Nonfiction Films
[Re-annex Délvidék] / Vissza: Délvidék [FL 1501]
The war campaign of Hungary to get back the area Délvidék in 1941, cut off from Hungary by the peace treaties after World War I.Hungary, 1941, Hungarian, 23 min, propaganda film, DVD-ROM[Re-annex Felvidék] / Vissza: Felvidék [FL 1501]
The war campaign of Hungary to get back Felvidék in 1938, cut off from Hungary by the peace treaties after World War I. Cserepy Laszlo, Hungary, 1938, Hungarian, 60 min, propaganda film, DVD-ROM[Re-annex Transylvania] / Vissza: Erdély [FL 1501]
The war campaign of Hungary to get back Transylvania in 1940, cut off from Hungary by the peace treaties after World War I. Banass Jozsef, Hungary, 1940, Hungarian, 90 min, propaganda film, DVD-ROM[Towards the East: Occupying Transylvania] / Kelet felé: Erdélyi bevonulás [FL 1502]
The war campaign of Hungary to get back Transylvania in 1940, cut off from Hungary by the peace treaties after World War I.Hungary, Hungarian, 90 min, propaganda film, CD-ROM[Voice-book] / Hangoskönyv [FL 1477]
Documentary film on the life, person and political career of Imre Nagy, the executed prime minister at the time of the 1956 revolution. Excerpts from Nagy’s diary written in Snagov are read by Gergő Kaszás and historian János M. Rainer interprets and comments on the text. Judit Ember, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian, 180 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM1000 C [FL 980]
Fire breath, pliability of metal, dancing of a hammer - all compose the universe of a blacksmith. It is cinematographically depicted like the site of genesis, when the blacksmith seems to have taken demiurgic power, casting an entire world. This is a story about how to see our immediate life, how even the mundane can acquire mythical components if seen with the right eyes. Irina Uralskaya, Russia, 2002, Russian, 10 min, art documentary, VHS12:08 East Of Bucharest / A fost sau n-a fost? [FL 1116]
12:08 pm Decmber 22, 1989 was the exact time of Ceausescu's fall from power in Romania. Sixteen years on, a provincial TV talk show decides to commemorate the event by asking local heroes to reminisce about their own contributions to the revolution. Securing suitable guests however proves an unexpected challenge and the producer is left with two less than ideal participants - a drink addled history teacher and a retired and lonely sometime-Santa Claus grateful for the company. In the farcical show that follows, the men's fanciful boasts of rebellious glory are hilariously disputed by phone-ins from viewers who recall an altogether different version of events. With entertainingly wry humour, Corneliu Promboiu's debut feature sharply satirises the short memories and inconsistencies of postrevolutionary Romania. Coreneliu Porumboiu, Romania, 2006, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 86 min, fiction film, DVD-ROM1956, music, events, phenomena, atmosphere / 1956 Musiken, händelserna, företeelserna, stämmingen [FL 1503]Sweden, 1999, Swedish, radio program, CD-ROM
1956: Recollections of Witnesses and Posterity / 1956 a szemtanúk és az utókor szemével [FL 1465]
A collection of archival footage from the period: 1956-1989. Images of the revolution; BBC report; amateur footage; newsreels from 1956, 1957, and 1958; Opposition demonstrations 1988 June 16, October 23.Hungary, 1956, Hungarian, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM2 or 3 Things I Know About Him / 2 oder 3 Dinge, die ich von ihm weiss [FL 686]
The family of a Nazi war criminal, sixty years after the end of the War. Hanns Elard Ludin found fame as a young officer under the Weimar Republic, after conspiring on Hitler's behalf in the German army. When Hitler came to power Ludin' s career took off; by the time he was twenty-eight, he had an army of no less than 300,000 storm troopers under his command. In 1941 he became Hitler's emissary to the Nazi's vassal state, Slovakia, and looked after the interests of the Third Reich there - including the implementation of the Final Solution. After the war, the Americans handed Ludin over to the Czechoslovakian authorities; he was sentenced to death and hanged. Ludin's youngest son, director Malte Ludin, presents a 'documentary debate' with the three generations of his large family, now scattered all over the world. Although the truth about the father's role in the war has long been on record, his widow, children and children's children argue about their family history, struggling to reconcile private memories with public knowledge. Malte Ludin, Germany, 2004, German, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM3 Rooms of Melancholia, The / Melancholian 3 huonetta [FL 1030]
This poetic and very sophisticated documentary is divided into three chapters, in three Rooms. In each of them, the atmosphere is determined by one predominant emotion. With very few words but with lots of eloquent cinematic means, the film speaks about basic emotional and mental states. In the first Room, we follow young boys, obedient cadets at a military school in St. Petersburg. These children of thirteen or fourteen are not here by choice: most of them come from dysfunctional families. Just by observing their morning rituals, the school's rigid discipline and their way of interacting, one gets a notion of their enormous solitude. One of the boys shifts the story to the second Room – Breathing – where we witness the doomed lives of the people of Grozny. The last Room – Remembering – crosses the Chechen border into the neighbouring province of Ingushetia, where people fight out their own tragedy. With a keen eye for detail, especially human faces, and with precise timing, the director successfully creates remarkable, emotionally loaded scenes. By combining vocals from the Orthodox Church with folk and classical music, together with pure sounds from nature, the film becomes uplifting and multilayered. Pirjo Honkasalo, Finland, 2004, English, Finnish/Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM32 Lines / Harminckét sor [FL 1652]
Letters from the prison, family memories and documents invoke the fall and Soviet retaliation of the 1956 revolution in Hungary. Anna Merei, Hungary, 2005, Hungarian, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM37 Uses for a Dead Sheep / 37 Uses for a Dead Sheep [FL 1111]
The Pamir Kirghiz are a tribe of some 2,000 people from the Pamir region of Central Asia. For the last 27 years they have lived in exile in Eastern Turkey. In 2005 an Anglo-Turkish film crew arrives in their village to work with the tribe to tell their story. In a series of scenes divided into "chapters", we see revealing interviews with the Kirghiz, see exciting and entertaining reconstructions shot on film in a variety of different cinematic styles, and comic scenes of the interaction between the film crew and the community. During this process, we learn how the Pamir Kirghiz' antipathy to Communism drove them from Soviet Russia, then later from Maoist China, and finally from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to their current exile. And as the past is explored in interview and reconstruction, we see how the Pamir Kirghiz live today in modern Turkey. The film is part historical document, part ethnographical description of a unique people, part portrait of the conflict between individual and globalised culture, and part comedy about the process of film-making. Wielka Brytania, United Kingdom, 2006, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM4 1/2 [FL 1382]
Portrait of four young, disabled Senegaleze boys who support their families by begging in the streets frequented by tourists. Gianni Padlina, Switzerland, 2006, French, 54 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM6 Yards to Democracy [FL 1253]
6 Yards to Democracy revisits a gruesome incident that took place during an election rally in north India. Thousands of women from poor localities of Lucknow city, lured by the promise of free saris, had been waiting for hours in the harsh sun for the cheap six-yard cloths. A stampede occurred: 22 died and hundreds were injured. This seemingly stray happening uncovers the sordid side of Indian democracy, and connects in significant ways with the daily humiliations forced upon these women and their families. As boomtown dynamics keep pushing them further into the margins, we observe the women's struggles to keep their homes, hopes and dignity intact while petitioning an apathetic state for their dues. Nishtha Jain & Smriti Nevatia, India, 2006, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM66 seasons / 66 sezon [FL 18]
A documentary where, in the words of the filmmakers, “history comes to bathe.” Through several stories that unfold between the years 1936 and 2002, the film brings together 66 seasons at a popular swimming pool, and through this offers a unique look at 66 years of central and eastern European history. From watching World War II fighter planes, through the changing fashion styles, to the moment two lovers met, the pool has always been the social hub. With the help of old footage and some unusual recreations, the visitors join director and Kosice native Péter Kerekes in recounting their memories of the sixty-six seasons of the pool. Péter Kerekes, Slovakia, 2003, Slovak, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 86 min, documentary film, VHS89 mm from Europe / 89 mm od Europy [FL 526]
The short documentary is one of the finest statements made on the prevailing atmosphere of the Cold War in post-perestroika, post-Cold War Europe. The film sketches the transition between two different worlds: Europe and the former Soviet Union. The scene is the railway station at Brest-Litovsk. Before a train can move on from Poland to Belorussia, the wheels of each of the carriages have to be adjusted to meet the conditions of a wider gauge a difference of only »89 mm« yet symbolic for the huge transformation from one mind-set to another. Meanwhile, while the changes are being made, train passengers from France and Germany, Holland and Poland, watch the ceremony mutely as much in dismay as in disbelief. Marcel Lozinski, Poland, 1993, Polish, 12 min, documentary film, VHS8th Bullet, The [FL 1406]
experimental film Marcelo Paganini, France, 2005, English, 15 min, DVD-ROM9 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 Day to Remember / Wangque de Yitian [FL 1543]
It is 4 June 2005. The cineaste Liu Wei picks up his camera and sets off for Tiananmen Square and the University of Beijing with a question in his head: what day is it? As he poses this question to the various students and people that he encounters on his way, he receives countless evasive replies and the refusal of majority to recall the student protests 16 years earlier. Many affirm that they not know anything about those events and move swiftly onwards while others only stare at the camera. A Day to Remember reflects the great unease surrounding the date of 4 June and how the uprising of that period still remains taboo subject in the People’s Republic of China. Nevertheless, this film by Liu breaks with that silence and explores an entire nation’s feelings of denial. Liu Wei, China, 2005, Chinese, Mandarin/Subtitles: English, 13 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMA Day Without the Sun / Dzien bez slonca [FL 1731] Kazimierz Karabasz, Władysław Ślesicki, Poland, 1959, Polish, 19 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
A Fiery Autumn in the Cold War - Hungary in 1956 / Forró ősz a hidegháborúban - Magyarország 1956-ban [FL 1508]
This documentary made by the 1956 Institute (http://www.rev.hu/rev/), presents the history of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution in a global political context. It examines the processes leading to the status quo in the post-war era, the characteristics of the Cold War and the antecedents of the revolution both in Eastern-Central Europe and in Hungary. The film depicts foreign reactions as well as the political considerations and conduct of the Great Powers. Recently rediscovered contemporary news footages from American, French, German and Russian archives further enrich the visual content of this documentary. Judit Kóthy, Judit Topits, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, German, French, Romanian, Italian, Slovak, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMA Railwayman's Word / Kolejarskie Slowo [FL 1732]
Munk starts to blur the distinction between fiction and documentary in this film. Using real railway workers he shows the co-operative effort through dramatised scenes. Seemingly a “production documentary,” it reinvented documentary as a form of art. Andrzej Munk, Poland, 1953, Polish/Subtitles: English, 22 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMA Road to Mecca – The Journey Of Muhammad Asad / Der Weg nach Mekka – Die Reise des Muhammad Assad [FL 1538]
In the early 1920s Leopold Weiss, a Viennese Jew, travelled to the Middle East. The desert fascinated him, and Islam became his new spiritual home. He left his Jewish roots behind, converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Asad. He became one of the most important Muslims of the 20th century, first as an advisor at the royal court of Saudi Arabia, and later translating the Koran into English. Asad was also a co-founder of Pakistan and its ambassador to the UN. The director follows his fading footsteps, leading from the Arabian desert to Ground Zero. He finds a man who was not looking for adventures but rather wanted to act as a mediator between East and West. A Road To Mecca takes this opportunity to deal with a heated debate on the nature of Islam and its role in today’s world. Georg Misch, Austria, 2008, English, German, Ukrainian, Arabic, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 92 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMA Tornallom [FL 1444]
A Tornallom is a documentary about the struggle to defend de irrigated area used for cultivation known as La Huerta de Valencia. It shows us images and testimonies of the events that occurred between September 2002 and March 2003, when more than 200 residents of La Punta (in the Huerta area) were evicted from their houses. The villages were demolished and the fields bulldozed to make room for the ZAL (logistics activities zone) of the Port of Valencia, which is planned to take up around 600,000 square meters, most of the area of La Huerta. “A Tornallom", is what the agricultural workers of La Huerta call the way they swap work amongst themselves. For heavy agricultural tasks workers usually help each other, pooling their efforts to do the work on one person’s field and going on to another the next day until all the work is done. That's working ‘a tornallom’: work in exchange for work. Enric Peris, Spain, 2005, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 48 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMA Village Romance / Falusi románc [FL 1561]
A dead-end village, one time home of a lesbian community that decided to leave the city. By today little of the community remains. One of them, Mari, lives in poverty but in a very expensive house. She falls in love with M., the poor Roma woman and mother of three next door, who lives miserably with her drunken, abusive husband. Although heterosexual, M. returns Mari’s love, fueling the contempt of the village, which already hates her badly enough for being a Roma. “I have never been loved for who I am” she says. Now she waits for her husband to leave her, so that she and her children can move in with her lover. Bódis Kriszta, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMA World on Display [FL 1467]
In the spring and summer of 1904, the eyes of the nation, and the world, were focused on St. Louis, Missouri, site of a world’s fair commemorating the Louisiana Purchase Centennial. The St. Louis World’s Fair, largest and grandest of all international expositions, displayed America’s economic and artistic resources, the latest technological developments, and models for urban planning. The Fair’s organizers also brought more than 2000 indigenous peoples to St. Louis to live in “authentic” villages, reflecting both the social Darwinism of the age and America’s new role as an overseas power. A World on Display uses reminiscences of elderly Missourians who went to the Fair, interviews with historians, archival motion pictures, and many never-before-published photographs to locate the St. Louis Fair in the social, political and cultural context of American society at the beginning of the 20th century. Eric Breitbart, United States, 2005, English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMa.k.a The Annotation / Et Cetera… [FL 967]
The movie depicts the wars that have marked successive generations of Russians. The inevitability of conflict is slowly grasped as images compiled from a century of wars anonymously cycle before us as certainly as each generation matures. It is a poetical interpretation of war as the unavoidable fate of human beings. The movie is made up of a montage of archival footage from the first world war up to the present conflict in Chechnya. Andrei Osipov, Russia, 2001, Russian, 24 min, art documentary, VHSAbandoned town, The / Napusteni grad [FL 846]
A film about the life of the Italian minority in Croatia (and former Yugoslavia) told through the story of Piemonte (Zavrsje), an almost completely abandoned and ruined town in Istria. Gigi was among the rare ones who stayed in the town when Tito's Yugoslavia demanded that the Italian minority choose between the two homelands. Today, some 50 years later he's still the only "citizen" of the abandoned town. Magdalena Piekorz, Croatia, 2002, Italian, 18 min, art documentary, VHSAbduction of Fire, The / Похищение огня [FL 348]
History of the creation of the atomic bomb in the Soviet Union. The film traces the different itineraries of its emergence - from the foreign agents who cooperated with the Soviet secret services, particularly Klaus Fuchs, to the research institute headed by Igor' Kurchatov. The film combines interviews, archival material, and extracts from fiction films such as "Vybor tseli" (Choice of Purpose, Igor' Talankin, 1974) and others. Vera Storozheva, Russia, 2001, Russian, 160 min, documentary film, VHSAbortion, Right or Wrong? [FL 1455]
Every year, throughout the world, fifty million women have abortions and about thirty five thousand of these abortions are being performed in the Netherlands. Abortion is being legalized in the Netherlands thirty years ago and abortions have since then been carried out safely and in safe surroundings. The right to have an abortion in the Netherlands now seems so fundamental that it is difficult to imagine that it is still not a fundamental right in many countries in the world. This film shows the course of an average day at the oldest abortion clinic in the Netherlands. A seventeen year old girl tells her story and women that used to demonstrate at the clinic against abortion now come to the clinic with their own pregnant daughters. Has this acquired freedom changed personal and social attitudes? Is a woman’s decision to have an abortion any less painful now than it used to be? Sherman de Jesus, Netherlands, 2005, Dutch/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAbout Dogs and people / O psoch a l'ud'och [FL 652]
In 1988. when Miso Suchy immigrated to America, he did not know a word of English. The film "About Dogs and people" reflects his experiences with "the mute," and is filmed almost without words. Dogs are mute animals, yet according to the director they can tell a lot about the society in which they live. This metaphorical film shows the accuracy of the saying that dogs are a reflection of the people who owe them. Miso Suchy, Slovakia, 1993, English, 44 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAbout Jean Rouch. Bernard Surugue in conversation with /Patrick Leboutte / A propos de Jean Rouch. Conversation Bernard Surugue/Patrick Leboutte [FL 1106]
An interview with Bernard Surugue, Jean Rouch's colleague, rich in details and anecdotes about their common work, demonstrating profound respect and friendship of the two men. NB: Bernard Surugue introduces each film by Jean Rouch in this series. Patrick Leboutte, France, 2004, French, 29 min, VHSAddicted to Plastic [FL 1684]
When it was launched, plastic was a miracle, the undisputed material of the future. Wood, stone and cloth were all finite, so a new, cheap and easy-to-handle material was needed to manufacture goods. More than a century later, it would be impossible to imagine our society without plastic. The miraculous material isn't only the raw material for goods and packaging, but also for art. On a trip that spanned three years and five continents, Ian Connacher investigated the impact of so much plastic. After all, the material has a major drawback, as it isn't biodegradable and doesn't get recycled in most countries. This means that the majority of the plastic made in the past century is still stored somewhere on earth. Connacher reveals that traces of the material are even to be found in the stomachs of marine animals, which means that plastic ends up in the food chain. We also learn that plastic might not be as harmless as people originally thought. But there is hope, as a number of companies are putting a completely biodegradable plastic on the market. Nevertheless, the traditional plastic industry is powerful and won't give up its position without a fight. Ian Connacher, Canada, 2008, English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAdisa or a Thousand Years Story / Adisa O La Storia Dei Mille Anni [FL 15]
A voyage among men, women, and children of the Romany people in Bosnia Hercegovina, documenting the reality and the present life in a country still wounded by the consequences of the war. Massimo D. D'orzi, Italy, 2004, Serbian/Subtitles: English, documentary film, Beta SPAdjusted Conversation with Ferenc Merei / Kiigazított beszélgetés Mérei Ferenccel [FL 1627]
A film made by the daughter of Ferenc Merei, founding father of one of the schools of psychology in Hungary, about his involvement and commitment during the 1956 revolution. Anna Merei, Hungary, 1996, Hungarian, 28 min, documentary film, DVD-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-ROMAfrican Spelling Book [FL 1400]
A series of short films written, narrated and filmed by a group of boys and girls living in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Each story refletcts their point of view on life in Kenya, and gives the viewer a unique chance to explore their world Angelo Loy, (n/a), 2005, English, 61 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAgainst All Odds: The First Ten Years of the Tribunal [FL 1744]
A documentary about the first ten years of the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and the great battles it has had to fight over the past decade: for survival, for respect and for time. The testimony of the current and former president of the Tribunal: judges Antonio Cassese, Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, Claude Jorda and Theodor Meron; Chief Prosecutors: Richard Goldstone, Louise Arbour and Carla del Ponte; and many other players, document this exciting, important and successful experiment in international criminal justice. Through library footage from the courtrooms and from crime scenes, the film reconstructs the crucial and most dramatic moments - victims testimonies, confessions, forensic evidence, investigations, indictments, judgments - that have marked the decade in which the Tribunal managed not only to survive but to succeed against all odds.Netherlands, 2004, English, Serbian, French/Subtitles: Serbian, 68 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAgainst the Mafia: Petrol Liaisons / Szemben a maffiával: avagy olajozott viszonyok [FL 1264]
An investigative look at the dubious petrol businesses involving high officials after 1989 in Hungray. Irén Kármán, Hungary, 2007, Hungarian, 95 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer [FL 1237]
Aileen Wuornos, allegedly the first woman serial killer, was convicted of killing seven of her clients. Nick Broomfield tries to arrange an interview with her, first through her friendly but inept lawyer Steve Glazer and then through her “adoptive” mother, born-again Christian Eileen. As the negotiations over fees begin, the film becomes an exploration of the way a “serial killer” is constructed and sold as an image, starkly illustrated by the police officers who worked on the case, and who Broomfield discovers have sold their story to Hollywood producers. When he eventually meets Aileen he encounters a severely disturbed woman, and finds himself questioning her treatment at the hands of the media and the state. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 2004, English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer [FL 381]
This moving and tragic story of Aileen Wuornos, America's first woman serial killer, is a powerful indictment against capital punishment and the execution of the mentally insane. In 1992, acclaimed UK filmmaker Nick Broomfield made "Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of A Serial Killer," which revealed how Aileen's mother, her lawyer, and the Florida state police tried to sell her sensationalized story to the highest bidder. Amidst the frenzy of greed, Aileen emerges as the most sincere person in the film. Twelve years later, Broomfield was summoned to Aileen's final appeal before execution, and his earlier film was shown as evidence that she had not been given a fair trial. However, during the appeal, Aileen suddenly confesses that she committed the murders in cold blood and is ready to die (she later confides to Broomfield that she said this because she could no longer endure life on death row). Broomfield decides to probe deeper into Aileen's troubled life and reveals how her childhood of extreme abuse and neglect led her to become a runaway and teenage prostitute with severe drug problems. Broomfield's powerful film reveals the flaws in the US criminal justice system and the stark inhumanity of capital punishment, particularly of the mentally ill. Aileen Wuornos was executed by the state of Florida on October 9, 2002. Nick Broomfield, United States, 2003, English, 89 min, documentary film, DVD-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-ROMAliens Everywhere / Mindenütt idegen [FL 1351]
Refugee children in Hungary whose only opportunity for a holiday is the yearly camp organized by Menedék, and NGO protecting the rights of refugees in Hungary. Zsuzsa Katona, Péter Nyeste, Hungary, 2007, Hungarian, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAll lives have dignity - the world of Zhou Zhou [FL 923]
A fil about Zhou Zhou who is suffering from mental disability. He is the son of a percutionist the Wuhan Filarmonica and his life is centered around music and operatic performances, as he spend most of the time as an "assistent" to the various performances of the Wuhan Filarmonica. The documentary shows the almost permanent harmony of Zhou Zhou's life, which brings him into normality rather than isolation. This is a story o acceptance and adaptation, but it does not convince the viewer about the corectedness of the approach presented. Zhou Zhou's life and environment are lauded, but at times they seem to take on the guise rather of a well-tuned circus show than of an integration in society of a disabled person. Zhang Yiqing, China, Chinese, Mandarin, 55 min, documentary film, VHSAll White in Barking [FL 1517]
The inhabitants of the London suburb of Barking are having trouble accepting the influx of ten thousand immigrants from around the world. Long–time local residents Susan and Jeff don't even greet their Nigerian neighbours, because they are "not like them". Dave has become a British National Party activist fighting for a white Barking, even though both of his daughters are in relationships with just the kind of people he rants against. By contrast, Jewish Holocaust survivor and boutique owner Monty has an unusual relationship with Betty, a black nurse. Using unexpected humour, All White in Barking allows the long–term residents and their new, culturally different neighbours to air their views. Director Marc Isaacs refrains from being judgmental, but instead attempts to understand the logic of a fast–transforming community and the sometimes grotesque overcoming of the psychological barriers between cultures. The residents' words inadvertently reveal a xenophobic outlook rooted in ignorance and a sense of being threatened. Marc Isaacs, United Kingdom, 2007, English, 73 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAlone in Four Walls / Allein in vier Wänden [FL 1541]
Alexandra Westmeier explores the lives of juvenile felons aged 10 to 14. In Russia, lawbreakers can be tried and convicted as adults at the age of fifteen; younger offenders are given reduced sentences and sent to juvenile detention facilities. Some of the inmates we meet are serving time for theft, some for murder. “They’re animals, not children” – cries out the mother of a murdered teenager. But are they? The director provides glimpses of their home lives, and we begin to realize that, for these children, a correctional facility is sometimes an easier place to be. They are children who never had a childhood and who often take pride in permanent reminders of their criminal pasts: This tattoo means ‘alone among friends’, this one is ‘alone in four walls’ and this star is ‘I’ll never fall on my knees in front of a cop’, says one. Filmmaker Alexandra Westmeier spends enough time with them to see the scared boys beyond the appearance of ‘hard men’. As the merciless statistic shows, over 90% of them will get behind bars again. Alexandra Westmeier, Germany, 2007, Russian/Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAmerican Civil Liberties Union: A History, The [FL 447]
For 80 years, one legal organization has supported the rights of the individual against the majority and the government, igniting rage in conservatives and liberals alike, That organization is the ACLU. The film, with commentary from Oliver North, Dave Barry, and Nobly Ivies, traces the tumultuous history of that organization from its inception by founder Roger Baldwin, through dozens of legal challenges over the past century, including the Scopes trial, the 1930s labor strikes, Japanese internment, the HUAC hearings and blacklisting, the Vietnam war crimes trials, the American Nazi Party's bid to march in Skokie, Illinois, and others. Lawrence R. Hott and Diane Garey, United States, 1997, English, 57 min, fiction film, VHSAmong Blind Fools / Mezi zaslepenymi blazny [FL 279]
Documentary about the fate of Slovak Jews during the Holocaust. Also about rabbi Michael Weissmandl, spiritual leader of the "Working Group", who rescued thousands of Slovak Jews. Petr Bok, Slovakia, 1999, English/Voice-over: English, 165 min, documentary film, VHSAmor Sanjuan [FL 1198]
At the beginning of the twentieth century Palmira emigrated with her family to Argentina. In 1934 they were deported by the military dictatorship from the Gral. Uriburu to Spain on the eve of its civil war. "Amor Sanjuan" is her testimony recorded onto 82 years of audio tapes collected by her grandson, sociologist Luis Misis. Luis Misis, Spain, 2007, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 37 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAmsterdam 1898-1920 [FL 1748]
Archival footage from the period 1898-1920 shot in Amsterdam.Netherlands, 1999, Dutch, 60 min, archival collage, DVD-ROMAn Ambiguous Feeling [FL 964]
The film tells the stories of several gay men in their own words and gives an overview of the trial in 1964 in Sofia, which ended with jail sentences for 32 people, among them actors and singers. The contemporary development of the social attitudes is also presented in a simple and dignified way. The attitude of the church, which is also documented, adds a suplementary facet of the overall complex approach pursued by the movie on the topic of homosexuality in contemporary Bulgaria. Ilko Dundakov, Bulgaria, 1997, Bulgarian, 57 min, documentary film, VHSAnatomy of Evil, The / Ondskabens anatomi [FL 1073]
What makes genocide possible? Serbian paramilitaries who took part in massacres in Kosovo during the late nineties, describe their experiences and try to explain what made them do such horrendous acts. They seem to have felt that their security was threatened, and that it was a matter of killing or being killed. Director Ove Nyholm draws a parallell to the second world war and the German massacres of jews. Warning: This film includes disturbingly explicit scenes. Ove Nyholm, Denmark, 2005, Albanian, English, Danish/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAnatomy of Pain, The / Anatomija bola [FL 284]
Film about the NATO bombing of the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation's headquarters in Belgrade on April 23, 1999, when according to official reports 19 were killed. Janko Baljak, Yugoslavia, 2000, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 32 min, documentary film, VHSAnd Along Came a Spider [FL 921]
