Film Library By Year
[N/A]: 60
1910: 1
1914: 1
1919: 3
1921: 1
1922: 3
1924: 9
1925: 6
1926: 2
1927: 6
1928: 5
1929: 9
1930: 5
1931: 4
1932: 1
1933: 4
1934: 5
1935: 9
1936: 8
1937: 13
1938: 9
1939: 7
1940: 5
1941: 6
1942: 2
1943: 8
1944: 9
1945: 10
1946: 7
1947: 5
1948: 2
1949: 9
1950: 1
1951: 3
1952: 2
1953: 5
1954: 4
1955: 6
1956: 10
1957: 11
1958: 9
1959: 6
1960: 4
1961: 6
1962: 8
1963: 6
1964: 11
1965: 15
1966: 9
1967: 9
1968: 14
1969: 6
1970: 9
1971: 12
1972: 7
1973: 10
1974: 23
1975: 19
1976: 21
1977: 12
1978: 12
1979: 14
1980: 16
1981: 17
1982: 13
1983: 15
1984: 21
1985: 17
1986: 10
1987: 14
1988: 21
1989: 22
1990: 16
1991: 15
1992: 19
1993: 29
1994: 12
1995: 27
1996: 19
1997: 31
1998: 63
1999: 46
2000: 39
2001: 60
2002: 75
2003: 104
2004: 106
2005: 140
2006: 175
2007: 112
2008: 60
2009: 9
[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-ROM12:08 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-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-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-ROMA 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 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-ROMAdopting 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-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-ROMAnd 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-ROMApocalypse 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-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-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-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-ROMBeekeeping 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-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-ROMBetween 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-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-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-ROMBittner 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-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-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-ROMBuddha'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-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 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-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, 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-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-ROMCemetery 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-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-ROMCheated, 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-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 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-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-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-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-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-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-ROMCroatia 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-ROMCrossing 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-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-ROMCycles 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-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-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-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-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-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-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-ROMEqual 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 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-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-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-ROMFace 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-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-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-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-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-ROMGhosts [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-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-ROMHealth 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-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-ROMHis Big White Self [FL 1238]
When Broomfield completed The Leader, His Driver and The Driver's Wife in 1991, he received death threats warning him never to return to South Africa. Yet 14 years later he went back to make the follow-up documentary His Big White Self, revisiting the extreme right-wing AWB and the people involved. He meets up with JP, Eugène Terre'Blanche’s former driver, and Anita, JP's former wife. JP feels betrayed by the leaders who promised him a revolution that never came, while Anita has resigned herself to a lonely existence with her grandchildren and her cats, seeming to accept the new South Africa. Terre'Blanche, on the other hand, has been up to all sorts of mischief, including a prison sentence for the attempted murder of his watchman and the hint of even shadier crimes that have never been fully exposed. Broomfield plucks up courage and tries once more to interview the man, who now writes poetry and claims to be leading a quiet life. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 2006, English, 93 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHistory on Film: Regime Change in Hungary and Eastern Europe / Mozgóképes történelem: rendszerváltás Magyarországon és Kelet-Európában 1988-1990 [FL 1282]
An exhaustive overview of the regime change process in various eastern and central European countries. Mária Elbert, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian, 93 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHomeless [FL 1347]
Who is a homeless? What is homelessness? Today in all societies the problem of homelessness can be observed. In modern countries like Britain, homeless people can be seen in big cities such as London. Despite the British government’s efforts to tackle this problem, there are about 500,000 homeless people in this country. This documentary film is emphasizing on the homelessness as an odd element in modern society, from one side, and to the homeless person himself, who represents the sufferings of mankind of our time, from another side. Mahmoud Shoolizadeh, United Kingdom, 2006, English, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHousekeeper / Gundelikci [FL 1277]
Do we really know about the housekeepers who clean and tidy other people's homes all the time? What is it like to clean someone else's dirt? Is it their own choice or are they forced by circumstances? Where do these women come from? What are their worries, conflicts, consumption habits and expectations of life? By earning their own money, do they gain some kind of independence in a patriarchal society? The answers will enlighten our attitude towards them, and change our perceptions and prejudices. Emel Celebi, Turkey, 2006, /Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHow It's Done / Jak to sie robi [FL 1211]
Piotr Tymochowicz, media advisor to some of Poland's top politicians, claims that anybody can be molded into a charismatic leader. He set out to prove that he can transform anyone into a successful politician. Hundreds of people answered his call; only a dozen started training and only one survived. The film crew had a unique opportunity to follow the mechanisms of the birth and evolution of the most despised aspects of the Polish political class. Polish master Marcel Lozinksi followed Tymochowicz and this project for three years, and this beautifully shot and edited work paints a compelling portrait of cynical demagogy and populism in action. Made in Poland, the film carries the universal message that demagogy and populism are not merely a Polish specialty. Marcel Lozinski, Poland, 2006, Polish/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMImmigration: An Example from Vietnam [FL 1157]
Introduces a Vietnamese family and then examines America's role in the Vietnam War. Charles Frost, United States, 2006, English, 40 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMIn A Closed Room / Dar Otaghe Basteh [FL 1192]
An English squash player is scheduled to play a friendly game with the Iranian Male National Team. The players from the Women's Team also want to experience playing him but are forbidden from doing so due to religious beliefs. Ali Alaie and Roya Majdnia, Iran, 2006, Persian/Subtitles: English, 12 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMIn a Distant Border Village [FL 1345]
Up until the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict, the inhabitants of the villages depicted in the documentaries enjoyed normal relations with interpersonal, interfamilial and economic ties. Those ties were abruptly and tragically broken by the war. Former friends and associates were drawn into the hostilities, often unaware of the hurt that their bullets and bombes caused to their neighbors on the other side of the border. 12 years into the ceasefire, the inhabitants of both villages pause to reflect on the friendship and enmmity, war and peace, and the possibility of a clean state leading to coexistence. Ara Shirinyan, (n/a), 2006, , Armenian/Subtitles: English, 45 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMIn Case of Emergency / Für den ernstfall [FL 1254]
1989 the Cold War ended. With the fall of the iron curtain the threat of a nuclear conflict disappeared. Military strategies and doctrines get revised, outdated shelters are deconstructed. World peace seems to be closer than ever. But the goverment of Germany still adhears to a policy of protection against nuclear or biological weapons in case of emergency. These shelters are not only dusty leftovers from another time, they are kept in repair and operative. New early warning systems are developed. „In case of emergency“, the state of Germany stores oat, wheat, rice, peas, beans, condensed milk and milk powder. In case of emergency the state of Germany builds up stocks of gasoline, diesel and crude oil. In case of emergency there are still autobahnen, bridges and points of strategic interests which are prepared for detonation or blocking by barricades. With the fall of the iron curtain and the end of the cold war, the secret files of war and strategy were opened. „In case of emergency“ tries to understand and picture this madness. How prepared have we been and how prepared are we now in case of emergency. Knut Karger, Germany, 2006, German/Subtitles: English, 43 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMIn the Pit / En el Hoyo [FL 1205]
