grow Here [FL 1407]
Flowers Don't Grow Here, told through the eyes of a gang of Ukrainian street children, offers an intimate and uncompromising portrayal of the young individuals paying the ultimate price for political reform. A life so at odds with 'New Europe': a childhood haunted by prostitution, addiction, crime, violence and murder. Shira Pinson, United Kingdom, 2005, Russian/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFoolish Years / Lude godine [FL 574]
Set in Belgrade in communist Yugoslavia in the late 1970s, the film focuses on a teenage love story between two youngsters who come from different backgrounds. Boba, a boy from a rural family and Marija who comes from an urban family, nevertheless fall deeply in love. Oblivious to the rest of the world, they spend every moment together, neglecting even their closest friends. Problems arise, however, when Marija gets pregnant, as Boba is the first to get scared. Inexperienced and frightened they try to keep the secret from their families and solve the problem in their own immature way by visiting a shady quack-doctor. Soon, this young couple are forced to mature before their time and cannot avoid a brush with crime. The film sparked one of the most popular Yugoslav film series, with as many as 10 sequels. Zoran Čalić, Yugoslavia, 1977, Serbian, 77 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMFor God, Tsar and Fatherland [FL 1518]
Mikhail Morozov is a Russian patriot, good Christian and successful businessman. Morozov is a typical exponent of the powerful in contemporary Russia, having political connections, money, and influence. He runs a rehabilitation center in Durakovo - the “Village of Fools” - 100 km southwest of Moscow. People come here from all over Russia to “find themselves.” When they join the community, the new residents abandon all their former rights and agree to obey their leader’s strict rules, hoping to enrich their spiritual lives. Three moral pillars serve as the guiding principles at Durakovo: God, tsar, and fatherland. “What we have here is a society that respects the vertical of power, this is what our country needs most of all,” says Morozov quoting his idol Vladimir Putin. Purposefully restrained, yet cunningly subversive, the film provides a chilling glimpse of the Russian nationalist ideology on the rise. Nino Kirtadze, Russia, 2007, Russian/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFor the Power of the Soviets! / За власть Советов! [FL 364]
Film about the events in Moscow in October 1993 and the future of Russia from the communist perspective. Gennadii Ziuganov is interviewed.Soviet Union, 1996, Russian, 120 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMForever Yesterday - Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University [FL 902]
This documentary is based upon Holocaust survivor testimonies. The rationale behind it was that the "living portraiture" of television would add a compassionate and sensitive dimension to the historical record. his undertaking led to the formation of a grass roots organization, the Holocaust Survivors Film Project, Inc. It brought together survivors, under the leadership of William Rosenberg; academic consultants led by Yale Professor Geoffrey Hartman; and other community members committed to this urgent task. Their efforts resulted in an initial collection of almost 200 videotaped testimonies; "Forever Yesterday" and "About the Holocaust," a specially prepared documentary for secondary schools. In 1981, all the original tapes were formally deposited at Yale University. The following year, with the aid of a start-up grant from the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the Video Archive was established as part of the University's Sterling Memorial Library, an internationally recognized research center. In 1987, Alan M. Fortunoff made a major gift to the endowment fund of the Archive. Dori Laub and Laurel Vlock - Project directors, United States, 1981, English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMForever / Forever [FL 1128]
The Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris is one of the most famous ones in the world, not only because of the beautiful gravestones and the lovely street plan of this necropolis, but also because of its occupants. Famous artists like Georges Mélies, Oscar Wilde, Amedeo Modigliani, Edith Piaf, Maria Callas, Simone Signoret, Yves Montand and Jim Morrison are united in eternity here. The numerous visitors seek solace and reconciliation with mortality at the graveyard. Forever shows how the dead live on, like ghosts in the imagination of the living. Ultimately, a cemetery is above all a product of the human mind. "If we showed the graveyard in its true nature, it would be unbearable," someone says. "Someone left a pen, so he can keep on writing in the hereafter," an old woman observes as she cleans Marcel Proust's grave. A devotee of À la recherche du temps perdu states, "If your life is fulfilled by Balzac's novels, Musset's poems and Chopin's music, you will never be alone." The film also pays attention to forgotten talents who never made it to their prime. And to the more anonymous deceased, only cherished in their next of kin's memory. Heddy Honigmann, Netherlands, 2006, Dutch/Subtitles: English, French, 95 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMForgive me, Sergei / Прости меня, Сергей [FL 37]
Caroline, a young American, is interested in the life story of a russian mariner Sergei, who escaped from the Soviet Union to the US, where he asked for political asylum and became a religious activist, publishing numerous accounts of terrifying life 'behind the iron curtain' until he died a strange death in a hotel room in the US. Inspired by such a fascinating story, Caroline travels to Russia to find places and acquaintances of Sergey and to learn more about the life of believers in the Soviet Union and contemporary Russia. To her great surprise, she learns that many of Sergey's stories were invented and that the truth about him and his life is not easy to unravel. Damian Wojciehowski, Russia, 2004, Russian/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, VHSForgotten Transports to Belarus [FL 1696]
It is the second of the four 90-minute-long films by Lukáš Přibyl, which are a mosaic of memories of the Jews from Bohemia and Moravia who were deported into the concentration camps and ghettoes in Latvia, Belarus, Estonia and eastern Poland. Those were places, which, unlike the infamous Auschwitz, Treblinka, Dachau or Terezín, are not widely discussed, but which witnessed equally cruel destinies of hundreds of thousands of people. Lukas Pribyl, Czech Republic, 2008, Belarusian/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMForgotten Transports to Estonia [FL 1697]
On 5th of September 1942 a transport arrived in Estonia bearing one thousand Czech Jews. Roughly a hundred women between the ages of 19 and 25 were separated from their families who were taken by bus to another, apparently "heated" concentration camp. The terrified girls soon formed various groups in which they gave each other total support. With time they began to act together, like a single, large organism. The optimism. Their instinct for self-preservation urged them to ignore the Holocaust. It was not until 1945, while they were convalescing in Sweden, that they discovered the truth about what happened to their families… Lukas Pribyl, Czech Republic, 2008, Czech, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMForgotten Transports to Latvia [FL 1695]
In 1942, hundreds of Czech Jews are deported to Riga in Latvia. In an eerily empty, dilapidated, fenced-off and snowed-in part of town, they find pots on stoves, clothes on the floor, as if everyone left in a hurry. Then stones wrapped in paper are thrown over the wire by young men held in a cordoned-off section of the ghetto. The notes say: “You will all be killed, like our families. We are the last survivors.” Yet life continues. Some people are sent to the Salaspils camp, where only ruthless selfishness offers a slim chance of survival, but others cling together, steadfastly keeping “normality” amid atrocities. Children go to school past bodies hanging from the gallows. Boys play football on the ghetto square/execution ground. Teenagers fall in love at clandestine parties, almost literally “dancing on graves”… Edited from 270 hours of interviews shot in 20 countries over 10 years, the film dispels our notions of a “Holocaust documentary”. Employing no commentary or contemporary footage, only a minimalist montage of interviews and never-seen materials drawn from a vast array of sources, the narrow, personal points of view combine to paint a life-affirming picture of survival through luck, wisdom, ingenuity and sheer will, as well as form a depiction of the Holocaust “as we don’t know it”. Lukas Pribyl, Czech Republic, 2008, Czech/Subtitles: English, 86 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMForgotten Transports to Poland [FL 1698]
This is the last of four films in the Forgotten Transports cycle of documentaries by director Lukas Pribyl. It deals with lesser known concentration, labour and extermination camps in what is now Poland. The intricate stories of several men and women from the Czech Republic take us to ghettoes and camps in Lublin, Zamosc, Piaski, Sobibor and Sawin. In this instance, the tales of these Jewish heroes and heroines mostly recount stories of escape and concealment from the Nazis in Hungary and today's Poland. This adds a new dimension to the story of the Holocaust, which is augmented by the active resistance of captive and brutally treated Jews. They took various routes to freedom, ranging from an uprising in the Sobibor camp to dangerously pretending to be a deaf-and-dumb simpleton who could prove his apparent non-Jewishness with an uncircumcised penis. This last documentary about forgotten transports to the east makes extensive use of archive materials and paints a surprising portrait of the Holocaust, which reshapes the somewhat one-sided view of life and survival of the Jewish population during the Second World War. Consequently, the dichotomy of passive victims and active aggressors gradually dissolves… Lukas Pribyl, Czech Republic, 2008, Czech, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFraction, Part 1. / Törésvonalak, 1. rész [FL 1478]
The film shows the transition period in Hungary during the early 90s. It starts with the mass redundancies in the Videoton factory in Székesfehérvár in 1989 and through the next several years follows the ups and downs of several of the sacked workers, their struggle to find new jobs and make a living during the economic crisis. Some of them are more successful than others. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1998, Hungarian, 44 min, documentary film, VHSFraction, Part 2. / Törésvonalak, 2. rész [FL 1478]
The film shows the transition period in Hungary during the early 90s. It starts with the mass redundancies in the Videoton factory in Székesfehérvár in 1989 and through the next several years follows the ups and downs of several of the sacked workers, their struggle to find new jobs and make a living during the economic crisis. Some of them are more successful than others. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1998, Hungarian, 36 min, documentary film, VHSFractions, I-II / Törésvonalak, I-II [FL 311]