This is a grimly fascinating documentary about Iranian serial killer Saeed Hanaei, who murdered 16 women whom he believed to be prostitutes. Filmmaker Maziar Bahari gives Hanaei a lot of screen time to describe and explain what he did, and it's hard to imagine a human being appearing more monstrous than Hanaei does here, as he proudly defends his abominable actions as holy. One feels tremendous empathy for the young daughters of one victim, now orphans, as they describe how they'd like to see Hanaei punished for his crimes. Bahari is fairly direct and economical in his approach. While the film gives more time to Hanaei and his supporters (including his wife and teenage son) than it does to more reasoned voices like the victims' relatives and the judge who heard Hanaei's case, there's a strong feminist bent to the film, underscored by Bahari's choice of a female narrator, and his interviews with an outspoken woman reporter, whom he also uses to interview the killer. Then, of course, there are the interviews with the two young daughters of one victim, who express themselves with surprising eloquence. The film's underlying critique of the harsh patriarchy of Iran reaches its apex in these segments, as the children's obvious love for their murdered mother reemphasizes all of the victims' humanity. Through these interviews, the film achieves a transcendentally poignant power. Maziar Bahari, Iran, 2002, Persian, 118 min, documentary film, VHSAnd Behold, There Came a Great Wind [FL 1272]
Benny and Rachel Yafet—bereaved parents from the agricultural community of Nezer Hazzani, and Rabbi Raffi Peretz—Lieutenant Colonel in reserves and head of the pre-military training academy in Atzmona. They are three strong and rooted characters who lived in Gush Katif until last August. The film follows their lives over the course of 8 months, until that same fateful day in which they were asked to leave their homes and their life`s work, entirely against their will and their beliefs. Benny and Rachel lived in Nezer Hazzani for 28 years and were among the first settlers in Gush Katif. In 2000 they lost their fourth son, Itamar. Above all, the Disengagement Plan threatened the family`s livelihood. In the words of their son Gilad: "What kind of future awaits my father at age 56 without no source of income?" Peretz, on the other hand, knew that he could restart his academy, but nothing could mitigate his ideological crisis. As an educator, the Rabbi needed to make decisions not only concerning himself and his family, but for nearly 200 students on the most dramatic moment in their lives. What values are of importance at such a time? Is violence a legitimate form of resistance? Should one accept compensation? When to pack? And how should one relate to the State of Israel and to the IDF? These are the questions faced by each one of the protagonists in this film. Ziv Alexandrony, Israel, 2006, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAngelmakers, The [FL 1049]
A small village in the Hungarian countryside appears to have a dubious past: in 1929, a series of arsenic murders was exposed here, and 51 women were arrested on suspicion of poisoning their husbands and relatives. The arsenic they used had apparently been taken from flypaper. In total, there were 140 cases of murder, for which many women went to prison. Besides a reconstruction of the killings, this film is a portrait of the present inhabitants of Nagyrév, who all remember something different about the murders. They also muse about the current exodus from the village, are worried about a melon theft and complain that life in the village is boring: there is no cinema or aerobics club. The desolation and isolation of the village is captured quietly and carefully: a stooped man shuffles past, a house stands empty on the edge of the village. The director filmed at the kitchen table, on the ferry and on a bench in front of a house, where an elderly couple recalls how they got married within two months of meeting one another: "He needed someone to mend the fishing nets." Astrid Bussink, Netherlands, 2005, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 35 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAngola: Saudades From the One Who Loves You / Angola, Saudades de quem te ama [FL 689]
An insider’s portrait of an unknown, oil- and diamond-rich, war-damaged country. This journey across Luanda, the Angolan capital, introduces both the past and the present of the country, and its hunger for a new future after 27 years of the civil war. The memories of Portuguese colonial rule, the scars of the clashing interests of cold war superpowers, the years of foreign military occupation, and the long, long civil war, intensified by the conflicting interests in natural resources – all of these traces fuse in the dense life of the cosmopolitan metropolis. The journey takes us into the lives of characters from diverse backgrounds: a fish seller, street boys, a school teacher, an old peasant, two fashion models, and a rap musician whose songs denounce corruption and will get you into trouble if you try singing them in public. The film is a collaboration between Namibian director Richard Pakleppa, and Angolan musician and performer Paulo Flores. The letters are written by Paulo Flores, Richard Pakleppa, and Albano Cardoso. Richard Pakleppa, (n/a), 2005, English, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 64 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAnna Akhmatova File, The / Дело Анны Ахматовой [FL 294]
A moving portrait of the extraordinary Soviet poet, Anna Akhmatova. Although her work was banned and went unpublished for 17 years, her poem "Requiem" became the underground anthem for the millions who suffered under Stalin. This unique film, which uses Akhmatova's diaries for text, also includes portraits of Akhmatova's friends and contemporaries--Boris Pasternak, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Mikhail Sostchenko. Semyon Aranovich, Soviet Union, 1989, Russian/Subtitles: English, 65 min, documentary film, VHSAnna, 7 Years on the Frontline [FL 1522]
This film is about Anna Politkovskaya, Russian journalist who won international recognition for reporting work on the conflict in Chechnya in which she sought to expose human rights abuses. She spent seven years on the frontline, often in extremely dangerous situations. Anna Politkovskaya was murdered in Moscow on October 7, 2006. This film is about a woman who felt very lonely, but could never stop doing what she did. To understand Anna's personality, her work and duties, as much as her fears and feeling of loneliness, we meet her friends and colleagues who stood by her during hard times. Galina Musaliyeva shared a room with Anna in the editorial office of Novaya Gazeta for the last seven years. Lidia Yusupova is a lawyer from Grozny searching for the lost people in Chechnya. Svetlana Gannushkina, Chairman of the Committee "Civil Assistance" and a Board Member of Memorial Human Rights Center, has also worked with Anna helping fugitives and emigrants from the former Soviet Union republics. Vyacheslav Izmailov, another colleague of Anna from Novaya Gazeta, started his own investigations, trying to find out who killed Anna. Masha Novikova, Netherlands, 2008, Russian/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAnything Can Happen / Wszystko moze sie przytrafic [FL 797]
Tomek, the director's six-year-old son, makes friends with some old people sitting on a park bench. Naiveté and curiosity confront experience. This is a film essay about initiation, bitterness, the passage of time, and life's power. Marcel Lozinski, Poland, 1995, Polish, 39 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMApaches, The / Apaci [FL 933]
Very propagandistic documentary about the Serbian community in the Sirinic valley in Kosovo. The director attempts to depict the tense and dangerous life-situation in which the people in this area live. However, the film is full of nationalistic innuendoes and is trying to mock the SFOR. Miroslav Nikolic, Serbia and Montenegro, 2002, English, 25 min, documentary film, VHSApocalypse Unlimited / Apokalipsa bez granic [FL 1458]
Freedom fighters in Aceh, Indonesia. The Free Aceh Movement. Krystian Matysek, Poland, 2006, English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAral: Fishing in an Invisible Sea [FL 639]
In the last few decades the Aral Sea has lost over 80% of its surface area. This is due in large part to the mismanagement of irrigation in the Amudariya and Syrdariya rivers basin, and the growing cotton industry in the first half of the twentieth century. The disappearing sea leaves behind a polluted desert, destroying the lives of the local inhabitants, traditional fishermen of Aral. The Uzbek village of Moynak, once located in the shores of the Aral Sea, today is little more than a wasteland with a few grassy shallows containing the last remaining fish. A majority of the local population has already been forced to move to neighboring kazakhstan, as fishing had always been the primary and very nearly the only source of livelihood in Moynak. This Uzbek -Italian co-production is an intimate portrayal of the three generations of the family trying to make a living in the desolute area. "I cannot imagine the grandfather's stories of an immense sea, which was sailed on by great shipsm are based on the truth," says little Janibek Anuarov, who with his father tries day after day to catch at least a few fish for dinner in the frozen shallows. The laconic style of shooting utilizes long shots, which, combined with the disturbing music of A.R. Mutti, reflects the belak situation of the locals, Even thoughthe level of water in the Aral sea has slightly increased in the last few years, according to estimates it will most certainly disappear by the year 2010. Saddat Ismailova, Carlos Casas, Uzbekistan, 2004, Uzbek/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMArcana / Arcana [FL 1186]
Arcana is an investigative project focusing on the old prison of Valpraiso, which closed down in April 1999. The project consists of a film, a book, and a website and its objective is to capture the way of life within the prison during its last working year.The film attempts to convey the experience of connecting directly to the day-to-day life inside the prison. It contemplates the various different ways of life that exist within the prison, not through a simply objective observation of what is visible, but through the more subjective means of seeing and feeling the prison from its interior. Cristobal Vicente, (n/a), 2006, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMArchitecture of Doom,The / Undergångens arkitektur [FL 780]
Featuring never-before-seen film footage of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi regime, "The Architecture of Doom" captures the inner workings of the Third Reich and illuminates the Nazi aesthetic in art, architecture and popular culture. From Nazi party rallies to the final days inside Hitler's bunker, this sensational film shows how Adolph Hitler rose from being a failed artist to creating a world of ponderous kitsch and horrifying horror. Adolph Hitler worshipped ancient Rome and Greece, and dreamed of a new Golden Age of classical art and monumental architecture, populated by beautiful, patriotic Aryans. "Degenerate" artists and "inferior" races had no place in his lurid fantasy. As this riveting film shows, the Nazis went from banning the art of modernists like Picasso to forced euthanasia of the retarded and sick, and finally to the persecution of homosexuals and the extermination of Jews, Roma, Slaves, etc. Peter Cohen, Sweden, 1991, 113 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMArchive of Memory [FL 1504]
The Archive of Memory is a visual essay of a filmmaker's response to the work of German art historian Aby Warburg. It is not a traditional film biography— Warburg himself only appears once, in a photograph, at the very end—but an attempt to translate some of Warburg's ideas from print to film. There are two interviews—philosopher Raymond Klibansky, who worked with Warburg in the 1920s, and British art historian Margaret Iversen who has written about him. The major part of the film combines excerpts from Warburg's lecture on his visit to the Pueblo and Hopi Indians with archival and contemporary film footage, photographs, and engravings. Eric Breitbart, United States, 2003, English, 25 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAre There Still Any Sheperds? / Anda Ha Pastores? [FL 1399]
An Isolated and forgotten valley in the Portuguese mountains hides the last shepherds of Serra da Estrela Mountain Range. There is no electricity, no water public utilities, and no asphalted roads around here. Nowadays, the eldests are dying and the youngests show no interest in the demanding job of being a shepherd. Herminio, 27 years old, is the youngest shepherd living in this valley. For how long will he maintain this occupation? After all, do the shepherds still exist? Jorge Pelicano, Portugal, 2006, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 73 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAre You Among Them? / Czy jestes wsrod nich [FL 1731] Jerzy Hoffman, Edward Skórzewski, Poland, 1954, 8 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
Arna's Children [FL 1249]
Documentary about a Jewish woman who set up a theater center for Palestinian children in a West Bank refugee camp, and some of her pupils who later became suicide bombers in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Contains amazingly candid views of warriors behind the scenes of battle. Juliano Mer Khamis, Danniel Danniel, (n/a), 2003, English, Arabic, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMArticle Zero / Paragraph zero [FL 1730] Włodzimierz Borowik, Poland, 1957, Polish, 16 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
As God Hath Foreordained…Film of Olga / Ahogy az Isten elrendelte...Olga filmje [FL 1509]
Explore a world rarely seen by outsiders as documentary filmmaker Sándor Mohi turns his camera on the citizens of the rural Gypsy community of Kászonújfalva, Transylvania. A culture whose system of communication and familial relationships have baffled outsiders for centuries, this film attempts to demystify it by focusing on a series of interviews with a young girl named Olga. Sándor Mohi, Hungary, 2000, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 68 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAsia: The Next Generation [FL 1385]
The documentary about the impact China, and its Asian partners will have over the next 15 years. This film profiles China's past, present and future with a focus on understanding China's culture and its interaction with Asian neighbors. Hosted by 10 year old Dylan MacRiner, this documentary is targeted towards parents who have a concern about the tremendous economic and environmental impact the China-Asia rise will have on their children's future, and on the planet. Rob MacRiner, China, 2007, English, 32 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAt the Epicentre [FL 702]
Ruhi Hamid’s film tells the story of a village flattened by last year’s Tsunami. 7000 people and the domed Mosque were the only survivors in Lampuuk and amid constant earthquakes, safety and emotional hazards, Ruhi Hamid tells the story of those who escaped with their lives. "Capturing the stories of my characters was often upsetting, but my motivation was to tell their incredible stories of courage, resilience and hope in rebuilding their lives and observe the complexities of the politics around the disaster," said Ruhi about her film."Everyone is taking care of each other here… and we are becoming a solid community," says Anita, one of the 100 villagers who returned to Lampuuk six weeks after the tragedy to begin the reconstruction. Anita is convinced that the tsunami is a punishment. "it is a warning from Allah," she says, "because we have neglected our faith." Ruhi Hamid, United Kingdom, 2005, English/Dubbing: English, 49 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAt the Trial of the Main Nazi Criminals in Nuremberg / На процессе главных немецких преступников в Нюрнберге [FL 594]
Recorded by famous director and cameraman Roman Karmen in court, this short film consists entirely of footage from the Nuremberg trial, featuring the main defendants as well as the judges from the allied countries. Various fragments of the extensive Nuremberg footage were later used in numerous films condemning Nazism (The Trial of Nations) as well as for drawing an often manipulative parallel with contemporaries (Nuremberg 40 years later). Roman Karmen, Soviet Union, 1946, Russian, 17 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAtomic Café, The [FL 970]
As a history film, Atomic Café takes us to experience three levels of time. The first is the internal time, the Cold War, communism versus the free world, when propaganda about the atomic bomb was made to persuade the people that only nuclear weapons would protect them from the "Evil Empire". The period of the'Nuclear Free' movement comes next. And thirdly, the present time, when the world is changed but has to face the same irony that still is just as relevant today, the fear of weapons of mass destruction. "The Atomic Cafe" is an example of Eisenstein's notion of montage on the macro level. this film achieves it rhetorical potency simply by editing together old film and documentaries from the 1940's and 1950's. By putting a cartoon of Tommy the Turtle teaching school children to "Duck and cover" next to film of actual atomic bomb tests, "The Atomic Cafe" renders the Cold War both ludicrous and chilling at the same time. It is all about editing raw material and splicing segments of military training films, civil defense films, archive footage, interviews, newsreel material, and fifties music. Without narration and by using a few choice songs to accompany some of the clips, this documentary finds a surprising strong voice against the insanity of nuclear destruction. Generally speaking, Atomic Café gives us an historical perspective for reconsidering the effect of the issues of war, nuclear warfare and weapons of mass destruction. Kevin Rafferty, Pierce Rafferty, Jayne Loader, United States, 1982, English, 88 min, documentary film, VHSAtonement / Engesztelő [FL 1615]
A film investigating the kidnapping and murder of engineer Lajos Hargitay and translator Rudolf Hadady on 12th December 1956, by Communist vigilantes. The wife and two daughters together with the director set out to find out what really happened to the two men who disappeared more than 30 years before. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1989, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 72 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAugust: A Moment Before the Eruption [FL 945]
AUGUST is partly a documentary, partly a fictional film that portrays a month in the life of filmmaker Avi Mograbi and his wife. The film documents the month of August 2000 - a tense and seething period just before the Al Aqsa intifada. It takes the viewer from a group of Jewish settlers marching through the streets of Tel Aviv dressed as Arabs to a peace demonstration in front of the Ministry of Defense. From a young Palestinian refugee throwing stones across the Israeli-Lebanese border to a crowd of angry soccer fans. Through the lens of Avi Mograbi's camera, the month of August becomes an apt metaphor for all that is brutal and hateful in Israel. The filmmaker always sees himself in between: «My film is a report of what I have seen and the interpretation that I give. (…) If we absolutely want to find a message in it, it would be something along the following lines: «Israel these days is not the best place to live.» But people do not need my film to ascertain this. I just want to say that it behoves the two peoples residing in Palestine/Israel to find a way to live together.» Avi Mograbi Avi Mograbi, Israel, 2002, Hebrew, 72 min, documentary film, VHSAuschwitz - A documentary film on German crimes at Oswiecim [FL 984]
This Soviet Army film of the liberation of Auschwitz Concentration Camp was awarded the Red Banner in 1945. It contains dramatic footage of the survivors and some of the atrocities perpetrated in this most notorious of camps, including captured German film of medical experiments performed on prisoners. Photography by cameramen of the First Ukrainian Front: N. Bykov, K. Kutub-Zade, A. Pavlov, A. Vorontzov. N. Bykov, K. Kutub-Zade, A. Pavlov, Soviet Union, 1945, English, 21 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAustralian Atomic Confessions [FL 1163]
Australian servicemen and nomadic aboriginals reveal the devastating effects of British atomic weapons testing carried out in Australia in the 1950s. For the first time, members of the Royal Australian Army, Navy, and Air force describe former top secret aspects of those tests.With the use of rare archival film and photographs, as well as eyewitness accounts, Australian Atomic Confessions chronicles the hidden history of these tests and also exposes previously unknown government cover-ups. Sydney’s new nuclear reactor continues to pose a threat to the environment and civilians, and the problem of removing and disposing of the old nuclear reactor remains an unanswered question posed by politicians and leading environmentalists. Prominent aboriginal elders also warn that an imminent catastrophe may occur in Central Australia as a result of two uranium mines. Achilling expose of nuclear testing and its damaging legacy, one that continues to this day. Kathy Aigner and Greg Young, Australia, 2005, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMAvant-Garde: Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and 30s CD 2 [FL 1331]
This two-DVD collection assembles some of the most influential and eclectic short films in the Rohauer Collection, including works by Man Ray, Hans Richter, Marcel Duchamp, Watson & Webber, Fernand Léger, Joris Ivens, Dimitri Kirsanoff, Jean Epstein, and Orson Welles. Disc 2 * Überfall (Ernö Metzner, Germany, 1928, 22 min.) * La glace à trois faces (Jean Epstein, France, 1927, 33 min.) * Le Tempestaire (Jean Epstein, France, 1947, 22.5 min.) * Romance sentimentale (Sergei Eisenstein, Grigori V. Alexandrov, France, 1930, 20 min.) * Autumn Fire (Herman G. Weinberg, U.S., 1931, 15 min.) * Manhatta (Paul Strand, Charles Sheeler, U.S., 1921, 10 min.) * La Coquille et le clergyman (Germaine Dulac, France, 1926, 31.5 min.) * Regen (Rain) (Joris Ivens, the Netherlands, 1929, 14 min.) * H2O (Ralph Steiner, U.S., 1929, 12 min.) * Even -- As You and I (Roger Barlow, Harry Hay, LeRoy Robbins, U.S., 1937, 12 min.)(n/a), 1999, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBad Blue Boys / Panj pun olova [FL 1542]
The daily life of a man aged 35, married, with three children. He joined Croatian Army at the very beginning of war, and was not discharged until the very end. Now he is unemployed in Zagreb, and tries to live “like others” – sharing meals with his family, toiling in his workshop, outings with friends. Even so, his routine might seem somewhat unusual. Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, disregarded by society and government, together with two fellow veterans he does things that other people find bizarre, even crazy, but which help them to find peace and preserve the appearance of “normal” Croatian citizens. This film speaks about the problems of Croatian war veterans whose condition and needs are understood only by few. A faceless confession of pain and a testament to the profound and lasting effects of war. Branko Schmidt, Croatia, 2007, (No dialogue), 28 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBAG [FL 863]
A documentary about Karlobag, a small coastal town with very few people, a lot of trucks and heavy winds. It presents a community decresing in numbers with the passing of every year, thus being dominated more by the traces of the past than by its members' present existence. The emptied landscape is now taken over by trucks and gas stations as the town is on the road to Split. These signs of the intruding present create a striking contrast with the sad poetry of this fading place. Dalibor Matanić, Tomislav Rukavina,Stanislav Tomic, Croatia, 1999, Croatian, 20 min, art documentary, VHSBagatelle / Bagatela [FL 1685]
Bogotá, Colombia, has one of the highest crime rates in the world. Director Jorge Caballero focuses on one day at a court in the city; cases are heard and sentences handed down for minor offenses. While in many cases the root of the problem is essentially social, the solution in Colombia has centered around the criminalization of these forms of conduct. Most scenes feature interviews with defense attorneys and defendants, revealing both the alleged crime and the protagonist’s standard of living. Colombian criminal law is extremely rigorous: selling bootleg CDs, stealing a cell phone or simply sleeping on the street can mean years in prison. High sentences are, however, reduced or overturned if the defendant pleads guilty. As a result crime clear-up rates in Bogotá are very high. Defense lawyers hear similar stories every day: their clients include people on low incomes, who are often unemployed, homeless, drug addicts or supporting large families. If they escape prison today, how long will it be before they are back in court? A portrait of justice and a portrait of society through petty crimes that take place non-stop on the streets of Bogotá – a city used to living with both violence and inequality. Jorge Caballero, Colombia, 2008, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 74 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBanished from the Party 1, 2, 3 / Kizárt a párt I, II, III [FL 1638]
In 1988 the Socialist Party banished four members. Political scientist, Mihaly Bihari, literary historian, Zoltan Biro, journalist Zoltan Kiraly and economist Laszlo Lengyel talk about the background of the decision thus depicting the curious mechanisms of the communist regime. Bela Szobolits, Hungary, 1988, Hungarian, 173 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBarricade / Barrikade [FL 273]
The Berlin Wall - its construction, the reaction of the people who live near it and dramatic escapes over it by East German civilians and soldiers - is the subject of this short documentary.Germany, 1966, (silent), 13 min, documentary film, VHSBattle for Life / Bitva o život [FL 11]
Using a mixture of documentary material they shot themselves, historical material and half-scripted scenes, the filmmakers show a year in the life of the village of Bystré, in the Orlické mountains, a former textile region experiencing significant economic and demographic change. The film combines "conventional" documentary footage with discussions on drink and democracy, and a record of social events and festivities in which the villagers greet the millennium, view the eclipse, and re-enact scenes from Czech history. Miroslav Janek, Vнt Janeиek, Roman Vávra, Czech Republic, 2000, Czech/Subtitles: English, 89 min, documentary film, VHSBattle of Russia, The Part 1 [FL 258]
The fifth in the "Why We Fight" series of seven army information films, "Battle for Russia" gives the brief history of Russia and the wars fought on her homeland. Then it moves to WWII and the invasion by Nazi forces, using newsreels of the actual fighting. The Nazis are victorious at Moscow and Leningrad but, like Napoleon's troops, are utterly defeated at the battle of Stalingrad. Frank Capra, United States, 1946, English, 96 min, documentary film, VHSBBB (Bad Blue Boys) [FL 856]
A documentary featuring the Bad Blue Boys, football fans from Zagreb who became the symbol of popular political opposition during Tudjman's regime in Croatia. Claiming that "Dinamo" was a name imposed by the communist system, Tudjman renamed the football team "Croatia". The football supporters' struggle to bring back the old name "Dinamo" was opposed by all means. It is a movie about sports becoming a medium for protest. Sasa Podgorelec, Croatia, 1998, Croatian, 45 min, art documentary, VHSBBC Horizon - Inside Chernobyl's Sarcophagus [FL 939]
Updating the original award winning programme, this HORIZON Special looks at what has changed at Chernobyl 10 years after the world's worst nuclear accident. With the concrete sarcophagus still crumbling the future of the power station remains uncertain. This video traces three of the original scientists from the investigation team who talk openly about their findings, what has since happened and what remains to be done. At the same time, the documentary deals with the consequences upon these people's life of their heroic activity and research in the immediate proximity of the sarcophagus. Edward Briffa, United Kingdom, 1996, Russian, 50 min, documentary film, VHSBeach 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-ROMBeauty Exchange, The / Ženy pro měny [FL 819]
"The Beauty Exchange" looks at how the media (in particular, commercials and the so-called glossy women's magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Harper's Bazaar) make contemporary Czech women conscious of their appearance, and the ways in which they shape today's stereotypes of feminine beauty. It focuses on four women: a trendy 20-something who buys all the latest beauty products; an overweight woman who will try anything to lose the extra kilos; a 15-year-old who enters a competition to be a model and eventually succeeds; a mother who undergoes plastic surgery. The latter, Eva, says she can work on other parts of her body, but once her breasts sag there's nothing she can do about it. Except have plastic surgery, which she hopes will mean a complete turn-around in her life and self-esteem. Well, things do not quite work out the way she hoped: the operation requires further surgical treatment and Eva still cannot wear her favorite clothes which are now too tight at the top. The operation is shown at length and in detail, which some viewers may find difficult to watch. Erika Hníková, Czech Republic, 2003, Czech/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBeauty of the Fatherland / Isamaa Ilu [FL 386]
The film focuses on two protagonists whose views seem at first to embody opposing values and viewpoints: ex-Miss Estonia Tiina Jantson runs beauty contests, while Anne Eenpalu promotes traditional family values as leader of the Girl Scout troupe known as Home Daughters. Each has her own history: Tiina was a supermodel in the Soviet Union, Anne is a granddaughter of Kaarel Eenpalu, one of the presidents of the pre-war Republic of Estonia. Yet the main characters have more in common than might first appear. They are brought together by their very conservative notion about the role of women in society. Both claim to help the talents of young girls unfold, both project their own ideas and desires on them. Jaak Kilmi, Andres Maimik, Estonia, 2001, Estonian/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBecause a Man is Human / Weil der Mensch ein Mensch ist [FL 1276]
Summer holidays in a self-run youth camp. The children democratically vote-in their own parliament, which gives them the possibility of organising the camp on their own. Eleven-year-old representative Nils however is not lucky: Soon others get interested in his power and in his position - just like in the real world of politics. When the children overthrow Nils, his political career comes to a sudden end, while at the same time his social decline begins. The others start mobbing him. Frauke Finsterwalder & Stephan Hilpert, Germany, 2007, German/Subtitles: English, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBecause We Were Born / Puisque nous sommes nés [FL 1686]
Brazil, Nordeste, the state of Pernambouc. A petrol station in the middle of an arid landscape provides Cocada (14) and Nego (13) with dreams and distractions. They meet there every day to make a little money, to support themselves and their families. Cocada dreams of becoming a truck driver, yet for now he washes windscreens, grazes pigs at a waste dump, makes bricks, and sleeps in a truck cab each night. His father was murdered, and he has found a substitute in Mineiro, a driver who takes the time to talk with him and helps him when the temptation of easy but illegally earned money becomes too strong. Nego lives from hand to mouth in a favela with his mother and nine brothers and sisters, helping them eke out a living; he dreams of having a house of his own. Besides begging from long-distance buses, he does temporary work as an errand boy and this doesn't leave him much time for school. With his friend Cocada, they watch the endless movement of trucks and travelers. Everything speaks to them about this big country which they don’t know. Mature beyond their years, thanks to the many adversities they have suffered, the two boys wonder what lies ahead. Jean-Pierre Duret, Andréa Santana, France, 2008, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-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-ROMBefore Flying Back to Earth / Pries parskrendant I Zeme [FL 1021]
After his daughter survived eight months of treatment for leukaemia, the Lithuanian filmmaker Arunas Matelis did not turn his back on the hospital. He filmed the kids in the leukaemia ward in Vilnius during their day-to-day routine, without becoming sentimental. For the parents, their worst nightmare has come true, but what do the children themselves think? A life among medicine and tubes does not prevent them from just carrying on. Their adaptability is incredible. One of the mothers says her son has not grown dejected in hospital, because he has gotten used to it and does not know any better. The children practise karate or dream of getting hamburgers and Coke instead of the same old cabbage soup. The future is often brought up, as if it were not finite: they hope they will not turn blond when their hair grows back, or they want to become a doctor, "but not in the leukaemia ward." Before Flying Back to the Earth is interlaced with black-and-white pictures showing the children in the middle of a smile, yawn or gesture, momentarily freezing time in this thorough documentary that does not deal with death, but with life. Arunas Matelis, Lithuania, 2005, Lithuanian/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBehind the Fence [FL 905]