Mexican legend tells that for every bridge that is built the devil will ask for one soul, so that the bridge never falls. This film tells the story of the workers involved in the construction of a second deck to Mexico City’s inner Periferico freeway. This second deck is about to transform the city, its landscape, and the lives of its inhabitants. It is the story of the people whose hands and sweat go into the making of this mammoth work of concrete, steel and asphalt. The workers' daily lives, their hopes, their dreams and the dignity that helps them survive. Contrasts, emotions and small moments that culminate in the loss of a soul. A soul that will remain as a memory of the workers who built the second deck. Juan Carlos Rulfo, Mexico, 2006, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMInside me / Ich erzahl dir von mir [FL 1148]
People with mental disabilities do not have a voice in public. In this film, they and their relatives are given that voice. Petra Hinterberger, China, 2006, German/Subtitles: English, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMInspirations [FL 1200]
INSPIRATIONS focuses on the enlightened wisdom of the Ottoman Sufi Sheikh Bedreddin (1359-1416). He was born into the pluralistic environment of the Balkans. A prominent jurist of his time Bedreddin of Simavna defended multicultural co-existence in equality and justice. He was also a dissident daring to criticise the orthodoxies, challenging the existing hierarchies and depicting a spectacular case of dissent in the rich multicultural texture of Blakans and Anatolia. Nurdan Arca, Turkey, 2006, English/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMJaba [FL 1159]
Zoli returns to his small home village of Jaba in Hungary, in one of Europe's poorest regions. As settled Romas, Zoli's family survive by hiring themsleves out as day-labourers. For Zoli, there is no work and no prospects. Andreas Bolm, Germany, 2006, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 37 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMJesus Camp [FL 1204]
A growing number of Evangelical Christians believe there is a revival underway in America that requires Christian youth to assume leadership roles in advocating the causes of the religious movement. The directors follow Levi (12), Rachael (9) and Tory (10) to Pastor Becky Fischer’s “Kids on Fire” summer camp in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, where children as young as 6 years old are taught to become dedicated Christian soldiers in “God’s army.” The film features these children at camp as they hone their “prophetic gifts” and are schooled in how to “take back America for Christ.” The voice of dissent arrives in the form of radio host Mike Papantonio, a Christian who disagrees with the politicization of American Christianity. In a confrontation between him and Fischer, she confirms that she is indeed suspicious of democratic society, because "in a democracy we have to give everyone equal say, and eventually that is going to destroy us." Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady, United States, 2006, English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMJonestown [FL 1203]
The documentary reveals the true, tragic story behind enigmatic preacher Jim Jones and his promise of a world of economic and racial equality that ultimately led to the largest mass murder-suicide in history. On November 18, 1978, more than 900 people, among them 200 children, died in the utopian community they had tried to create in the jungles of Guyana in South America. Many of those who died were from the Bay Area as Jones held sway over a huge congregation in San Francisco from 1972 to 1977. Nelson interviews former members of Peoples Temple, including many whose family members perished in Jonestown. Initially, they felt they were part of an idealistic interracial community that could change the world. But they also reveal the fear, paranoia and beatings that were part of the traumatic experience. Jones became their father, friend, savior and god. The film includes remarkable archival footage of Jones discussing his childhood in Indiana and preaching in San Francisco, where he wielded considerable political clout due to his ability to get hundreds of his followers to appear at local political events. Jonestown gives a powerful insight to the life of a community built on a dream of paradise founded on ideals and desperation. Stanley Nelson, United States, 2006, English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMJourney Home / Hazatérés [FL 1567]
The journey of two American women to bury their father's ashes in Hungary turns into a quest to find out exactly what he did as a freedom fighter during the revolution of 1956 in Hungary. Réka Pigniczky, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKill the Messenger / Une Femme A Abattre [FL 1143]
Out of love for her newly-adopted country, Sibel Edmonds agreed to join the FBI as a translator in the wake of 9/11. But her world gets turned upside-down when Subel reports wrongdoings to her supervisors: one of her colleagues from the Translation Unit is secretly working for the same Turkish officials who are "targetted" by the top-secret FBI investigations that Sibel is working on. As a "reward" for her whistle-blowing, Sibel is fired from the FBI. Today, she is fighting for the very ideals that American democracy relies on, and is facing some of the most wreckless and powerful officials in the U.S. government. Sibel has granted a film crew full and exclusive access to document her story, and her struggle, as we zero in on her secret. Mathieu Verboud and Jean-Robert Viallet, France, 2006, English, French/Voice-over: English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKristina and Christ / Kristina Krustuje [FL 662]
in Lithuania, women occupy a lower position than men in the Lutheran Church hierarchy. Kristina, a graduate of Oxford University, is not ordained to become a priest because she is a woman. As an asistant pastor, she could act as a lay person only. Committed to theology and educating others, she has focused on encouraging women and girls in her community to seek equal rights of men and women in the Church and the society at large. The film helps to challenge the belief that the traditions of the Church are outside national andiscrimination labor laws. After the national premiere of this film, the Bishop and the Consistory of the Evangelical Church in Lithuania banned Kristina from teaching in the church and its institutions, accusing her of violating church teachings, and dismissed her from the position of assistant pastor. Inesa Kurklietyte, Lithuania, 2006, Lithuanian/Subtitles: English, 22 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLetters to Rakosi / Levelek Rákosihoz [FL 1626]
The film tracks letters written to Matyas Rakosi, Prime Minister of Hungary in the 50's. Following the correspondence of artists, athletes and average workers with the powers that be we witness the mechanisms of a system where favoritism and suspicion had become the pillars of existence. Peter Moczan, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian, 38 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLeyla [FL 1288]
In Dec. 2003 Bam, an Iranian city, was hit by an earthquake. In this film Mohammad Akbari tells the story of his sister, Leyla and her family who died under the ruins of their house in the earthquake. Amin Ghadami, Iran, 2006, Persian, 32 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLibertas [FL 1457]
Libertas is a luxurious hotel built in the 70's in Dubrovnik. It was almost completely demolished during the war in the Balkans, then rebuilt by Turkish investors. To this day Libertas remains the symbol of freedom. Past, present and future. Images of the former Yugoslavia, the beauty of the Adriatic coast; images of war and peace. Dorka Gergely, (n/a), 2006, Croatian, English/Subtitles: English, 34 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLosers and Winners [FL 1210]
German efficiency and Chinese industriousness jostle each other on globalization's economic ladder in this revealing look at the efforts of 400 Chinese workers, supervised by 30 German foremen, to dismantle a virtually brand new but economically incompetitive coke plant in Dortmund so that it can be rebuilt in China. While the German foremen lament the loss of jobs and fret over what they regard as unsafe working practices, the Chinese workers struggle to support their families back home and wonder why the Germans always down tools for the day just when the real work is beginning. An insightful exploration of the cultural dynamics between two countries. Ulrike Franke & Michael Loeken, Germany, 2006, German, Chinese, Mandarin/Subtitles: English, 96 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLudmila / Ludmila [FL 1175]
Both humorously and heartbreakingly, Ludmilla tells her often tragic life's story, a story of war, refuge and the unexpected deaths of every single family member other than the director's mother. Her grandson, the director, sets out to the places of her past. Dennis Todorovic, Germany, 2006, Czech, German/Subtitles: English, 46 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMahatma - A Great Soul of the 20th Century [FL 1510]
A portrait of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha - resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience which led India to independence and inspired civil rights movements around the world. Rich with archival footage, this excellent film follows Gandhi's journey from childhood and shows the aspirations, ambitions, sacrifices, doubts, patience and extraordinary endurance of a great man. Vithalbhai Jhaver, India, 2006, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 47 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMaleng, Thai Insect Hunter [FL 1292]
The monsoon region of Isan is among the poorest areas of Thailand. The village Ban Sarng is located in the northeast, near the border with Laos, where local chef Pi Li makes specialties of insects. In the family manufacture, he also makes cosmetic preparations and medicines from insects. Claudia Pelz, Italy, 2006, Thai/Subtitles: English, 29 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMarcela [FL 1570]