The film shows the transition period in Hungary during the early 90s. It starts with the mass redundancies in the Videoton factory in Székesfehérvár in 1989 and through the next several years follows the ups and downs of several of the sacked workers, their struggle to find new jobs and make a living during the economic crisis. Some of them are more successful than others. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1998, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 107 min, DVD-ROMFradi Is Better! / Jobb a Fradi! [FL 1252]
Roma and racists in the same fan club: the filmmakers shot this film about the nature of racism in a peculiar situation. At the Ferencváros football stadium in Budapest they interviewed both young racist fans and the targets of their anger. Inserted into these scenes we can "closely" observe, hear and watch the most radical supporters proudly singing their abusive verses. The attitude expressed by the authors is not black and white but the film closes with a concise and heinous statement by a supporter's girlfriend… Norbert Szirmai, János Révész, Hungary, 2002, Hungarian, 15 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFradi is Better / Jobb a Fradi! [FL 375]
Roma and racists in the same fan club: the filmmakers shot this film about the nature of racism in a peculiar situation. At the Ferencváros football stadium in Budapest they interviewed both young racist fans and the targets of their anger. Inserted into these scenes we can "closely" observe, hear and watch the most radical supporters proudly singing their abusive verses. The attitude expressed by the authors is not black and white but the film closes with a concise and heinous statement by a supporter's girlfriend… Norbert Szirmai, János Révész, Hungary, 2002, Hungarian, 15 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFragment of an Empire / Обломок империи [FL 182]
The main hero, lieutenant Filimonov, loses his memory during WWI. He regains it accidentally 10 years later, and he takes off to find his home and his wife. To his surprise, he does not find any familiar sights or faces, discovering instead a new life in the 'city of Lenin'. Gradually he learns about the meaning of the changes and becomes an enthusiastic worker at the nationalized factory. Fridrikh Ermler, Soviet Union, 1929, (silent)/Subtitles: Russian, 73 min, fiction film, VHSFree Cinema: The Definitive Film Collection [FL 1325]
The British Film Institute has compiled for the first time, the definitive collection of films from the 1950s' Free Cinema movement. Free Cinema not only re-invented British documentary making, but this highly influential period in the country's cinema history was the precursor for the better known British New Wave of social-realist films in the late 1950s and early 1960s.United Kingdom, English, 475 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFree Cuba: Your Greatest Desire / Cuba Libre: El Mayor Deseo [FL 1737]
Cuba Libre (free Cuba) is the name of a popular Cuban drink. It was also the slogan of the revolution that swept Fidel Castro to power in 1959. The revolution became a symbol of a better future and the desire of Cubans for freedom, justice and an end to oppression. Fidel Castro, however, built a totalitarian regime on the back of this slogan which denies Cubans their basic rights and makes them slaves of the communist nomenklatura. Despite the risk of persecution, the director has painted a picture of contemporary totalitarian Cuba, which exposes the reality that lies behind the romantic notions of tourists. Oswaldo Payá Sardinas - an important dissident and the founder of the opposition Christian Liberation Movement - becomes his guide. Payá also describes the struggle of his movement for democratic change in Cuba, which takes the form of a petition called Proyecto Varela. This is a document that more than 14,000 people have signed to demand free elections and other reforms, which would bring Cubans the "Cuba Libre" they dreamed of before the revolution. This documentary comprises an impressive mosaic portraying a country full of contradictions from many angles Mateo Juez, United States, 2006, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFree Europe / Szabad Európa [FL 414]
Television documentary about 'Crusade for Freedom' and 'Radio Free Europe', 'Radio Liberty'. Contemporary American and Eastern European archival footage is used. Images of revolutions in Berlin (1953), Budapest (1956) and Prague (1968) are used. Former RFE/RL directors, editors, journalists and political advisors are interviewed. The interviewees are: Ralph Walter, Paul Henze, James McCargar, Cord Meyer, William Griffith, István Deák and Ross Johnson. Csaba Kardos, Márton Ledniczky, Hungary, 1999, English/Subtitles: Hungarian, 49 min, documentary film, VHSFree space [FL 934]
During the last war in Croatia, many people were forced to leave their homes. This organised and politically premeditated action, called ‘human displacement’, took place especially in the Western part of Croatia, the territory known as Krajina. People from the Serbian minority were forced to go to Serbia or the Republic of Srpska in Bosnia, and became refugees. At the same time, Croats whose houses had been destroyed by Serbs in other parts of the country started to inhabit the empty homes in Krajina. But can you really be happy in somebody else’s house? Are the people who got houses from the government the lucky ones, or also unfortunate? In a rather experimental documentary, the director focuses on one house that is harassed by a plague of snakes. Using hardly any words, he tries to create the atmosphere of a ‘cursed’ house. Damir Cucic, Croatia, 2001, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 23 min, documentary film, VHSFreeze-Die-Come to Life / Замри, умри, воскресни! [FL 91]
Stuck in a mining town near Vladivostok in 1947 among Soviet exiles and Japanese POWs (Japanese prisoners remained in Siberia for years after the war had ended), the kids have to come up with something to keep them busy. Two boys, Valerka and Galla, play some peculiar, very dangerous games of their own amid the man-made wasteland of Suchan. Vitalii Kanevskii, Soviet Union, 1989, Russian/Subtitles: English, 105 min, fiction film, VHSFrom a Night Porter’s Point of View / Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera [FL 1550]
With considerable economy and grace, Kieslowski's early short elucidates the workings of the Communist system by airing the views of a misanthrope whose favorite pastime is checking up on other people. This factory porter, a fanatical supporter of strict discipline, tries to oversee everybody and everything in the belief that rules are more important than people. “When a man doesn't obey the rules,” he says, “he's a goner... Children have to conform to the rules too, and adults who live on this earth, for whom this beautiful world has been created. I reckon you've got to have capital punishment ... Just hang him [the culprit]. Publicly. Dozens, hundreds of people would see it.” From a Night Porter’s Point of View is a deep and fascinating portrait of a blind supporter of state power, who does as much as he can with the little authority he has. Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1977, Polish/Subtitles: English, 17 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFrom Home to Home / Evden Eve [FL 961]
Hungarians born outside of Hungary are the largest immigrant group in Hungary. Back in the 80s, as a “more developed and more democratic” country, Hungary was a dreamland for many Hungarians living elsewhere in the Eastern Bloc. The film presents stories of four Hungarians who resettled to the “motherland” in 1980-1991 in search of a better life. Different customs and different patterns of socializing made it diffiult for those immigrants to blend in and to become Hungarians in Hungary. Tamás Almási, Hungary, 2003, Hungarian, 104 min, documentary film, VHSFrom Powisle / Z Powisla… [FL 1731] Kazimierz Karabasz, Poland, 1958, Polish, 10 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
From The Colonies. Netherlands-India In Pictures 1912-1942 / Van De Kolonie Niets Dan Goeds. Nederlands-Indie in Beeld 1912-1942 [FL 1082]
Twelve short ethnograpic films and one short fiction film by Dutch filmmakers, recorded in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes and Bali. Films present the everyday lives of Dutch bourgeoisie, just as parties and picnics, and the work on farms and in rubber or oil factories. Other montage films present religious rituals, cults, customs and work of various tribes, and everyday village life of the aboriginals on the East-Indian colonies.Netherlands, Dutch, documentary film, DVD-ROMFrontlines: Laos [FL 1461]
Ruhi Hamid chose Chong-Cha Lee to be her guide on a journey to the jungle and to be the intermediary during a meeting with the Hmong people, a community that has been hiding away from its persecutors, as well as the eyes of the entire world, for twenty years. It is also a community that needs to be discovered, so that it can be saved from famine and the consequences of untreated diseases. The secret village has been around since the end of the Vietnam War. At the end of the sixties, some of the inhabitants of Laos helped a secret American unit during the conflict. After the Pathet Lao's victory, the US army left and its helpers became enemies of the state. For them, the war has not yet ended even after all this time, and continues every day. The filmmaker goes on a twenty-four hour journey to show how the activities of a democratic regime espousing a policy of helping others can have paradoxical consequences. Ruhi Hamid, United Kingdom, 2005, English, 29 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFrozen Angels [FL 1488]
A film about genetics and conscious genetic self-design with reproductive technology. It follows up on a few cases of surrogate mothers. Eric Black and Frauke Sandig, United States, English/Subtitles: Dutch, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFull of Grease / Malaccal teljes [FL 1568]
This film tells the story of how the Ormánság Quick Guys from a little village called Vajszó won second place at an international competition for butchers. Lajos Balogh, an enthusiastic local, decides that the village should take part in the competition and raise the fame of local meat products. He recruits a team, finds sponsors, orders uniforms. While the men prepare, the pigs run their course of life from birth to sausage. A true story with a happy ending, and those of us who are natives of the urban jungle have a rare chance to see a few pig killings. Kovács Kristóf, Hungary, 2008, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFuse (aka Fire!) / Gori Vatra [FL 31]
Two years after the end of the war, the small Bosnian town of Tesanj is slowly rebuilding itself. The war has left serious scars on the life of the people and the city. The social cohesion is fragile and below the peaceful surface, there is another reality of national hatred and division along ethnic lines accompanied by flourishing crime and prostitution. The announcement that the American president Bill Clinton might pay a visit and become an honorary citizen of Tesanj changes everything. The whole town goes completely crazy as, all of a sudden, in just seven days, under the surveillance of international observers and members of peace keeping missions, Tesanj and its citizens must whip together an image of democracy. Pjer Zalica, Bosnia and Hercegovina, 2003, Bosnian/Subtitles: English, 98 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMGadjo dilo (also known as "The Crazy Stranger") / Gadjo dilo [FL 60]