In June 2002 Israel began construction of a 115-kilometre-long security fence along or near the "green line" separating the West Bank from Israel proper. Dubbed by its critics "The Berlin Wall of the Middle East" and the "Wall of Apartheid" it is being built at the cost of $1 million per kilometre. The aim, the Israeli government has stated, is to prevent Palestinian "terrorists" from infiltrating into Israel. For many Palestinians however it is nothing more than a sinister ploy to grab more of their land and further reinforce the occupation through the "ghettoisation" of their communities. At the same time many Israelis and Palestinians wonder if it could turn out to be the borderline for a future Palestinian state. Inigo Gilmore, United Kingdom, 2003, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSBehind the Wall: "Perfectly Normal Lives in the GDR?" [FL 1414]
This documentary film, based on in-depth research by UCL students and staff, is the first to explore the complexity of ordinary lives in the relatively stable middle period of the GDR’s history, between the building of the Wall in 1961 and the economic decline and political unrest of the 1980s. Using extensive oral history interviews, archival sources and film footage, it portrays a more complex picture of life in the GDR, allowing East Germans to tell their own stories and inviting viewers to an informed debate on key questions of contemporary German history and identity. Mary Fulbrook, United Kingdom, 2007, English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBelly Dancer / Rakasa [FL 1343]
Rakasa is a documentary about the lives of three Palestinian women who dance for joy, expression and sometimes money. Certain images come to mind when an American says, “I’m a dancer.” However, the dancing found in Rakasa (Arabic for “bellydancer”) comes from an irrepressible urge to rebel, to be free, and to be wholly and utterly a woman in a culture that would have one deny that Goddess-given gift. This form of dancing also crosses religious barriers, bringing Israeli Jews and Arabs together to dance. For this, rakasa—and the women whose lives are shared within—should be celebrated. Iris Rubin, Israel, 2006, Hebrew, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 73 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBelovs, The / Беловы [FL 514]
In a Russian village lives twice widowed Anna Fedorovna Belova with her alcoholic brother Michail Fedorovich who philosophies about social and political matters, regularly gets drunk, and time to time threatens to kill his sister. Two other brothers visit them. They drink a great deal of tea, steam in a Russian bath and discuss whether there exists "a measure to measure ordeals." With this simple scenario, the director captures the everyday life of a rural family at once repetitive and shaken by the ongoing changes in the society. Viktor Kossakovskii, Russia, 1993, Russian/Subtitles: English, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBelow Sea Level [FL 1687]
About 300 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles and 6 meters below sea level, a commune of outcasts lives in the middle of the desert. They are not a hippie colony, just a group of people who have turned their backs on society and want to be left alone. On this bare, arid plain, we see a mobile home here and there, a car or an impromptu house. The people who live here answer to imaginative names like Bulletproof, Insane Wayne and Bus Kenny. They kill time by messing around, doing odd jobs, talking and living. For some of them, this desolate place with no electricity or running water is a temporary address, while for others it's a permanent vacation. A Vietnam veteran who now goes by the name of Cindy opened a hair salon here. Lili is a new arrival who lost custody of her only son and now does acupuncture. Mike Bright grieves over his dead daughter and fills his days writing songs. Everyone has his or her own reason for being here, and especially a reason not to be somewhere else. Gianfranco Rosi, Italy, 2008, English, 110 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBerlin: Symphony of a Great City + Opus 1 / Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt + Opus 1 [FL 759]
Director Walter Ruttman, an experimental filmmaker, approached cinema in similar ways to his Russian contemporary Dziga Vertoz, mixing documentary, abstract, and expressionist modes for a nonnarrative style that captured the life of his countrymen. But where Vertov mixed his observations with examples of the communist dream in action, Ruttman re-creates documentary as, in his own words, "a melody of pictures." Within the loose structure of a day in the life of the city (with a prologue that travels from the country into the city on a barreling train), the film takes us from dawn to dusk, observing the silent city as it awakens with a bustle of activity, then the action builds and calms until the city settles back into sleep. But the city is as much the architecture, the streets, and the machinery of industry as it is people, and Ruttman weaves all these elements together to create a portrait in montage, the poetic document of a great European city captured in action. Held together by rhythm, movement, and theme, Ruttman creates a documentary that is both involving and beautiful to behold. The original score by Timothy Brock is lyrical and dramatically involving, complementing the mood and movement marvelously. Also included on this DVD is "Opus 1" (1922, 10 min.), a rare example of the German avant-garde cinema. Director Walther Ruttmann's hand-colored film is an abstract exploration of animated shapes and geometry of movement. Walther Ruttman, Germany, 1927, (silent), 77 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBerlin / Берлин [FL 954]
The film is interspersed with German newsreel shots narrating the Nazis' plan of global hegemony. The documentary describes the final major battle of the war with Nazi Germany, with its outcome, the German army's unconditional surrender. This film alongside other Soviet ones were shown in Cannes immediately after the end of the war. Film from the private archives of Nazi advisor Goebbels is used to bridge the history line between Mussolini, Hitler, and the emerging fascist movement in the 1960s among both East and West Germans. Yuli Raizman and Yelizaveta Svilova, Soviet Union, 1945, Russian, 57 min, war reports, DVD-ROMBetween a Star and a Crescent - Bricha / Mezi Hvězdou a Půlměsícem - Otec uprchlíků [FL 74]
"Bricha" is the Hebrew name given to the Jewish underground movement which after WWII attempted to move as many of the displaced Jews as possible to Palestine. Czechoslovakia was involved with this Zionist movement, even when the country was already under Soviet rule. Petr Bok and Martin Smok, Czech Republic, 1998, /Voice-over: English, 53 min, documentary film, VHSBetween a Star and a Crescent - Father of the Refugees / Mezi Hvězdou a Půlměsícem - Otec uprchlíků [FL 74]
In the summer of 1967 the body of Charles Jordan, a man who wanted to change the very core of the conflict in the Middle East, was fished out of the Vltava river in Prague. His death remains a mystery to this day. The filmmakers discovered new details about the case, while the Czech detectives are still unsuccessfully investigating it. Petr Bok and Martin Smok, Czech Republic, 2004, /Voice-over: English, 52 min, documentary film, VHSBetween a Star and a Crescent - Trials / Mezi Hvězdou a Půlměsícem - Otec uprchlíků [FL 74]
The post-war tragedy of Jewish Communists is also mostly forgotten today. These people rejected their family traditions because they believed, naively, that the Bolshevik New World Order would eradicate anti-Semitism and racist hatred forever. Petr Bok and Martin Smok, Czech Republic, 1998, /Voice-over: English, 53 min, documentary film, VHSBetween the Lines: India's Third Gender / Between the Lines: Indiens drittes Geschlecht [FL 1227]
The film follows Delhi-based photographer Anita Khemka as she sets out to explore the hidden hijra subculture of Bombay. Since she was a child, Khemka has been fascinated by the ornate femininity and captivating spiritual powers of the outcast hijras - biological men who dress as women but reject identification with either gender. Following three hijras, Asha, Rambha and Laxmi, Khemka enters the vibrant yet struggling hijra communities, openly discussing intimate details of their lives such as their matriarchal surrogate families, castration ceremonies, thoughts about sexuality and relationships and the challenges of overcoming economic dependence on begging and prostitution. Uniquely engaging because of Khemka's ability to initiate personal dialogue about femininity, sexuality and persistent cultural stereotypes about gender, this artful film provides fascinating insights into a social group that is a growing leader in the fight for gender and sexuality rights in India. Thomas Wartmann, Germany, 2006, English, German, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 95 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBetween Two Fires [FL 1012]
This is a documentary that exposes American involvement in what the director calls "one of World War II’s best-kept secrets." The film shows how Russian anti-Communists were held on American soil until the U.S. agreed to forcibly repatriate them, placating Stalin, but violating the Geneva Convention treaty on the treatment of prisoners of war. The downside of this film is that it doesn't analyze the actions and nature of the Osttroppen. It looks only at the relationship with the Nazis, overlooking their often involvement into anti-Jewish and ethnic atrocities. Douglas Smith, United States, 2002, English, 50 min, documentary film, VHSBeyond Borders: Personal Stories from a Small Planet [FL 1196]
A creative project made by teenagers overcoming huge obstacles and ignorance within their lives. A compilation of 11 short films written, shot and edited by teenagers who weave documentary filmmaking, animation and archival footage to tell personla stories about what they most fear and how they build security to overcome those fears. Austin Haeberle, United States, 2005, English, Ukrainian, Spanish, Korean/Subtitles: English, 66 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBeyond Reasonable Doubt [FL 1743]
From 1995 the massacre at Srebrenica has been surrounded by denial. The ICTY called it genocide and three men have pleaded guilty acknowledging their participation in the executions of more than 7,000 men and boys and the deportation of nearly 30,000 women and children. The film presents the testimonies of those who organized and perpetrated the killings, those who tried to cover it up - digging mass graves and reburying bodies, as well as the testimonies of the victims and their relatives. Mina Vidakovic, Netherlands, 2005, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBeyond the Call [FL 1572]
In an Indiana Jones meets Mother Teresa adventure, three middle-aged men – former soldiers and modern-day knights – travel the world delivering life-saving humanitarian aid directly into the hands of civilians and doctors; in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earth, the front lines of war. Adrian Belic, United States, 2006, English, 82 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBeyond the Sea: a history of the Mariel boatlift / Más allá del mar: una historia del exodo de Mariel Más allá del mar [FL 751]
It began with a bus crashing through the gates of an embassy in Havana and unraveled into one of the most dramatic episodes in the history of human migrations. In a few short weeks, nearly 130,000 Cubans left their homeland in an unrelenting stream of vessels bound for America. More than two decades later, the personal stories surrounding the infamous Mariel Boatlift continue to resonate with an energy that can only be described as surreal, powerful. Weaving together these riveting stories along with rare, historical images, and footage from present-day Cuba, this film recreates this "explosion of 1980," a crisis that shook the very foundations of Cuban as well as American society. Lisandro Perez-Rey, Cuba, 2003, Spanish, English/Subtitles: English, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBig Family / Da Jia Ting [FL 1230]
Zhue Zhe’s is one of the top families in the village. He is a pitiless patriarch who rules his family strictly. In the 1980s he made a fortune from a brick factory but since he invested in agriculture he has fallen deeply in dept. Zhue Zhe expects his children and their spouses, who all live under the same roof, to renounce any personal ambitions and help him in his time of need. However, the difficult economic conditions, Zhue Zhe’s bad temper and the younger generations’ desire for independence lead to an inevitable clash. Bitterness, suspicion and sorrow predominate, marriages crumble, but the family has to stay together, come what may. Ultimately, Zhe has to bow his head for the first time in front of everyone. The family tragedy that unfolds with all candor before the camera touches on bigger themes like the transformation of traditional lifestyles and family patterns, women's rights, and conflicting generational expectations in today’s rural China. Huang Lingping & Zhu Shengwei, China, 2005, Chinese, Yue/Subtitles: English, 82 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBig Sellout, The [FL 1124]
Has the practice of privatization become similar to warfare, dehumanizing us and reducing us to mere statistics? Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and former chief economist at the World Bank, certainly thinks so, as does Bongani, a self-described "electro-rebel" in Soweto, South Africa, who illegally restores electricity to the homes of people too poor to pay the incessant bills of the newly privatized provider. Simon, a train driver who has worn the uniform of countless firms since his beloved British Rail was privatized, recounts the steady decline in service and maintenance and the sharp increase in accidents that have followed. In the Philippines, where the privatization of health care has led to an exodus of nurses and doctors, Minda struggles to afford the kidney dialysis treatments needed to keep her son alive. Meanwhile, martial law is declared in Cochabamba, Bolivia as protesters fight the privatization of water. A compelling portrayal of a complex subject, The Big Sellout offers an empathetic and sobering study of the human impact of global economics. Florian Opitz, Germany, 2006, English, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 94 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBirth of energy / Рождение энергии [FL 350]
The film tells the story of the creation of a booster rocket by general engineer-designer V. P. Glushko. The film traces the history of space research and opposition between two prominent researchers, Korolev and Glushko. Yu. Sal'nikov, Russia, 2000, Russian, 26 min, documentary film, VHSBittner Case, The / Ich Bin Doch Keine Morderin [FL 1127]
"The Youth Welfare Office should've realised themselves that we needed help, and not asked us if we needed help. They should have been aware of it. (...) They should have acted on their own. Then things would have gone differently." When asked about his responsibility in his son's death, Falk Bittner remains silent, but when the role of the Youth Welfare Office comes up, he suddenly explodes. The Bittner Case analyses a family tragedy in the East-German city of Cottbus. Just before Christmas 2001, six-year-old Dennis, one of the 10 Bittner children, died of continued abuse, neglect and malnutrition. His mother Angelika hid his corpse in the freezer, where it was discovered in June 2004. Family, friends and neighbours all believed that Dennis had been staying in a Berlin children's hospital. Falk contends that he never doubted his wife's explanation, and that he was shocked when he became aware of his son's fate.The film consists of a series of probing interviews with the Bittners, alternated with excerpts from court proceedings and medical reports. While they wait for a verdict in the case, the Bittners reveal this baffling story bit by bit. Overcome with emotions, Angelika is the one who explains what happened. Falk just sits there and shakes his head. Caterina Woj, Germany, 2006, German/Subtitles: English, 86 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlack Against White / Preto contra branco [FL 1459]
In one of the southern suburbs of São Paulo, on the border between the favelas and the better neighbourhoods, is a soccer field where blacks and whites meet once a year to play against each other. A white and a black friend initiated the event thirty years ago, with fraternisation as their goal. The rest of the year, the match is food for stories, legends and jokes. The film looks at this community that it trying the get rid of the racial phantoms with more or less success. Wagner Morales, Brazil, 2004, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMblack have endured, and I?, The / Crnci su izdrzali, a ja? [FL 861]
The film is shot during Christmas time in 2000. It focuses on a group of friends and their interactions, while in the meantime also catched glimpses of the filmakers hometown and its people. Zvonimir Juric, Croatia, 2001, Croatian, 35 min, art documentary, VHSBlack Notebook Of Zinaida Gyppius, The / Le Cahier Noir de Zinaida Gyppius [FL 942]
This is the Russian revolution, as seen and retold on a day-by-day basis by one of Russia's most interesting poets, Zinaida Gyppius. A woman of extraordinary talent, with a sharp, analytical mind, who was called "the witch" due to her acid tongue, she recorded all of the events in her diary, as a person felt and lived through them "from the inside." Her diaries provide a key to many of the events that would prove fatal for Russia, rerouting the course of European and world history. Having left Russia in 1900, she "buried" her diaries by turning them over to the Petersburg library under a false name. These diaries, discovered 80 years later and set to a timeline of the events of that era, form the basis of this film. Zlatina Rousseva, Belgium, 1997, Russian, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlack Series 1 (Polish School of Documentary Movies) / Czarna Seria 1 [FL 1730]
"Czarna Seria" is the part of NInA Publishing's series "Polish School of Documentary Movies". Edited by Tadeusz Sobolewski, the series is devoted to different Polish documentary filmmakers and contains selected documentaries from their artistic output. The series includes films made by recognized film directors, as well as by some of the forgotten masters and débutante directors.Poland, 2008, Polish/Subtitles: English, French, Russian, German, 113 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlack Series 2 (Polish School of Documentary Movies) / Czarna Seria 2 [FL 1731]
"Czarna Seria" is the part of NInA Publishing's series "Polish School of Documentary Movies". Edited by Tadeusz Sobolewski, the series is devoted to different Polish documentary filmmakers and contains selected documentaries from their artistic output. The series includes films made by recognized film directors as well as by some of the forgotten masters and débutante directors.Poland, 2008, Polish/Subtitles: English, German, Russian, French, 120 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlind Loves / Slepe lásky [FL 1537]
To find one’s true calling and happiness in this world is hard enough for those of us who can see. How much more difficult is it for the blind? Blind Loves is a sensitive and powerful reflection on the most intimate feelings and emotions of blind people. Peter, a music teacher at a school for the blind, and his wife, Iveta, live in a tiny apartment, but simultaneously occupy a vast and amazing imaginary world. Miro and the partially sighted Monika are in love, but their relationship is complicated by her parents' objections to Miro's Romany ethnicity. Elena and Laco are expecting a baby – and their fears, hopes and dreams for their unborn child are magnified by the fact that they are both blind. Then there is fourteen-year-old Zuzana who, like any teenager, spends hours in online chat rooms and longs to fall in love. She is about to start high school, where she will be the only blind student, and worries that she will have trouble fitting in with the other teens. Each of these individual's stories offers a uniquely tender and humorous perspective on the world. Juraj Lehotský, Slovakia, 2008, Slovak/Subtitles: English, 77 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlockade / Блокада [FL 1023]
Blockade provides a remarkable insight into the siege of Leningrad during the Second World War. Loznitsa managed to track down reels of unused footage that had been sitting in the archives for over half a century. The material offered snapshots of everyday life amongst Russian civilians during the siege. The reels had not been used by the state because they were deemed inappropriate for propaganda purposes. Loznitsa's Blockade seems to be the total opposite of typical Soviet representations of the siege of Leningrad with their lofty pathos, celebration of martyrdom, and scenes of heroic labor. It is remarkably non-sensationalist, it has neither music nor running commentary – a cinematographic example of what Barthes famously termed “writing degree zero”. Yet it manages to capture and freeze in time the spirit of suffering in the struggling city. The depth of the shots and their graphic minimalism work to create a truly epic narrative, one that leaves room for the viewer's very own, un-mediated response. Sergei Loznitsa, Russia, 2005, (silent), 52 min, archival collage, DVD-ROMBloodplot / Midőn a vér… [FL 1625]
A film looks back at the notorious 1882 "blood libel" trials at Tiszaeszlar, Hungary, and examines the blood libel accusations after the Holocaust. Edit Koszegi, Sandor Simo, Andras Surannyi, Hungary, 1994, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBloody Cartoons [FL 1573]
When in September 2005 the Danish newspaper Jyllands–Posten published a series of caricatures of the prophet Mohammed, it sparked unprecedented protests around the Muslim world. The demonstrations were so intense and so well organised that it led to questions as to whether they were really a spontaneous expression of Muslim anger. Danish investigative journalist and documentary maker Karsten Kjaer attempted to find out who could have had an interest in the protests spreading so far and an escalation of hatred towards the West. He conducted dozens of interviews in an attempt to untangle the web of events which followed the publishing of the cartoons; he spoke to religious leaders responsible for instigating violence, demonstrators who had set embassies on fire, journalists and newspaper publishers. Kjaer visited Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Turkey and Qatar, often posing the question of where the border of free speech, one of the pillars of democracy, lies. Karsten Kjaer, Denmark, 2007, English, Danish/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBlue Collar White Christmas / Nede på jorden [FL 1078]
December 2001. The workers at the lifeboat factory Viking are preparing for the coming Christmas holiday when news arrives that Viking is to open a new factory in Thailand. Redundancy looms. Throughout the Christmas month we follow the four main characters - Diana, Lotte, Kragelund and Tobiesen. While notification of who is to be laid off draws closer, the air becomes thick with rumours and predictions. Life continues nevertheless. "Blue Collar White Christmas" is a series of humorous everyday chronicles dealing with the fear and necessity of change. Max Kestner, Denmark, 2004, Danish/Subtitles: English, 82 min, documentary film, VHSBomb Harvest [FL 1580]
Laos: the most bombed country, per capita, on the planet. Australian bomb disposal specialist Laith Stevens has to train a new young “big bomb” team to deal with bombs left from the US “Secret War”, but meanwhile, the local children are out hunting for bomb scrap metal. This timely story vividly depicts the consequences of war and the incredible bravery of those trying to clear up the mess. Kim Mordaunt, Australia, English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBond, The / Naata [FL 369]
Mumbai is the city of contrasts: extreme richness and extreme poverty. It is a city of film stars and large slums. Two friends - Hindu Bhau Korde and Muslim Waqar Khan - live and work in a multi-ethnic neighbourhood of Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia. The making of a poster and an amateur film, initiated by the two friends, becomes an important step to unify the community and bring about ethnic amity. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians are played by children, each of them representing 'the other' religion. This work is part of other grass-roots programs for inter-religious amity. Yet Waqar and Bhau's work raises several uncomfortable questions for the filmmakers, so-called modern, middle-class, secular, urban beings. The meta-story of the film reflects on their own position of (im)partial observers/outsiders. By using abstract and anonymous everyday objects, standing in for detachment and reflection, the process of filmmaking itself becomes a subject of analysis. Anjali Monteiro, K. P. Jayasankar, India, 2003, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 45 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBorder-line Case / Határeset [FL 1045]
In August 1989, having lived in Weimar in the German Democratic Republic, Kurt-Werner Schulz and Gundula Schafitel and their 6-year-old son were crossing Hungary on their way to the Western world. As so many of their East German fellow compatriots, they were planning to cross the border illegally. However, they had no hope of succeeding if all three of them stayed together. The story is told in the manner of a criminal investigation, spiced with some humour. Péter Szalay, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian, German/Subtitles: English, 32 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBorderline: The People V. Eunice Baker / Borderline: The People V. Eunice Baker [FL 1135]
Six years ago, Eunice Baker, a borderline retarded woman, was left babysitting a three year old girl. A wire in the house short-circuited leading to the temperature in the child’s room soaring. The girl died of heat exhaustion. But despite clear evidence the death was accidental, Eunice was arrested for pre-mediated murder. This personal and compelling film follows her trial. It’s a case that raises fundamental questions about the treatment of mentally handicapped people in the US legal system. Slawomir Grunberg, United States, 2005, English, 77 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBorn Dead [FL 1085]
When juvenile delinquents are locked up in prison for years, they lose touch with the outside world and run the risk of getting used to being isolated from the outside world. An experimental program offered young men a possibility to do social work and thus empowered some to face challenging jobs. The filmmaker presents a portrait of a recidivist prisoner who starts working in a social care home for seriously handicapped children. Robert spent eight years in a penal institution. We observe the 24-year-old protagonist for several months turning from a bored prisoner to an experienced social worker. Yet for others the program created a chance to escape. The two runaways make the prison authorities question the meaning of the program. Jacek Blawut, Poland, Polish, documentary film, DVD-ROMBorn with the century / Родени с века [FL 536]
The film follows the life histories of dozen Bulgarian men and women from various backgrounds and life occupations, born in 1900. Starting with stories from their childhood, deeply imprinted in their consciousness, their lives unfold through their young years of education and emigration for some, their love and marriage, work in factories and in the fields. The film reveals curious details that bring the flavour of town and countryside life at the turn of the century. The memories of the personal past involves the backdrop of majour historical events – the Balkan wars and the WWI figuring prominently in everyones’ memories, the emigration tides to Argentina, Nazi parades in Berlin and the segregation of Jews, the encolvement of youth in the communist movement, the “fascist” actions in Bulgaria through the experience of a seasoned young lady communist and the far more detached account of a non-believer, the coming of Soviet troops, collectivization and the mass killings by the communists. The combination of the narration of personal events, photos from family albums and the well selected archival footage, displays the convergence of personal and historical time, as well as the different meaning that grand events have in people’s lives. Eldora Traikova, Bulgaria, 2000, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 58 min, DVD-ROMBota Shqipetare [FL 234]
Film about terror in Albania under communism.Albania, Albanian, 58 min, documentary film, VHSBoy Who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan, The [FL 383]
In March 2001, the ruling Taliban destroyed the tallest stone statues in the world, the 'Buddhas of Bamiyan'. This film, shot over the course of a year, focuses on one of the refugees who now live among the ruins: an 8-year-old boy called Mir. Through Summer, Winter and Spring we follow Mir's life - the scrapes, the fun and the naughtiness - against the magnificent backdrop of Bamiyan and its ruined statues. His playground is the rubble and tunnels of the destroyed Buddhas, the shelled and burnt-out town bazaar, the orchard of the local militia. Through his eyes we see the destruction of the town, the ever-present militarization and the wary welcome given to the Americans. As Mir grows, the adults around him reveal what life has been like over the past two decades, when hundreds of thousands of children like Mir have been killed. Meanwhile, Mir hasn't got a clue about history but he knows how to have fun. Phil Grabsky, United Kingdom, 2003, Dari/Subtitles: English, 96 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBoy who rushed, The / Decko kojem se zurilo [FL 858]
An intimate story about a filmmaker searching for her brother gone missing in 1991 during the recent war in Croatia. The director’s brother, along with many other young soldiers, mysteriously disappeared in Vukovar. While searching for him, the director filmed the events and people she encountered. The film begins with a rather moving confession by the filmmaker about her psychological state, and about her family and native country, which were drawn into the nightmare of the war. In a quite humorous manner, she speaks about the history of Croatia in the previous century and refers to missing soldiers who represented every generation in her family. In a way, it is a "sequel" to her grandmother's story: her husband was killed in World War II, but all her life she's been waiting for him. Biljana Cakic-Veselic, Croatia, 2001, Croatian, 53 min, art documentary, VHSBreak Up the Dance / Rozbijemy zabawe [FL 1731] Roman Polański, Poland, 1957, Polish, 8 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan [FL 1]
In Kyrgyzstan, it is not unusual for a girl to go to school in the morning without a care in the world, but to end up a bride in a family of strangers by nightfall. In Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, men abduct a bride if they are not rich enough to pay a dowry. The kidnapping is often discussed beforehand in the potential groom's family: who has a car available, what the girl should be able to do, and where she will live. After the abduction, the new in-laws inform the girl’s parents, who often accept the “proposal.” Kidnapping a bride is common practice. “We have all been abducted,” a women tell a freshly kidnapped girl who reluctantly stands in a corner. Director Petr Lom films the brides, the grooms and the in-laws, and tells the story from this remote country in five chapters. Petr Lom, Canada, 2004, Kyrgyz/Subtitles: English, 51 min, documentary film, VHSBrides of Allah / Sahida [FL 1528]
A poignant chronicle of the lives of women serving time in prison for involvement in terrorist attacks in Israel. Filmed over the course of two years, the film strives to uncover the motivations behind the actions of these women. We share their daily prison lives, giving birth, meeting families, attending classes, and gossiping about clothes. One woman coyly describes wanting to blow up a hospital which treated her for severe burns following a kitchen accident, even though the Israeli doctors were kind. Another cuddles her son and says she wanted to destroy an Israeli kindergarten. Yet another, a mother of five, is serving three life terms for transporting male suicide bomber, who is told killed pregnant women but shows no signs of retraction. We hear of religious ideology, but also of discrimination and despair in the world these women come from. A journey into the world where the greatest cruelty lurks beneath the most striking beauty, where a lullaby whispered lovingly in a baby's ear echoes with the sting of hatred, and where compassion and cold blooded disdain live together behind the same penetrating eyes. A moving film full of contradictions. Natalie Assouline, Israel, 2008, Hebrew, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 76 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBridge at the End of the World, A [FL 1367]
Once upon a time youth had dreams and ideals for a better future, and in Turkey in order to practice their ideals they built a bridge over the Zap River in a Kurdish city called Hakkari as a creative symbol of rebellion to protest against the big investments made in the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul. Bahriye Kabadayi, Turkey, Turkish, Kurdish/Subtitles: English, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBridge Over the Wadi / Gesher Al Ha'wadi [FL 1215]