Marcela married Jiří in 1980. She could not foresee that she would have problems with her flat and her mother-in-law, that she would give birth to a daughter and that, two years later, she would divorce. Unravelling before our eyes is the authentic story of an ordinary woman in an inadequate social environment and a less than satisfactory relationship. A big shock awaits her in November 2005 when her 25-year-old daughter Ivanka tragically dies. Documentary filmmaker Helena Třeštíková was at her side even at the most difficult times of her life. Helena Trestikova, Czech Republic, 2006, Czech/Subtitles: English, 82 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMerchants of Miracles / Marchands de Miracles [FL 1232]
In a country torn apart by war, poverty and disease, it seems that everyone is on the lookout for a miracle. Luckily, in the Democratic Republic of Congo miracles are part of everyday life thanks to a few charismatic pastors who preach the word of the Lord and work wonders in their "churches of awakening." Reminiscent of the mega-churches in the Unites States, these gigantic congregations boast a mix of Christian values and traditional African beliefs and at the center of each devoted group of followers there stands a "prophet" who claims to be able to cure AIDS, provide material wealth and resurrect the dead. Gilles Remiche travels to Kinshasa where prophets and pastors can be found roaming the streets, holding court in auditoriums and on TV programs, to speak to the men behind this spiritual movement as well as the people who have chosen to follow the self-proclaims healers. Hovering between cynicism, megalomania and surrealism, these prophets feed off the desperation of followers whose generous donations feed their lavish lifestyles. Gilles Remiche, Belgium, 2006, French/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMoby Prince History, The / L'Ustica Del Mari [FL 1174]
140 victims, zero guilty. Fifteen years ago, a few miles from the Livorno’s seaport, the ferry-boat Moby Prince crashed against an oil tanker, named Agip Abruzzo: “human error”said the technicians and the experts. This film examines what happened fifteen years after the event. Claudio Moschin, Italy, 2006, Italian/Subtitles: English, 8 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMonastery - Mr. Vig and the Nun, The [FL 1226]
Fifty years ago Jorgen Lauersen Vig bought Hesbjerg Castle, situated in the Danish countryside, with the purpose of turning it into a monastery. Now, many years later, he is about to realize his old dream. After a visit to Russia and negotiations with the Russian patriarchate, a delegation of nuns headed by Sister Amvrosija come to Denmark in order to decide whether Vig's castle is fit to serve as a monastery. The following summer Sister Amvrosija and some Russian workers return; the nuns and the Russian workers move into the castle, and slowly they both take over some of the daily work and introduce new routines. Vig's life changes: he has never had any women around before, and now he has to share his home with the strong-willed Amvrosija and the other nuns. They have plans and wills of their own, and Vig is forced to realize that the road to fulfilling his dream is different than what he imagined. Pernille Rose Grønkjær, Denmark, 2006, Danish/Subtitles: English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMother's House, The [FL 957]
Three generations of the Moses family - Miche, her mother Valencia and Valencia's mother Amy - live together in a small house in Cape Town's Bonteheuwel community, an Apartheid-produced ghetto pierced by domestic violence and gangsterism. A richly detailed and deeply emotional portrait of the Moses women is created with their alternate affection and animosity toward one another, their reactions to the pervasive violence surrounding them, and their endeavors to find their own unique places and selves within that community and their tight-knit family unit. The film shows the women at home and in the streets around their home, and men are almost entirely absent in both places-only boys of Miche's age appear at all. Each woman's story is indicative of her time of life: teenage Miche's coming-of-age, her mother's pregnancy and her grandmother's reflections on errors of the past. François Verster, South Africa, 2006, Afrikaans/Subtitles: English, 76 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMy Country, My Country [FL 1222]
Doctor Riyadh is a father of six and a Sunni political candidate. An outspoken critic of the occupation, he is equally passionate about the need to establish democracy in Iraq, arguing that Sunni participation in the January 2005 elections is essential. Yet all around him, Dr. Riyadh sees only chaos, as his waiting room fills day after day with patients suffering the physical and mental effects of ever-increasing violence. Dramatically interwoven into the personal journey of Dr. Riyadh is the landscape of the US military occupation, with Australian private security contractors, American journalists and the UN officials who orchestrate the elections. The film presents the agonizing predicament and gradual descent of one man caught in the tragic contradictions of the United States’ occupation of Iraq and its project to spread democracy in the Middle East. Laura Potras, United States, 2006, English, Arabic, Kurdish/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMy Dreams Never Lie / Ado d'ailleurs [FL 1151]
Yassin is Afghan. He is seventeen, maybe eighteen. Wihtout a family, he traveled alone on the difficult path which took him all the way to France. From the moment he set foot in Paris, Yassin's one dream was to obtain papers regularizing his refugee status. In the mean time, he has had no choice but to carry on with normal life. And so, every morning, like every French child, Yassin goes to school. Didier Cros, France, 2006, French, Persian/Subtitles: English, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMy Name is Jagdish Bhatt / Meine Name ist Jagdish Bhatt [FL 1181]
Jagdish Bhatt is a new Delhi slum dweller who, with brains, charm, and wit, repeatedly manages to overcome the narrow limits of his slum to work in Europe so he can feed his family of ten. He is a wanderer between worlds, a representative of the "globalization from below," where borders between the first and third worlds have become more porous and more rigid. Jagdish takes us through Kathputli Colony (Puppet Colony), where he lives. More than 3000 families live there, most of them artists: acrobats, snake conjurers, musicians, monkey trainers, magicians. In 2007 this unique colony will be torn down for the construction of a metro station -- a life-threatening situation for Jagdish. We meet a man who straddles extremes: while his puppetry is admired by a culturally aware public in Europe, in India he is just a face in a crowd. And while he is exposed to the seduction of money and sex in Europe, in India he wages a bitter struggle to survive. Gunter Heinzel, Germany, 2006, German, German, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 72 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMy Neighbor Tanja / Moja susjeda Tanja [FL 1341]
The first bad luck in life of the 57 year old Tanja Kursar - born as a 'bastard' - permanently marked her life: her grandfather didn't recognize her for a long time, she met her indifferent father only twice in her life; her deranged stepfather harassed her, the husband cheated... She endured all of it. Raised two children, got a job, finished school, even played in a film... And today, stronger then ever, she boldly lives her life. Petar Krelja, Croatia, 2006, Croatian, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMNew Penelope / Пенелопаи мо [FL 657]
Economic depression and political chaos force Tajik men to become migrant laborers, working in unsafe conditions and with inconsistent pay. Tajik women attempt to keep their families alive, and m in some cases, enter polygamous marriages to feed themselves and their families. Often, these women relate to Penelope, the wife of the mythical hero odysseus, who waits many years for her husband to return. The men working abroad and the women left behind face the same fate: hard work and human rights abuses. This film allows the viewer to experience the hardships of migrant labor through the eyes of both women and men. Georgii Dzalaev, Tajikistan, 2006, /Dubbing: Russian/Subtitles: English, 25 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMNomadak Tx / Nomadak Tx [FL 1130]
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once famously remarked, “Music is the universal language of mankind,” and perhaps nowhere is this sentiment felt more strongly than in this jubilant film about two musicians who journey to some of the most remote regions of the world, using the traditional Basque musical instrument, the txalaparta, as a medium for cross-cultural exchange and understanding. The txalaparta is a traditional Basque instrument (similar to a xylophone) that was originally a communication device between Basque tribes. In this spirit of communication, Igor Otxoa and Harkaitz Martínez have a dream to turn the txalaparta into a meetingplace—not only for people, but for different cultures as well. This wish leads them to make a trip in search of the world’s last remaining nomadic tribes. From the north of India to the Mongolian Steppes, from the Sahara desert to Lapland, the film captures an extraordinarily fluent and dynamic conversation across borders and languages, articulated through music. Through encounters with other musicians—a Mongol musician and a Hindu taxi driver, a Sami singer and an aging Saharan lady—the txalaparta becomes more than a musical instrument; it is a tool for communication in which everyone expresses their desires. Stunning photography and superb music fill nearly every frame of the film, culminating in an amazing performance piece involving the music of all tribes in unison with the txalaparta. With little dialogue, the film speaks volumes on the significance of music in our lives, and its power to connect people all over the world. Raúl De la Fuente, Spain, 2006, Spanish/Subtitles: English, French, 86 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMNuclear Tango: Why a Hero Fell from Grace [FL 1362]