Stéphane, a young French man from Paris, travels to Romania. He is looking for Nora Luca, a singer whom his father listened to before his death. Wandering along a frozen road, he meets an old Roma called Izidor and asks him about Nora Luca. Izidor takes him to his village and Stéphane believes that Izidor will take him to Nora Luca. He lives in the tinker village for several months. The other inhabitants dislike him at first and he himself sees them as thieves, but when the newcomer and the community get to know each other, they start to get along well. The young and beautiful Sabina translates for him, and Stéphane finds out that nobody has ever understood a thing that he has said. Tony Gatlif, France, 1997, 102 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMGa-Ga Glory to the Heroes / Ga, Ga Chwała Bohaterom [FL 746]
With « Ga, Ga », Szulkin ironically criticizes the society of the spectacle and predicts the success of the TV-reality phenomenon. In the 21st century, people are so happy that nobody wants to do the dangerous job of astronaut. There’s one solution to the problem: prisoners. Ejected from penitentiary space ships, they are sent to unexplored planets with a mission to colonize. Piotr Szolkin, Poland, 1984, Polish/Subtitles: English, 81 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMGalapagos in Canchalagueras / Galapagos en Canchalagueras [FL 1361]
This film tells the memories, conflicts and wishes of an unknown village: San Cristobal, the Capital of the Galapagos. It is a story of human adaption to a context when that context is valued and protected internationally. Rosa Perez Almeida, Spain, 2007, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 72 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGalax, the puppet-man / Galax, Omul Papusa [FL 47]
Fantasy movie about the age of computers in communist Romania. A group of young scientists design a robot, Galax, with several human features. Galax suffers from an existential crisis, struggling between its human and mechanical sides. Galax manages to overcome his condition by programming himself, by adding information to what he was initially given by his creators. He also falls in love with Mariana, a first-year student at the research institute and ultimately attempts to kill himself. The problems created by Galax make the administration board of the institute question the very validity of the project, forcing Galax to run away in order to avoid being terminated. Ion Popescu-Gopo, Romania, 1983, Romanian, 78 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMGarage / Гараж [FL 519]
Comedy. The characters of this movie are all waiting for their garages to be built. Suddenly, on one of the meetings, they learn that a highway will cut across the construction space and thus 4 lots have to be sacrificed. A fight for the places ensues. Since some of the cooperative participants have powerful "hands" that support them, the local leadership decided to expell the most powerless ones. Only one of the unexpelled members voiced her protest against such a decision and locked the whole group in the room, where they had to spend the whole night in discussions. El'dar Riazanov, Soviet Union, 1979, Russian, 96 min, VHSGarden / Gan [FL 373]
The Garden is a desolate section of Tel Aviv where young gay prostitutes and drug addicts gather. It's a territory for the dispossessed and for pickups, drug deals, and clashes with the law. The film follows a year in the life of two young men who have made the Garden their home: Nino, a 17-year-old Palestinian, in and out of jail and reformatories; and Dudu, an Arab-Israeli destroying himself through drug addiction. The filmmakers, ever mindful of the trust they have earned, create a powerfully honest film, affording Nino and Dudu the respect and dignity that are all too often denied them in their daily lives. Against the backdrop of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and the unease and ridicule still directed toward homosexuals, the two friends depend on each other for security and love. A poignant film that does not try to numb the pain or reduce the loneliness, Garden is ultimately about longing and belonging, and the elusive meaning of home. Ruthie Shatz, Adi Barash, Israel, 2003, /Subtitles: English, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGarlic and Watermelons [FL 1440]
Summer 2003. With the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics just over a year away, forty Gypsy families are forced to abandon their settlement next to the main Olympic stadium, so that the land can be used for a parking lot.The film follows Prokopis Nikolaou,a produce vendor who lived his entire life in this settlement, as he struggles to find a new home for himself and his family.The local mayor agreed to pay the Roma rent subsidies in exchange for vacating the land, but the money proves elusive and the families are forced to move from place to place due to evictions and sub-standard living conditions. Feeling angry and fooled, Prokopis becomes an unofficial spokesman for the forty families, fighting for both their dignity and the money they were promised. He meets with human rights activists, takes his battle with the mayor to the courts, and shares his story with the international media that descend on Athens in the weeks leading up to the Olympic Games. Cameron Kickey, Lauren Feeny, (n/a), 2005, Greek, Modern (1453-)/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGates of Heaven [FL 1577]
"Gates of Heaven" is the story of two California pet cemeteries transformed into an eccentric portrait of the American dream. Errol Morris began this, his first non-fiction feature, in 1978 after reading a headline in the San Francisco Chronicle: "450 Dead Pets To Go To Napa." "Gates of Heaven" follows the stories behind two pet cemeteries -- one that fails (set up by innocent Floyd McClure at the intersection of two superhighways) and the Harbert family, who apply the latest marketing concepts to the pet cemetery profession. Errol Morris, United States, 1978, English, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGateway of the Gypsies [FL 395]
Two American filmmakers follow the wanderings of a nomadic ethnic group in Northern India, in Rajasthan, in the Thar Desert. A series of short interviews, with minimal narration, carries the viewer through the life of communities which travel from village to village as their living space is narrowed down as a consequence of advancing modernity. The film presents the traditional activities of different tribes: the snakecharmers, storytellers, musicians, metalworkers, salt traders and dancers. Pepe Ozan, Melitta Tchaicovsky, United States, 2004, English, 54 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGDR Underground Films / Gegenbilder [FL 157]
Experimental low-budget films from East Germany including Lutz Dammbeck, "Hommage a la Sarraz" (Leipzig, 1981, 13 min); Gino Hahnemann, "September September" (Ost-Berlin, 1986, 7 min); Cornelia Schleime, "Unter weissen Tuechern" (Ost-Berlin, 1983, 9 min); Cornelia Klauss, "Samuel" (Ost-Berlin, 1984, 3 min), Volker Lewandowsky "Report" (Dresden, 1987, 6 min); Thomas Frydetzki, "Engelchen" (Leipzig, 1985, 8 min); Claus Löser, "Nekrolog" (Karl-Marx-Stadt, 1985, 6 min); Tohm di Roes, "7 X 7 Tatsachen aus dem hiesigen Leben des Dichters Tohm di Roes" (Ost-Berlin, 1983, 17 min); Thomas Werner, "Guten Tag, Berlin!" (Ost-Berlin, 1987, 12 min); Ramona Köppel-Welsch, "Konrad! Sprach die Frau Mama…(Ost-Berlin, 1989, 9 min).Germany, 1989, German/Subtitles: English, 93 min, VHSGen(i)us Diabolis / Gen(i)us Diabolis: Ördögtérgye [FL 1431]
A film in the style of a folk ballad about a Transylvanian peasant's curious dream and the cunning postman. Róbert Lakatos, Hungary, 2003, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 19 min, short film, DVD-ROMGeneral Line, The / Старое и новое Staroye i novoye (Generalnaya liniya ) Staroye i novoye a.k.a. Generalnaya liniya [FL 873]
The project for this movie was first initiated in 1927, when Sergei Eisenstein created The General Line (Generalnaia linia) to celebrate the campaign for collectivization in the Soviet Union. Hoping to reach a wide audience, the director forsook his usual practice of emphasizing groups by concentrating on a single rural heroine. Eisenstein briefly abandoned this project to film October, in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Revolution. By the time he was able to return to General Line, the Soviet Union was going through the first weaves of Stalinist purges. The intial version of the movie was accussed of having a Trotkist approach. As a result, the film was hastily re-edited and sent out in 1929 under a new title, The Old and the New (Staroe i novoe). In later years, archivists restored The General Line to an approximation of Eisenstein's original concept. Sergei Eisenstein and Grigori Aleksandrov, Soviet Union, 1929, (silent), 121 min, political propaganda, VHSGeneral Vlasov: Twice Damned General / Власов: Дважды проклятый генерал [FL 834]
This Russian-German co-production touches on one of the most controversial and little-known aspects in the history of Russia's war against Nazi Germany - the story of General Vlasov and his Army. Was he a traitor to his country or a fighter against Stalin's dictatorship? What prompted him to change sides and can he really be considered a collaborator? The film draws on numerous archival documents, which were previously classified and inaccessible to researchers, and on a series of interviews conducted with former members of the Russian Liberation Army (known as ROA), Red Army officers and diplomats, as well as former officers of the British and German armies. Ingo Betke, Pavel Sergeev, Russia, 1995, Russian, German/Dubbing: Russian, 60 min, documentary film, VHSGentle Age, The / Нежный возраст [FL 816]
"The Gentle Age" is a portrait of a generation that was coming of age in the late 1980s early 1990s. Having lived through the collapse of the Soviet Union, this generation had to reevaluate the values and life goals that seemed absolute to the generation of the fathers, but which were suddenly rendered osbolete by the changing realities of the post-1991 Russia. In keeping with Soloviev's style of complicated montage, intertitles and witty narrative voice-overs, the film follows a young man (Dmitry Soloviev) through his adolescent years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, tracing his relationship with his classmate who was to become a popular fashion model in Paris, his friendships, his experiences during the Chechen war, etc. Starring the director's son, Dmitry Soloviev, the film narrates some of the true stories that had happened to Soloviev junior, who co-wrote the script with his father. Sergey Soloviev, Russia, 2000, Russian, 101 min, fiction film, VHSGeorgi and the Butterflies / Георги и пеперудите [FL 537]