In 2004, Arab and Israeli parents embarked on a joint initiative to establish a bilingual elementary school in Kara, a village in Israel's Wadi Valley. Fierce debates preceded the opening of the school. Although the initiative was idealistic and noble, the reality was that parents still had some major hurdles to overcome. In addition, they were forced to defend their decision in the face of opponents and skeptics. The school, which is called Bridge over the Wadi, has places for 50 Jewish and 50 Arab students, but is located in the Arab part of the valley. The filmmakers observe how students, faculty and parents struggle to coexist peacefully during the first exciting year. Teachers spend a great deal of time teaching mutual respect, and they arrange field trips to the mosque and the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Some parents feel reciprocal integration is going too far when students are asked to participate in each other's religious festivities. An Arab teacher has more and more difficulty in meeting the demands of parents. Yet by the end of the year, it appears that they have succeeded in laying the foundations, however shaky and unpredictable they may be. In 2005, twice as many students signed up to attend the school. Barak Heymann & Tomer Heymann, Israel, 2006, Hebrew, English/Subtitles: English, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBridge, The / Most [FL 842]
Film about the delicate issues of ethnic relations in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina, told through the story of two young inhabitants of a divided town of Mostar. They create an alternative artistic workshop bearing the name "Young Bridge" that, through its activities, attempts to perform a share of the work required for the re-harmonizaton of life in the war-traumatized town of Mostar. Maja Zrnic, Croatia, 2001, Croatian, 33 min, art documentary, VHSBridging Minds / Die Brücke der Verständigung [FL 1435]
recounts the difficulties in the making of Helmut Käutner’s Die Letzte Brücke (The Last Bridge) (1954), an Austrian-Yugoslav-West German coproduction under the aegis of Columbia Pictures that received a special award at Cannes together with an honorable mention to actress Maria Schell for her remarkable performance. The insightful interviews alone with many professionals associated with that milestone production – save for the late Helmut Käutner (1908-1980) and Maria Schell (1926-2005) – make Knezevic’s Bridging Minds must viewing by the committed cineaste. Srdan Knezevic, (n/a), 2007, German/Subtitles: English, 105 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBrigade Blues / Brigád Blues [FL 1639]
A documentary about a socialist brigade that aided orphans as voluntary social work. The brigade members and orphans talk about the apparatus of compulsory charity. Bela Kortesi, Hungary, 2005, Hungarian, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBrothers by Blood / Ahim Ba'dam [FL 1182]
Two brothers to the Adaki household, Ehud and Zamir, both in their early 70's, live on two separate sides of the world; one in Israel and the other in the United States.They were both born and raised in Israel and survived by their parents, Mazal Melamed, a Jerusalem-born teacher, and Yehiel Adaki, a prominent Yemenite cantor who was recognized for his radio broadcasts on "Kol Yerushalayim" (Jerusalem Voice radio) in the 1940's. Rivalry had existed between the two brothers since early childhood. As a result in later years, the two brothers found themselves in a conflict which instigated after their father's death; the issue over inheritance, which till this day hasn't been resolved. manara Nivram, Israel, 2005, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBudapest Retro: Genres from 60's and 70's, Part 1 / Budapest retró: Életképek a 60-as, 70-es évekből [FL 333]
Archival footage of everyday life across two decades of recent Hungarian history. Gábor Zsigmond Papp, Hungary, 2003, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 80 min, DVD-ROMBudapest Retro: Genres from 60's and 70's, Part 2 / Budapest retró: Életképek a 60-as, 70-es évekből [FL 334]
Archival footage of everyday life across two decades of recent Hungarian history. Gábor Zsigmond Papp, Hungary, 2003, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 80 min, VHSBuddha's Lost Children [FL 1240]
In the borderlands of Thailand's Golden Triangle, a rugged region known for its drug smuggling and impoverished hill tribes, a former Thai boxer turned Buddhist monk, Phra Khru Bah Neua Chai Kositto (aka the Tiger Monk), travels widely on horseback, fearlessly dispensing prayers, health care and education to villagers and recruiting novice monks for his monastery, The Golden Horse Temple. Once there, young boys undertake a program of kick-boxing, religious practice and horse rearing designed to teach them empathy on their path to enlightenment. Through the boys’ personal stories, the intriguing and controversial character of Phra Khru Bah is explored. His personal cult status within the local community explains only some of his success. Guided by the teachings of the Buddha, the monk reveals his soul-searching journey for truth. A warm reminder that compassion is not lost in this world. Mark Verkerk, Netherlands, 2006, Thai, 97 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBuilding Security [FL 926]
Film about a peace camp created mainly by Israeli and Palestinians peace-activists, but also by people of other nationalities, as a form of protest against the building of the Security Wall. The main argument is that this wall works against peace and security and it will also produce more impovrished and frustrated people, as it breaches their lands and their means of communication and of living. Their immediate aim is to save the land and house of a Palestinian family. The director makes a direct comparison with the Berlin Wall, anticipating similar negative, destructive effects with the one built by the state of Israel. Olof Sjolund, Sweden, 2004, 35 min, documentary film, VHSBurial Ceremony of Stalin / Похороны Сталина [FL 361]
Final tribute to the "Great Leader of Nations". General mourning. Funeral ceremony, Red Square, Moscow. Endless rows of Moscow people, representatives of various Soviet Republics and towns, countries from all over the world on the day of the funeral, March 9, 1953. On the top of the Mausoleum: Viacheslav Molotov, Kliment Vorosilov, Georgii Malenkov, Nikita Khruschev, Lavrentyii Beria. Funeral orations. Laying of the coffin in the Lenin Mausoleum. Closing event: military parade on Red Square, Moscow.Soviet Union, 1953, Russian, 72 min, propaganda film, DVD-ROMBurma VJ - Reporting from a Closed Country [FL 1688]
The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) consists of a group of about 30 Burmese reporters who secretly film the abuses taking place in their country. The footage is then smuggled across the border and broadcast via satellite from the headquarters in Oslo. These are the images that could be seen across the globe when a revolution was about to erupt in the late summer of 2007. Led by Buddhist monks, more than 100,000 people took to the streets to march peacefully against the military dictatorship that has held the country in an iron grip for 40 years. Burma VJ - Reporting From a Closed Country was compiled almost exclusively from footage shot by DVB reporters. One of them supplies the voice-over. From his hiding place in Thailand, he uses the telephone or Internet to stay in touch with colleagues who report on the uprising: shaky hand-held images of emergency deliberations by protesters, of the crowd being dispersed, of monks and civilians getting knocked down. Their cameras hidden in bags or clenched under their armpits, the DVB reporters risk their lives to take the viewer right into the heat of the turmoil. Anders Østergaard, Denmark, 2008, Burmese/Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBushamn's Secret [FL 1346]
When South African filmmaker Rehad Desai travels to the Kalahari to investigate global interest in ancient Bushmen knowledge, he meets Jan van der Westhuizen, a fascinating Khomani San traditional healer. Jan’s struggle to live close to nature is hampered by centuries of colonial exploitation of the San Bushmen and of their land. Unable to survive as they once did hunting and gathering, the Khomani now live in a state of poverty that threatens to see the last of this community forever. One plant could make all the difference. Hoodia, a cactus used by Bushmen for centuries to suppress appetite, has caught the attention of a giant pharmaceutical company as a weight-loss option for westerners. It now stands to decide the fate of the Khomani San. Bushman’s Secret features breathtaking footage of the Kalahari landscape, and exposes us to a world where modernity collides with ancient ways, at a time when each has, strangely, come to rely on the other. Rehad Desai, (n/a), 2006, Afrikaans, English/Subtitles: English, 65 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBut the Hour Is Near / Bet stunda nak [FL 656]
The film applies methods commonly used with actors to real people and the world at large. The main characters Erik and Daniel are out on the streets of Riga preaching the Gospel and their understanding of the modern Christian lifestyle. Although friends, they assume radically different idealist and materialist views. The film is a grotesque and simultaneously real story about people who are trying to reconcile fanatical faith with worldly desires in the face of the demands of life in the rat race. “But the Hour is Near” (2004) focuses on contemporary human confusion, phobias and the search for God. The film sparked a lively public debate; fast becoming the most talked about Latvian documentary film of the year. It was awarded the prize of best Latvian documentary at the National film festival ‘Lielais Kristaps’. Juris Poskus, Latvia, 2003, Latvian/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMBut We are Strong [FL 1300]
The film tells the stories of five young women who survived Sierra Leone’s civil war. This documentary series highlights these young women’s strength and their resilience to the horror and atrocities that took place in their home. Sarah Wishart & Jeni Lee, Australia, 2006, /Subtitles: English, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCabal in Kabul / Cabale A Kaboul [FL 1231]
Isaac Levy and Zebulon Simantov are the two last Jews in Kabul. They hate each other with a vengeance and haven't spoken to each other in ten years. The elderly Isaac lives on the ground floor and makes a living by selling amulets to his Muslim neighbors. Middle-aged Zebulon lives on the top floor and haggles with the same Afghans over his illegally produced wine. There is no love lost between them; the two Jews systematically abuse and insult each other at every turn. Isaac is happy to divulge the fact that Zebulon collaborated with the Taliban and bribed them with favors. Zebulon, for his part, claims that Isaac converted to Islam; why else would he be called “Mollah Isaac?” Friends with both men, the director acts as double agent, bouncing between the two rivals, collaborating, refusing to judge yet emphatically exposing the smallest Jewish community on earth. Dan Alexe, Belgium, 2006, Hebrew, Farsi, Eastern/Subtitles: English, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCage, The [FL 911]
The documentary which reflects the real life stories of Palestinian civilians who have lost their land, their ability to move freely and their access to resources as a result of the construction of what the director call the "Colonial Wall" being built by Israel within the Palestinian territories. The historical narrative behind this documentary should be taken with a grain of salt, as it is highly biased despite its matter of fact presentation. Omar Nazzal, (n/a), 2006, Arabic, 27 min, documentary film, VHSCall of God, The / O chamado de Deus [FL 1257]
Six young people with vocations for the religious service reveal how they decided to dedicate their lives to the church. The film is a portrayal of the Brazilian Catholic Church at this turn of the century, in the lives of these six young people. The Catholic Renewal Movement, led by Father Marcelo Rossi (interviewed by the filmmaker), has sharply divided church opinions. Jose Joffily, Brazil, 2000, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCalling the Ghosts / Prozivanje Duhove [FL 701]
Jadranka Cigelj and Nusreta Sivac, childhood friends and legal professionals, enjoyed lives of "ordinary modern women" in Bosnia-Herzegovina, until they were put into a concentration camp, and raped and tortured by their neighbors. This powerful and sensitive film, chronicles the remarkable transformation of these women as their personal struggle for survival evolves into a larger fight for peace and justice. They formulate a mission--to put rape into the international lexicon of war crimes. Their success can be judged by the fact that their very torturers now stand indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal. "Calling the Ghosts" reaches beyond the anonymous "victim" compelling viewers to personalize women's stories and embrace a sense of universal humanity. Mandy Jacobson, Karmen Jelincic, Croatia, 1996, English, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: English, 63 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCampaign! The Kawasaki Candidate / Senkyo [FL 1533]
In the fall of 2005, 40-year-old, self-employed Kazuhiko “Yama-san” Yamauchi’s peaceful, humdrum life was turned upside-down when Liberal Democratic Party selects him at the last minute as its official candidate for a place on the Kawasaki city council. With zero experience in politics and without the support of voters, Yamauchi has one week to prepare for an election critical to the future of the party and his own life. He visits social events, meetings with pensioners, bus stations and stops, shaking hands with all he meets. Can a candidate without either political experience or charisma win in elections? The film presents a humorous view of political strategy, values and tradition in contemporary Japanese society. Kazuhiro Soda, Japan, 2007, Japanese/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCarla's List / La liste de Carla [FL 1224]
Filmmaker Marcel Schüpbach was given unprecedented access behind the scenes at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. In an atmosphere of high tension, prosecutor Carla Del Ponte and her team relentlessly pursue Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić, notorious perpetrators of crimes against humanity. Both Serbia and Croatia — as well as the international community —pledge total cooperation in helping to locate the suspects, but this does not seem to produce any concrete results. And time is running out: in September 2007, Del Ponte’s appointment as prosecutor ends. Moving between The Hague, New York, Zagreb, and Washington, Carla’s List vividly brings to life Del Ponte’s dogged race against the clock in pursuit of justice. Marcel Schüpbach, Switzerland, 2006, French/Subtitles: English, 101 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCarmen Meets Borat [FL 1690]
17-year-old Carmen lives in a gypsy village in Romania, where the men spend their days tying one on and exchanging coarse words in her father's bar. In the evenings, she watches a Spanish soap opera and dreams of a better life in Spain, where the men are romantic and decent. Her plan to emigrate falls to pieces when an American film crew descends on her village to shoot Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. The villagers don't understand a single word of English and laugh in good faith for the camera. This footage is later presented in Borat as the supposedly Kazakh home village of the protagonist, with local inhabitants featuring as primitive caricatures. Carmen's grandfather poses for the camera with a welding apparatus and is presented as an abortion expert. A woman Borat embraces is introduced as his sister and one of the best whores in Kazakhstan. When the film is released, the world press throws itself on the village and jealousy and suspicion triumph. The chaos is made complete when an American lawyer holds out the prospect of a $30 million insurance claim to the villagers. Enchanted by the financial prospects, the villagers – among them Carmen’s father - set out on a world odyssey in search of the offender. Meanwhile, Carmen’s life is taking an unexpected turn. Mercedes Stalenhoef, Netherlands, 2008, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCartola- The Samba Legend / Cartola [FL 1149]
Cartola—The Samba Legend, about one of the most important composers of Brazilian music, is a history of samba and its relation to capoeira (a Brazilian martial art/dance), the Olympia bar scene in Rio de Janeiro, the favelas, and the formation of the famous Samba Schools. Using recreated scenes; reminiscences of musicians and people who knew Cartola; early footage of Cartola playing, performing, and composing; and fabulous found footage of early carnivals and parades, the film fashions a love letter to the city of Rio and a powerful reflection on the construction of national memory and identity. Lirio Ferreira and Hilton Lacerda, Brazil, 2006, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCartoneros [FL 1281]
Cartoneros is a documentary committed to expose the way in which thousands of unemployed workers come daily into the city of Buenos Aires in order to sort and classify the garbage that neighbors leave behind every evening on their doorsteps. The movie, which took two years to film, shows the process of sorting and selling the trash collected by cartoneros that work independently as well as by those who have created coops in order to protect themselves from abusive middle management. The documentary follows the trash through the whole process: from the neighborhood’s sidewalk all the way to the paper mill. Among the many stages of garbage the film also offers a reflection on the relation between garbage and art. Ernesto Livon-Grosman, Argentina, 2006, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCastells [FL 1218]
Castells are human towers, traditionally built as part of large competitive events in various Catalan communities. These human pyramids are made up of hundreds of people and reach a height of up to ten meters. In fierce competitions the different groups measure their prowess in narrow market-places and demonstrate how perfectly their small communities are holding together. This poetic film follows the fortunes of the Colla Joves team, from the small town of Valls near Tarragona. Driven by their rivalry with the other group from the town, they struggle for victory in the final derby. But their high hopes seem to be endangered by a terrified five-year-old, the tip of the pyramid. Gereon Wetzel, Germany, 2006, Catalan, Catalan/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCeausescu Trial [FL 232]
Television broadcast of the trial and execution of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu.Romania, 1989, Romanian, 41 min, political program, VHSCeausescu's Trial and Execution / A Ceausescu - per és temetés [FL 327]
Hungarian TV program "Panorama" on the trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu.Hungary, 1989, Hungarian, 83 min, VHSCemetery Club / Mo'adon beit ha'kvarot [FL 1216]
Poignant, intimate, at times hilarious, this documentary chronicles a social club of elderly, opinionated Polish-born Jerusalemites who meet every Sabbath to eat and discuss matters simple and sublime at the Mount Herzl National Cemetery, burial place of Israel’s leaders. Bossy 80-year-old Lena, a lawyer and judge, and her 85-year-old sister-in-law, mild-mannered Minia, a laborer, have known each other since their girlhood in Lodz. Both Holocaust survivors, they share a history and numerous family secrets, but hold different values. Bound together by fate, they have an intense, often quarrelsome relationship. They are also, respectively, the great-aunt and grandmother of filmmaker Tali Shemesh. More than 20 years ago, Lena was among the founders of “The Academy of Mount Herzl, ”a group whose goal is to “dissipate loneliness in the Golden Years, draw people together and offer mutual aid.” The group’s charter states that meetings will take place even if the number of members diminishes. Sadly, during the five years that Shemesh followed the group, a number of them did die, and eventually ill health forced those who remained to move the meetings to a protected housing project in Jerusalem. Tali Shemesh, Israel, 2006, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCenter, The / Die Mitte [FL 973]
The stated goal of Polish director Stanistaw Mucha is to ascertain the precise middle point of an ever expanding Europe. Though we do indeed get to see our share of maps and markers, produced by many a concerned EU citizen, Mr. Mucha is not interested in geography so much as a kind of anthropology. His intriguing premise is but an excuse to allow he and his film crew to film a real-life human comedy, gallivanting about Germany and everything East, visiting villages with plaques, countrysides with monuments, and townspeople with legends to sell, all proclaiming that the center lies HERE! The joy to be found here lies in its unique status as a road movie without a narrative trajectory, without an ending or completion. It is a celebration of the myriad faces the camera collects and their hopes, illusions, and good-humored resolve in the face of their sometimes tenuous everyday existence. That this journey takes the film crew as far East as Ukraine should speak volumes of not only the uncertain legacy left by the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but the even more uncertain one beginning in the era of the European Union. Stanislaw Mucha, Germany, 2004, /Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChance, A / Az esély [FL 1242]
”I had a bit of a cold, and all of a sudden I fell off the bed, paralyzed. I'd had a stroke... When I recovered months later, I was fired from my job”, says forty-year-old Kata, the most cheerful member of the group. The others – also participants in the reintegration project run by the Pécs-based company UWYTA – face cancer, post-cancer recovery, mental problems or simply ”socialization disadvantages”. After the change of the political regime in Hungary hundreds of workplaces were closed down, and many people working in heavy industry or mining were made redundant. They haven’t been able to find a new job since. Our documentary focuses on a European Union-financed project launched in autumn 2006 under the name ‘Social Change = Chance’. It follows those who joined, their hopes, the program’s daily activities, its difficult and more successful moments. But in the end the project itself is threatened... Klára Trencsényi, Hungary, 2007, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-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-ROMChechen Gambit / Чеченский гамбит [FL 450]
Reflexions on the first round of war in Chechnia. Contains extracts from interviews with soldiers and civilan population, bringing out the economic interests behind the war. The film also contains the images of destroyed towns in Chechnia and scenes of life of the soldiers drafted to serve in the army there. Sergei Bosenko, Russia, 2001, Russian/Subtitles: English, 39 min, documentary film, VHSCheckpoint / Makhsomim [FL 1044]
The West Bank and Gaza Strip have been under Israeli military authority since 1967. Over three million Palestinians live in a nation under Israeli occupation. When they want to move from one village or city to another, to visit relatives or doctors, or to go to work, they have to pass through Israeli checkpoints. After years of terrorist attacks, dozens of these heavily guarded checkpoints have been set up. From 2001 to 2003, director Yoav Shamir has filmed and created an incredibly honest and moving verité record of various occurrences at these checkpoints. This experiential film conveys a saddening series of encounters between the humiliated Palestinians and the heavily armed, often very young soldiers, who sometimes feel uneasy in their commanding roles. But these men are often self-assured, too, apparently taking pleasure in intimidating the Palestinians, having them wait for hours in the burning sun or pouring rain. The tension is palpable when a large group of Palestinian people ignores the order to return and collectively pass the roadblocks. The general impression is one of an endless situation, in which people on both sides are forced into positions that leave little room for human dignity. Yoav Shamir, Israel, 2003, Hebrew, English, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChernobyl Heart [FL 502]
On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history occurred when a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, releasing 90 times the radioactivity of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Sixteen years later, award-winning filmmaker Maryann De Leo took her camera to ground zero, following the devastating trail radiation leaves behind in hospitals, orphanages, mental asylums and evacuated villages. Following Adi Roche, founder of Ireland's Chernobyl Children's Project, CHERNOBYL HEART opens in the exclusion zone, the most radioactive environment on earth. From there, Roche travels to Belarus, home to many of the children she seeks to aid. The film reveals those hardest hit by radiation, including thyroid cancer patients and children suffering from unfathomable congenital birth and heart defects. Despite the fact that 99% of Belarus is contaminated with radioactive material, many people refuse to leave their homes behind. Asked why he would not move, the father of a radiation victim replies, "To leave the motherland where you were born and raised, where your soul is connected to the earth - I would not want to. To move to a new place is difficult, especially in terms of a job in Belarus and abroad." Maryann De Leo, United States, 2004, Russian/Subtitles: English, documentary film, DVD-ROMChicken Ranch [FL 1247]
Documentary which looks at the luxury legalised brothel in Nevada called the Chicken Ranch, 70 miles from Las Vegas and the lives of the prostitutes who work there. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1983, English, 74 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren (Kosovo 2000) / Деца-Fëmijët (Kosovo 2000) [FL 704]
Kosovo in the spring of 2000. Winter is over but in a meteorological sense only. Ruins and pain. The marks of devastation in the sunny landscape. Wounds that never heal, the hesitating, vague gestures of a new beginning. Paradoxes. In black and white, with the broken images of memory imprints in color. Two words: деца and fëmijët, they mean children in Serb and Albanian. These expressions have no place in the irrational dicitionary of war. It is these children, though, who are the most defenceless victims of this war governed by mad hatred. Their suffering has become an indelible chapter of the chronicle at the end of the century, the dawn of the new millennium. Besarta, Violeta, Edmond and Valdrin, Miljana and Jelena are Albanian and Serb children, the film tells their story in black and white with colour Super8 images shot by the children themselves. Ferenc Moldoványi, Hungary, 2001, Albanian, Serbian/Subtitles: English, French, Hungarian, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren Are Our World [FL 1660]
Documentary film about Step By Step, an Open Society Institute funded educational program founded on modern pedagogical and development theories. Based on the principles of democracy, respecting differences, the right of each child to receive quality education this program emphasized the active involvement of families and the community in the education processes. Tom Downey, United States, 2003, English, 20 min, documentary film, VHSChildren in Exile: Recollections of Childhood in the Soviet Gulag [FL 1297]
In Children in Exile survivors of Soviet deportation to Siberia describe their experiences as the youngest victims of the massive crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Soviet system. It is a documentary about the youngest victims of the repressions carried out by the Soviet Union during the Second World War, the children and teenagers deported to Soviet Siberia and Kazakhstan. These abuses, part of a larger campaign of ethnic cleansing, have never been confronted. No one was put on trial, and no reparations have ever been paid. Americans need to know about these crimes against humanity because their shadow lingers over current events. Joseph Stalin infamously said that one death is a tragedy, but a million deaths are a statistic. The Soviet Secret Police deported millions, and somehow the world remains indifferent. Children in Exile hopes to challenge this indifference by filling in the human face to this terrible statistic and monumental tragedy. Chris Swider, United States, 2007, Russian/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren in the Shadow / Schattenkinder [FL 1207]
Many films have already attempted to portray what it is like to raise children with disabilities – from the parents’ perspective. But what is it like to grow up as the brother or sister of a disabled child? Always a slightly in the background, slightly in the shadow. This film pioneers this approach by presenting the lives of three "shadow" children. Three different children, three different stories with one common feature: their childhood spent in the shadow. Caroline Haertel, Mirjana Momirovic, Germany, 2006, German, 29 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren Kosovo 2000 / Деца-Fëmijët (Kosovo 2000) [FL 1069]
In the spring of 2000, Albanian children in Kosovska Mitrovica confess to the camera the deepest pain they have experienced in their short lives: being forced to witness their parents being brutally humiliated, tortured or killed. In some cases, children had to bury a parent themselves. The black-and-white photography, often shot with a hand-held and deliberately shaky camera, reveals the Apocalyptic reality of Kosovo: its devastated villages and half-destroyed houses, where some of the children are forced to live, seem to come straight from a futuristic horror movie. Now and then, color Super 8 images, filmed by the children themselves, since they are the only ones that can see their world as it really is, alternate with shots of the destroyed areas. Ferenc Moldoványi, Hungary, 2001, Albanian, Serbian/Subtitles: English, French, Hungarian, 90 min, DVD-ROMChildren of Congo: From War to Witches [FL 1470]
Over five million people have died during the past decade as a result of the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Few people are aware of the unimaginable scale of human suffering, death, and destruction that has occurred in this vast country deep in the heart of Africa. In the aftermath of this brutal war, children have endured the brunt of the suffering. This 67 minute film documents the plight of thousands of street children living in Kinshasa and confirms the wide-spread accusations of child witchcraft, torture and child prostitution. The film also examines the efforts to reintegrate demobilized child soldiers, displaced refugees, and orphaned children following the eruption of the massive Nyiragongo volcano, near the city of Goma in Eastern Congo. These heroic efforts are finally bringing some measure of hope and stability to the lives of the Congolese people. Dan Balluff, United States, 2008, English, English, 67 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren of Leningradsky, The / Dzieci z Leningradzkiego [FL 1017]
An intimate and heartbreaking chronicle of a few days in the life of a group of homeless children aged from 8 to 14, living in Leningradsky Railway Station. They spend their days begging, playing, sniffing glue, drinking vodka, and missing their mothers. They’ve been beaten, abandoned, used, and discarded by drug-addicted or alcoholic parents, abusive passerbys and inhuman policemen. Many will never live to see their 15th birthdays. The camera descends into the children’s murky underground dwellings or slyly captures a policeman viciously pouring glue over a young boy’s head. The scenes in this raw, verité documentary combine footage of the children and of the Moscow authorities, who prefer to ignore or suppress the problem. This remarkably honest, compelling journey into the hidden world of Moscow’s homeless children was nominated for an Academy Award in Best Documentary Short Subject in 2004. Hanna Polak, Andrzej Celinski, Poland, 2004, Russian/Subtitles: English, 35 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren of the Golden Horse [FL 1265]
Ten-year old Jattae is a so-called "Hilltriber", one of over 100,000 members of ethnic minorities currently settled in the mountains of North Thailand. Under Thai law these nomadic peoples do not have citizenship, and are prevented from farming using their traditional methods. Consequently most, like Jattae, live in poverty, with many turning to drugs and prostitution. An invitation to join a Buddhist Temple offers Jattae a chance to escape such a fate Claudia Pelz, Italy, 2007, German/Subtitles: English, 29 min, DVD-ROMChildren of the Prophet / Kinder des Propheten [FL 1214]