A documentary that investigates and puts together why Dr. A.Q. Khan, the father of the Pakistani nuclear weapons program was made to take the rap and accept responsibility for having orchestrated the Pakistan–North Korea nuclear relationship. The film establishes the critical role that Pakistan has played in nursing North Korea to establish itself as a potent nuclear power with a delivery capability. This assistance was guided by the Chinese Government, through the identified efforts of General Xiong Guangkai, Deputy Chief of the Peoples Liberation Army, who in CIA parlance, was the case officer for this exchange between the Pakistani’s and the North Koreans. Iqbal Malhotra, India, 2006, English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMOn Green Pastures / On Green Pastures [FL 1131]
For two hundred years, Azerbaijan Mountains have been inhabited by “mоlоkans”, exiled from Russia in Catherine Second’s time. Old Believers live apart, namely in communities: their patriarchal way of life remains almost invariable during these two hundred years. “Mоlоkans” are devout and hardworking people retaining the tradition of “pre-Petrine” Russia, but coexist scanty in cultural inlay of Azerbaijan. The movie is about their amazing community. Ilgar Safat, Azerbaijan, 2006, Russian/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMOn the Road / On the Road [FL 1112]
Mrs. Zhang Xingfen lost her husband in an industrial accident. During her quest in search of justice from the central authorities in Beijing, she lost everything beginning with the evidence in her case, as well as her children, who were taken taken from her and placed in an orphanage, and her freedom, when she was locked up in a psychiatric institution. Her story illustrates that of many Chinese people appealing to higher authorities who travel to Beijing to assert their rights. In an insightful and shocking film, Liu Wei gives the floor to simple people, whose dramatic recollections portray a completely different side of China than the one we know from the media and tourist experiences. Liu Wei, China, 2006, Chinese, Mandarin, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMOnce Upon a Time There Was '56 / Hol nem volt '56 [FL 1497]
A documentary on the Hungarian revolution of 1956 with archive sound and audio-visual images, and personal testimonies. Julie Sandor, Hungary, 2006, French, Hungarian/Subtitles: Hungarian, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMOne Voice One Vote / Se Suis Une Voix [FL 1138]
Martine and Arnaud are two French citizens. Arnaud is 28 years old. Nartine is 66 years old. They have never met. We interviewed them with a desire to make an animated documentary on themes as wide as citizenship, politics, and political commitment. Martine and Arnaud spoke to us about their past, about their daily life and their social commitment. Our first intentions were transformed into one: to try to create a bridge between these two citizens through our intervention. And so, we took an intitiative: Martine listens to Arnaud's words and Arnaud listens to Martine's/ As we go back and forth -- between Martine and us, between us and Arnaud -- a dialogue by proxy is born, a dialogue appeared through us, questioning their possible encounter. Cecile Rousset and Jeanne Paturle, France, 2006, French/Subtitles: English, 14 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMOsada Bystrany [FL 1438]
Bystrany is a village of 2500 people in East Slovakia. 1700 of them are Roma. They have lived there since 14th century. The majority live together in a settlement called Osada. Most of the Roma live on social support which was dramatically cut by 50% in 2004. Marc Bader, petra Kuncikova, (n/a), 2006, Slovak, /Subtitles: English, 32 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMOther Russians, The [FL 1372]
The Other Russians depicts the- often forced- departure of ethnic Russians from those Republics of the former Soviet Union in which they formed a minority.This film sets out to represent the history of the non-Russian Russians in their accounts of this time- despite the continued silence of the Russian government and the governments of the independent former Soviet Central Asian states from which they were driven into exile. Mayram Yusupova, Russia, 2006, Russian/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMOur Land: Yaipota Ñande Igüi / Yaipota Ñande Igüi - Queremos nuestra tierra [FL 1295]
In the Northern Province of Argentina, descendants of the original people of the land, the Guarani, have for years suffered displacement and repression at the hands of the sugar refinery San Martín del Tabacal. In 1996 the Multinational Seaboard Corporation purchased the refinery and fired 6000 employees thrusting many into extreme poverty. The mass eviction that ensued provoked over 150 families of workers and peasants to organise to recuperate their lands. Animated sequences of a fight between a tiger and bull, depict the Guarani People battle the multinational corporation in the ultimate struggle to gain back control of their ancestral lands. Lorena Riposati, Argentina, 2006, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 77 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMOutlaw / For a Da Lei [FL 1147]
Teresa and Helena are a lesbian couple who challenged the law by trying to get married. But the publicity brought them even more difficulties and discrimination. These two mothers - and their two daughters - are an outlaw family. For them housing, school, and work can become major problems. Leonor Areal, (n/a), 2006, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMPaper Cannot Wrap Up Embers / Le papier ne peut pas envelopper la braise [FL 1596]
This award-winning documentary trails the lives of young Cambodian women who are forced into prostitution and presents their painful tales against a backdrop of an already-scarred nation. Cambodia has become almost synonymous with genocide but what most people miss out are the intransigent social problems that have arisen in relatively modern times, albeit as a result of the national tragedy. Cambodian director Rithy Panh brings us off the sunny paths of Cambodia and into the darker alleys of the Khmer society, presenting a warm and heartfelt piece on the various women who turn to prostitution to survive. This documentary received the Prix Arte at the European Film Academy Documentary 2007 awards. Rithy Panh, France, 2006, Khmer, Central/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMPenumbra / Penumbra [FL 1140]
Film maker Gwynne McElveen first wrote to her American pen friend in 1993. Over a thousand letters later she still had not met or even seen a picture of ‘Jim’. In this intriguing documentary she travels to meet her mysterious friend and piece together his disturbing life story. The viewer is told little at first other than the fact that he is a man of some intelligence and a brilliant comic book artist. His superhero creation, Captain Penumbra, whose name means the point where light and shadows meet, hints at the demons that exist within Jim’s mind. From her native County Meath to Idaho and on to Arizona, the film follows McElveen’s journey as she meets Jim’s family and visits locations from his childhood. En route she asks complete strangers to read extracts from Jim’s letters and to imagine the sort of man who could write such witty and literate prose. The further McElveen travels across America the more nervous she becomes as the date for her first encounter with Jim draws ever closer. Eventually, she arrives at the walls of a state penitentiary and the truth is revealed. This excellent documentary works as both a travelogue and a detective story. It is a fascinating story of how two disparate people can form a strong bond that cannot be broken by distance or circumstance. Gwynne McElveen, England, 2006, English, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMPeter's Dream [FL 1428]
Peter’s dream is the story of an extraordinary educational project which took place in Nairobi in 2005, the African Spelling Book: 56 boys and girls from the shantytowns wrote and filmed 21 short films for the National Geographic Channel. One of them was Peter Kamau, a thirteen-year-old street kid. "Dream", the title of the story he wrote, expresses his greatest wish: to go back to school after two years spent in the street. A wish that is not easy to make come true in Nairobi. Enrico Cerasuolo, (n/a), 2006, English, Swahili (macrolanguage), 54 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMPhoto Souvenir [FL 1261]
n the 60s and 70s, Philippe Koudjina, who was born in Benin and now lives in Niamey, Niger, was a much loved and popular photographer. Today, the almost blind man sits daily in his wheel chair next to the main street and greets the people passing by, whom he photographed during the euphoric times of independence. His black and white photos show people dancing the Twist to rock and roll music and enthusiastically embracing themselves. These documents of his time have artistic value nowadays. While similar photographs of other African photographers gain high prices in art metropolises like New York and Paris (for example: Malick Sidibé, Golden Lion, Venice Biennale, 2007), Koudjina’s work remains unknown. “Photo Souvenir” questions the exclusiveness of the international market. It asks: Which aspects of Koudjina´s photography are relevant in order to give his work recognition in the western world? Away from Koudjina's daily life, we follow two French art connoisseurs who try to offer his photographs to the French galerie: agnes b. Paul Cohen, Martijn van Haalen, Netherlands, 2006, French/Subtitles: English, 54 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMPianist Lívia Rév / Rév Lívia, zongorista [FL 1088]
A sensitive and intimate portrait of Livia Rév (born in 1916), a celebrated pianist worldwide in the 1950s and 1960s. Through a life-history interview, and with extensive use of archival material, the film gives an insight into the life of an artist, who was born in a Jewish family in Budapest, survived the Holcaust thanks to Raoul Wallenberg, and emmigrated to Paris after the Communist takeover in Hungary. Most memorable sequences of the film are the ones depicting the life of a student of Ernő Dohnányi at the Hungarian Music Academy in the early 1940s and the ones about the life in the Jewish ghetto in Budapest 1944-1945. Mácsai János, György Pálos, Hungary, 2006, documentary film, DVD-ROMPlease, Vote for Me [FL 1202]