The fine line between brilliance and lunacy is extremely thin. This is what Georgi Borissov Lulchev, superintendent of a Bulgarian psychiatric institution, knows more than anyone else. With a fair dose of ingenuity and perseverance, he indefatigably looks for ways to make his institution, situated on the grounds of a former monastery, profitable. The ill-fated ideas sprouting from Georgi's mind are recreated with a keen eye to cinematographic beauty and accompanied by cheerful music. From the development of the property into a pheasant shooting ground for tourists and a snail, fur, ostrich and silkworm farm, to the invention of soy bread for diabetics, time and again Georgi embarks on the next prospectless project with renewed optimism. Neither his wife nor the cook understand why he is doomed to failure every time. Meanwhile, the patients and staff of the institution live together as one big harmonious family under the rotting roof of the old cloister, for there is no money to start using the new accommodation that was finished three years ago. But perhaps one day Georgi will win the lottery, which he plays with his patients' Social Security numbers. Andrey Paounov, Bulgaria, 2004, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 35 min, DVD-ROMGeorgii Saakadze (2 parts) / Георгий Саакадзе (2 серии) [FL 449]
17th century Georgia. A famous military leader Georgii Saakadze serves Prince Luarsab II and successfully fights against Persians and Turkish armies. Luarsab II marries Georgii's sister Tekle. But other military leaders dislike Saakadze and attack his castle. Together with his family he escapes to Persia and starts serving Persian khan Abbas. Heading the Persian army, Saakadze returns to Georgia to take revenge on his enemies, driven by the idea of the unity of Georgia. His younger son remains at Abbas' court as a hostage. When Saakadze turns his sword against the Persians, his son is beheaded, but Georgii Saakadze continues his fight. Mikhail Chiaureli, Soviet Union, 1943, Russian, 174 min, fiction film, VHSGerman Invasion of Poland, 1930: The First Blitzkrieg [FL 782]
The first blitzkrieg, Hitler's invasion of Poland, is vividly portrayed by original Nazi films. Panzers and infantry-men advance as the Luftwaffe bombs enemy targets, including Warsaw. German troops meet their advancing Soviet allies near Lemberg. Hitler is shown with his generals, among regular soldiers and reviewing a victory parade of the German Eighth Army in Warsaw.Germany, 1939, German/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGerman Secret, The / Den tyske hemmelighed [FL 1077]
Kirsten Blohm leaves Denmark traveling to the place of her birth – to the place where the American prison in post-war Germany was. As captured by her husband, director Lars Johansson, the story of Kirsten Blohm’s family background turns out to be more fantastic than fiction, involving captivity and flight, secrecy and lies. Blohm, born in 1946, was raised by her grandparents. She did know her mother, the beautiful but cold Signe Gondrup, but Signe never wanted to disclose anything about her life, let alone about her daughter's father. Following her elusive mother's footsteps, Blohm’s journey takes her to the Czech Republic and Germany where she uncovers a series of dramatic events as well as embarrasing skeletons in the closet. Lars Johansson, Denmark, 2004, Danish, English, German/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, VHSGermany in Autumn / Deutshchland im Herbst [FL 1422]
Germany in Autumn mixes documentary footage, along with standard movie scenes, to give the audience the mood of Germany during the late 1970s. The movie covers the two month time period during 1977 when a businessman was kidnapped, and later murdered, by the left-wing terrorists known as the RAF-Rote Armee Fraktion (Red Army Faction). The businessman had been kidnapped in an effort to secure the release of the orginal leaders of the RAF, also known as the Baader-Meinhof gang. When the kidnapping effort and a plane hijacking effort failed, the three most prominent leaders of the RAF, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Enslin, and Jean-Carl Raspe, all committed suicide in prison. It has become an article of faith within the left-wing community that these three were actually murdered by the state. The movie has several vignettes, including an extended set of scenes with the famous director Rainer Werner Fassbinder discussing his feelings about Germany's political situation at the time. Other scenes include documentary footage of the joint funeral of Baader, Enslin, and Raspe. see in the back, Germany, 1978, German, 116 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGermany, Awake! [FL 878]
A documentary on the World War II German motion picture and its use as a propaganda tool during the times of Goebbels. Clips from more than 20 films made between 1933 and 1945 are included. First released in Germany as a motion picture in 1968. Among the numerous works excerpted are: Bismark, Venus on Trial, Victory in the West, Jud Suss, I Accuse!, The Rothchilds, and The Great King. Erwin Leiser, Germany, 1968, German/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, VHSGhosts [FL 1468]
On February 5th 2004 twenty three Chinese people drowned in Morecambe Bay. Their families in China are still paying off their debts. When a young girl, Ai Qin, pays $25,000 to be smuggled into the UK in order to support her family back in China, she becomes another one of 3 million migrant workers that have become the bedrock of British economy. Forced to live with eleven other Chinese people in a two bedroom house, they work in factories preparing food for British supermarkets. Risking their lives for pennies these unprotected workers end up cockling in Morcombe Bay at night. With an extraordinary debut performance from Ai Qin Lin in a film whose principal characters are played by Chinese former illegal immigrants, Ghosts offers a unique insight into a secret world that surrounds us. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 2006, Chinese, Mandarin, English, 96 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMGhosts of Abu Ghraib [FL 1250]
Wielding startlingly candid interviews with perpetrators, witnesses, and victims, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib provides an inside look at the abuses that occurred at the Iraqi prison in the fall of 2003. Award-winning filmmaker Rory Kennedy explores how, given the right circumstances, typical boys and girls next door can commit atrocious acts of violence. Rory Kennedy, United States, 2006, English, 72 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGiant Buddhas, The [FL 1239]
In February 2001, the Taliban issued an edict that all non-Islamic statues should be destroyed. In March of the same year, two huge statues of Buddha were blown up in the remote area of Bamiyantal in Afghanistan. This dramatic event surrounding the ancient stone colossi – unique proof of an advanced culture that bloomed until the 13th century along the Silk Road – is the starting point for a cinematic essay on fanaticism, terror and tolerance, ignorance and identity. On another path, in another period, Frei follows the footsteps of Xuanzang, the seventh-century Chinese monk famed for his sixteen-year spiritual quest along the Silk Road to India. Bamiyan was one of his stops. In Canada, Afghan writer and journalist Nelofer Pazira reflects on an old photograph of her father posing before the giant Buddhas. In Leshan, China, the director witnesses a kitschy attempt to rebuild the Bamiyan Buddha as a tourist attraction; while in Zurich high-tech reconstructions are created using "photogrammetry." A thought-provoking journey along the lines that both divide and unite people and cultures. Christian Frei,, Switzerland, 2005, English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Mandarin, Dari/Subtitles: English, 95 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGipsy Side [FL 1245]
Mario, Luigi and Mr. Joker keep interrupting each other in the heat of the discussion in this shabby, shady yard in the 8th district, the Harlem of Budapest. They are rapping, gesturing, dancing while the girls and the kids look on. Beatbox or freestyle: you name it, they can do it. They record themselves, edit, then record again – it’s all home-made, the PC is right there in the corner of the room. In the afternoon they make sure the recordings are copyrighted. At the hairdresser’s the Nigerian brother gives them the authentic hip-hop look. He is the authority on the coolest rap accessories, advisor on East-side and West-side styles, and he is the source for Biggie and Tupac outfits. Ponczók Gypsy Béla, the Radio C DJ, offers them a chance to perform on his show and in the rapper contest at the Roma Parliament. This film gives us an insight into what the members of Weszély-s Elemek (Dangerous Elements) and Rap-port want out of life, what they fear, why they sing, and how they live in the 8th district. Balázs Gát, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGirlfriends, The, aka Three Women / Подруги [FL 814]
An early Soviet film about the childhood and youth of the three girlefirends from the proletarian suburbs of Petrograd and their participation in the defence of the city against the foreign intervention in 1919. The cast incudes Nikolai Cherkasov and Yanina Zhejmo among others. The musical script was written by Dmitri Shostakovich. Leo Arnstam, Soviet Union, 1935, Russian, 95 min, fiction film, VHSGirls to Mothers / De Niña a Madre [FL 659]
An average of 400 children are born in Nicaragua every day, 100 of them to adolescent mothers. This documentary narrates the lives of three adolescents, aged 14 to 16, who had not planned to be mothers at such an early age. Florence Jaugey follows the lives of these young mothers for several months – during the last months of their pregnancies, and afterwards, when everything has irreversibly changed. We learn about their families, their stories of love, their doubts, their hopes and the tough reality they went through in their pregnancy and the prospect of having to raise their children. Jaugey builds up a very intimate relationship with her protagonists, detecting their moods and showing how their outward coolness is only a facade behind which they conceal their intricate fears. Along with exposing the alarmingly increasing numbers of adolescent mothers in Nicaragua, the film also raises fundamental questions about women’s identity and the meaning of maternity. Florence Jaugey, Nicaragua, 2004, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSGlimpse [FL 1475]
A visual piece capturing the rich color palette and powerful imagery of South Africa. Alberto Ianuzzi, Dan Jawitz, South Africa, 2005, (No dialogue), 21 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGo to Louisa / Idz do Luizy [FL 1221]
Although Apartheid has officially been history for more than ten years, power relations in South Africa have not really changed. In order to explore the surviving post-colonial hierarchy today, Pacek focused on a rubber production plant and three men involved in its operation, each of whom vehemently promotes his own interests. Stach, originally from Poland, is the factory owner; Gert is a white South African and the company's manager; Andreas is an impoverished worker from the Zulu tribe. As the story unfolds, the factory becomes a symbol of South African society in general. While the workers endeavor to improve their standing, their employers strive to maximize profits. A poignant story of the struggle for rights and humane treatment in the workplace. Grzegorz Pacek, Poland, 2005, English, Polish, Zulu/Subtitles: English, 42 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGoalkeeper, The / Вратарь [FL 1094]