The film follows four protagonists in Tehran during the Shiite mourning rituals of Ashura, commemorating the death of Imam Hossein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad. All over Tehran and other Iranian cities people relive Imam Hossein’s story with passion plays and processions carrying the Alam, heavy, ornate metal structures up to 20 meters wide. The director looks at the Moharram from the perspective of average citizens of Tehran. For non-orthodox youngsters, the ritual is mainly an opportunity to meet members of the opposite sex. A middle-aged woman and her female friends put their energy into the preparation of an enormous feast. Young religious men come closer to each other during this major event, which ends with the Day of Ashura, known for its traditional flagellation ritual. A rare, intimate insight into Shiite beliefs as well as life in contemporary Iranian society caught between tradition and modernity. Sudabeh Mortezai, Austria, 2006, Persian/Subtitles: English, 86 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren. As Time Flies / Kinder. Wie die Zeit vergeht [FL 1544]
Children. As Time Flies is the third film in Thomas Heise’s “Jammed”- Trilogy about families from Halle-Neustadt, Germany. Now the director focuses on one family: Jeanette and her two sons Paul and Tommy, her parents and her youngest brother Tino. Everybody seems to have gone their own way: Jeanette has a daughter, a lasting relationship and a job as a bus driver, as she always wanted. Paul excels in school and football, unlike his brother Tommy, who fights his way through life and struggles to stay in school at all. He has severed all contact with his mother. Jeanette’s parents have moved to the countryside and rarely communicate with their daughter. With them lives Tino, who identifies himself as a Nazi but can’t talk to his father about it. Today’s footage is intercut with material from 1999 and creates a picture of speechlessness and stagnation. A social close-up of an ordinary family. Life as it flows. Thomas Heise, Germany, 2007, German/Subtitles: English, 86 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChildren's Palace [FL 369]
In the entrance hall of Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace there is a board inscribed with President Kim Il Sung's handwriting: "Children are the emperors of our country". Every surface in the lobby is covered with marble. In the center of the hall there is also a huge space shuttle. Mangyongdae Palace opened in May 1989. It stands at the end of Kwangbok Street, a 13-lane artery with no traffic lined with 42-storey high-rise apartment blocks. Children's Palace is a comprehensive center of after-school education for schoolchildren. The visit ends with a variety performance, where a children's choir sings: "We Are the Bodyguards and the Shock Brigades". Simojukka Ruippo, Jouni Hokkanen, Finland, 2002, (No dialogue), 3 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChimera of Heroes / La quimera de los heroes [FL 1473]
Portrait of a white rugby coach in Argentina's remote Formosa jungle, as he tries to build up a team composed of Toba tribesmen. The film follows his efforts to train them into a nationally recognised sporting team. Daniel Rosenfeld, Argentina, 2003, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 70 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMChina Blue [FL 1118]
China Blue is a powerful and poignant journey into the harsh world of sweatshop workers. Shot clandestinely, this is a deep-access account of what both China and the international retailers don't want us to see: how the clothes we buy are actually made. Following a pair of denim jeans from birth to sale, China Blue links the power of the U.S. consumer market to the daily lives of a Chinese factory owner and two teenaged female factory workers. Filmed both in the factory and in the workers' faraway village, this documentary provides a rare, human glimpse at China's rapid transformation into a free market society. Micha X. Peled, United States, 2005, Chinese, Mandarin, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCinema on back, A [FL 923]
A documentary about a group fo three people who are travelling to isolated ares of China carrying the components of a movie theater, which they ar einstalling every time they stop in a place. However, their cinema is not the regular one, for these people also innovate with composition and setting in relation to the whole cinematographic experience. This si a warm film about dedicated people who in complete isolation achieve a very interesting level of cinematic performance.China, 1988, Chinese, Mandarin, 40 min, documentary film, VHSCine-Truth 13 (October Anniversary) / Киноправда 13 (Октябрьская) [FL 352]
Parade on Red Square, Trotsky's speech, German ambassador, Chicherin, other Soviet politicians on Red square, Red Army soldiers, demonstrations, speeches on Red square, military parade, scenes from the air - panorama over a city, scenes from the Civil War, 1918-1921. Trotsky, Budennyi at the front, Kolchak and the White Army detachments, funeral scenes, including Volodarskii's burial. Hunger scenes, starved children, dead bodies. Towns under the NEP, people reading Pravda, anniversary articles, demonstrations on the streets, physical exercises, mass gymnastics. Industrial scenes, parade on Red Square. Steel factory, other scenes of construction. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1922, 19 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCine-Truth 15 / Киноправда 15 [FL 352]
Map of the USSR, factory scenes, negotiations with Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Polish representatives in Moscow. Anti-clerical episode, the removal of icons from houses, mocking parade with priests and rabbis, "Atheist” posters , anti-religious demonstrations, pioneers and komsomol members, the opening of a monument to Herzen and Ogarev, komsomol 'Christmas', carnival, meeting on the anniversary of the revolution, parade on Red Square, soldiers in clubs, reading, plan for a monument to Timiriazev, Pokrovskii, Sosnovskii, and Timiriazev's son speaking at the meeting. Children in laboratory, children in theater. Monument to Herzen. Demonstrations on the streets, schoolchildren. Leaflets, hands pick up newspapers, people reading. Skiing scenes, hockey, sailors doing gymnastics. Warships, army detachments, soldiers skiing. Military parade on Red Square. Soldiers register. Intertitle "Danger of New War". Map of Germany, the map starts burning. German soldiers, cavalry. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1922, 15 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCine-Truth 20 / Киноправда 20 [FL 352]
Pioneers marching, the youngest pioneers of the factory, the leader of the pioneer unit speaks of excursions to a village and a zoo. Village scenes, fields, peasants working. Children on horses. Street scenes. Village cooperative. Posters advertising cooperative. People taking out goods from cooperative. Village entertainment, dancing, a man playing the harmonica. Excursion to the village: pioneers marching along the main street. A train is going, pans from the movement. Arrival in the station. Komsomol members cut wood for the villagers, pioneers help. Pioneers working in the fields, ploughing. Lunch. Reading newspapers and journals to the peasants. Excursion to a zoo. Pioneers marching, young biologists with animals. Elephant. Children. Kangaroo, Monkeys, other animals. Children are playing with animals. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1925, 12 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCine-Truth 21 (aka Lenin's Cine-Truth) / Киноправда 21 (Ленинская) [FL 352]
Worker from Lenin factory tells of the assassination attempt on Lenin. Memorial at the scene of the attempt. Gun with which Lenin was wounded. Lenin after the attempt. Scenes from the Civil War, map of 1919, Lenin's speeches from the time of the Civil War. Red Army detachments marching. Soldiers taking an oath. Lenin's speeches. Komintern session, Lenin's speech. Demonstrations in Central Asia, veiled women march, scenes of unveiling in front of the camera. Children marching. Soldiers, mass demonstrations, tractors ploughing the soil. Machines working. 1921, crisis, hunger, epidemics, Lenin's speeches. New Economic Policy, a fair in Nizhnii Novgorod. Machines in factories and in the fields. 1922-23, news about Lenin's health: temperature, pulse, breathing - presented with the help of animation. Announcement of Lenin's death on January 21, 1924. Lenin in the coffin, masses of people coming to the House of the Soviets for a farewell ceremony. Krupskaia, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Stalin, Kalinin, Rykov, Iaroslavskii, and other politicians around the coffin. Klara Zetkin, Carl Radek. Dzerzhinskii, Frunze, Stalin, Voroshilov, Budennyi. Orchestra, a group of soldiers, pioneers passing by the coffin. Crowds on the streets. Cartoon image of a capitalist happy about Lenin's death and crying at the sight of the growing number of Communist Party members. Street scenes, people waiting in line to enter the House of the Soviets. Workers who entered the party in 1924. Meeting at a factory, new party members are accepted. Delegates of 13th Party Congress go to the mausoleum on Red Square. Pioneers on Red Square. Village scenes: young pioneers distribute Lenin's portraits among village kids. Meeting of peasants and workers, who speak about the union of village and city. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1925, 25 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCine-Truth 22 (Lenin is alive in the peasant's heart) / Киноправда 22 (В сердце крестьянина Ленин жив) [FL 352]
Memorial meeting a year after Lenin’s death. Peasants giving speeches, manifestations on the streets, visits to Mausoleum. Krupskaia's speech. Peasant masses on the streets, on Red Square. Peasants arrive in Moscow, railway station, arriving peasants go to the dormitory. Canteen, lunch is served, people eating. A peasant woman giving a speech about the transformations in her village. Red square, soldiers visit the mausoleum. Changing of the guard. Peasant delegation visiting various sights of Moscow. Further meetings, Iaroslavskii talks. Other speeches, including some predicting colonial uprisings with scenes from various African countries and India. More meetings. Orchestra plays. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1925, 15 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCine-Truth 23 (aka Radio-Truth) / Киноправда 23 (Радиоправда) [FL 352]
Country landscape, local post-office, people pick up packages. Children rush to meet the newcomers to the village. Villagers cut down trees, take them back to the village. People make poles, set up antennas. Village children and adults watch with interest and curiosity. Cartoon explanation of principles of telegraph and radio transmission. A telegraph station at work. First radio transmissions, people with headphones listening to concerts and speeches. Children learn about the radio. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1925, 15 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCirca Oasis / Circa Oaza [FL 864]
A film about a house in the Croatian coastal town of Rovinj that is inhabited by people coming from five different nationalities all with different histories and political opinions. Using cinema verité Bozic reveals the conflicts that arise and how people from such vastly different backgrounds can learn to coexist and live the same roof. Tajana Bozic, Croatia, 1999, Croatian, 20 min, art documentary, VHSCitizen Havel / Obcan Havel [FL 1514]
Subtitled Scenes from the Presidential Kitchen, the film takes us behind the scenes of the political and private dramas of Václav Havel's years as president. It captures the former dissident in a great variety of situations: both in political negotiations and in moments when he is not usually before the media, for instance cursing the stitching on a shirt. Among the truly unique events captured on film is Bill Clinton's State visit to the Czech Republic in January 1994, including the private part of the visit in the Reduta jazz club in Prague. Other events are the death of Havel's wife Olga and her funeral in January 1996, the celebration of his 60th birthday in the Archa Theatre, Prague, in October 1996, the forming of the new governments after the elections of 1996, 1998, and 2002, and the preparations for, and course of, the historic 2002 NATO Summit in Prague. We see Havel among friends and colleagues, with world and Czech politicians, even with the Rolling Stones. In the course of 13 years the crew has filmed 45 hours of images and recorded 90 hours of sound material. A truly unique look into events in a country’s transition to democracy. Pavel Koutecký & Miroslav Janek, Czech Republic, 2008, Czech/Subtitles: English, 120 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCity Killer / Grad Na Nisanu [FL 1285]
Gripping and alarming film, based on amateur footage of Vukovar. In an apocalyptic urban landscape, a sniper looks for prey. The battered walls of the city prove that violence is an everyday occurrence here. In his rush to leave town, the cameraman forgets to switch off his camera. Much to our relief, the disappearing city is replaced with a rural no man's land. The images are turned upside down. It's plain to see: all values are reversed here. Damir Cucic, Croatia, 2007, Croatian/Subtitles: English, documentary film, DVD-ROMCity of Men [FL 1299]
The story of men who work in the remote area of Asslooye in the south of Iran in petrochemical complexes and gas refineries. Saeid Shokrani, Iran, 2006, Persian, 24 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMClose up [FL 1495]
Hossain Sabzian a film lover and huge fan of popular Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, meets Mrs. Ahankhah, also a fan of one of Makhmalbaf’s films. Posing as Makhmalbaf, Sabzian visits the Ahankhah family several times over the next couple of weeks. He flatters them by saying he wants to use their house for his next film and their sons as his actors. He even obtains a substantial amount of money from them, ostensibly to prepare for the film. Mr. Ahankhah has his suspicions and finds proof that Sabzian is indeed an impostor, who is then arrested by the police. The film, however, does not progress chronologically, and the scenes are re-enactments. The rest of the film is documentary about the trial. By becoming the leading actor in the filmed trial, his obsession with films becomes a reality. The film also gives a unique glimpse of the Iranian legal system. Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1990, Persian/Subtitles: English, 93 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMClosed District [FL 646]
"During the filming of the lives of the people living here, I felt surrounded by the constant thought of death," says Belgian director Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd, who in 1996 set off to southern Sudan. For more than thirty years this area has been tormented by war between Arab Muslims from the North and Black Christians from the South, the war that claimed the lives of at least 2 million people. Seven years after the beginning of filming the author decided to edit his material and add his own commentary. With the passage of time and the benefit of a hindsights he is able to to reflect on individual images. In the remote village of Mankien, Vandeweerd has faithfully captured the daily lives of the villagers, from the traditional religious rituals to the absurdly horrific martial training of the local paramilitary units. With the use of balck-and-white footage, the film's powerful composition serves to underscore the ever-present dust and dryness of this extremely unhospitable countryside where villagers are forced to struggle for the survival. During this period they are oblivious to the fact that within a few years their village will be complitely decimated by the government military. Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd, France, 2004, French/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMClose-up / Nema-ye Nazdik [FL 528]
In this brilliant meditation on the power of movies, master Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami turns the medium upside-down and back again, blurring the lines between documentary and narrative film. Inspired by the true story of a lonely film buff who impersonated Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Kiarostami reenacts some of the man's trial and incorporates some footage from the actual event, using the real people involved as "actors." By making the filmmaking process as central as the story, Kiarostami avoids the pitfalls of the so-called "docudrama," creating something far more meaningful. His masterstroke comes when the real Makhmalbaf meets his impersonator. "...we are ultimately left defenseless against the extraordinary power of its final scenes, which are as transcendent--and as shrewd--as anything in cinema" (Godfrey Cheshire, New York Press). Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1990, Persian, 100 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCoal Miners / Gornicy 88 [FL 296]
Documentary film about a strike in a coal mine in Poland, organized and supported by Solidarity members. Andrej Piekutowski, Poland, 1988, Polish/Subtitles: English, 118 min, documentary film, VHSCoca - The Dove From Chechnya / Coca - Die Taube aus Tschetschenien [FL 1019]
Her parents called Zainap Gashaeva “Coca” – the Dove. Born in exile in Kazakhstan, she raised four children and became a businesswoman. Since 1994, Zainap has been documenting what have become daily events in Chechnya: discrimination, abduction, torture, murder. Zainap is a founder of Echoes of War, a group of Chechen women who document the atrocities that the Russian government has committed in Chechnya while declaring war on terror. The videos, hundreds of them, are hidden by the women, buried under floorboards, stashed in the backs of closets and in hollowed out walls, and smuggled out of the country by Gashaeva and others in nondescript shopping bags as often as they can get them out. In addition to the mountains of dusty tapes, Gashaeva and her partners have built a database of information linking and cross-referencing facts about Chechens who have disappeared at the hands of the state police – a painstaking record which they hope will someday be used as a reckoning, and perhaps as a link to find out what happened to the missing. With Chechnya closed to the international media, Zainap Gashaeva is now bringing these tapes to the United Nations and other international organisations to serve as evidence so that the guilty will be punished. Eric Bergkraut, Switzerland, 2005, Russian, English, German/Subtitles: English, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCold Coke in the Days of the Cold War, A / Една студена кока-кола през Студената война [FL 1060]
This is a story of how Coca-Cola has entered Bulgaria during the time of Communist regime in the mid-1960s. Till 1965 the communist propaganda described Coca- Cole as an alcoholic drink of the American soldiers. Bulgaria happened to be the very first socialist country where Coca-Cola has succeeded to break the ideological rules by having a trade contract and opening bottling factories. The contract was possible due to initiative of Mr. Toncho Michajlov, who has made the first contact with the Coca-Cola Company in 1965 with Mr. Alexander Makinsky. This is a story of a battle - the battle between the propaganda type of economy and the free market economy, a battle between the ideological communist society and the enterpreneur spirit. A story about the unknown sides of the communist history and the times of the Cold War. Evgenia Atanassova, Irina Nedeva, Damian Petrov, Bulgaria, 2005, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCold War on CNN, Part 1: Comrades 1917-1945 [FL 250]
This TV documentary series tells how in the twentieth century two superpowers and their allies clashed, and prepared for a conflict that could have ended the human race. Each of the 24 programs features one major topic and may be viewed on its own. The series begins in 1945, with a flashback to the Bolshevik Revolution, and advances to 1991. Part 1: Once allies against Hitler, the Soviet Union and the United States confront each other at the end of World War II. Looming over the postwar landscape is the awesome, mushroom-shaped cloud of the atomic bomb.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 10: Cuba 1959-1962 [FL 253]
In the 1960s the United States claimed its place as the world's leading defender against communism. But by the end of the decade, the nation was convulsed by dissent, riot, assassination and an increasingly unpopular war.United States, 1998, English, 140 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 11: Vietnam 1954-1968 [FL 253]
It was a conflict that devastated one nation and divided another. Vietnam brought a new dimension to the Cold War -- and forced the United States to rethink its goals in the superpower rivalry.United States, 1998, English, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 12: Mad 1960-1972 [FL 253]
With Cold War tensions heightening at the start of the 1960s, the superpowers are drawn into an escalating arms race. The world's safety depends on a nuclear paradox known as "mutual assured destruction."United States, 1998, English, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 13: Make Love Not War: The Sixties [FL 254]
In the 1960s the United States claimed its place as the world's leading defender against communism. But by the end of the decade, the nation was convulsed by dissent, riot, assassination and an increasingly unpopular war.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 14: Red Spring: The Sixties [FL 254]
In the 1960s, as dissent and protest swept through the West, nations of the Warsaw Pact were experimenting with reforms. But hopes for change were crushed by palace coups and, in the case of Czechoslovakia, outright invasion.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 15: China 1949-1972 [FL 254]
The emergence of the People's Republic of China signals a new and dangerous phase in the Cold War. But a split between Moscow and Beijing opens the door for a change in U.S.-Chinese relations.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 16: Dйtente 1969-1975 [FL 255]
By the end of the 1960s, the United States and Soviet Union faced a choice: slow down their Cold War competition -- a process that would be called détente -- or continue an arms race that could end in all-out war.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 17: Good Guys, Bad Guys 1967-1978 [FL 255]
The Cold War takes on a new dimension as the Soviet Union, the United States and their allies become involved in wars between rivals in Africa and the Middle East.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 18: Backyard 1954-1990 [FL 255]
Central America, the Caribbean and South America become the battleground for a test of wills between the United States and the U.S.S.R. -- as the Cold War comes to America's "backyard."United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 19: Freeze 1977-1981 [FL 256]
In 1976, Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev promised to reduce East-West tensions. But within four years those promises turned to anger and mistrust. The Cold War was far from over.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 2: Iron Curtain 1945-1947 [FL 250]
In the months following their victory in World War II, the alliance between the Soviet Union and the West quickly proves to be little more than a marriage of convenience. Suspicion clouds relations -- while a curtain descends over Europe.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 20: Soldiers of God 1975-1988 [FL 256]
For centuries, nations had tried to conquer Afghanistan. None succeeded. But the Cold War -- and an Afghan civil war -- would bring a terrible toll of death and destruction to the people of this traditionally Islamic land.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 21: Spies 1945-1990 [FL 256]
The Cold War was fought on two fronts. In public, it was a series of confrontations and crises. But the East and West also battled in the shadows, as intelligence agents risked their lives to steal secrets.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 22: Star Wars 1980-1988 [FL 257]
In 1981, Ronald Reagan -- a strident Cold Warrior -- enters the White House on a platform of "making America strong again." Convinced the United States is lagging in the arms race, Reagan increases defense spending and proposes a "Star Wars" anti-missile system -- alarming leaders in Moscow.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 23: The Wall Comes Down [FL 257]
For nearly three decades, the Berlin Wall symbolized the Iron Curtain that separated East from West. But by 1989, the Wall was starting to crumble -- and by the end of the year it would collapse.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 24: Conclusion 1989-1991 [FL 257]
It is the twilight of the Soviet empire. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Kremlin loses its iron-fisted grip on Eastern Europe. As events spiral out of control, Mikhail Gorbachev finds his authority challenged from within -- both by communist hard-liners, and by a popular reformer named Boris Yeltsin.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 3: Marshall Plan 1947-1952 [FL 250]
With hunger and discontent plaguing postwar Europe, the U.S. proposes an aid program to rebuild the ruined continent. But the Marshall Plan also solidifies the deep ideological differences between East and West.United States, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 4: Berlin 1948-1949 [FL 251]
Three years after the end of World War II, the Nazis' former capital, Berlin, would once again find itself the target of an allied air fleet. This time, the air armada was working to save, rather than destroy, the city.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 5: Korea 1949-1953 [FL 251]
It was one of the few times the Cold War went hot. The conflict on the Korean peninsula claimed millions of lives, and set the stage for the way both sides would view each other for years to come.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 6: Reds 1947-1953 [FL 251]
As the Cold War intensifes, so do fears in the Soviet Union and the United States of outside influences -- prompting massive campaigns to purge the "enemy within."United States, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 7: After Stalin 1953-1956 [FL 252]
In 1953, the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin creates a power vacuum in the Kremlin's leadership. It also unleashes a wave of unrest in Eastern Europe, as some Soviet satellites test the limits of Moscow's tolerance.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 8: Sputnik 1949-1961 [FL 252]
The Soviet atomic bomb gives birth to a new arms race -- which turns into a space race. But any promising technological advances are overshadowed by the threat of long-range nuclear destruction.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold War on CNN, Part 9: The Wall 1958-1963 [FL 252]
For years, West Berlin was an escape route for East Germans seeking to flee communism. But growing Cold War tensions forced the Soviet bloc to erect a deadly blockade across the city -- a Wall that divided Berlin for nearly three decades.United States, 1998, English, 45 min, VHSCold Waves / Razboi pe calea undelor [FL 1523]
An earthquake, three mysterious deaths, and a bomb attack. The puzzling story of the Romanian section of Radio Free Europe. An original look at the Cold War through the story of the Romanian section of Radio Free Europe. While socialist propaganda had less and less to do with reality, in thousands of houses across Romania, like in other Eastern European countries, millions of people listened to Radio Free Europe in secret. On the other side of the Wall, in Munich or Paris, the Radio personnel listened too. They were hunting any information coming out of the country, meeting immigrants or tourists, receiving secret messages and scanning the Romanian press for hidden hints. But soon they found themselves to be hunted in a more violent way. In Bucharest, a special unit called the “Ether group” was set up in the Romanian secret police in 1980. While the Romanian population was lead by fear, the Romanian leaders were themselves afraid of Radio Free Europe. So they decided to silence the Radio for which Ceausescu employed Carlos the Jackal. An eccentric alliance was thus forged, between a national-communist dictator and international terrorists. They placed bombs at RFE’s Munich headquarters, editors were attacked in Germany and France, and three of the directors died after being X-rayed. The film not only digs up unknown facts from the past, it also addresses the issue of propaganda in today's society. Alexandru Solomon, Romania, 2007, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 108 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMColegiales, People's Assembly / Colegiales, asamblea popular [FL 1287]
On December 19, 2001 in Buenos Aires, after President Fernando De La Rúa declared a state of siege, people took over the streets marching to Plaza de Mayo. During those agitated days, neighbors from Colegiales' as well as other areas of the city, began holding meetings on the streets. Aníbal, an unemployed mechanic, hosted an assembly in his home to resist eviction but after a few weeks of living together, the relationships among the assembly members became strained. Gustavo Laskier, Argentina, 2006, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 64 min, documentary film, DVD-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-ROMCOMECON - industry of nuclear energy / СЭВ - индустрия атомной энергии [FL 412]
Soviet educational propaganda film on nuclear energy G. Davidenko, Soviet Union, 1985, /Voice-over: Hungarian, 21 min, educational program, VHSCommune of Bliss / Kommune der Seligen [FL 1296]
Far away from the big cities and major roads -in the vast expanse of the Northern Prairies- a withdrawn people are practising their headstrong way of life and beliefs. Few outsiders have ever had a chance to get to know more about their communal life-style. The German rooted Hutterites are direct descendants of radical Anabaptists from the days of the Reformation in Europe. After hundreds of years of fierce persecution, having moved about from country to country, they have now chosen to live apart from the modern world. Until today, they have been able to preserve their spiritual heritage and strict way-of-life by rejecting modern media. They still speak an odd Alpine dialect and wear their traditional medieval clothes: the men in trousers with suspenders and the women in old-fashioned kerchiefs. Ιt took 6 difficult years of preparation before the film-makers could gain the trust of the community and were finally permitted to "take the picture." For the Hutterites, film and photography are part of worldly sins like fostering vanity and "the lust of eyes." Klaus Stanjek, (n/a), 2004, German/Subtitles: English, 96 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCommunist Charity [FL 973]
A documentary on China's death penalty and the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners. Harry Wu & Nancy Morgan, United Kingdom, 1995, English, 14 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCommunist Charity [FL 27]
In this investigative documentary, Chinese activist Harry Wu tries to prove the shocking connection between the execution of prisoners and organ transplants. Raw footage of public executions are set against the testimonies of doctors and others involved, in which we learn among other things that during one heart transplant operation a prisoner was brought to the hospital garage, 100 meters from the operating room, where he was shot in the head. Harry Wu, United States, 1998, English, 29 min, documentary film, VHSCommunist Youth Organization's Secretaries / KISZ Titkárok [FL 521]
Interviews with former secretaries of the Hungarian Communist Youth Organization (KISZ) on their activities in the 1970-80s. Lajos Kudelich, Hungary, 2005, Hungarian, 55 min, documentary film, VHSComrade Couture / Ein Traum in Erdbeerfolie [FL 1729]
Most think of East Germany as having been drab, gray and boring. But an underground fashion scene did its best to spice things up. A new documentary takes a look at the perils of creating avant-garde couture in a communist country. Comrade Couture is a journey into the wild nether world of the ‘fashionistas’ and Bohemians of East Berlin. Director Marco Wilms, a former model of the GDR’s fashion institute, sets out to once more resurrect this life’s unique lifestyle, economic freedom, and longing to be different, in the here and now. The film undertakes a journey into the parallel universe of East Berlin’s fashion designers and experts in the art of survival showing how, in the midst of the constraints of life in the GDR, there existed a fantasy world where it was possible to dance to another tune, be individual and even provocative. But this certainly wasn’t something that could be bought off the peg in the GDR. In this parallel universe it was up to you to create your own individual image – with your own hands. This film tells the story of the desires, the passion and the dreams that were tried and tested, lived and performed in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. Marco Wilms, Germany, 2008, German/Subtitles: English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMConcrete Revolution, The [FL 653]