What does democracy look like in the world’s largest Communist country? Think small, very small. This documentary features a third grade class in Wahun province and the intense politicking that marks the contest for the post of Class Monitor. It is also a classic election drama, albeit with 7-year-olds. The three candidates, two boys and a girl, are selected by the teachers, but they conduct real campaigns and are chosen in a free election. Ironically, their goal is to become the student charged with maintaining order and reporting rule violations to the teachers. What starts out as an innocent game soon turns into a treacherous struggle worthy of grown-up politics. The main advisers to the candidates are their parents, who perhaps take the youngsters' nomination more seriously than the children themselves. Dirty tricks abound: bribing fellow students by promising them a certain job, dishing the dirt on opponents, using flattery and threats, and, last but not least, handing out pre-election gifts. The film provides a private view of a microcosm of contemporary Chinese culture. Please Vote for Me was made as part of the "Why Democracy?" documentary project using film to start a global debate about democracy, with productions by independent award-winning filmmakers from around the world, including China, India, Japan, Liberia, USA, Bolivia, Denmark, Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan and Russia. Weijun Chen, China, 2006, Chinese, Mandarin/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMQana [FL 1274]
Qana tells the story of the massacre of the civilians of Qana, a Lebanese village, who took refuge in a UN base in 1996. Mohammadreza Abbasian, Iran, 2006, Persian/Subtitles: English, 33 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMRadicalized [FL 1155]
An animated short about a 57 year old woman who, after 33 years of working as a teacher, is "burnt out" by a life of modern stress. Klara Swantesson, Sweden, 2006, Swedish/Subtitles: English, 7 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMRaging Grannies Anti Occupation Club, The [FL 1164]
The film accompanies 76 year old Hava and her friend Jossefa all across Israel as they partake in protest-manifestations, lawsuits, demonstrations, and everything in between. As "Ragging Grannies" these women make revolutionary texts and music, protest in front of checkpoints, and drive to occupied areas to meet formerly imprisones Palestinians. A film not merely on Israeli occupation policy but above all on those who once made it real and today fight against it with all their means. Iwajca Klinke, Germany, 2006, English, German, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMRed Card, The / Carte ghermez [FL 1279]
In 2002, an Iranian woman named Shahla Jahed was accused of murdering the wife of her famous lover, the soccer player Nasser Mohammed Khani. The story of this adulterous affair, the news about the murder and the subsequent trial created an enormous media event in Iran. The newspapers couldn't get enough of it, and TV talkshows were devoted to the «syndrome» of this woman, who had fallen in love with a celebrity. In the film, we see flashes from the numerous articles and TV shows, as well as home movies in which Nasser's mistress films him. There is also a segment in which Nasser visits the house where his wife was murdered. But the most important element in the film is the trial: As a woman, Shahla officially has very little say in the Iranian legal system, but the way, in which she handles her own defence, would make you presume otherwise. She categorically denies any involvement in the murder, maintaining that she was forced into a confession. She contradicts the judge, and while constantly rearranging her chador, she even seems to be flirting with him. Mahnaz Afzali, Iran, 2006, Persian, 74 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMReturn [FL 1454]
Liya’s past is troublesome—her mother was killed by her father, and she herself was beaten by him many times—and she spends her adult life attempting to cope with her memories. To cut the vicious circle of violence in the village of her childhood, where domestic violence is considered “normal”, Liya returns to her former home to awaken the villagers and establish new relationships among them. Levan Glonti, Georgia, 2006, Georgian/Subtitles: English, 28 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMReturn / Возврашение [FL 657]
Liya's past is troublesome - her mother was killed by her father, and she herself was beaten by him many times. She spends her adult life attempting to cope with her memories. To cut the vicious circle of violence in the village of her childhood, where domestic violence is considered "normal," Liya returns to her former home to awaken the villagers and establish new relationships among them. Levan Glonti, Georgia, 2006, Georgian/Dubbing: Russian/Subtitles: English, 28 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMRiding Solo To the Top of the World [FL 1301]
Riding Solo is a film about filmmaker Gaurav Jani's solo motorcycle journey from Mumbai to one of the remotest places in the world, the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh, bordering China. The film is even more extraordinary for the fact that Jani was a one-man crew who loaded his 200 kg bike with over 100 kgs of equipment/supplies and set off on a journey to one of the world's most difficult terrains. Gaurav Jani, India, 2006, English, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 94 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMRule of the Fists / Faustrecht [FL 1373]
A long-term documentary about two violent teenagers. The two directors observed Tim and Gibran between their 16th and 18th birthday. Tim is an introverted teen who is subject to uncontrolled fists of violence. The film shows his “odyssey” through institutions and foster homes, “looking for a quiet little spot” (quote Tim). Gibran is an extroverted charmer who uses violence to get what he wants. “I will hit anybody looking to be hit – no matter if man or woman” (quote Gibran). He spends time in a detention centre where he is strongly confronted with his violent behaviour. The film casts a glance behind the statistics of violence, looking at young offenders that are victims of their own. Bernard Weber, Robi Mueller, Switzerland, 2006, German/Subtitles: English, German, French, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMRwanda. Through Us, Humanity... / Rwanda. A travers nous, l'humanite... [FL 1267]
Filmed in Rwanda in April 2004, during performances of the show Rwanda 94, in the context of the 10th commemoration of the genocide of the Tutsis and the massacre of Hutu moderates. How can theatre question reality when faced with the primary actors of the story told on stage? The intense, cathartic, active answer of the Rwandan audience brings to the fore the current concerns of the survivors. What is life like for them 10 years after the genocide? Echoing the issues in the play, "Rwanda. Through us humanity..." allows the survivors of the genocide to speak out, in their current reality, during this special period of mourning. The memory of the genocide is sought out, is established through the traumatic awakenings, the evocations, the disinterment and dignified burial of victims, the fears and worries with regard to the threats that still weigh upon them today. They express their profound resentment of us for having abandoned them, and of the international community for their silent complicity during the genocide, but also of the exclusion, discriminations and violence to which they are still submitted. Marie-France Collard, Belgium, 2006, French/Subtitles: English, 105 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMSaba [FL 1194]
A couple of centennials, tehir bodies, their house, their waiting. Thereza Menezes and Gregorio Graziosi, Brazil, 2006, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 15 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMSafe Houses, The [FL 1289]
Where do those women shelter who have no safety in their own houses? Maryam Haghpanah, Iran, 2006, Persian/Subtitles: English, 39 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMSay No to Autism [FL 1146]
Autism is a lifelong disease that happens in early childhood with no definite causes. Having no sense about one's surroundings and refusing to develop normal realtionships with others are typical symptoms of the disease. In 2002, Heilongjiang's first autistic treatment center was established in the kindergarten attahced to Harbin Women's Federation. A group of autistics are receiving a special treatment here: intervention training, the only method to treat autism in the world. Children here are passively receiving the tortuous treatment. Wang Dongdong and Chang Yu, China, 2006, Chinese, Mandarin/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMSecret Genocide, A / Un génocide à huis clos [FL 1119]
To bring this alarming documentary to life, the director traveled to parts of Burma and Thailand where few Westerners are allowed. His efforts represent a brave attempt to call attention to the plight of the Karen people, an ethnic minority group that has been fighting for self-determination for decades. Alexandre Dereims, France, 2006, French, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMSessantotto - L'utopia della realta / 68 - Utopia of Reality [FL 1018]
Sessantotto. L'utopia della realtà based upon the script by journalist Adalberto Baldoni, is an attempt to supply answers to the questions raised by the 1968 phenomenon in Italy within a transnational perspective. The documentary starts with a presentation of the Beat Generation (Ginsberg, Kerouac) and ends with the portrayal of the protest movement based in Rome. The central thesis of the film is that the escalation of violence in the 70s and 80s resulted from the “strategia degli opposti estremi”, an instumentalised polarisation of the anti-authoritarian conflict of ‘68. Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani, Italy, 2006, English, Italian/Voice-over: Hungarian, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMShadows of Fate: A Refugee Childhood [FL 1590]