Based on a short novel by Lev Kassil this comedy follows Anton Kandidov, a young stevedore from the Volga region and a born goalkeeper. Having moved to Moscow, Kandidov earns his fame as a member of the Gidroair football team and enhances rivalry between Girdoair and Torpedo, two Soviet football teams. Under the weight of his fame he quarells with the old friends, but having realized his mistakes, the 'prodigal friend' returns back to his team and his love. He heroically performs during the match of the Soviet players with the generic 'foreign' team Black Bulls. Semyon Timoshenko, Soviet Union, 1936, Russian, 72 min, DVD-ROMGoat horn, the / Козият рог [FL 39]
The film takes us back to the 18th century when Bulgaria was a part of the Ottoman Empire. Four hoodlums break into the house of the shepherd Karaivan, raping and killing his wife. The young shepherd’s daughter, Maria, witnesses the rape and death of her mother. Karaivan decides to take the law into his own hands and becomes obsessed by his violent wish for revenge. He cuts Maria’s hair, dresses her in man's clothes and raises her as a boy so that she can kill in cold blood. The goat horn becomes a symbol of revenge. After 9 years she has found the four violators and managed to kill three of the men with the goat horn, but before killing the last one, in the rich oriental house Maria is unwitting witness to a love scene and a change comes over her. From time to time she secretly dons a beautiful dress and exults in her newly found female identity. She falls in love with a young shepherd and the hatred melts in her heart. When Karaivan discovers the change in her it is already too late. He tries to bring her back to revenge by killing the young lover. The father sets his hut on fire, but without suspecting it, kills the daughter who is also there. Metodi Andonov, Bulgaria, 1971, Bulgarian, 103 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMGod Is With Us, Men That Is / Bóg jest z nami, mężczyznami [FL 1052]
Shot in a village in Northern Albania, the film tells the story of a woman who decides to become a man of her own free will. Bedri is the masculine form of the name Bedrie. Before her whole family, she solemnly pledges to become a man. This peculiar “rite of passage” exists in the mountains of Albania. The entire local community fully accepts and respects Bedri as they would a man. Her brothers will never blush from now on, as she is not going to bring shame upon them. As a man she must have no interaction with women, never have children and remain a virgin till the end of her days. Yet her advice in arranging marriages is valued by the community. Those who do not know her take her for a man anyway since Bedri shaves and dresses like one. Bedri smokes, drinks, plays domino with men and football with village boys. He declares that he is happy with his own self. Jan Sosiński, Poland, 2005, Albanian/Subtitles: English, 46 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGoebbels Experiment, The / Das Goebbels-Experiment [FL 685]
The name Goebbels stands for unbridled, cynical and - at least partially - successful propaganda. It's a convenient label, regularly used to brand politicians as evil rabble-rousers and polemicists. But Joseph Goebbels' life was more enigmatic and unsettling than his current classification as propaganda genius or 'inveterate liar of the Third Reich' would suggest, and here we see how Goebbels constantly stage-managed his life and reinvented himself, from his beginnings as a 'National Socialist' to his suicide with his wife and children. Unusually, for a documentary, it abstains from the use of commentary - the diary that Goebbels kept from 1924 to 1945 is the only 'voice' in the film. In particular, the film succeeds in conveying the gestures and facial expressions of this manic-depressive man, creating the picture of a modern media manager who devoted his workaholic personality to the whole spectrum of communication - only to fail so completely in political and moral terms. Lutz Hachmeister, Germany, 2004, German, English/Subtitles: English, 107 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGolden Cage, The [FL 1384]
140 years ago, a few hundred Circassians arrived in Israel and settled in two villages in the Galilee. Today the community counts over 4,000 people. The effort to preserve the legacy that they brought with them from Caucasus, in addition to observing a Moslem way of life, lead to daily conflict with the open western way of life. The Circassians, for whom honor and shame are central components in how they relate to the world, quietly bare their immense disappointment from the way they’ve been received into Israeli society. Today, despite the fact that they serve in the army, they are still not accepted as equals. The film follows their attempt to preserve their rigid social codes with regard to tradition among the younger members of the community, and the way they cope with the constant conflict – to go back to Caucasus or stay in Israel. Chana Caledron, Israel, 2005, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 68 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGolden Hut: A Year with Emilke Karácsony in the Hidegség of Gyimes / Aranykalyiba [FL 684]
Thirteen-year-old Emilke, who is similar to Ábel (the protagonist of a famous novel about a young boy living in the mountains of Transylvania – transl.), lives in his mountain hut in a place called Hidegség in Gyimes, Transylvania. From early spring to the first snowfall he grazes cows, makes cheese from the milk, and only sees his parents when one or the other goes up to the mountain pasture and takes the cheese home. These meetings are rare and short. The only companions for the boy are the cows and the dogs, since he has to climb one or two hills just to get to the closest neighbour. The hours, days, weeks, spring, summer, and autumn melt into each other in this solitude… Dezső Zsigmond, Hungary, 2003, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGolden Ice Cream / Zlatni sladoled [FL 841]
Funny and enegetic film about Albanians who live in Istrian town of Porec. The movie deals with two groups of people: Muslims, who are the ice cream, and Christians, who are in the gold business. During the summer the street where they live is packed with tourists coming from different places, but in that melting-pot of different nationalities and cultures both communities preserve their own specific, time-enduring way of live. Fatmir Koci, Croatia, 1999, Albanian/Subtitles: English, 21 min, art documentary, VHSGolem, The / Die Golem [FL 758]
A relic certainly, but a fascinating one, "Der Golem" is perhaps the screen's first great monster movie. Though it was actually the third time director-star Paul Wegener had played the eponymous creation, the earlier efforts (sadly lost) were rough drafts for this elaborate dramatization of the Jewish legend. When the Emperor decrees that the Jews of mediaeval Prague should be evicted from the ghetto, a mystical rabbi creates a clay giant and summons the demon Astaroth who breathes out in smoky letters the magic word that will animate the Golem. Intended as a protector and avenger, the Golem is twisted by the machinations of a lovelorn assistant and, like many a monster to come, runs riot, terrorizing guilty and innocent alike until a little girl innocently ends his rampage. Wegener's Golem is an impressively solid figure, the Frankenstein monster with a slightly comical clay wig. The wonderfully grotesque Prague sets and the alchemical atmosphere remain potent. Paul Wegener, Germany, (silent), 85 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMGood Luck! / Barhtalo (Jó szerencsét!) [FL 1405]
A mixture of fiction and nonfiction, this film follows two Gypsy man, Lali and Lóri on their business trip from Romania to Austria and back home. Róbert Lakatos, Austria, 2007, 25 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGood Luck! / Sretno! [FL 852]
In 1998, the last coal mine in Croatia , "Tupljak" near Labin was closed down. 300 miners working there lost their jobs. At the same time, members of the art group "Labin Art Express" are "taking over" the mine. The film will contrast the life of the miners with the conceptualization of the coalmine's environment, "the Underground City", by the Lubin Artist Express. Dalibor Matanić, Tomislav Rukavina Stanislav Tomic, Croatia, 1998, Croatian, 35 min, art documentary, VHSGood morning, Vietnam / Доброе утро, Вьетнам [FL 524]
The love of a Russian girl, Albina, and a Vietnamese guy, Hi, has overcome many obstacles. They met in Russia in the 1980s, and, despite the family resistence to their relationship, got married and lived happily until Hi became injured at the factory where he worked. Not receiving help from the state, the family decided to leave for Vietnam. For Albina life in an unknown country appeared to be the heaviest test. Arkadii Kogan, Russia, 2004, Russian, 26 min, documentary film, VHSGorilla Bathes at Noon / Gorila se kupa u podne [FL 97]
A Soviet army major finds himself a derelict in Berlin just before the wall comes down. The hero wanders through the city in the aftermath of communism, still committed to his hero, Lenin. Clips from the Soviet propaganda film "Fall of Berlin". Dusan Makavejev, Germany, 1993, /Subtitles: Hungarian, 100 min, fiction film, VHSGovernors of Empire (Part 1 & 2) / Birodalmi helytartók I-II. [FL 365]
Film about the communist dictatorship in Hungary, with the focus on Mátyás Rákosi, the Imre Nagy group and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Tamás Tóth, Hungary, 1996, Hungarian, 112 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGraham & I - a true story / Graham I Ja - istinita prica [FL 862]
The documentary profiles Graham Bamford, a British citizen who set himself on fire in 1993 in attempt to change the attitude of the British government towards the war in the former Yugoslavia. However, this film is not only about Graham, his actions, the silence built up around them, but also about the filmmaker and his effort to produce a film about the event. Nenad Puhovski, Croatia, 1998, Croatian, 52 min, art documentary, VHSGrandfathers and Revolutions / Nagyapák és forradalmak [FL 1628]
Prime Minister András Hegedüs was the one who signed the approval for the Soviet troops to enter Hungary in October 1956. His grandson, now living in Australia, returns to Hungary to confront his grandfather with past decisions and compromises. Peter Hegedus, Hungary, 1999, Hungarian, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGrandparents / Grosseltern [FL 1447]
The director returns to her grandparents. What begins as an observation of their daily lives develops into a story of devotion and dependence, change and immutability, and the solitude and sharing of two people who grow old together. The documentary shows the daily struggles, as well as the strength and determination of two elderly persons and their survival strategies. It is an intimate glimpse that brings to light existential questions – questions which viewers are inspired to ask themselves. Nicole Scherg, (n/a), 2004, German/Subtitles: English, German, Italian, 35 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGrass: A Nation's Battle for Life [FL 1316]