"We are not just good at destroying the old world, but also at building the new one," announced Mao Tse-tung many years ago, and even he could not have forseen the extent to which China is fullfilling his words at the beginning of the 21st century. Most notably Peking, in connection with the organizing of the 2008 Olympic Games, has become one giant construction site. This symbol of the "New China" is built by hand by approximately one million laborers travelling for work mainly from the poorer villages in the countryside. A number of them have not yet received their wages after several months, while their families wait desperately for the money. All of this is part of the transformation of Peking into a modern metropolis with a Western character. Young Chinese writer and documentary filmmaker Xiaolu Gao has succeeded in creating a visually rich an imaginative film essay that conveys the character of contemporary Chinese society, whose polished appearances have been created at the expense of the suffering of the ordinary people. The film is interlaced with playfully generalized passages of the turning points in Chinese history, ironic and bitterly humorous commentary of the other side of the "Chinese miracle." A high-quality soundtrack mix by Matt Scott is also worthy of notice. Xiaolu Guo, China, 2004, Chinese, Mandarin/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMConfrontations in Cuba / Confrontaciones en Cuba [FL 1393]
Confrontations in Cuba is a film in which all the scenes have been shoot in one take without cuts. Hurricane Wilma approaches and the baseball season is close at hand. Despite the tension life goes on in its daily rhythm for Cubans: dominos are played, the band searches for a common tune at rehearsals. The different scenes and atmospheres of the film make up a whole where in the middle of tension and happiness blossoms the Cuban identity in all its richness. Arto Halonen, Finland, 2007, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 18 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMConnecting with Moldova / Möten i Moldavien [FL 1474]
For six years Hagar Lövgren worked in Moldova on a Swedish aid project. She was training home care staff working with the elderly and the disabled. During this time she became close friends with several people in Moldova. In the film we meet some of them. Their stories and experiences are also part the story of Moldova. These life stories mixed with the reflections of the director from a journey throughout Moldova paint a varied, personal picture of Moldova and its people. A country situated in Europe but as embarrassingly unknown in Europe as in the rest of the World. Kurt Skoog, Sweden, 2005, Russian, Romanian, Swedish/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMConstantin and Elena / Constantin si Elena [FL 1691]
In a Romanian village, an elderly couple has been happily married for almost 55 years. Constantin and Elena know that life must end, but are happy with everything that they've had. They fill their days with chores in and around the house, going to church and welcoming visitors, not to mention a catnap every now and then. Everything that these two old lovebirds do, they do slowly: from helping each other get dressed and climb ladders to weaving Elena's beautiful tapestries. Often they sing old Romanian songs at the top of their voices, or Constantin's old battle songs from his army days. Constantin and Elena aren't afraid of death, and discuss it in a practical way. They're proud of what they're leaving behind and happy with their love. But they do think it's unfortunate that they have so little time left together. As Constantin puts it, "With one eye I cry, with the other, I laugh." Andrei Dascalescu, Romania, 2008, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 100 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMConsultation, The / La Consultation [FL 1229]
The daily routines of a general practitioner, in stark contrast with the highly specialized world of today’s medical practices. Doctor Luc Perino is a hero in his own unspectacular way. He receives people at all stages of life: from newborn babies to the dying, and everyone else who knocks at his door with their complaints: a young man of North-African descent who feels nervous and can't get a job; a young Asian woman with an unwanted pregnancy; a woman with anxiety attacks and an uncommunicative unemployed husband; an older woman whose main problem seems to be that she does not feel at home among the other elderly people in her service flat, and a host of other patients. There are as many people as there are pathologies, as many stories as there are pains, as many situations as there are issues. Doctor Perino does what he can, but during many a conversation you sense a certain despair, which is confirmed by a number of direct comments to the camera after consultations. What can a doctor do in a world with high work pressure, unemployment, bad marriages and fragile old people? Doctor Luc Perino may not be perfect, but he is the best guide we can wish for in the territory of humanity in medicine. Hélène de Crécy, France, 2006, French/Subtitles: English, 91 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMContaminated life / La vie contaminee [FL 948]
Bielorussia, a former Soviet republic, was the most affected in the region by the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The film gives us an account of a country devasted by this event, despite the passing of almost two decades since the disaster. The local population bears witness to the dire consequences of both the accident and of the neglect by both domestic and international authorities. David Desrame and Dominique Maestrali, France, 2001, Belarusian, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCooking History [FL 1692]
Military cooks are never mentioned in history books and yet they helped to influence the course of history. Peter Kerekes collected their stories from all over Europe to take us behind the scenes of dates, facts, declarations of war, battles, and peace agreements. The recollections of those who witnessed the European wars of the 20th century provide subjective perspectives on historical events that diverge from conventional history. In separate episodes addressing WWII, the Franco-Algerian war, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the war in Chechnya, and the Balkan bloodbaths, Kerekes lets his subjects hold forth in monologues, prompted by his off-camera questions. Through their subjective recollections, food preparation becomes a metaphor for battle strategy. Cooking History opens up a dimension of history one won’t find in textbooks or archives. The directness of the anecdotes and destinies of the people in this film conveys a sense of hope, longing, and survival strategies in the midst of destruction and despair. Peter Kerekes, Austria, 2009, Hungarian, Russian, German, French, Slovak, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCorridor #8 [FL 1588]
In 1997, the European Union commissioned Corridor #8, an extraordinarily ambitious rail and road system intended to join Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania—neighboring countries that, logically, should already have been connected. The effort would create a pathway between the Black and Adriatic seas, put an end to the wariness between the nations and lift the economic hopes of working-class residents along its route. Or so it was hoped. Ten years and millions of euros later, progress is scarcely visible. An incomplete tunnel in the Bulgarian town of Gyueshevo is used to grow mushrooms and store cheese, rather than connect two villages as had been intended. Threats of blood feuds along the Albanian roadside expose growing cultural unrest. And, despite the hyperbole, proclamations of progress and continued promises made by visiting delegates, train travel between Bulgaria and Macedonia is impossible despite their capital cities, Sofia and Skopje, being just 100 miles apart. In this remarkable debut feature, Bulgarian filmmaker Boris Despodov journeys along the haphazard Corridor #8 to expose the ironies and absurdities of the massive infrastructural project and to reveal three countries whose people remain deeply suspect of each other—and even more so of the European Union. Boris Despodov, Bulgaria, 2008, Albanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian/Subtitles: English, 74 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCowboys 1, 2 / Kovbojok 1, 2 [FL 1611]
The documentary shows that in 1985 Hungary was already experiencing the demise of the independent farmer because of large cooperatives. A problem endemic throughout the world by the late '90s is seen illustrated here in one group of six people. They acquire some cattle from a large state cooperative because the cooperative does not have the personnel to manage the cattle. Once the transfer has been effected, the six discover that they are given nothing else to take care of their new business: no fodder, no grazing land, and insufficient stables. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1986, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 160 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCowboys 3 / Kovbojok 3 [FL 1612]
The documentary shows that in 1985 Hungary was already experiencing the demise of the independent farmer because of large cooperatives. A problem endemic throughout the world by the late '90s is seen illustrated here in one group of six people. They acquire some cattle from a large state cooperative because the cooperative does not have the personnel to manage the cattle. Once the transfer has been effected, the six discover that they are given nothing else to take care of their new business: no fodder, no grazing land, and insufficient stables. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1986, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 67 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCradle of Terror, The [FL 1365]
The documentary examines Pakistan's role in promoting and sustaining the forces of terror under the grab of Jihad and also looks at the role that the Pakistani state played in Nuclear Proliferation under the auspices of Dr. A.Q. Khan. Iqbal Malhotra, India, 2006, English, 45 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCrime and Punishment / Ziu Yu Fa [FL 1515]
An insightful portrait of everyday life of a Chinese border police station. Reinforced units fight crime, though the results are often confused and grotesque despite the diligence of the inexperienced young officers. A mentally ill man calls them out over a "corpse" he has found in his bed which turns out to be a crumpled duvet. Another man suspected of robbery cannot be made to answer questions, even using violence, because he is most likely dumb. The long and penetrating shots of director Zhao Liang gradually uncover human stories from a China that is both regimented and rapacious. This witty picture, whose comedy often has a chilly edge, provides us with an insight into how the social structure is influenced by omnipresent police repression. Zhao Liang, China, 2007, Chinese, Mandarin/Subtitles: English, 122 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCrime that Changed Serbia, The / Vidimo se u čitulji [FL 544]
This short but powerful documentary is concerned with a soaring crime in Serbia during the early 1990s. Made up of interviews with genuine criminals and gang members, showing uncensored photographs where they are fully equipped with guns, this documentary has a strong ring of authenticity to it. Set against the background of poverty and uncertainty in ex-Yugoslavia where especially the young could easily be tempted by the money and glamour of the criminal milieu, this is a real-life story about the generation whose idols were not pop stars, but rather notorious criminals such as Arkan. Desperately trying to appear as tough as they can, these young gangsters do not hesitate to brag openly about their misdeeds, assess the positive and negative aspects of their “profession” or explain the order of the day within the world of Belgrade crime. Almost all of the leading actors of the movie are dead by now, some of them did not even live to see the film itself finished. In fact, the film concludes with shots from the funeral of three men who appeared in the film, but were killed in gang clashes soon afterwards. Janko Baljak, Yugoslavia, 1995, Serbian, 35 min, documentary film, DVD-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-ROMCross and the Star, The: Jews Christians and the Holocaust [FL 795]
"The Cross and the Star" finds disturbing echoes of antisemitism in the otherwise profound and lyrical Gospel of St. John, the sermons of st. Augustine, the writings of Martin Luther and in the voices of the Crusaders and the Spanish Inquisitors, all of which may have helped sow the ideological seeds that developed into Nazism's racist ideology against the Jews. John Michalczyk, United States, 1992, English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCross Inscribed in the Star of David Documentary, The / Wpisany w gwiazde Davida [FL 924]
A compelling portrait of a man in search of his identity. On his 35th birthday, Father Romuald Jakub Weksler-Waszkinel, learned that he was a Jew saved from the Ghetto of Swieciany as an infant by a Christian woman. Now he must reconcile his Jewish roots with his life as an ordained Priest. Grzegorz Linkowski, Poland, 1997, Polish, 27 min, documentary film, VHSCrossing the Line / Hvor går grænsen … - Dilemmaer for mennesker [FL 1070]
The documentary investigates the extent of personal morality and how it stands up in extreme circumstances. With examples from the UK, Germany, former Yugoslavia and Iraq, Petersen invites us to question where the 'line' between good and evil should be drawn. In Iraq, an American lieutenant colonel puts a gun to a prisoner's head, forcing him to reveal his assassination plans. The officer saves his men but is later tried by a military court. In the UK, former home secretary Jack Straw is confronted with numerous examples of violence and abuse in British prisons. But improving conditions for prisoners doesn't bring in votes. In The Hague, the Human Rights Court finds a former Bosnian soldier guilty. Esad Landzo talks from prison about how he turned from a young man, dreaming of an artist's life, into an unquestioning torturer. In Frankfurt, a German police officer physically threatens a kidnapper to save a small child in a case that divides the nation. Lars Feldballe Petersen, Denmark, 2006, Danish, English, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 59 min, DVD-ROMCrossroads - Ukraine and the Triumph of Democracy [FL 1199]
Through the eyes of six Ukrainians, this film examines the history and current events of Ukraine as a context for exploring the even deeper question of democracy and what it means to be - or become - an autonomous, free ,and self-governing people. It is an intricately woven story for those who wish to understand and experience its complexity as Ukraianians do on a daily basis. Paul Tremblay, United States, 2007, English, Uzbek/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCrude [FL 1693]
Can 30,000 plaintiffs from five Indigenous Ecuadoran tribes expect justice from Chevron, one of the world’s largest oil producers? Who is responsible for the unconscionable dumping of 18 billion gallons of toxic oil waste in the Ecuadoran Amazon, poisoning the most biodiverse place on the planet? In a sophisticated take on the classic David and Goliath story, Berlinger took three years to craft a cinema vérité portrait centering on the charismatic lawyers in the U.S. and Ecuador who have doggedly pursued the case against all of the forces a corporation can bring into courts of law. The film makes a genuine effort to show the case from all sides: from the scientists and lawyers employed by Chevron, to Ecuadoran judges, to celebrity activists and humanitarian organizers, to the role of the media, to the dramatic intervention of Rafael Correa himself, the first Ecuadoran president to sympathize with the Indigenous point of view. In a tale that spans the globe, Crude looks beyond compassion for the disenfranchised and the corruption of those in power to ask how justice itself is being defined in the twenty-first century. Joe Berlinger, United States, 2009, English, 104 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCrude Awakening: The Oil Crash, A [FL 1255]
OilCrash, produced and directed by award-winning European journalists and filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack, tells the story of how our civilization’s addiction to oil puts it on a collision course with geology. Compelling, intelligent, and highly entertaining, the film visits with the world’s top experts and comes to a startling, but logical conclusion – our industrial society, built on cheap and readily available oil, must be completely re-imagined and overhauled. Basil Gelpke, Ray McCormack, Switzerland, 2007, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCrude Impact [FL 1162]
An exploration of the interconnection between human domination of the planet and the discovery and use of oil. This documentary exposes our deep-rooted dependency on the availability of fossil fuel energy and examines the future implications of peak oil — the point in time when the amount of petroleum worldwide begins a steady, inexorable decline. Journeying from the West African delta to the heart of the Amazon rainforest, from Washington to Shanghai, from early Man to the unknown future, CRUDE IMPACT chronicles the collision of our insatiable appetite for oil with the rights and livelihoods of indigenous cultures, other species and the planet itself. James Jandak Wood, United States, 2006, English, 98 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCry from the Grave, A [FL 947]
The film tells the story of the Srebrenica massacre of 1995, in which the Bosnian Serb army killed an estimated 7,000 Bosnian Muslims. A Cry from the Grave tells the story of the Srebrenica massacre of 1995, in which the Bosnian Serb army killed an estimated 7,000 Bosnian Muslims. It follows hour by hour the story of the killings. Through the testimony of survivors and relatives of those who died it explores the pain felt when no one is brought to justice.There are interviews with investigators from the UN-sponsored court at The Hague and from the UN special prosecutor. But the underlying message of the film is bleak indeed - no matter what is done, it will never be enough. The documentary was been shown at the UN, and it was used during a war crimes trial at The Hague. Leslie Woodhead, United Kingdom, 1999, 104 min, documentary film, VHSCséplő Gyuri [FL 1493]
This situational documentary tells the saga of an intelligent, ambitious young Gypsy man who, without almost any schooling, goes from his isolated village to the capital, Budapest to find work. He studies and works but finds himself constantly discriminated against due to his ethnicity. Finally, he decides to return home but realizes that the time away has changed him considerably and his old life has become a stranger to him. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1978, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 103 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCuba Rebellion / Cuba Rebelion! [FL 1728]
Cuba RebelioN! is a documentary about Cuban underground punk-rock and metal musicians who rebel against the Castro-regime. It shows the daily struggle of artists who dare to make a statement with their songs. One of these musicians is Gorki Luis Águila Carrasco, from the punk-rock band Porno Para Ricardo. With anti-communist songs like ‘El Commandante’ and ‘El Cake’ the band became very popular in Cuba. In 2003, when Gorki had just produced an award-winning video and was announced as the third most popular rockstar in Cuba, he was suddenly arrested on charges of drug trafficking. Human Rights organisations say that his arrest is just a way to silence him for political reasons. After two years Gorki was released, but he is still blacklisted. The documentary also follows Porno Para Ricardo, the metalband Escape and the rap/rock band QVA Libre, featuring concert footage and interviews with these musicians. It shows the painful reality of artists who can’t express themselves publicly. Dutch filmmakers and musicians Alessio Cuomo and Sander de Nooij went to Cuba with their camera and their guitars and illegally filmed the rise of a new generation of young artists who want to make a change with their music, even at the risk of imprisonment. Alessio Cuoma, Sander de Nooij, Netherlands, 2008, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCure, The / Kuracja [FL 1067]
The imposing building of baroque grandeur is a temporary resting-place: a spa named Ciechocinek – very well known all across Poland. The guests stay here for a few days or weeks, far from their everyday life, their relatives and friends: here they are supposed to recuperate and heal, far from everything that made them sick. Here there’s no time-clock – life has a different rhythm defined by sleeping, eating, healing. The camera follows the summer-guests through the foyers of the spa, through the parks; watches them sitting on the benches – observed observers. Extremely long takes and the absence of a musical score or comment fit well with the quiet of the place. But even when it sometimes seems that nothing is happening, life has not stopped – on the contrary, it demands its due. The process of healing can also be seen during activities: people flirt, dance and celebrate – and, yes, also drink and quarrel. This is how this life – seemingly removed from normality – nevertheless mirrors what happens beyond the green lawns and avenues. Maciej Cuske, Poland, 2004, Polish/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMCurse of the Hedgehog, The / Blestemul ariciului [FL 516]
ollows the life of an extended Roma family for a whole year. They belong to the “Baesi” group of Roma and live in extreme poverty. The filmmaker accompanied them on the way from their dwelling place in the mountains to the lowland villages, where they try to trade handmade goods for food or money. These winter tours are survival trips for them, as they have no other income whatsoever. However, the film is more than the story of their struggle to survive. During the 100 minutes, it becomes clear why they refuse to work the land and how they relate to the Romanian shepherds, and to the rich Baesi from their village whom they call “businessmen,” who make large fortunes from selling fake rings abroad. Mythological thinking comes into play in their everyday life, along with their Christian Orthodox religiousness. This enables a better understanding of the absurdities and the pain that fill the lives of these people on the fringe of society. Through wit and humour, they survive, but also with a lot of cursing. Dumitru Budrala, Romania, 2004, Romanian, 93 min, documentary film, VHSCycles of the Mental Machine, The [FL 1294]
This 57 minute-documentary film aims at telling about the social and musical destiny of Detroit, from Blues, to Gospel, to Rhythm and Blues, to Jazz, to techno. Within the maze of this city, which bares the marks of its different periods of peak, decline and rebirth... with "The Electrifying Mojo's" itinerary, the passer, the brilliant unifier of all styles, the creator of techno philosophy and Mad Mike the legendary creator of the first independent label Underground resistance, and the brilliant DJ and producer Carl Craig. Jacqueline Caux, United States, 2006, English/Subtitles: French, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDaddy and Lili Marlene / Taticek a Lili Marlen [FL 1450]
The life of each of us is unique and unrepeatable. The cycle “ Private Century ” tells authentic stories based on private family film archives. The “Private Century ” shows the history as a set of intimate human stories. Their intensity can affect also others because the essential events take place in every single one of our lives. “Daddy and Lili Marlene” is a lose sequel to “the King of Velichovky” part of the series. The story is narrated from the point of view of little Eva who recollects her memories of Velichovky and her parents: daddy and Lili. Life was captured on private archive films in 30’s and 40’s of the last century. Jan Sikl, Czech Republic, 2005, Czech/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDamned, The / Prokleti [FL 1217]
Filmed in Congo, the documentary investigates a custom which connects evil and witchcraft by labeling unwanted children as possessed by the devil. Exorcisms are performed on such children and if they fail, the children are banished from the community and become homeless. Hundreds of them live on the streets of today's Kinshasa, with no way to survive except by begging or petty theft. The journey into the dark heart of the black continent leads through various characters who manage to make a profitable business out of this hellish medieval drama. The viewer becomes witness not only to bizarre stories from the lives of children, but also to an incredible array of characters. Portraits of shamans and modern-day exorcists gradually reveal the mechanisms of a system that feeds on poverty and desperation. Damnation turns out to be profitable scam for everyone - except the children. Petr Orozovič, Czech Republic, 2006, French/Subtitles: English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDancing Bear Park / Парк За Танцуващи Мечки [FL 538]
Bulgaria is the last country in Europe where not long ago, dancing bears could be spotted in the streets, led on chains by bear-keeping gypsies. With the financial help from the Brigitte Bardot foundation, the world's largest and most sophisticated Dancing Bear Park was built near the small mountain town of Belitsa, and the surviving animals were resettled there. The film tells the story of the bears and of the people – the former bear-keepers who have been left without their livelihood, and the local impoverished population, who say with envy: "In Belitsa bears live better than people!" The goal-oriented NGO leader buys off the bears from their keepers for what they consider small money. He is happy with his state-of-art bear park explaining the initial skepticism of locals. Yet the ex-owners are not only shedding tears of separation, but have serious insecurities about the future income. Eldora Traikova, Bulgaria, 2004, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 54 min, DVD-ROMDaughter from Yan'an / Enan no musume [FL 377]
A Chinese woman's search for her real parents, members of the Red Guard who abandoned her shortly after she was born. Haixia has spent her entire life in Yan'an and she longs to know why she was abandoned. Through her single-minded quest for her parents, the viewer is offered an intimate glimpse of events which occurred in China in the mid-1960's, Mao inaugurated his Cultural Revolution, including the slogan "Young people will learn the roots of the revolution from peasant farmers." Haixia's parents were among sixteen million students to whom this slogan applied. The indisputable existence of the daughter of Yan'an forces the forsaken children of the revolution to confront the bitterness of the past - a period in which the smiling masses, resolutely looking forward to a splendid future, concealed the unbearable private suffering of so many individuals. An exceptionally personal view of the legacy of Cultural Revolution in China. Kaoru Ikeya, Japan, 2001, /Subtitles: English, 120 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDavid the Tolhildan / David der Tolhildan [FL 1139]
This film is a portrait of David Rouiller, a young Swiss man who joined the Kurdish freedom movement six years ago. Rouiller, the son of a university Professor and a former President of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, gave up a comfortable and safe existance in Switzerland, and the amenities of a Western lifestyle, to commit his life and strength to the ideals of the Kurdish freedom fight. Is he an adventurer, a dreamer, an idealist, a hero? Is his commitment visionary or illusionary? The film, "David the Tolhildan" encourages viewers to confront their own outlook on oppression, respect, human dignity, freedom, and violence. It also provides an impressive, realistic and up-to-date view of the current situation of the Kurdish freedom movement. Mano Khalil, Switzerland, 2006, German, French, Kurdish/Subtitles: English, 54 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDay I Will Never Forget, The [FL 80]
As many as 100 - 140 million women worldwide have been subjected to female circumcision, a practice that dates back to ancient Egypt and which can be found in many traditional cultures today. It is estimated that as many as two million young girls undergo this painful and life threatening operation every year. Set in Kenya, the film explores the tradition of female circumcision in both Kenyan society and among the large group of Somali émigrés. Even though the practice is officially outlawed, cultural acceptance in these societies depends heavily on the fact of female circumcision, and the practice shows no signs of declining. Men support it as a way of guaranteeing fidelity, but it is women, mothers who were circumcised themselves, who are often the most outspoken supporters of the practice. Increasingly, young girls seek to defy their parents and avoid this painful and debilitating ritual. Kim Longinotto, England, 2002, Swahili (macrolanguage)/Subtitles: English, 92 min, documentary film, VHSDay of Freedom - Our Armed Forces / Tag der Freiheit - Unsere Wehrmacht Tag der Freiheit - Unsere Wehrmacht Tag der Freiheit - Unsere Wehrmacht Tag der Freiheit - Unsere Wehrmacht [FL 261]
The 7th Nazi Party Congress with glorious marching of German troops during the colorful ceremonies in Nuremberg on German Armed Forces Day 1935. Leni Riefenstahl, Germany, 1935, German/Subtitles: English, 31 min, propaganda film, VHSDead Presumed Missing? [FL 1302]
About two thousand people dissapeared in Cyprus between 1963 and 1974. One third are Turks, and the remaining are Greek Cypriots. The issue of the missing persons in Cyprus has remained obscure to this day. The film investigates the destiny of the missing persons in both sides. Were they killed? When and under what circumstances? Where are their remains buried? Stories of the families of the missing persons are corroborated with statements of the officials. To this day, the fate and whereabouts of the missing persons on both sides has remained an official secret. By following the desperate attempts of two Greek Cypriot women to discover what happened to their loved ones, the film explores the significance of mortuary rituals, and the political lives of the dead bodies of both the Greek and the Turkish Cypriots. Colette Piault, Paul Sant Cassia, (n/a), 2003, , Greek, Modern (1453-)/Subtitles: English, 40 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDeath in Gaza [FL 665]
In the spring of 2003 director James Miller and reporter Saira Shah traveled to the Middle East to record the way in which ordinary children grow up under extraordinary conditions. The main characters in their film are Ahmed, Mohammed, and Najla, three friends living in the city of Rafah on the edge of the dangerous Gaza Strip, Ahmed and Mohammed spend their free time playing soldiers or throwing stones at the Israeli tanks or bulldozers. Their deeply-engrained hatred towards Israel, created by the conditions in which they grew up and fostered by a well-developed system of brainwashing, suggests that they are well on their way to becoming suicide bombers. During the making of the documentary, however, a shocking event occurs. Director and cameraman James Miller, father of two small children, is himself killed by an IDF soldier. Miller becomes another victim of the conflict whose destructive impact on the lives of Palestinian children he was trying faithfully to record. James Miller, United Kingdom, 2004, English, Arabic, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 79 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDeath of Yugoslavia, The Part 1 [FL 280]
Film on the disintegration of Yugoslavia, 1987-1994. Angus MacQueen, United Kingdom, 1995, English, 49 min, documentary film, VHSDeath of Yugoslavia, The Part 2 [FL 281]
Film on the disintegration of Yugoslavia, 1987-1994. Angus MacQueen, United Kingdom, 1995, English, 48 min, documentary film, VHSDecent Factory, A [FL 661]
Director Thomas Balmes follows Nokia, the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones, in his quest to tackle the problem of sustainable enterprise. Is it possible to make a profit and conduct business ethically at the same time? When the film begins, the originally Finnish company Nokia has just hired hanna Kaskinen as an "ethnical and environmental specialist," to propagate the concept of sustainable enterprise within the company. Apparently, Nokia managers are still quite unfamiliar with the phenomenon. Director Balmes follows Kaskinen and her English advisor to China, where they visit and inspect a number of Nokia suppliers. The filmmakers's direct cinema style mercilessly records the discomfort among the British managers, who walk the tightrope between profit and law. The executives' initial frankness changes when they find out that the film is not solely intended for internal use. By this time, though, we are already haunted by images of factory girls on as assemby line, putting together adapters day in and day out for less than the required minimum wage. Thomas balmes, Finland, 2004, Finnish, Macedonian/Subtitles: English, 79 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDefeat of Nazi Troops Near Moscow, The a.k.a. Moscow Strikes Back / Разгром немецких войск под Москвой [FL 954]
The film is based on documentaries showing Moscow and the Moscow region and people digging defense trenches, defense factories' selfless work, severe fighting, and the liberation of towns and villages near the capital. It is a story about the heroism people demonstrated defending the capital, but it also portrays the scale of destruction and loss. A total of two million troops, 2.700 tanks, and 2.000 aircraft were engaged in the mortal combat near Moscow in late 1941. The battle of Moscow was Hitler's first defeat. By pushing Nazi troops back by 150 to 400 kilometers, the Red Army staved off the threat on the Soviet capital and it also drastically changed the situation on the front. Leonid Varlamov, Ilya Kopalin, Soviet Union, 1942, Russian, 58 min, war reports, DVD-ROMDemocracy isn't built on demonstrators' bodies [FL 927]