The girls are 11 and 12 years old. They are friends. Having escaped the massacres in their homeland together with the other surviving members of their families, they have reached the safety of Bredjing refugee camp in the south-east of the neighbouring country of Chad. "Thanks be to Allah – we had everything!" says Jasmin’s mother when she speaks of the good times in their native land before the war broke out. We witness with our own eyes what is left for her and the other families. What happened to them in between we learn from the stories they tell. The shadows of the past are their constant companions; the uncertainty of the future hovers over their daily lives as they wait in the camp. The film approaches the two girls tactfully and with sensitivity. It shows their daily lives, which in spite of the poverty and hardship rise above what has happened and what they have experienced with bright moments and dignity, with games and songs and school lessons and the strength of their Muslim faith. And yet the tragedy is ever-present, lurking just beneath the surface. Susan Gluth, Germany, 2006, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 70 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMSome Kind of Sadness / Alguna Tristeza [FL 1303]
Juan Alejandro Ramírez is a New York-based documentarist and anthropologist who explores Peru, the country of his birth, in all of his films. Some Kind of Sadness is Ramírez's poetic essay on the Peruvian soul, a series of fragments - history, scenery, and people. The documentary opens with images of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, where Peru beat Austria in football. However, the victory of the Peruvian team, composed mainly of black and Mestizo players, was annulled after a referee review. Race and colour play a significant role in the outcome of this historical match and in the film, which addresses questions of race and identity. Football functions as a conduit that leads the viewer to reflect on the Peruvian identity by observing the lives of people such as taxi driver Melquíades and the director’s aging father and American globetrotter friend. Juan Alejandro Ramírez, Peru, 2006, Spanish, 41 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMSouvenirs / Souvenirim [FL 1213]
After completing his film studies, 36-year-old Israeli filmmaker Shahar Cohen was unemployed for quite some time, so his 82-year-old father suggested that he make a film about his experiences in World War II. Shahar reluctantly agreed to attend a meeting of veterans of the Jewish Brigade, where old men describe their training in Libya, their battles in the Italian countryside and their post-war stay in the Netherlands. Only when Cohen heard them bragging about the "souvenirs" they left with their Dutch sweethearts - in the form of babies - did he become motivated to make a film on the subject. Father and son retrace history by car, from Israel to Italy and the Netherlands. The result is an entertaining - and touching - road movie interspersed with archive footage. While the younger Cohen's initial interest was to search for potential half-brothers and sisters, the journey eventually provides him with much more, as he gets to know the hero of his childhood and the fault-finder from more recent years a little better. Shahar Cohen & Halil Efrat, Israel, 2006, Hebrew, English, Danish/Subtitles: English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMStandard Operating Procedure [FL 1125]
“Standard Operating Procedure” delves into the infamous photos that captured the incidents, embarassing the U.S. government, leading to the trial of numerous low-level American soldiers and forcing the subsequent apology by U.S. President Bush. Through interviews with many of the convicted U.S. soliders, including Megan Ambuhl, Javal Davis, Lynndie England, and Jeremy Sivitz, Morris captures first-person accounts detailing and explaining the pictures, not ot mention a damning interview by General Janis Karpinski, all pointing to the fact the actions resulted from the policies of military higher-ups. Errol Morris, Hungary, 2006, English/Subtitles: French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Mandarin, Thai, Korean, 116 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMState of Israel vs. Tali Fahima, The [FL 1464]
In the midst of the bloody war between Israel and the Palestinians, Tali Fahima, a young Israeli woman from the development town of Kiryat Gat, reads an interview in the newspaper with one of the most wanted Palestinians in the West Bank – Zakaria Zbeidi. Something about Zbeidi captures her imagination and she obtains his phone number. The conversation between the two goes into the night and changes her life forever. Following a number of visits to Jenin, Fahima made declares she will serve as a human shield for Zbeidi against IDF forces. Shortly after, she is arrested by the Israeli Secret Service. Tali is defined a terrorist, and the state of Israel begins an aggressive battle against her. The film documents Tali Fahima’s legal struggle to prove her innocence, the complex relationship between her and Zbeidi, the difficulties faced by her mother and sister, the social isolation that was forced upon her and the media uproar surrounding her trial, which would become one of the most fascinating trials in the history of the State of Israel. Tal Hakim, Israel, 2006, Hebrew, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMStatement 710399 [FL 1161]
The story of a father trying to find out what happened to his son who slipped out of his hands and dissapeared during the Srebrenica genocide as well as a story of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country permanently scarred by war crimes and their legacy. Refik Hodzic, Bosnia and Hercegovina, 2006, Bosnian/Subtitles: English, 54 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMSunday in Pripyat, A / Un Dimanche A Pripiat [FL 1173]
Somewhere in Europe there is a forbidden zone. Lying in the heart of this zone is Pripyat, at one time a model city inhabited by some 50,000 people. On April 26, 1986, an invisible enemy forced the residents of Pripyat and surrounding villages to evacuate the area in order to escape. Constructed in the early 1970s, Pripyat is now a ghost town. The land it was constructed upon has reverted back to its natural state, but traces of its former occupants are still visible years after. Blandine Huk and Frederic Cousseau, France, 2006, Ukrainian, Russian/Subtitles: English, 26 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMTalking Faith [FL 1342]
Talking FaithTalking Faith opens a window into the lives of Sarah and Azam. Two friends living the post 9/11 realities where Islam gets associated with militarism and Christian minorities face a backlash by the extremists. Their faiths are different, one is Muslim and the other Christian, but what they share is huge! Music, friendship and a human bond of commonalities. They exist under the shadow of divisions but live the hope of interfaith harmony and give dialogue a human face shared by all religions. Naveen Qayyum, Pakistan, 2006, /Subtitles: English, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMTestimonies of Suffering [FL 1499]
30 minutes selected from the television series with the same title about the tortured and jailed victims of the communist past in Romania. Lucia Hossu Longin, Romania, 2006, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThe Art of Documentary Editing: Myanmar 2006 [FL 1354]
After the success of the pioneering Art of Documentary Filmmaking workshop held in Yangon, Myanmar in 2005, Anglo-Burmese filmmaker Lindsey Merrison and four experienced documentary editors from Europe and Australia returned in 2006 to mount The Art of Documentary Editing. Some of the young Burmese men and women on this residential course had previous experience of editing but several had never touched an edit suite in their lives. For one month, course participants and tutors worked side by side to shape eight short documentaries from material filmed by the participants prior to the workshop - often under difficult circumstances. Learning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their rushes, participants battled to create storylines and find the right rhythm for their films. Nerve-wracking screenings of works-in-progress before the whole group provided crucial feedback and helped these budding filmmakers to think about the form and content of all the films. This DVD features all eight films produced during the Art of Documentary Editing workshop. It also contains a short film about the workshop itself, including comments from participants and tutors. Not only do these works reflect an intriguing range of subjects and approaches - from observational to experimental - they also reveal their creators' gradual appreciation of the subtleties of the documentary genre, as well as their growing confidence as filmmakers. Lindsey Merrison, Germany, 2006, /Subtitles: English, 120 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThe Dead [FL 1499]
Tthe new excavations at "The Cemetary of the Poor" in Sighet - a project of investigating communist crimes initiated by the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania and the Civic Adacemy Foundation Lucia Hossu Longin, (n/a), 2006, 10 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThe Great Indian School Show [FL 1749]
The Mahatma Gandhi Centennial Sindhu High School in Nagpur is like no other. Here, 185 close circuit television cameras keep a hawk’s watch on what’s going on in every classroom, staff room, canteen and playground. The cameras are constantly monitored by the principal. The film shows how surveillance affects the psyche of both students and teachers. The visual narrative moves back and forth from the classrooms to the corridors of the school where every student and faculty member is conscious of how to behave because he or she is under constant surveillance. In the ‘control’ room the principal watches and takes great delight in communicating with teachers and students, pointing out flaws, making suggestions or issuing directives. Avinash Deshpande, India, 2006, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThe History of a Funeral / Egy temetés háttere [FL 1631]
Laszlo Rajk, Minister of Internal Affairs, was executed in 1949. His widow spent five years in prison who after amnesty fought tirelessly to rehabilitate her husband and the hundreds of unjuslty executed political prisoners. This film is the story of her struggles. Peter Bokor, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian, 45 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThe Last Speech of János Kádár / Kádár János utolsó beszéde [FL 1637]