A classic adventure by the makers of "King Kong." In 1924, neophyte filmmakers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack hooked up with journalist and sometime spy Marguerite Harrison and set off to film an adventure. They found excitement, danger and unparalleled drama in the migration of the Bakhtiari tribe of Persia (now Iran). Twice a year, more than 50,000 people and half a million animals surmounted seemingly impossible obstacles to take their herds to pasture. The filmmakers captured unforgettable images of courage and determination as the Bakhtiari braved the raging and icy waters of the half-mile-wide Karun River. Cooper and Schoedsack almost froze when they filmed the breathtaking, almost unbelievable, sight of an endless river of men, women and children--their feet bare or wrapped in rags — winding up the side of the sheer, snow-covered rock face of the 15,000-foot-high Zardeh Kuh mountain. Although many documentary historians consider "Grass" second only to "Nanook of the North," few people have actually ever seen this legendary film. This restored and full-length version, complete with an authentic new Iranian score, will astonish today’s audiences with its beautiful photography and heart-stopping adventure. Merian C. Cooper, E. B. Schoedsack, M. Harrison, United States, 1925, (silent), 70 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGreat Communist Bank Robbery, The / Marele Jaf Communist [FL 698]
In 1959 Romanian State Bank was allegedly robbed by a mysterious band of gangsters, who got away with millions of lei intended for the salaries of hard-working citizens. The police, helped by the secret agents, 'discovered' that the robbery had been carried out by a group of high-ranking communists, all holding important posts in government and all, as it happened, Jews. A show-trial followed, and the accused were forced to appear in a filmed 'reconstruction' of the robbery in exchange for promises of reduced sentences. The very same film was then used to provide vital 'evidence' for the prosecution. All but one of the defendants were sentenced to death, and the film was later used at closed party screenings for training purposes. Over forty years later, director Alexandru Solomon reconstructs the reconstruction, incorporating interviews with former prisoners, the cameraman of the infamous film, neighbors and secret police agents. Their accounts show that the propaganda film covered up more than it revealed. Alexandru Solomon, Romania, 2004, Romanian, English/Subtitles: English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGreat Consoler, The / Великий утешитель [FL 998]
Kuleshov and screenwriter Kurs built the film's plot around real facts of American writer O'Henry, whom they called the 'great consoler' of American common people. They intertwined his life story with two of his novellas: reality was transformed by beautiful fantasies, but as a result of that comparison it looked all the more cruel. One of the first sound films by the Soviet film classics, it still combines the 'old' montage cinematography with sound conditions, which presented an uneasy match. "The Great Consoler" is often called Lev Kuleshov's 'swan song'. On-going criticism and permanent accusations of formalistm prompted a new path in the director's life, that of teaching to which he devoted the greater part of his creative career afterwords. Lev Kuleshov, Soviet Union, 1933, Russian, 95 min, fiction film, VHSGreat Generation, The / A nagy generáció [FL 111]
This award-winning film is a commentary on the nature of the older and younger generations in Hungary during the mid-'80s. Réb (György Cserhalmi) stole his friend Makai's (Károly Eperjes) passport in 1968 and took off for the U.S. Seventeen years later, he comes back to Hungary with a teen-age daughter in tow and starts in with his usual underhanded, sly schemes for making money. Makai is at first happy to see him, but that soon fades. Réb's ex-wife Mari (Mari Kiss) feels the same. Meanwhile, Makai's son is called up for the army, and that leads Makai to make a poor decision about how to help him avoid military service. In contrast to Réb, Makai, and the younger set, the elders who experienced all the horrors of war seem like paragons of both wisdom and stability. Ferenc András, Hungary, 1985, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 109 min, fiction film, VHSGreat Glinka, The / Глинка [FL 208]
Biographical film about the life of the well-known composer Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (1806-1857). The film focuses on the creation of the opera "Ivan Susanin" as well as Glinka's relationship with Anna Kern, to whom he devoted a romance based on Pushkin's poem. Leo Arnshtam, Soviet Union, 1946, Russian, 111 min, fiction film, VHSGreat Glow, The / Великое зарево [FL 193]
Russia, 1917. The film starts in the last months of World War I. Russian soldiers are against the war, the number of Bolshevik sympathizers grows. In Petrograd Lenin and Stalin prepare the revolution. The opposition tries to hinder their activities, but in vain. Lenin hides from the prosecutors with Stalin's help. Alongside historical figures the film features a fictional love story between a Russian girl and a Georgian revolutionary. Mikhail Chiaureli, Soviet Union, 1938, Russian, 82 min, fiction film, VHSGreat Patriotic War, The / Великая отечественная [FL 344]
This film is an assemblage of footage filmed during the Second World War by 236 cameraman in different parts of Europe. 40 of the cameraman died at the front. The film is built from the archival material from Russia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Great Britain, and France. Roman Karmen, Soviet Union, 1965, Russian, 128 min, documentary film, VHSGreat Warrior Skanderbeg, The / Великий воин Албании Скандербег [FL 1095]
Set in the 15th century, the film is a historical epic introducing the Albanian leader Skanderbeg (Skenderbeu aka Georgi Kastriot) who fought against the Ottomans and is considered to be a prominent national hero. The film is a Soviet-Albanian co-production, Akaki Khrava stars as a legendary Albanian patriot. In 1954, the film won the Grand Prize and Special Mention for the direction at the Cannes Film Festival. Sergei Yutkevich, Soviet Union, 1953, 120 min, DVD-ROMGreen Card / Зелена карта [FL 535]
In two Muslim villages in the southern part of Bulgaria the only livelihood of people is growing tobacco. They live on credit for most of the year and pay back their debt when the stacks of dried tobacco leaves are sold. Most of the villagers dream for “the luck to be picked up by computer” – to win the green card that would provide a visa and employment in the United States. Sixty families have already been chosen by the computer which the remaining villagers believe “must be from” their village. Old grannies sit knitting by their video players and indulge home videos displaying their children and grandchildren in America reading English, eating in excess and throwing away the leftovers. An old lady tells her experience at the Atlantic shore “babysitting” her grandchildren and admires a shopping mall “as big as our village”. A pharmacist who applied for a green card and was lucky to win, but could not decide on leaving her good profession and status and leap into the unknown shows her issued visa with a sentiment of regret for missing her chance to see life in America and the Statue of Liberty. The former shop keeper who returns with his wife to visit relatives laments his children who would never come back to the village. Eldora Traikova, Bulgaria, 2001, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 26 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGrissinopoli - Bread-Stickville / Grissinopoli — El pais de los grisines [FL 1098]
Grissinopoli, a debt-laden grissini manufacturer, falls into bankruptcy and is abandoned by its owners. Against the backdrop of growing unemployment and economic insecurity, the plant’s 16 Argentine workers decide to resist by trying their hand at self-management. This utopian solution, born of desperation, is hard to actually put into practice. Almost immediately, the workers face internal dissension, potential expropriation, a lack of funds and management experience, and the risks of political and union co-optation. At the same time, they experience moments of solidarity, as they struggle with lawyers and lawmakers to pass an expropriation law that would allow them to maintain their plant. Following the tradition of direct cinema, this activist film provides an example of a growing social movement, that has already succeeded in saving more than 10,000 jobs in Argentina. Dario Doria, Argentina, 2004, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 80 min, DVD-ROMGrlom u jagode (Episode 10) - Smoke out of the Chimney / Grlom u jagode (Epizoda 10) - Dim iz dimnjaka [FL 496]
The final episode follows Bane, now a freshly graduated lawyer, in a desperate search for his own apartment. He unsuccessfully tries to persuade rich Svetlana to marry him and in the process gets into a major fight with his friend Miki who is also interested in her. Bane even applies for membership in the communist party, but is turned down. In all of his applications he is confronted with the same answer: If he wants to get a state apartment, he has to start a family. Already disillusioned and additionally pressured by these circumstances Bane decides to marry Svetlana’s unattractive friend Biljka hoping that love will eventually emerge between them. Srđan Karanović, Yugoslavia, 1975, Serbian, 53 min, television series, DVD-ROMGrowing Up / Hua Jong Wei Die [FL 1145]
Acrobatics are one of the first performance arts that comes to mind when we think of China. Little children are coming from all over China to Hei Long Jiang Acrobatic Troupe with hope of becoming professional acrobats one day. Their main reason for coming to this place despite its strict discipline and hardships is to provide their family with economic support. However, few can achieve their goals. We see their hardhsips through one girl who can no longer afford lessons and a boy who is hospitalized because of an injured leg during training and who ponders whether the troupe can gaurantee his future. By listening to each child's story, "Growing Up" portrays these children's hopes, their responsibilities to their family, their apprehnsions, and the hidden part of China's acrobatic industry. Wang Dongdong and Chang Yu, China, 2005, Chinese, Mandarin/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGrushin's Defense / Защита Грушина [FL 345]
A film about one of the most secret Soviet design engineers, Grushin, and his work on the creation of anti-aircraft missiles. B. Smirnov, Russia, 2002, Russian, 26 min, documentary film, VHSGugara / Gugara [FL 1526]
In the Evenky language “Gugara” stands for the sound of the bell hanging round a reindeer’s neck. It’s one of the few sounds to be heard in the Siberian forest. In the middle of the taiga lives the family of elderly Dimitri and Tatiana, Evenky reindeer herders. Recently, their entire herd was killed by wolves. Now, like all Evenk without reindeer, they will have to move into a completely different world. Everybody else already has left life in the forest for the nearby Russian village. This perceptive observational documentary about a small Siberian community describes the paradoxical world of former nomads and reindeer herdsmen forced to abandon their ancient way of life. Jacek Naglowski & Andrzej Dybczak, Poland, 2008, Russian, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGulag 113 [FL 1350]