Documentary movie made by a group of Israeli left-wing activists. Its starting point is a demonstration of its members against the security wall in the occupied territories. It consisted of an attempt to breach it, but ran into the harsh response of the Israeli Army and one of the demonstrators was shot. The authors of the film use the response of the media and of the politicians to the footage of their friend's shooting as a motif to discuss the importance of a left-wing alliance in Israel against the political establishment and against the army that would provide enough civil opposition in order to stop and reverse the building of the wall. The main message is that the security wall just encourages more and more lack of transparency and increases violence rather than bringing democracy and security. David Masi, Israel, 2004, Hebrew, 33 min, documentary film, VHSDeserter / Дезертир [FL 448]
A young soldier drafted to serve in Chechnia deserts from the army. He shares his army experiences in front of the camera, still living in illegality and hoping for a pardon. Sergei Bosenko, Russia, 2001, Russian/Subtitles: English, 31 min, documentary film, VHSDestination Nowa Huta! / Kierunek – Nowa Huta! [FL 1732]
Andrzej Munk’s first short documentaries evolved from social realist pieces to personal artistic statements, captivatingly combining lyricism and satire. This film is a model propaganda poster of the Polish cinema of the Stalinist era, glorifying the giant construction of the steel works and town of Nowa Huta. The treatment of the workers is self-consciously “heroicizing,” emphasizing muscled bodies against the skyline. Andrzej Munk, Poland, 1951, Polish/Subtitles: English, 13 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDetour Calcutta / DÉTOUR PAR CALCUTTA [FL 946]
One day, the director meets a friend of the mayor of Calcutta who asks him: "You're a film maker, aren't you? Why don't you make a film about our mayor?!" That is how the film was born. Originally planned as a simple portrait of Calcutta's mayor, it gradually becomes - through various difficulties met on location (bureaucracy, the director's preconceived ideas, heat) - an essay on tinkering about, and chaos, and a reflection on the documentary genre. In this shooting diary, the director speaks in first person voiceover, without trying to hide what's off camera. On the contrary: that's where he points his lens, looking for a good subject, because his main character - the mayor - disappears after the first third of the shoot. We are taken through an Indian sub-continent metropolis of 17 million inhabitants, led by astonishing chances which the director - a little Swiss - reorganizes in his own style, so that his beautiful escape becomes ours too. François Rossier, Switzerland, 2004, 50 min, art documentary, VHSDevils Don't Dream! [FL 362]
A film about Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, elected President of Guatemala, overthrown and chased out of the country four years later by a CIA-orchestrated coup. Andreas Hoessli, Switzerland, 1995, German/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDevil's Miner, The / Devil's Miner, The [FL 1115]
The Devil's Miner follows two brothers, 14-year-old Basilio and 12-year-old Bernardino, who live in poverty with their mother in the mountains of Bolivia. They work long shifts in the Cerro Rico silver mines, braving deadly conditions to earn enough money to attend school.Through the children's eyes, we encounter the sixteenth century mine, where devout Catholics must sever their ties with God each time they enter the shafts, because of the ancient belief that the devil, as represented in the hundreds of statues constructed in the tunnels, determines the fate of all who work there.Raised without a father, the boys assume many adult responsibilities and must work to afford the clothing and supplies vital to their education. Basilio believes only the mountain devil's generosity will allow them to earn enough money to continue the new school year. Without an education, the brothers have no chance to escape their destiny in the silver mines. Richard Ladkani, Kief Davidson, United States, 2005, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 82 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDevil's Wind, The [FL 1363]
India was the romantic literary muse of the famous 19th century English writer Rudyard Kipling. Out of this romance came his most famous book 'Kim' whose central is an English boy, disguised as an Indian, who spies for his British masters against Russian designs to conquer India. This was a tale of imperialism, knowledge and power that gave universal recognition to the term Great Game and also endowed the British Raj's intelligence service and its mapmakers with an adventurous mystique, in their shadowy game of domination with the Russian empire in 19th century Central Asia. This was the playing field of the Great Game; a vast swathe of land that stretched from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet in the East to Ashkabad, the capital of what was then Russian Turkistan in the West. This distance of several thousand kilometers, following ancient caravan trails, encompassed the great mountain ranges of the Pamirs and the Himalayas, great rivers like the Indus and the Oxus, the world's highest passes, grassy and sandy steppes and salt marshes, great lakes, remote cities and fierce and indestructible people. In this film, Iqbal Malhotra follows in the footsteps of Kipling's Great Gamers' and tries to juxtapose the lessons of the past with the reality of the present. The result is an unusual travelogue about Central Asia set in the backdrop of history and politics. The film captures unusual images of this region that are interconnected to one another and transcends the boundaries of time. Iqbal Malhotra, India, 2007, English, 46 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDinka Diaries [FL 1589]
Dinka Diaries tells the story of some of America's most recent arrivals: Sudanese refugees who would have never dreamt a few years ago that they'd be living in America. Over the course of ten months, the film follows the lives of three Sudanese refugees who resettle in the Philadelphia area and adjust to the new American culture and way of life. Dinka Diaries represents an important attempt to empower refugees by giving them the opportunity to represent themselves and their experiences through film. Filmon Mebrahtu, United States, 2005, English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDinner with the President [FL 1594]
Dictator, democrat, defender or dummy - what do Pakistanis really think of President Musharraf? From the middle classes to the mullahs and Musharraf himself, this insightful and timely documentary from acclaimed film-maker Sabiha Sumar explores issues of political power and human rights in Pakistan, considered geopolitically to be one of the most important, and troubled, countries in the world. Sabiha Sumar, Sachithanandam Sathananthan, Pakistan, 2007, Urdu/Subtitles: English, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDirected by Andrei Tarkovsky / Regi Andrej Tarkovskij [FL 297]
This documentary on Andrei Tarkovsky was made by the co-editor of his last movie "The Sacrifice". Michal Leszcylowski interviews Tarkovsky, considered the most important and influential Soviet director of the post-World War II era. Interviews with his widow in addition to television interviews with the legendary director give an insight into the vision and inspirations for his films. Michal Leszczylowski, Sweden, 1988, Russian/Subtitles: English, 102 min, documentary film, VHSDisowned / Kitagadottak [FL 385]
The story of an extended (mostly Roma) family living in Northern Hungary, near the Slovak border. The starting-point of the family story is an old photo which suggests that they might have been of aristocratic origin. Following the different branches of the family tree, searching for ancestors together with the characters, the filmmakers interview family members leading different ways of life, as the family includes miners, musicians and farmers. This social and cultural 'in-betweenness' determines their life: where do they belong, with whom they can identify, what family stories will they pass on to the next generations? Edit Kőszegi, Péter Szuhay, Hungary, 2000, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 93 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDissident: Oswaldo Paya and the Varela Project [FL 1433]
The 20-minute documentary portrays a grassroots pro-democracy movement -- the Varela Project -- struggling to peacefully advance human and political rights in Cuba. Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, leader of the movement, shares his uncensored story of this civic campaign, which calls for a referendum on open elections, freedom of speech, freedom for political prisoners and free enterprise. Heidi Ewing, United States, 2003, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 20 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDivine Nubia / Un Dia Na Vida de Uma Estrela [FL 1132]
A day in the life of Divine Nubia, a transexual in Rio aspiring to be a rich and famous star. Ricky Mastro, Brazil, 2006, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 20 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDivorce Iranian Style [FL 1054]
Hilarious, tragic, stirring, this fly-on-the-wall look at several weeks in an Iranian divorce court provides a unique window into the intimate circumstances of Iranian women’s lives. Following Jamileh, whose husband beats her; Ziba, a 16 year old trying to divorce her 38 year old husband; and Maryam, who is desperately fighting to gain custody of her daughters, this deadpan chronicle showcases the strength, ingenuity, and guile with which they confront biased laws, a Kafkaesque administrative system, and their husbands’ and families’ rage, to win their divorces. Longinotto and her Iranian co-director Ziba Mir-Hosseini spend several weeks following the complainants in and outside of court as they go to great lengths to convince the patient judge to free them. Dispelling images of Iran as a country of war, hostages, and “fatwas”, and Iranian women as passive victims of a terrible system, this film is a subtle, fascinating look at women’s lives in Iran. Kim Longinotto, Ziba Mir-Hosseini, United Kingdom, 1998, /Subtitles: English, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDmitrii Likhachev: I Recall / Дмитрий Лихачев: я вспоминаю [FL 340]
Academic Dmitrii Likhachev tells his life story, starting from childhood before World War I, university years, his imprisonment in the Solovki labor camp, release, later years of work and final academic acceptance and success. The film includes extracts from a non-fiction film "Solovki" (1927). V. Vinogradov, Soviet Union, 1988, Russian, 70 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDocu - Zsolt Csalog Speaks / Doku - Csalog Zsolt beszél [FL 1655]
A documentary portrait of renowned ethnologist and sociologist Zsolt Csalog. He talks about friends, lovers, and politics. Istvan Javor, Hungary, 1999, Hungarian, 105 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDoes Gandhi Matter? [FL 1511]
Produced by the Public Diplomacy Division of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, this film searches for the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi in today's Indian society and not only. A series of interviews with prominent public figures, students, passers by and tourists, the documentary shows interesting views on how Gandhi's heritage lives on in the 21st century. Manoj Raghuvanshi, India, 2008, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 31 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDon’t Get Me Wrong / Nu te supara, dar… [FL 1547]
"How do you stop the rain?" one of the patients in a psychiatric hospital in Romania repeatedly asks his discussion partner. The latter explains that he is in close touch with God and that he is a supernatural being. But his inquiring friend is not easily convinced. Both men suffer from schizophrenia and spend their days in the clinic endlessly repeating the same discussions. Other patients keep themselves busy by compulsively moving pebbles, staring at liquid projections on the wall, or patiently caring for fellow patients. Without comment, the camera registers everything, pausing at the details: water dripping from the shower head in the bare white-tiled bathroom, a drainpipe attached to the outer wall, the reflection of the air in the puddles in the concrete courtyard. Days go by filled with routine and endless conversations about life, death, God, and the weather forecast. What is divine and what is not? Who brings and who stops the rain? What is normal and what is not? In a contemplative and refined way the film follows the daily life of a community that shows profound humaneness in an inhuman setting. Adina Pintilie, Romania, 2007, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDonkey in Lahore [FL 1600]
Donkey in Lahore tells the real life tale of Brian, an Australian Goth whose skills as a puppeteer takes him on a journey that transcends borders, religion and love. While visiting Lahore in Pakistan to perform at a puppet festival, Brian meets Amber, 17. Ten years Brian's junior, Amber doesn't seem a likely match for this tear-away Goth. She's a devout Muslim and still lives at home with her tight-knit family. Yet in a whirlwind two-week romance during which the pair are never alone together, they fall in love. Over the next two years, Brian and Amber continue their relationship by correspondence. Brian converts to Islam in order to be accepted by Amber's family and so that he can marry her. Brian's struggle to marry Amber is fraught as he battles the Australian immigration system, costly trips between the two countries, his own religious conversion, lifestyle changes and last but not least the stern disapproval of Amber's parents! What unfolds is a real life Romeo and Juliet tale that spans the globe, a captivating story of love that borders on obsessive. From Brisbane to Lahore, from Christianity to Islam, can these star-cross'd lovers live happily ever after? Faramarz K. Rahber, Australia, 2008, English, Arabic, Urdu/Subtitles: English, 117 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDon't Fence Me In: Major Mary and the Karen Refugees from Burma [FL 1452]
The film chronicles the life of 70-year-old freedom fighter Major Mary On and her people's struggle for self-determination. Major Mary's charismatic storytelling is accompanied by rare, clandestine footage smuggled out of the refugee camps along the border between Burma and Thailand. The film reveals the Karen refugees' spirit and determination to survive as political and historical forces conspire against them. Ruth Gumnit, United States, 2004, English, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDon't Worry, It Will Probably Pass / Du Ska Nog Se Att Det Gar Över [FL 390]
Even in such a liberal environment as Sweden, coming out in public about one's sexual orientation is not an easy step. Especially when a person comes from a small town, where any noticeable difference is taboo for the local people. The director of the film, who lived through the same situation, in an effort to achieve complete sincerity, decided to give small digital cameras to the girls and let them document themselves. The result is a colorful story enriched by varied music, where changing moods correspond to the maturing process of the main protagonists. Cecilia Neant-Falk, Sweden, 2003, Swedish/Subtitles: English, 74 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDossier on general Vlasov / Досье на генерала Власова [FL 353]
Film introduces the story of general Vlasov, one of the great Soviet military leaders, who fought on the Moscow front, received the highest Soviet military awards and was made “Hero of the Soviet Union”. After being taken prisoner, he created a "Russian Liberation Army" (ROA) of hundreds of thousands of Soviet prisoners who fought on the Nazi side. After the end of the World War II all of those who remained in the Soviet Union were arrested and sent to concentration camps, while the memory of the ROA was completely suppressed. The film puts together fragments of personal memories and remaining documents, trying to reconstruct the scope of the phenomenon and the destinies of the participants. L. Danilov, Soviet Union, 1990, Russian, 58 min, documentary film, VHSDouble of Yesterday Meets Tomorrow, The / Le Double d'hier a rencontre demain [FL 1106]
Jean Rouch among his friends before the premier of his last film " Le rêve plus fort que la mort " in Niamey during the retrospective devoted to the Nigerian cinema. The shooting took place four days before Rouch's tragic death on a road to Tahoua in Nigeria. The last moving images of the great director and his African 'family.' Luc Riolon and Bernard Surugue, France, 2004, 10 min, VHSDown with the masks / Dolje s maskama [FL 857]
A simple but vivid documentary about an initiative on February 20th 1998 to hold a union strike on the main square of Zagreb. The aim of the film was to depict reactions of common people, avoiding the typical style of the TV documentaries at the time, which were mainly focused upon the conflict between demonstrators and police. Mladen Petricic, Croatia, 1999, Croatian, 27 min, art documentary, VHSDr. Todt, Mission & Achievement / Dr. Todt: Berufung und Werk [FL 784]
At the time of his death in 1942, Dr. Fritz Todt was among the most powerful men of the Third Reich. By training a civil engineer, Todt first caught Hitler's attention in 1932 by emphasizing the importance of road building for national economic recovery. Upon taking power, Hitler made Todt responsible for what would become Germany's great Autobahn project. Every aspect of Autobahn construction--its design, aesthetic (to harmonize with the German landscape), and model role in National Socialist labor relations--was stamped with Todt's personality. As was his other great achievement, the building of the massive network of bunkers and fortifications known as the West Wall--described here as the first battle in the war against France. With the outbreak of war, Todt's organization provided German troops an exemplary corps of engineers, filling out Germany's expanding imperium with new roads, bridges, aircraft fields, and fortifications. All of this is lavishly documented in this film, which supplies extensive and often rare footage of Todt's life and work, concluding with remarkable footage from his state funeral inside the Chancellory in Berlin.Germany, 1943, German/Subtitles: English, 37 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDreaming By Numbers / Die Träume Neapels [FL 1043]
Naples has many neighborhoods with small betting shops. The daily customers don’t pick numbers at random: some play the numbers which correspond to the dates of birth or death of relatives, others play the numbers of their dreams. Dreams are translated into numbers with the help of the Italian numbers book Grimas and by the knowledgeable owners of century-old lottery offices. A "reasoned bet" happens, for example, when someone has had a dream about his father stepping into a bucket of water. The lottery vendor takes the book out: father is 81, foot is 53, water is 39 and bucket is 4, so these are the numbers to bet on. When a regular customer's brother gets murdered, people even use this incident to stake their bets. The obsession with numbers sometimes reaches hilarious proportions ("which numbers can be derived from a dream about a cockroach with a limp?"), but behind the gambling, there are often tragic stories. A historian sees parallels with Pythagoras' theory of numbers, which is kept alive in Italian popular culture. Anna Bucchetti, Netherlands, 2005, Italian/Subtitles: English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDreams from the railway station / Snovi na peronu djetinjstva [FL 867]
A film about the life of the children who live, sleep and “work” at Zagreb's main railway station. It tells the story of their every day life and of their dreams, which will probably never come true. Silvio Mirosnicenko, Croatia, 2001, Croatian, 32 min, art documentary, VHSDrifter [FL 1545]
The ordinary life of three young homeless people who live by Berlin’s Bahnhof Zoo station. Aileen (16), Angel (23) and Daniel (25) escaped from the remnants of their families and the confines of their small towns to the anonymity of the metropolis. They work as prostitutes to support their drug addiction. At night, they find shelter in halfway houses, in the homes of acquaintances or with regular clients. They have hopes and dreams and a vague plan for their lives, but one which remains a construction site, much like their world: a universe of transitions, unstable in-betweens, the highways, the back ways, the stores, niches, and places of transit. Sebastian Heidinger followed these young people for a period of nine months. The camera soberly and persistently records their unbearable reality – from shooting up heroin in the station toilets, and looking for a place to sleep, to their contacts with “customers” and emergency doctors. A film about a hopeless present and a future that is not much brighter. Sebastian Heidinger, Germany, 2007, German/Subtitles: English, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDrink to Forget / Bere per dimenticare [FL 1443]
Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and other dictators appear on the labels of wine bottles sold in Italy. “Drink to Forget" attempts to unravel the complex emotional, ethical and legal issues raised by the selling and buying of these images through interviews with various actors including the producers and buyers, legal experts, politicians, partisans and members of Italy's Jewish community. M. Calabresi, P. Heeren, C. Molino, Italy, 2006, Italian/Subtitles: English, 40 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMDrinking water and freedom III / Pitka voda I sloboda III [FL 851]
Drinking Water and Freedom III is a documentary film whose story spans twenty-seven years, telling of the destiny of two stone memorial tablets and a brass water faucet, representing the everlasting change in the political reality of the area. Nevertheless, is the change for real? Rajko Grlic, Croatia, 1999, Croatian, 15 min, art documentary, VHSDrugdje [FL 1409]
There are over a billion of them in their motherland. There are ten thousand of them in Serbia and several hundreds in Zagreb. Can they become somebody more than numbers and strangers identified by the red lanterns here, in the small Croatian town located somewhere between East and West? It is difficult to give a straightforward answer to this question now. The Chinese started to come to this place in 2002. Some of them stayed, set up home and stayed here for good but new ones continually appear who simply come and go. It is easier for the Croatians to accept the former ones; some accept the latter, some do not. The Chinese seem to be glad. They give their children Croatian names and set up businesses. They are most happy because they do not need to work all the time here. They have free Sundays, they work shorter on Saturdays and they can take a month or two of holidays and spend this time in China. Natalija Zupan, Croatia, 2005, Croatian, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 20 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEgypt: We Are Watching You [FL 1575]
In 2005 George W. Bush described Egypt as a country which could serve as an example to the Middle East as a democratic state. President Hosni Mubarak, meanwhile, declared the first "free" presidential elections in Egypt in spring of that year. He neglected to mention that opposition candidates had been barred in advance. However, three Egyptian women refused to accept the arrogance of the government and set up a movement called Shayfeen.com – We Are Watching You. Insisting that genuine democracy could only be based on the free will of the people, they began working to increase their fellow citizens' understanding of the fundamentals of democracy. This film records the successes and failures of the movement in the first year of it existence. We see the founders speaking with ordinary people on the street, at demonstrations and remand centres, enjoying small victories and suffering betrayal and frustration. In a country where state propaganda presents an Islamic fundamentalist movement as the only alternative, Egypt: We Are Watching You shows the inner courage of all three women and their belief in democracy, freedom and justice. Leila Menjou, Sherief El Katsha, East Germany, 2007, Arabic/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMElder Blossom / Holunderblüte [FL 1586]
This film takes us to the village of Gastellovo in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave bordered by Poland and Lithuania. This territory was formerly part of north–eastern Prussia. After the Second World War, Stalin deported the German population and the area was settled by people from all over the Soviet Union. Director Volker Koepp tells the stories of children from the third generation of these new residents. The camera unobtrusively follows them while they work and play. It lets them talk about themselves, show their drawings and read their favourite passages from books. In an agricultural region where churches have become dilapidated and are used as granaries, the boundaries between human dwellings and the wildness of nature have become blurred in this visually impressive documentary. What makes an even stronger impression is the difference between the children's world and the world of adults, who often succumb to alcohol in this godforsaken place. What future awaits these boys and girls, who have their dreams and who have already got it into their heads that they are never going to drink? Will they have the strength to change things? Or will they follow the example of their forebears? Volker Koepp, Germany, 2007, German/Subtitles: English, 89 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMElechek / Элечек [FL 657]
Sairash was an exemplary wife for twenty years. After her wedding, she put her former life 'on hold' and began to create a new one with her husband, building a house with the modest means available and finding joy in every new success on the road to their future together. When the new home was finally completed, her husband brought a new, younger, wife into the household, deciding to form a family with both the women, and their children. Sairash rebelled, however. She couldn't stand the new order and after a while she left home. In rebelling against the accepted order, did she become a bad wife, or an example and model for all oppressed women? Weaving together scenes from Sairash's daily routine with frank interviews – both with Sairash herself and those close to her – the filmmaker creates a picture of her transformed life. She thus portrays the inner workings of a woman who has found a new meaning in life, but whose happiness will never be complete without a husband and her children. The documentary is also a commentary on the current post–war situation in Kyrgyzstan where the number of women exceeds that of men, thus leading to frequent cases of polygamy. Sairash, rebelling against the strong, but unfair, order, still wears the elechek – the traditional high headdress worn by elderly married women in Kyrgyzstan. The filmmaker sensitively contrasts her rebellion with the conservative majority view that families should stay together, no matter what the cost. Nailya Rakhmadieva, Kyrgyzstan, 2006, Kyrgyz/Dubbing: Russian/Subtitles: English, 26 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEnd of Second Class, The [FL 1123]
The End of Second Class is a powerful documentary that traces the debate on same sex marriage in Canada up to the passage of equal marriage legislation on July 20, 2005. The story is told from the perspective of three couples from B.C., Ontario and Quebec and lawyers and activists who sought to uphold the Charter rights of lesbians and gay men. The End of Second Class vividly paints the context in which gays and lesbians fought to overcome a history of discrimination and second class status and sought to persuade both the courts and the Parliament of Canada to affirm their right to marry. Nancy Nicol, Canada, 2006, English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEnd of the Rainbow [FL 1520]
A multinational mining company negotiates with the Guinean government before beginning to mine gold in the West African country, paying the original inhabitants compensation. As soon as the mine goes into operation the multinational provides work to poor local villagers. However, inevitable misunderstandings and conflict gradually arise between the community and the white gold–miners, with the investors calling on the army to quell the trouble. This tribal society, which has for years been dependent on small finds of gold, has barely any understanding of the rules of a globalized economy, let alone the opportunity it creates for carpetbagging. The villagers keep searching illicitly for the precious metal, ending up in jail if they are caught. When the mining company leaves with its gold bars what remains is a stripped landscape and greater poverty than before. The film is not concerned with political or ideological rhetoric; it is more a meditation on how traditional societies are finding it ever harder to resist developed modern civilization. Robert Nugent, Australia, 2007, French, English/Subtitles: English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEnd of the Road, The / Az Út Vége [FL 372]
Eastern Hungary in 2001-2002. One family sets off in search of opportunities, a second one waits for the opportunities to come to them - both families hope for a better life. Tamás Almási, Hungary, 2002, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEnemies of Happiness [FL 1487]
The Constitutional Assembly of Afghanistan in 2003. A woman, Malalai Joya criticizing the Afghan rule, including the oppression of women, is thrown out of the Assembly. Threatened, she has to leave her family and house, too buts she continues her political fight in spite of the assassination attempts. In 2005 she runs as a candidate for Parliament - the first time women are allowed to - and wins a seat as the youngest member of the Parliament. She also engaged in protecting women's rights. Eva Mulvad, Afghanistan, Arabic, English/Subtitles: English, 59 min, documentary film, DVD-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-ROMEssay on the Subject Soon to be Gone / Сочинение на уходящую тему... [FL 833]
This short documentary visits the scenes of mass celebrations and gatherings in the Moscow Gorky Park on Victory day, 2000. Several interviews with war veterans are interposed with short sequences from war-time films showing the grime and horror of war. The director also interviews several younger people who were children during the war and who now recall the hardships of evacuation. The most effective part of the film is the contrast between the dispassionate, seemingly nonchalant tone with which the stories of suffering and deprivation are told by the war generation and the expressionless faces of the youngsters who flock to the park to "celebrate" V-day, turning it into yet another occasion to have a drink in the open. The director Sergei Govorukhin is the son of the famous Stanislav Govorukhin, director, actor and politician, and is himself a veteran of the Chechen campaign. The film is lyrical and sensitive without being melodramatic or resorting to the usual clichés in order to capture the complexity and inherent tragedy of Russia's experience during the war. Sergei Govorukhin, Russia, 2000, Russian, 30 min, documentary film, VHSEternal Jew, The / Der Ewige Jude [FL 319]
One of the most notorious of the Nazi propaganda films. Produced under the close supervision of Joseph Goebbels, it depicts the Jews of Poland as a less-than-human species, living like rats and endangering racial "purity" while also controlling world commerce. Offensive in every regard, the film's hateful lies may seem obvious to day, but this movie remains a terrifying record of how widely they became accepted. Fritz Hippler, Germany, 1940, German/Voice-over: English, 62 min, VHSEternally Aliens / For Alltid Fremmed [FL 373]
Portraits of young people in Norway and France who live between two cultures. The Western culture of their homeland and their parents' Islamic cultural heritage both affect their lives. As a result, they feel homeless. In their homeland these young people are considered foreigners, but when visiting their roots they long for home. They feel eternally alien. The movie talks about life on the border-line between two cultures. What is it like to be an alien in one's own country? How does it feel to experience racism at the hands of one's fellow countrymen? And most important of all, how can one cope in spite of all the hatred that must be faced? Hisham al-Zouki, Norway, 2003, /Subtitles: English, 23 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEva A 5116 [FL 943]
During WW II, a Hungarian child in a concentration camp is saved and raised by a Polish family. After 19 years, the young woman publishes a letter in local papers looking for her long-lost family. This documentary from László Nádasy follows the search for her relatives, commenting on the realities she faced in the camp and the emotions of those involved in her life. László Nádasy, Hungary, 1963, Hungarian, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEven if She Had Been a Criminal / Eût-elle été criminelle… [FL 1220]