A documentary about the last public speech of Janos Kadar, the Soviet installed president of Hungary. Kadar’s last utterance comprised the entire tragedy of this truly epoch-making character: a monarch, whose destiny was completed and whose life ironically ended on the very day the executed Prime Minister Imre Nagy was rehabilitated by the courts. Andras Solyom, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThe Paper Will Be Blue / A papír kékre vált [FL 1735]
This film takes viewers back to the days of chaos, uncertainty and scaremongering during the Romanian regime-change and liberation. On December 22, 1989 an armored unit is patrolling the outskirts of the city when they hear that “terrorists” are attacking the television headquarters which has actually been occupied by the insurgents. Reception is so bad that they do not understand what is going on, but they can suspect that the Ceauşescu regime is about to end. One of the privates absconds to join the insurgents and his comrades dutifully set out to find him. The film is a mosaic of a frenzied night in which soldiers receive their commands on television from poets and actors, the radio broadcasts fake messages, arms are distributed by civilians and Roma are arrested because they are mistaken for Arab terrorists. Radu Muntean, Romania, 2006, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 95 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMThe Prize of the Pole [FL 1506]
In 1897 the polar explorer Robert Peary invited six Greenlanders, including Minik, a six year old boy, and his father, to the Museum of Natural History in New York. As strange research objects, Inuits were an attractive exhibition at a the museum, but Minik was the only one of the six to survive the American climate, and his father's body was preserved in the name of science. One hundred years later Peary's great grandchild attempts to rediscover the connections between himself, his great grandfather and Minik. Staffan Julén's fascinating film, 'The Prize of the Pole', tells the stories of both men: Peary's double life with families in both Greenland and America and Minik's unsuccessful return to the life of a hunter in Greenland. Staffan Julén, Denmark, 2006, English, 79 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThe Unwinking Gaze [FL 1597]
The Unwinking Gaze is an intimate and captivating portrait of the Dalai Lama's lifelong work for Tibet. Filmed over three years with extraordinary access to the Tibetan leader, Dugdale reveals the Dalai Lama's daily struggle as he tries to lead his people to a peaceful resolution with China. With exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the Dalai Lama, and special interviews with George W. Bush and Alanis Morrisette, The Unwinking Gaze is an intriguing insight into one of the most inspirational political and spiritual leaders of our time. Joshua Dugdale, United Kingdom, 2006, English, 79 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThere Are Women in Russian Villages… / Есть женщины в русских селеньях… [FL 662]
In this film, two women, a mother and her daughter, demonstrate that poverty in Russia is increasingly a women's phemenon. Luba and Alesaya live in a typical Russian village: the population consists of male drunkards, with few or no exceptions, and exhausted women. Luba and Alesya are milkmaids at a state farm - a profession that is underpaid and perceived as too strenous for most people. But Luba and Alesya, who are raising children and fleeing domestic violence, have little choice. While many in their circumstances would seek help from their government, they have no one to rely on in their small, isolated village except themselves. Pavel Kostomarov, Anton Kattin, Russia, 2006, Russian/Subtitles: English, 27 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThere's No "G" In Box / Das G Muss Weg [FL 1134]
More than 4 million illiterate German speakers are living in Germany, the home of poets and philosophers. What is life like for illiterate people? Which hurdles and problems do they have to master in their daily lives? How can it happen that people can't read and write despite attending compulsory school? The documentary, "There's no G in Box," observes three illiterate people for a year. They plucked up the courage to face the camera and to start a literacy course for adults. We learn about their problems, sorrows, hopes, and dreams. Renate Gunther-Greene, Germany, 2006, German/Subtitles: English, 73 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThin [FL 1513]
Eating disorders affect five million people in the U.S., and more than 10% of those diagnosed with anorexia nervosa will die from the disease. Seeking to put a human face on these sobering statistics, acclaimed photographer Lauren Greenfield went inside a Florida treatment center to tell the stories of four women who are literally dying to be thin. The devastating HBO documentary THIN reveals what she found there - and explores the issues underlying their illness. Lauren Greenfield, United States, 2006, English, 102 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThis Is My Sister [FL 1256]
The true story of Jane and her son Alvin, both of whom are HIV positive. When Alvin gets sick, his mother dedicates herself entirely to taking care of him and thus loses her job and all her hope. Luckily she gets support from her sister Martha, a contagiously upbeat woman who hopes to open a beauty salon. The main characters in this African story are the people who actually experienced it: Jane, Martha and Alvin Kinyanjui. Giovanni Piperno Giovanni Piperno, Italy, 2006, English, 62 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThough I am Gone [FL 1554]
Bian Zhongyun is believed to have been the first of the teachers murdered by their own students during the "Red August" of 1966 as the Cultural Revolution began in mainland China. The film depicts the event and shows how Bian’s relatives, students and colleagues experienced the terror. “After her death, Wang Jingyao took photos of his beloved wife with his own camera. The images of those tragic days have been preserved to this day. To those who lived through the devastation, this represents a unique example of memory. These photos serve as both witness and testimony. I thus ponder the power of a camera, the struggle to cover things up and the victory of one man's memory." (Hu Jie) Hu Jie, China, 2006, Chinese, Mandarin/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMThree Comrades / Drie Kameraden [FL 1197]
Story of three friends and exploration of the historical fall of the Soviet Union and Chechnya's devastating struggle for independence. As rebellious teens living in the Chechen capitol of Grozny, Islam, Ramzan, and Ruslan would listen to Western rock music as a protest against the Soviet regime as they held endless conversations about movies, girls, and the future. When war broke out in 1994, the lives of all three friends would be forever shattered. By allowing the audience the opportunity to witness these events through the eyes of Islam, presenting the remarkable wartime footage captured by television cameraman Ramzan, and conducting candid interviews with the friends and family of all three, director Novikova relates a compelling tale of friendship and tragedy that proves even the innocent cannot escape the destructive grip of war. Masha Novikova, Netherlands, 2006, Russian/Subtitles: English, 99 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMTito's Partisans / Tito partizánjai [FL 1268]
A film about Goli Otok (Croatia), the former Yugoslavian Gulag. Irén Kármán, Hungary, 2006, Croatian/Subtitles: Hungarian, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMTotal Denial: Doe vs. UNOCAL [FL 1359]
Winner of the Vaclav Havel Special Award for Human Rights 2006, this inspiring documentary examines the construction of the UNOCA L / TOTAL oil pipeline in Burma – now called Myanmar and controlled by a military dictatorship – where two powerful western corporations made business deals with a junta infamous for human rights abuses, and where slave labour is all too common. In the lawsuit Doe vs. UNOCAL, 15 plaintiffs who have never been out of the Burmese jungle will fight their corporate abusers head-on in an unprecedented legal battle, profoundly affecting the actions of corporations worldwide. Milena Kaneva, (n/a), 2006, English, French/Subtitles: English, 73 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMTraces [FL 1133]
One persons' quest to re-establish a family connection broken by the Holocaust and the Iron Curtain. Mauri Pasanen, Belgium, 2006, English, 32 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMTransocean [FL 1389]
Adriana Komives was born in Barzil to a Hungarian family who emigrated during the Hungarian revolution in 1956. Adriana revisists memories and places of the past in her search of her identity. Adriana Komives, France, 2006, Portuguese/Subtitles: French, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMTransplant / Transzplantáció. Árnyék és fény [FL 1429]
Organs transplant from the donor to recovery. Iván Tarján, Hungary, 2006, 9 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMTravelling on the Path of Fear / Na putu Straba [FL 1180]
Travelling On The Path Of Fear' is a story about railway accident which has completely changed the life of an older man and his five children, because they lost the wife and mother in the accident. Silvio Mirosnicenko, Croatia, 2006, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 25 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMTrench Town: The Forgotten Land [FL 1259]
Trench Town, Kingston 12, Jamaica is the most famous ghetto in the world. Immortalised in the music of Bob Marley, it is now one of the most dangerous and violent places on the planet. Today Trench Town is crumbling; with a population of around 25,000 there can be up to ten murders a week. A virtual civil war has broken out as heavily armed rival gangs are fighting for control of the area. This film examines how the ordinary citizens survive in such extreme circumstances, talking to a complete cross section of the community in this moving testimony to the courage of the people in their daily battle for survival. James Ewart, (n/a), 2006, English/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMUntil when you die [FL 1153]