An 89 year old Estonian-Canadian returns to his former home to retrace a terrifying journey to hell that began in 1941. Traveling from Estonia to the northern Russian town of Kotlas where his Gulag labor camp was located, the film follow Eduard as he remembers how he escaped death and reconciles with dark memories. It’s a classic story of one man overcoming insurmountable hardships. The documentary also features rare historical footage and beautifully captured images from locations in Canada, Estonia and Russia. Marcus Kolga, Canada, 2005, Estonian, English/Subtitles: English, 47 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGypsies Are Found Near Heaven (aka Queen of the Gypsies) / Табор уходит в небо [FL 190]
Melodrama. The romantic and tragic love story of courageous Roma Loiko Zobar and proud beauty Rada. Based on the early short stories by Maxim Gor'kii. The life of the Roma is portrayed against the background of Bessarabia in the second half of the 19th century, at the time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Emil' Lotianu, Soviet Union, 1976, Russian, 96 min, fiction film, VHSGypsies from Svinia, The [FL 435]
A few hundred metres from the "white" part of Svinia, an eastern Slovak village, there is a "black ghetto". Half of the village's 12,000 population, the "blacks" or Roma, live there on a drained swamp in crumbling concrete blocks and huts made of sticks and mud. They drink dirty water and go to the bathroom in bushes. Naked children eat from bowls on the floor; flies cling to the faces of sleeping babies. Teenage girls nurse infants while smoking cigarettes. The film centres on Canadian anthropologist David Scheffel, who started a project in 1993 to help the Roma in Svinia become more self-sufficient by building their own houses. It argues that Slovakia's transition from communism to democracy has pushed Roma there to the margins of society. Mostly unemployed and living off welfare, they often steal from the homes and harvests of their white neighbours, causing a cycle of increasing tension in the community. John Paskievich, Canada, 1998, English, English, /Subtitles: English, 92 min, documentary film, VHSGypsies / Cygany [FL 1401]
A cinéma-vérité-style documentary that follows a traveling gypsy caravan across rural Poland. The black anf white antropological film attempts to portray the lifes of the Gypsies by taking the position of the neutral observant. Wladyslaw Slesicki, Poland, 1961, Polish/Subtitles: English, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGypsy Caravan / Cyganski karavan - Lolek i Bolek [FL 1404]
This episode of the famous Polish series "Lolek i Bolek", the two the adventuorus brother meet a Gypsy family in a forest. First they are scared of the 'wild' father, but soon they make friends with their beautiful daughter, and are truly disappointed by their disappearence by the next morning.Poland, (silent), cartoon, DVD-ROMGypsy / Цыган [FL 206]
Melodrama-series about a life of a Roma called Budulai and his wanderings in search of freedom and happiness. Budulai falls in love with a Russian woman, who gives birth and raises his child. Alexander Blank, Soviet Union, 1979, Russian, 342 min, fiction film, VHSHack Workers / Mardikor Ayollar [FL 308]
Thrown out of their homes by their husbands, separated from their children and forced (against all Uzbek customs) to earn their living, women find themselves in the hellish world of markets for women hack workers, unprotected by law and subject to violence, rape and murder. Furkatbek Yakvalkhodzhiev, Uzbekistan, 2002, Uzbek, 21 min, VHSHalima's Cellphone [FL 1587]
The story of Halima, a peasant woman living in a reamote area of Bangladesh, who benefitted from a micro-credit program initiated by the local authorities, and bought hersefl a cellphone. How does one, however, make use of a cell phone if no one around has any? Olga Prud'homme, France, 2007, English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHallo taxi / Halo taksi aka Halo taxi [FL 572]
Set in Belgrade of the early 1980s this film, a mixture between a thriller and a gangster movie, begins in a suburban taxi station where the usual routine is changed when one day a new driver comes to work – a beautiful young woman. At first hesitant towards her, full of prejudices and suspicious off her professional qualities, her experienced male colleagues eventually accept her as their equal and tell her their life stories. One of her older colleagues, an ex-boxer called Suger, suspects that his wife is cheating on him and when he catches her in the act, he deals with her lover, Bizmark. After the incident his wif who turns out to be drug addict used by Bizmark, leaves him and he gets badly beaten up. Suger decides to take justice into his own hand. At the same time, the police also get interested in Bizmark who has a fleet of girls around him, all of them drug addicts with a habit of disappearing mysteriously. In a spectacular showdown leading to the happy end, everyone gets involved; from a massive line of taxi drivers led by their beautiful colleague, to the local police and Interpol. Vlastimir Radovanović, Yugoslavia, 1983, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 94 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMHammer and Sickle / Серп и молот [FL 1009]
"Retro-phantasy" set in the 1930s, when Stalin allegedly endorsed the idea of sex-change operations for the purpose of providing more soldiers for the motherland. The story follows Evdokia Kuznetsova, a kolkhoz woman who is handed over to a team of scientists. After the operation she was turned into Evdokim Kuznetsov--a man who soon becomes a national hero. Sergei Livnev, Russia, 1994, Russian, 97 min, fiction film, VHSHamsa, I am / Hamsa, já jsem [FL 6]
An intimate dialogue with several strong personalities, through which the director succeeds in creating a vivid picture of life in a community of blind conservatory students. The film is surprising for its humorous and non-sentimental rendering of people that most of us approach with shyness. Miroslav Janek, Czech Republic, Czech/Subtitles: English, 59 min, documentary film, VHSHands Up / Rece do góry [FL 101]
Andrzej Leszcyzc is one of several doctors attending a medical school reunion in a sealed-up railway carriage. Between drinks, the disenchanted medicos ruminate over the effect that communism (particularly the Stalinist brand) has had on their profession. Jerzy Skolimowski, Poland, 1981, Polish/Subtitles: English, 90 min, fiction film, VHSHappy Ever After Land / Sretna Zlemja [FL 1700]
Two Croatian groups are taking off for memorial sessions in two different directions. The first group boards a bus in Rijeka for a ride to the village of Kumrovec; its passengers are going to commemorate Tito’s birthday and the happy memories of socialist times by visiting his birth house. The second group takes a bus from Zadar to Bleiburg, the place of surrender of the army forces of the Independent State of Croatia, created during WWII under the leadership of ustasha Ante Pavelić. It is today constructed by the subculture nostalgic about Pavelić's ustasha regime, as a memorial site of militant nationalism. The director follows both journeys from departure to their final destinations. The travelers from both groups are not going on mere recreational or entertaining trips, rather, both groups undertake a time-travel, driven by nostalgia for “good old days” which they imagine radically differently. The sharp contrast brings out an image of a polarized society, where the past haunts the present. Goran Dević, Croatia, 2008, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHappy Guys (*aka Jazz Comedy) / Весёлые ребята [FL 148]
Musical comedy. Happy rustic with a song, sheepskin hat, pan pipe and singing animals leads his herds to pasture. While swimming a mix-up occurs and he is taken for a famous conductor. Adulating fans lead him about but when invited to display his musical talents at a party, he forgets himself and uses his pan pipes, thereby inviting in all the local animals. Farce with animals eating the dinner and ruining the performance. The rustic is expelled, but then redeemed the following day when the real conductor is injured and the rustic takes his place, performing brilliantly. As a reward he is then given his own music school, and band. The film ends with Love, a singing milk maid and hundreds of dancing extras Grigori Aleksandrov, Soviet Union, 1934, Russian, 96 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMHappy Man, The / El Hombre Feliz [FL 1184]
The sound of a 24 hour news station broadcast reporting its usual program of international crises and economic downturns provides an insightful foil to Lucina Gil's The Happy Man, a tongue in cheek biography on a self-described "happy man" whose credentials are put to a test by a team of skeptical international researchers. As in Libra, the slice-of-life approach suits the film's structure well, reflecting the film's ideals of enduring love and uncomplicated living. Lucina Gil, Spain, 2007, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 14 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHappy New Year / Szczęśliewego Nowego Jorku [FL 733]
A film adaptation of Edward Redliński’s drama. Six Poles, dreaming of quick careers and fast money face the ruthless reality of poverty after they arrive in New York. They live in isolation, ignorant of American norms and of the English language. Each of them has a different story to tell. Some of them send video tapes to their families back in Poland showing off their alleged successes. Others try to make money illegally. The drama takes place during the three Sundays before Christmas. On Christmas eve, the characters’ lives will be changed, though. An ironical commentary on the “American dream”, watched by nearly half a million Poles. Janusz Zaorski, Poland, 1995, Polish/Subtitles: English, 97 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMHappy Oblivion / Sretna Nigdina [FL 850]
A story about revitalization of the beautiful Medieval Istrian town of Groznjan which was deserted and abandoned after WW II. Surrounded by hills and woods, many artists have recognized the place as home. Maja Zrnic, Croatia, 2000, Croatian, 28 min, art documentary, VHSHarms Case, The / Slučaj Harms [FL 471]
The film is based on the life and writing of Russian avant-garde poet of the 1920s Danilo Ivanovič Harms who has become a cult figure in Yugoslavia. Harms wrote about strange and absurd cases, only to became a “case” himself when he was persecuted by the Soviet authorities. The film describes a possible, but bizarre scenario of his last days in 1942. After the authorities have questioned him about his fictional literal characters and their whereabouts he is finally released. As he enters his flat he realizes that events he has been dreaming and writing about have suddenly become real. Namely, an angel looking for a beam, one of the “cases” he described, comes to him asking for help. Harms spends some time with him and his friends Irina and Zablocki wandering through a town full of surreal events and pictures. When one night he dreams about being executed by a firing squad, he is frightened that the dream will also come true. (He is not wrong.) Slobodan D. Pešić, Yugoslavia, 1988, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: English, 93 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMHasan-Arbakesh / Хасан-Арбакеш [FL 622]
At first glance, youmight think that the film is going to tell a trivial story about an arbakesh named Hasan, who has a cart and a horse and dreams only of earning enough to be able to marry his beloved. As in a traditional fairy tale Hasan is young and handsome, strong and determined and very much in love. The fairy-tale plot, however, is set against the very real historical background, which soon starts to interfere brutally with the romantic thrust of the story. The film was shot during the so-called "Thaw" of the 1960s and contains a metaphorical protest against the establishement of Soviet regime in Tajikistan. Its main theme ia the clash between the traditional Tajik culture, and the new "invading" Soviet one. Unlike most of the "revolutionary" films that were shot in the Soviet Asian republics and focused on the bloody fights between the "reactionary" forces of traditional societies and the "righteous" Soviet "liberators," "Hasan-Arbakesh" shows the process of peaceful sovietization, that nevertheless, ruthlessly reroutes the fates of the characters. Hasan's cart is replaced by a truck, personal work becomes collectivized, the veil is jettisoned and a liberated woman, like Hasan's beloved Saodat, joins the Komsomol and is sent to teach in a romote kishlak. By the end of the film, the ever-joyous,singing and dancing Hasan is only a shadow of his former self, lost in a totally new strange world, full of "kolkhoz peasants", "proletarians" , pioneers with bugles and drums, and endless columns of cars, "busy building Stalin's communism." Boris Kimyagarov, Tajikistan, 1965, Russian, Russian/Subtitles: English, 91 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMHe Who Sings Thinks No Harm / Tko pjeva zlo ne misli [FL 108]
The story is seen through the eyes of 6 year old Perica Safranek. On a family picnic Perica's mother starts flirting with Mr Fulir, a Zagreb dandy. The father at first doesn't notice it; he wants to marry off the aunt. After a couple of invitations to their Zagreb home, the father becomes aware that Fulir is making passes at his wife… Kresimir Golik, Yugoslavia, 1970, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: English, 94 min, fiction film, VHSHead of the Intelligence, The / Начальник разведки [FL 347]
Film about life and activities of the creator of the Soviet military intelligence service, Ian Karlovich Berzin (1889-1937). He became the head of the intelligence service in 1924. Soviet espionage networks in China, Germany, and within the Soviet Union are presented, along with Stalin's struggle for power within the Communist Party. The film explores the role of the Soviet intelligence services in gathering information about the military activities of Germany prior to the Second World War. In 1935 Berzin was removed from his position and sent to Khabarovsk; he later participated in the Spanish Civil War under the pseudo-name of General Grishin. Later Berzin was interrogated by the new head of NKVD Nikolai Ezhov, and sentenced to death. After the arrest of Berzin, the Soviet intelligence service was severely purged. Boris Borisov, Romualds Pipars, Soviet Union, 1989, Russian, 90 min, documentary film, VHSHealth Matters [FL 1371]
The film takes a panoramic look at health care in India through the everyday experiences of patients in both public and private hospitals, covering a range of rural and urban locations. Shikha Jhingan, India, 2006, Hindi, English/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHear it or not: A Portrait of Jakab Orsós / Aki hallja, aki nem hallja. Orsós Jakab portré [FL 1608]
Jakab Orsós's knowledge is archaic - it is the knowledge of a wise storyteller. His knowledge is beyond human. When he goes to a school and talks to Gipsy children, he always emphasizes the importance of equality and human dignity. (Nádas Péter) Kóthy Judit, Topits Judit, Hungary, 2002, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 73 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHearts and Minds [FL 1320]
A courageous and startling film, Peter Davis’ documentary unflinchingly confronts the United States’ involvement in Vietnam. Using a wealth of sources—from interviews to newsreels to documentary footage of the conflict at home and abroad—Davis constructs a powerfully affecting portrait of the disastrous effects of war. Explosive, persuasive, and shocking, Hearts and Minds is an overwhelming emotional experience and the controversial winner of the 1974 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Peter Davis, United States, 1974, 112 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHearts of Age, The [FL 1335]
4.Directed by and starring Orson Welles. The film has no particular plot, but the young Welles (age 19) is easily spotted as a nascent genius. The first footage ever shot by Welles (and way, way before Citizen Kane).United States, 1934, (silent), fiction film, VHSHeavenly Bites / Mennyei Falatok [FL 1415]
In 1980 Bertalan Farkas flew to space with the Soviet Interkosmos program. What did they eat during the expedition? How do they make space food? How much money did the Hungarian government spend on this food? How did Unicum get to space? The film not only confides us to the culinary secrets of space cuisine, but also sheds light upon the most outstanding PR event of the Eastern Bloc in 1980. A glimpse at Soviet propaganda via space food. Katalin Naszódi, Hungary, 2005, Hungarian, 14 min, documentary film, VHSHeidi Fleiss Hollywood Madam [FL 1247]
In her heyday Heidi Fleiss was at the center of a highly successful prostitute ring. The most interesting part of her business was the fact that her clientele reportedly comprised various Hollywood stars. Who can forget her legendary black book? Labeled "Madam to the Stars," this fascinating documentary exposes her world. Includes interviews with Heidi and retired L.A. police detective Daryl Gates. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1995, English, 107 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHeir to Genghis Khan, The (aka Storm over Asia) / Потомок Чингисхана [FL 225]
An ailing hunter dispatches his son to the marketplace to sell a valuable silver-fox fur. When a British trader seizes the fur and gives a ridiculously small price for it, the son fights back and is forced to flee. He joins a band of Bolshevik-led partisans fighting the tyrannical White Guard and their British allies. He’s captured and almost executed; then a document found in an amulet around his neck leads his captors to think that he is the descendant of Genghis Khan. The British hope to install him as a puppet ruler, but he rebels and leads his people to victory over their oppressors. Vsevolod Pudovkin, Soviet Union, 1928, Russian, 93 min, fiction film, VHSHelen K Edited Testimony - Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies [FL 918]
A survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, Majdanek and Auschwitz relates her wartime experiences and describes her postwar reunion with her husband, whom she had married in the ghetto at the age of 16. She emphasizes her determination to survive as an act of defiance against Hitler, a decision she reached when her younger brother died in her arms in the cattle car en route to Majdanek. The theme of resistance, both passive and active, recurs throughout her testimony. Mrs. K. concludes on a pessimistic note, wondering whether "it was worth it" in view of the continuing suffering and inhumanity in the world. Dori Laub and Laurel Vlock - Project directors, United States, 1984, English, 30 min, interview, DVD-ROMHello, Officer / Ćao, inspektore [FL 571]
Set in a small provincial town where nothing exciting ever happens and the two local police officers, Boki and Pajko, are constantly bored and devote their time to mutual childish pranks. The unexpected commotion begins when a dangerous international gang arrives with the intention of blowing up a hotel full of unsuspecting tourists. Boki is arrested by National Security as a prime suspect, on account of his remarkable resemblance to the main gang boss (played by the same actor as Boki). Soon National Security realizes that they could use this unusual coincidence to their advantage and recruit Boki as an undercover agent. All of a sudden his life changes completely as he is entrusted with a dangerous mission – he has to prevent the atrocity and eliminate the whole gang. This represents a major challenge for experienced Boki and, after a series of comic situations, he successfully accomplishes the task. The adventures of Boki and Pajko encouraged two more celluloid follow-ups. The film is also interesting for its basic homophobic storyline, since lots of cheap “jokes” revolve around the homosexuality of the main villains, which in itself is stereotypically portrayed. Zoran Čalić, Yugoslavia, 1985, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 85 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMHer Name Is Sabine / Elle s'appelle Sabine [FL 1576]
A sensitive documentary about Sabine, an autistic woman of 38. This film is the directorial debut of her sister, the well known French actress Sandrine Bonnaire. Over the course of 25 years Bonnaire has recorded the everyday life of her sister. That footage forms a moving portrait revealing her sister's talent, which has been repressed due to an incorrect diagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Sabine's condition deteriorates when she stops spending time with her siblings, who have moved away. As the disease progresses she becomes increasingly aggressive, eventually beginning to attack her mother. From the age of 28 to 33 she is locked up in a psychiatric institution, a move which led to tragic and irreparable results. Today she lives in a family–style therapeutic home where clients with different forms of handicap receive personal care. This intimate picture draws attention to the lack of specialised institutions and shows the harm that can be caused by unsuitable treatment. Sandrine Bonnaire, France, 2007, French/Subtitles: English, 81 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHerbarium / ГЕРБАРИЙ [FL 1494]
How does beauty age? Has charisma got a use by date? Herbarium portrays a brief but significant period in the lives of old people living in an elderly home. A mature women’s beauty contest turns a mundane day upside down and tests delicate social structures. In this pageant, the judges are not satisfied with external beauty alone, but the contestants also have to captivate their audience – some do it by speech, others by singing and dancing. A rare and unusual documentary that flows like a Slavic folk song – beautiful and melancholic while laughing spiritedly in the face of grief. Natalia Meshchaninova, Russia, 2007, Russian/Subtitles: English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHere To Stay [FL 1298]
In this documentary, the filmmakers follow Filipino gay nurse, Fidel Taguinod, over a two year period as he lives out his multiple roles of nurse, migrant activist and bakla (gay) performer in Dublin. Fidel leads the viewer through a series of migrant-led events, as well as through his working & personal life, in which gay politics are playfully mixed with migrant & multi-cultural issues. Alan Grossman & Aine O'Brien, (n/a), 2006, English, 72 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