"Until when you die" is about a woman who left Vietnam in 1979 with her family in a fishing boat. It is a story about where we belong and how we manage to adapt to change under extreme circumstances. The film travels to Vietnam and visits the village where the woman had grown up - where she is treated as a ghost who has returned from the dead. "Until when you die" juxtaposes memories with a journey across four countries so as to ensure that history is not simply relegated to the past. Mark Aitken, England, 2006, English, 89 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMViews of a Retired Night Porter [FL 1529]
Kieslowski's porter retired. Andreas Horvath went to see what happened to the man whose favorite pastime was checking up on others. In Krzysztof Kieslowski's poignant 1977 documentary short, Night Porter’s Point of View, the protagonist, a typical exponent of the communist system, reveals his sometimes hilarious, sometimes shocking attitudes. Driven by paranoia, misanthropy and a profound distrust in the human race, the night porter's favourite pastime is keeping an eye on others, even when he is off duty. These were the people, once feared in Communist Poland, on whom the regime depended. In 2005 Austrian filmmaker Andreas Horvath finds the now retired night porter alive and relatively well in a Warsaw suburb. He lives on the minimum pension in a characterless one-room apartment, the most memorable feature of which is a glaring poster depicting a Hawaiian idyll. His views have not changed much in 30 years – but Poland has, and so, without the support of a corrupt regime, the former night porter's tirades seem strangely out of place. This film is the swan song of a long gone era and one of its unswerving representatives. Andreas Horvath, Austria, 2006, Polish/Subtitles: English, 38 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMVlado Kristl - I am Human Experiment / Vlado Kristl- Ich bin ein Mensch-Versuch [FL 1388]
The film follows artist Vlado Kristl's life between 2002-2004. He was a filmmaker and artist from Zagreb, Croatia, best known for his celebrated animations and short films. Joana Pauline Maier, Markus Nechleba, Germany, 2006, German/Subtitles: English, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMVoices in Transit [FL 1434]
Timothy, Baddy and Osman are African asylum seekers in Switzerland. This film brings these three people out of anonimity and attempt by talking and listening to their stories to decipher their old-new idenities in a country that is not truly keen on welcoming aliens. Hanna Salzer, Philip Hofmanner, Switzerland, 2006, English, German, French/Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMVorga: Path of Two Banks / Vorga: Cesta mezl brehy [FL 1381]
A film about a dream, tundra and a nomadic nation of European Nenets. Vorga is the Nenets' sacred trail, which the herdsmen have used for centuries to move their herds across tundra, all the waz to the Barents Sea shore. Contemporary Nenets are different…they live in villages, they do not want to be nomads anymore. They traditional nomadic culture has almost merged with the Russian culture, a nomadic Nenet is disappearing… The oil refineries quickly take up the vast areas of tundra, parts of the sacred trail are damaged by trucks. Yet there still exists the original nomadic life at the end of Vorga deep in tundra! Silence and Peace. Rustle of the sea and noice of the wind. Slow time flow and limitless freedom! But only until the helicopter comes… Zdenek N. Brickovsky, Czech Republic, 2006, Russian, Czech/Subtitles: English, 69 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMVukovar - Final Cut / Vukovar - poslednji rez [FL 1029]
A painstaking investigation into the history of the 1991 Vukovar tragedy. Why was it that Vukovar, a rich Slavonian town famous as a "miniature Yugoslavia", Tito's exemplary town of unity, was the one location to suffer total apocalypse, one comparable to the sacrifice and siege of Stalingrad, and by the extent of destruction, and scenes shown around the world, reminiscent of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Why was a city which had neither strategic importance nor a strong military presence in the conflict between the Yugoslav National Army and the Croatian military, so systematically destroyed while the Serbian (Milosevic) and Croatian (Tudjman) leaders walked around Tito’s estate, discussing plans for a new division of Yugoslavia? With the help of the survivors and available archives, a Serbian director and Croatian journalist put together the pieces of this impossible mosaic. This film is neither a Serbian documentary nor a Croatian one. It is the first Serbian-Croatian co-production about this painful topic, whose wounds have yet to heal, even after a lapse of fifteen years. Janko Baljak, Serbia and Montenegro, 2006, Serbian, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 103 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMWhat Lies Ahead / Előttem az élet [FL 1244]
“As soon as you enter this special school, we are in a different world full of miracles. We learn that the disabled protagonists of this film live their everyday lives in the most natural way. Confronted with their openness, joy and understanding, we realize that we are the ones who build boundaries around ourselves and create stereotypes. For them the term “otherness”, and prejudice against people who are different, simply do not exist. They struggle tirelessly every single day to achieve something that people without disabilities take for granted: to make a move, a step. And when they overcome their difficulties these young people give a new meaning to perseverance and positive thinking.” Diána Groó Diána Groó, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMWho Will Sing a Lullaby… / Хто заспиває колискову… [FL 662]
Masha's father and Katya's grandfather are on paternity leave. They are among the few, the very few (46 to be exact), men from Kiev who dared to use their right to take parental leave. Challenging their traditional role as breadwinners, overcoming social stigma, and encouraging their wives to realize themselves outside of the home, Masha's father and Katya's grandfather do not think of themselves as heroes or dependants. Instead, they are pleased that - with their own courage and support from family members and friends - personal choice can prevail for them and their wives over traditional gender roles. Nina Rudul, Ukraine, 2006, Ukrainian, Russian/Subtitles: English, 27 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMWith much Love and Kisses / Krepko celuju i lublu [FL 1126]
Northern Russia. The Solovetskii Islands in the White Sea. An ancient monastery, turned into a concentration camp. Here, in the 1930s, famous philosophers, scholars, engineers and writers spent the last days of their lives. At the end of October and beginning of November 1937 more than one thousand prisoners were taken from the Solovetskii islands to the mainland and executed. But their letters to their loved ones were miraculously preserved. Seventy years later, the victims' children and grandchildren come to the Solovetskii Islands to commemorate their fathers and grandfathers. Anastasia Cherkassova, Russia, 2006, Russian/Subtitles: English, documentary film, DVD-ROMWomen's Happiness or Men's Dignity / Женское Счастье или Мужское Достоинство [FL 657]
This film portrays two women in Armenia. One protagonist is a divorcee who, forced to give up her career as an artist during her marriage, finds freedom, happiness, and creative expression in her new life; she struggles, however with social stigma and being labeled as a social outcast. The other is a widow who, nostalgic for her late husband, believes that women's happiness lies in the patriarchal male-headed household where women are homemakers. Despite their conflicting opinions, both find strength in themselves and their work, as they raise their families as single mothers. Karine Verdiyan, Nika Shek, Armenia, 2006, Russian, Armenian/Subtitles: English, 25 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMYaptik-Hasse [FL 1225]
A group of nomadic Nenets live in the Siberian tundra at "The End of the World", as the territory is known in the local dialect, traveling around the region with their reindeer herd. Yaptik-Hasse is one of the younger members of the extended Yaptik family. He is also their good spirit and therefore privileged to ride on a sacred sledge. Edgar Bartenev's film is a poetic contemplation of the rhythms of a life governed by the pulse of nature. The film offers an intimate portrait of a family as well as an insight into a nomadic culture. Edgar Bartenev, Russia, 2006, Russian/Subtitles: English, 29 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMYes I Am! [FL 1340]
The director Sven Halfar portrays three musicans Adé, D-Flame and Mamadee who are trying to develop an afro-german identity while integrating into German society. Sven Halfar, (n/a), 2006, German/Subtitles: English, 104 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMYoel, Israel and the Pashkavils [FL 1273]
Israel Kletzkin owns a printing press and has written and printed hundreds and thousands of pashkavils. Yoel Krause has been collecting them for 20 years and has over 20,000 in his possession. Yoel is the most authentic representative of the Neturei Karta, the radical anti-Zionist stream in ultra- orthodoxy. He has no Israeli ID card, no social security and no contact with the State. He is 34 years old and lives in a one-room apartment. He has 9 children, and he and his wife Rachel plan on having 22. Yoel doesn’t eat “Zionist” food. Rachel bakes bread and he has his own cow in order not to purchase milk from the Israeli dairies. For him, the Zionists are the source of all evil. Our camera managed to penetrate, for the first time, the private and intimate moments and to really get to know them. Israelis different, so different that he even put in a bid and became the official pashkavil paster of the city of Jerusalem. Israel is charismatic, talented, a joker and savvy businessman who insists upon leading his life as he wills, having his picture taken. He has become an obvious target for the radicals who conduct a war with him on-camera. Both men are believers who will not compromise their respective ways of life. Lina Chaplin, Israel, 2006, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 54 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