This stunning and masterful film covers a lot of ground for its short running time. Initially we’re exposed to a blur of archival footage rushing by at high speed, which despite its pace, captures the insanity and devastation of France during World War II. The dizzying images start to slow as the film focuses on the triumphant celebration of a liberated country. Then abruptly the celebration turns to cruelty as we witness the public humiliation and punishment of women accused of having been the lovers of German soldiers during the war. Their heads are shaved, they are beaten and forced to paint swastikas on their faces. As the camera pans through the crowd the film shows the shocking breadth of emotion present: from the shame of the victims to the hatred and joy in the eyes of the perpetrators, it is evident that the atrocities of the war lived on long after Hitler’s armies were defeated. A quite different look at the liberation of France. Jean-Gabriel Périot, France, 2006, (silent), 10 min, documentary film, DVD-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-ROMEye of the Needle, The / Nalsogat [FL 1167]
A close look at the Swedish and European migrational policy and the living situation for refugees in Europe coming from all troubled areas of the world. The film captures the daily life of four people all marked by the order of New Europe - a man hiding assylum seekers from the authorities, an official at the Swedish Migration Board, a young Bosnian woman living underground, and a Macedonian man waiting for his assylum application to come through. Jonas Soderqvist, Sweden, 2005, Swedish, English, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: English, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMEye of Vichy, The / L'Oeil de Vichy [FL 687]
"The Eye of Vichy" is a carefully chosen compilation of long forgotten film footage and newsreels produced by the Nazis and French colloborators during World War II. From the small town of Vichy in central France, Field Marshall Petain's puppet government worked with their Nazi overlords in creating pro-Nazi propaganda. Seeking to turn the tide of public emotion against both the Allied Forces and the Jews, they skillfully produced a strange alternative hsitory of the war years that is shocking and grimly fascinating. French New wave founder Claude Chabrol creates a masterful look at Nazis and media manipulation that is engrossing as any of his thrillers. Claude Charbol, France, 1993, English, French/Subtitles: English, 110 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFace of Russia, The Part 1: The Face on the Firewood [FL 247]
The Face of Russia is a personal interpretation of Russia’s cultural history by one of America’s pre-eminent Russian scholars, James H. Billington. Part 1: The painting of icons, or holy pictures, was the first art that Russia made her own. By 988, the Eastern tradition of icon painting had been nearly destroyed by a series of Byzantine emperors, the original iconoclasts. But the newly converted Russians revived the art, combined it with powerful symbols of indigenous folk culture, and made it an inspiring expression of Christian faith. In this first episode, viewers see how the purely religious tradition of the icon soared toward abstraction in Russia, influencing the birth of modern art in the early 1900s, and then helped legitimize secular political power in the Soviet era. Audiences witness the rededication of a monastery that had been used as a military barracks. They also see an Old Believers baptism and experience the isolated serenity of Ferapontovo in the North, with its ethereal frescoes by Dionysius and the melodious bells that symbolized both power and faith. Viewers then visit the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev and go inside the beautiful Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin at the time of the attempted Communist putsch of August 1991. Murray Grigor, United States, 1998, English, 60 min, documentary film, VHSFace of Russia, The Part 2: The Facade of Power [FL 248]
The Face of Russia is a personal interpretation of Russia’s cultural history by one of America’s pre-eminent Russian scholars, James H. Billington. Part 2: This program traces the growth of Russian architecture from the Eastern-inspired onion domes and tent roofs of the early wooden churches to the sprawling palaces and vertical spires of secular St. Petersburg. Viewers visit baroque palaces such as Peterhof, with fountains and classical statuary that echo the elegant parks of Italy and France; Rastrelli’s famed Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, and his Summer Palace at nearby Tsarskoe Selo. The program also explores the novel, especially the extraordinary achievement of writer Nikolai Gogol, who saw St. Petersburg as a heartless city—a city for parades rather than for people. The program takes an in-depth look at Gogol’s work of literary genius, Dead Souls, an inspiration to the radicals of the nineteenth century, dissidents of the Soviet period, and filmmakers and theater producers today. Murray Grigor, United States, 1998, English, 60 min, documentary film, VHSFace of Russia, The Part 3: Facing the Future [FL 249]
The Face of Russia is a personal interpretation of Russia’s cultural history by one of America’s pre-eminent Russian scholars, James H. Billington. Part 3: Old Russia considered instrumental music to be the work of the devil; and no musical instruments were permitted in Russian Orthodox churches. The imperial court played Italian-style music; but only in the late nineteenth century, coinciding with the rise of the Russian revolutionary movement, did Russian music suddenly explode through the efforts of talented, unconventional composers. In this episode, viewers meet Musorgsky, the genius of this group, who dramatized in his operatic masterpiece, Boris Godunov, the conflict between Russia’s rulers and its people, its reverence for tradition and its passion for revolution. The program then introduces Sergei Eisenstein, the film director and brilliant innovator, who united all forms of Russian art into the new icon of film. His revolutionary cinema of the early Soviet period retold history with such power that the images became more real than the events—challenging today’s filmmakers to use the cinema to continue reshaping the face of Russia. Finally, the program examines how Russia’s traditional and new art forms are influencing the country’s current political process and its emerging democracy. Murray Grigor, United States, 1998, English, 60 min, documentary film, VHSFace of the Revolution, The. In Search of a Budapest Girl / A forradalom arca. Egy pesti lány nyomában [FL 1024]
A young man and a girl on Muzeum boulevard in Budapest, shoulder to shoulder, looking directly into the camera. The above image appeared on the inner front page of the 30 October 1956 issue of Paris Match. 45 years after the photo was taken, historian Eszter Balázs and journalist Phil Casoar set up a journey to trace the young couple and find out who they were, whether they survived the revolution, and if yes, where they live. The film follows them in their quest. Since there was more information available about the girl, she is the one whose path the filmmakers trace. It turns out that the Paris Match image of the revolutionary girl is not simply a record of a moment in her life, but actually the publication of the photo in the Western press influenced her entire life. She had to flee Hungary partly because of that photo. On the other hand, that photo made her one of the best-known immigrants. She tried to become identical with the image of that photograph, therefore in the eyes of her acquaintances she remained the Hero of the Revolution. In the film, witnesses of her life, as well as the photographer tell their stories. Attila Kékesi, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian, English, French/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFace to Face with Communism [FL 269]
This propaganda film, produced by the US Government, portrays the mock seizure of an American town by communists. Scenes show the tactics of communists arresting and sentencing citizens, and the actions of an Air Force sergeant in resisting the communist takeover.United States, 1951, English, 26 min, propaganda film, VHSFall of Berlin, The / Падение Берлина [FL 785]
Over 40 Byelorussian and 1st Ukrainian Army cameramen contributed footage of this remarkable documentary of the fall of Berlin, including captured German footage. Directed by Yuri Raizman. Yuri Raizman, Soviet Union, 1945, Russian/Subtitles: English, 72 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFalling Into Ashes [FL 1348]
In a remote Iranian village a small girl of about 11 is withdrawn from doll making classes by her parents to be married to a middle aged man. Mahmoud Shoolizadeh, United Kingdom, 2006, Persian/Subtitles: English, 9 min, short film, DVD-ROMFalse Word, The / Falsche Wort, Das [FL 1007]
This documentary explores the round-up and extermination of Europe's Roma and the propaganda associated with it. It includes rarely seen archival footage of Nazi "scientists" carefully measuring the features of Roma children and conducting other experiments. This moving documentary attempts to shed light upon the plight of the Roma during WW2.. Melanie Spitta and Katrin Seybold, Germany, 1987, German/Subtitles: English, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFamily Vilakati [FL 1156]
Life is tough for the Vilakati family. Their parents are gone - Dad, dead from the aids scourge which has orphaned 65,000 in the country and Mum MIA and, possibly, also dead. As a result it is left to the two older siblings to tend and care for the younger pair. This is a touching and revealing documentary short, with director Xanthe Hamilton capturing the day to day activities of the family, without seeming to intrude. There is space to for the eldest son to talk about his aspirations for the future, which largely centre on his family but also time to watch the family interacting, all pitching in to run the household. Tough and intimate, Hamilton captures both the sense of tragedy and the strength of the family's bond. Let's hope she gets to paint her portraits on a larger canvas soon. Xanthe Hamilton, (n/a), 2006, 10 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFantastic Airship 1904-1908, The / Het fantastische luchtschip 1904-1908 [FL 1321]
6 experimental short films of Georges Melies. Georges Melies, France, (silent), 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFaraway / Messzi távol [FL 1720]
Kányád is a small village in the heart of Transylvania, Romania. Hiding in an idyllic valley, this community of merely 300 people evokes times when there were more carriages than cars passing by on the road. The protagonists of this film are the young girls and boys of the village whose lives we learn about through the village holidays. They talk about their hopes and fears while living in a world where time stands still. Márton Vécsei, Hungary, 2008, Hungarian, 47 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFarewell Russians! / Isten veletek oroszok! [FL 1658]
The liberating-invading Soviet army sets out to leave Hungary after 45 years of occupation. A farewell with mixed emotions on both sides. Janos Veszi, Hungary, 1990, Hungarian, 65 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFate of the Lhapa [FL 1591]
Fate of the Lhapa is a feature-length documentary about the last three Tibetan shamans (lhapas) living in a Tibetan refugee camp in Nepal. With no other descendants to carry on their healing practices and a younger generation attending schools, acculturating, and modernizing, these "sucking doctors" are practicing an endangered tradition. Each lhapa requested that their story be filmed so that an historical record would be created. Their fear was that the next heir might not appear until after the old men's deaths. Subsequently, with no lhapa alive to mentor the children, the documentary would be used to transmit the knowledge to the next generation. These tales of nomadic childhoods, shamanic callings and apprenticeships, cosmologies of disease and treatments, and of their flight from Tibet during the Chinese occupation in the late 1950s will be juxtaposed with images of present-day life in the camp, current healing practices and shared concerns of the future and the fate of their tradition. This is a touching portrayal of life in exile in a refugee camp in Nepal. Sarah Sifers, United States, 2007, /Subtitles: English, 63 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFather Figures / Apaképek [FL 1648]
Eight outstanding Hungarian artists, all past 60, talk about their fathers. A generation looks back at the father figure that was shaped by war, POW and concentration camps. Andras Sipos, Pal Schiffer, Hungary, 2000, Hungarian, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMfather, a son, a Holy Ghost, A / Otac, sin, sveti duh [FL 972]
"A Father, A Son, A Holy Ghost" is a social and anthropological vision of the aftermath of war in former Yugoslavia. Zelimir Gvardiol employs the triptych approach, presenting three separate scenarios that are connected by shared inevitability and intense misfortune. Three children with psyches that have been permanently altered through intense loss and destruction show a suffering that is simultaneously impossible and true. Part One: The story of a twenty-year-old boy. A deserter of the war in Bosnia and Hercegovina, the young man finds himself taking on the care of his half sisters and half brother after his stepmother is killed by the common father. Part Two: A sixteen year old whose life has been traumatized by both the divorce of his parents and the ensuing war. Part Three: An unborn child is deprived of health as a war breaks out just before his birth, a war which claims the life of his father and forces his mother to give birth in the sewerage. Zelimir Gvardiol, Germany, 1998, Serbo-Croatian, 19 min, documentary film, VHSFavela Rising [FL 1120]
Favela Rising documents a man and a movement, a city divided and a favela (Brazilian squatter settlement) united. Haunted by the murders of his family and many of his friends, Anderson Sá is a former drug-trafficker who turns social revolutionary in Rio de Janeiro’s most feared slum. Through hip-hop music, the rhythms of the street, and Afro-Brazilian dance he rallies his community to counteract the violent oppression enforced by teenage drug armies and sustained by corrupt police.At the dawn of liberation, just as collective mobility is overcoming all odds and Anderson’s grassroots Afro Reggae movement is at the height of its success, a tragic accident threatens to silence the movement forever. Matt Mochary, Jeff Zimbalist, Brazil, 2005, Portuguese, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFear and despair [FL 912]
Short documentary about the wall built by the Israeli army in the Occupied territories. Various individuals and personalities, of different national, religious and occupational affiliation discuss the material and symbolic consequences of this wall for the people living in Palestinian territories and for the Israelis and their state as well. Michael Dwyer, United States, 2004, English, 10 min, documentary film, VHSFestive Nuremberg / Festlisches Nürnberg [FL 266]
The film features highlights from the Party rallies at Nuremberg in 1936 and 1937. Throughout its spectacular sequences--night rallies, torchlit marches, massed throngs and fireworks--the film argues its case for an ever-growing bond between party and nation. Leni Riefenstahl, Germany, 1937, German/Subtitles: English, 21 min, propaganda film, VHSFetishes [FL 1593]
Filmed at Pandora's Box, the luxurious S&M parlour in New York, the film reveals a full range of fetishes; from rubber and infantilism, to asphyxiation and mummification. Several festishes take on a bizarre sociopolitical twist: Jewish clients into Nazi fantasies, black clients into plantation slave scenarios, a white policeman submitting to a black master. As one client remarks: "Fetishes are the eroticization of the worst thing you can ever imagine happening to you." Clients pay upwards of $10,000 a night to submit to a mistress who creates highly elaborate role-playing scenarios designed to meet her client's specific fetishistic needs. Doctors and nurses, naked wrestling to bullwhipping, are played out in diverse theme rooms, including the customary medieval torture chamber with racks, cages and guillotines. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1996, English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFetishes [FL 1247]
For two weeks, Nick Broomfield and a documentary crew visit Pandora's Box, an up-scale house of bondage on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, where clients pay $175 an hour to be subservient to mistresses. Mistresses talk about their craft; a few clients, usually masked, are interviewed as well. Then, the camera watches sessions organized around fetishes: rubber, wrestling, corporal punishment, masochism, and infantilism. Mistress Raven, the owner of Pandora's Box, explains that pain need not be part of the subservient experience: it is, at its root, a transfer of power. After their session has ended, clients talk about how drained, relaxed, relieved, and at peace they are. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1996, English, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFifteen-Year-Old Widows, The / Les veuves de quinze ans [FL 1106]
A sketch for The Adolescents or La fleur de l'age (The Age of Awakening). One of four film sketches on the problems of adolescents facing the adult world in the 1960s. The three other sketches were directed by Michel Brault, Hiroshi Teshigahara, and Gian Vittorio Baldi. Jean Rouch, France, 1965, French, 24 min, VHSFilm Without Title. Working Russia / Фильм без названия. Трудовая Россия [FL 360]
Chronicle of the 1993 October events in Moscow from a communist perspective. The film features excerpts from various news and political television programs.Russia, 1993, Russian, 135 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFinal Solution [FL 1293]
Final Solution is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb/March 2002 - July 2003, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Moslems in Gujarat. It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscient of the Nazi Germany of early/mid-1930s. Final Solution is anti-hate/ violence as “those who forget history are condemned to relive it”. Part 1: Pride and Genocide deals with the carnage and its immediate aftermath. It examines the patterns of pre-planned genocidal violence (by right-wing Hindutva cadres), which many claim was state-supported, if not state-sponsored. The film reconstructs through eyewitness accounts the attack on Gulbarg and Patiya (Ahmedabad) and acts of barbaric violence against Moslem women at Eral and Delol/Kalol (Panchmahals) even as Chief Minister Modi traverses the state on his Gaurav Yatra. Part 2 : The Hate Mandate documents the poll campaign during the Assembly elections in Gujarat in late 2002. It records in detail the exploitation of the Godhra incident by the right-wing propaganda machinery for electoral gains. The film studies and documents the situation months after the elections to find shocking faultlines – voluntary ghettoisation, segregation in schools, formal calls for economic boycott of Moslems and continuing acts of violence. Rakesh Sharma, India, 2004, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 149 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFinal Solution. Part I: Pride and Genocide [FL 753]
"Final Solution" is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb/March 2002 - July 2003, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Moslems in Gujarat. It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscient of the Nazi Germany of early/mid-1930s. Part 1 of the ""Final Solution" deals with the carnage and its immediate aftermath. It examines the patterns of pre-planned genocidal violence (by right-wing Hindutva cadres), which many claim was state-supported, if not state-sponsored. The film reconstructs through eyewitness accounts the attack on Gulbarg and Patiya (Ahmedabad) and acts of barbaric violence against Moslem women at Eral and Delol/Kalol (Panchmahals) even as Chief Minister Modi traverses the state on his Gaurav Yatra. Rakesh Sharma, India, 2003, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFinal Solution. Part II: Hate Mandate [FL 754]
Final Solution is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb/March 2002 - July 2003, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Muslims in Gujarat. It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscient of the Nazi Germany of early/mid-1930s. Part 2 "The Hate Mandate" documents the poll campaign during the Assembly elections in Gujarat in late 2002. It records in detail the exploitation of the Godhra incident by the right-wing propaganda machinery for electoral gains. The film studies and documents the situation months after the elections to find shocking faultlines – voluntary ghettoisation, segregation in schools, formal calls for economic boycott of Muslims and continuing acts of violence. Rakesh Sharma, India, 2003, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 76 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFit for the Streets / Utcaképes [FL 375]
The filmmakers follow one hundred homeless adults and children as they wander the streets of Budapest. What makes the authors' attitude remarkable is their ability to get close to controversial social phenomena: they search for general human values in the behavior and mentality of their chosen characters. All this depends not only on creating situations which seem to be spontaneous, but also on the filmmakers' empathetic, human approach. The film's circular structure - returning to events of certain families' life - reflects the hopeless stages which characterize this temporary way of life full of traps and specious solutions. Márta Elbert, Hungary, 2003, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 95 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFlag-Officer / Флагман [FL 342]
Film about admiral Nikolai Kuznetsov, who headed the Soviet Navy during World War II. B. Smirnov, K. Orozaliev, Russia, 2002, Russian, 39 min, documentary film, VHSFlowers Don't Grow Here [FL 1178]
Much of Eastern Europe has been devastated by the rapid transition from communism to capitalism. Fifteen years since independence from the former USSR, the Ukraine Europe’s second largest country is struggling to regain economic and social stability. “Flowers Don’t Grow Here” filmed undercover over four months and told through the eyes of a gang of Kiev’s street kids - offers an intimate and uncompromising portrayal of young people paying the ultimate price for political reform. Young mothers, united siblings, close friends and sworn enemies form a troubling underworld of society, governed by their own rules, and haunted by prostitution, substance abuse, crime, violence and murder... Shira Pinson, United Kingdom, 2005, Russian/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFlowers Don't Grow Here [FL 1407]
Flowers Don't Grow Here, told through the eyes of a gang of Ukrainian street children, offers an intimate and uncompromising portrayal of the young individuals paying the ultimate price for political reform. A life so at odds with 'New Europe': a childhood haunted by prostitution, addiction, crime, violence and murder. Shira Pinson, United Kingdom, 2005, Russian/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFor God, Tsar and Fatherland [FL 1518]
Mikhail Morozov is a Russian patriot, good Christian and successful businessman. Morozov is a typical exponent of the powerful in contemporary Russia, having political connections, money, and influence. He runs a rehabilitation center in Durakovo - the “Village of Fools” - 100 km southwest of Moscow. People come here from all over Russia to “find themselves.” When they join the community, the new residents abandon all their former rights and agree to obey their leader’s strict rules, hoping to enrich their spiritual lives. Three moral pillars serve as the guiding principles at Durakovo: God, tsar, and fatherland. “What we have here is a society that respects the vertical of power, this is what our country needs most of all,” says Morozov quoting his idol Vladimir Putin. Purposefully restrained, yet cunningly subversive, the film provides a chilling glimpse of the Russian nationalist ideology on the rise. Nino Kirtadze, Russia, 2007, Russian/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFor the Power of the Soviets! / За власть Советов! [FL 364]
Film about the events in Moscow in October 1993 and the future of Russia from the communist perspective. Gennadii Ziuganov is interviewed.Soviet Union, 1996, Russian, 120 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMForever Yesterday - Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University [FL 902]
This documentary is based upon Holocaust survivor testimonies. The rationale behind it was that the "living portraiture" of television would add a compassionate and sensitive dimension to the historical record. his undertaking led to the formation of a grass roots organization, the Holocaust Survivors Film Project, Inc. It brought together survivors, under the leadership of William Rosenberg; academic consultants led by Yale Professor Geoffrey Hartman; and other community members committed to this urgent task. Their efforts resulted in an initial collection of almost 200 videotaped testimonies; "Forever Yesterday" and "About the Holocaust," a specially prepared documentary for secondary schools. In 1981, all the original tapes were formally deposited at Yale University. The following year, with the aid of a start-up grant from the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the Video Archive was established as part of the University's Sterling Memorial Library, an internationally recognized research center. In 1987, Alan M. Fortunoff made a major gift to the endowment fund of the Archive. Dori Laub and Laurel Vlock - Project directors, United States, 1981, English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMForever / Forever [FL 1128]
The Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris is one of the most famous ones in the world, not only because of the beautiful gravestones and the lovely street plan of this necropolis, but also because of its occupants. Famous artists like Georges Mélies, Oscar Wilde, Amedeo Modigliani, Edith Piaf, Maria Callas, Simone Signoret, Yves Montand and Jim Morrison are united in eternity here. The numerous visitors seek solace and reconciliation with mortality at the graveyard. Forever shows how the dead live on, like ghosts in the imagination of the living. Ultimately, a cemetery is above all a product of the human mind. "If we showed the graveyard in its true nature, it would be unbearable," someone says. "Someone left a pen, so he can keep on writing in the hereafter," an old woman observes as she cleans Marcel Proust's grave. A devotee of À la recherche du temps perdu states, "If your life is fulfilled by Balzac's novels, Musset's poems and Chopin's music, you will never be alone." The film also pays attention to forgotten talents who never made it to their prime. And to the more anonymous deceased, only cherished in their next of kin's memory. Heddy Honigmann, Netherlands, 2006, Dutch/Subtitles: English, French, 95 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMForgive me, Sergei / Прости меня, Сергей [FL 37]
Caroline, a young American, is interested in the life story of a russian mariner Sergei, who escaped from the Soviet Union to the US, where he asked for political asylum and became a religious activist, publishing numerous accounts of terrifying life 'behind the iron curtain' until he died a strange death in a hotel room in the US. Inspired by such a fascinating story, Caroline travels to Russia to find places and acquaintances of Sergey and to learn more about the life of believers in the Soviet Union and contemporary Russia. To her great surprise, she learns that many of Sergey's stories were invented and that the truth about him and his life is not easy to unravel. Damian Wojciehowski, Russia, 2004, Russian/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, VHSForgotten Transports to Belarus [FL 1696]
It is the second of the four 90-minute-long films by Lukáš Přibyl, which are a mosaic of memories of the Jews from Bohemia and Moravia who were deported into the concentration camps and ghettoes in Latvia, Belarus, Estonia and eastern Poland. Those were places, which, unlike the infamous Auschwitz, Treblinka, Dachau or Terezín, are not widely discussed, but which witnessed equally cruel destinies of hundreds of thousands of people. Lukas Pribyl, Czech Republic, 2008, Belarusian/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMForgotten Transports to Estonia [FL 1697]
On 5th of September 1942 a transport arrived in Estonia bearing one thousand Czech Jews. Roughly a hundred women between the ages of 19 and 25 were separated from their families who were taken by bus to another, apparently "heated" concentration camp. The terrified girls soon formed various groups in which they gave each other total support. With time they began to act together, like a single, large organism. The optimism. Their instinct for self-preservation urged them to ignore the Holocaust. It was not until 1945, while they were convalescing in Sweden, that they discovered the truth about what happened to their families… Lukas Pribyl, Czech Republic, 2008, Czech, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMForgotten Transports to Latvia [FL 1695]
In 1942, hundreds of Czech Jews are deported to Riga in Latvia. In an eerily empty, dilapidated, fenced-off and snowed-in part of town, they find pots on stoves, clothes on the floor, as if everyone left in a hurry. Then stones wrapped in paper are thrown over the wire by young men held in a cordoned-off section of the ghetto. The notes say: “You will all be killed, like our families. We are the last survivors.” Yet life continues. Some people are sent to the Salaspils camp, where only ruthless selfishness offers a slim chance of survival, but others cling together, steadfastly keeping “normality” amid atrocities. Children go to school past bodies hanging from the gallows. Boys play football on the ghetto square/execution ground. Teenagers fall in love at clandestine parties, almost literally “dancing on graves”… Edited from 270 hours of interviews shot in 20 countries over 10 years, the film dispels our notions of a “Holocaust documentary”. Employing no commentary or contemporary footage, only a minimalist montage of interviews and never-seen materials drawn from a vast array of sources, the narrow, personal points of view combine to paint a life-affirming picture of survival through luck, wisdom, ingenuity and sheer will, as well as form a depiction of the Holocaust “as we don’t know it”. Lukas Pribyl, Czech Republic, 2008, Czech/Subtitles: English, 86 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMForgotten Transports to Poland [FL 1698]
This is the last of four films in the Forgotten Transports cycle of documentaries by director Lukas Pribyl. It deals with lesser known concentration, labour and extermination camps in what is now Poland. The intricate stories of several men and women from the Czech Republic take us to ghettoes and camps in Lublin, Zamosc, Piaski, Sobibor and Sawin. In this instance, the tales of these Jewish heroes and heroines mostly recount stories of escape and concealment from the Nazis in Hungary and today's Poland. This adds a new dimension to the story of the Holocaust, which is augmented by the active resistance of captive and brutally treated Jews. They took various routes to freedom, ranging from an uprising in the Sobibor camp to dangerously pretending to be a deaf-and-dumb simpleton who could prove his apparent non-Jewishness with an uncircumcised penis. This last documentary about forgotten transports to the east makes extensive use of archive materials and paints a surprising portrait of the Holocaust, which reshapes the somewhat one-sided view of life and survival of the Jewish population during the Second World War. Consequently, the dichotomy of passive victims and active aggressors gradually dissolves… Lukas Pribyl, Czech Republic, 2008, Czech, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFraction, Part 1. / Törésvonalak, 1. rész [FL 1478]
The film shows the transition period in Hungary during the early 90s. It starts with the mass redundancies in the Videoton factory in Székesfehérvár in 1989 and through the next several years follows the ups and downs of several of the sacked workers, their struggle to find new jobs and make a living during the economic crisis. Some of them are more successful than others. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1998, Hungarian, 44 min, documentary film, VHSFraction, Part 2. / Törésvonalak, 2. rész [FL 1478]
The film shows the transition period in Hungary during the early 90s. It starts with the mass redundancies in the Videoton factory in Székesfehérvár in 1989 and through the next several years follows the ups and downs of several of the sacked workers, their struggle to find new jobs and make a living during the economic crisis. Some of them are more successful than others. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1998, Hungarian, 36 min, documentary film, VHSFractions, I-II / Törésvonalak, I-II [FL 311]
The film shows the transition period in Hungary during the early 90s. It starts with the mass redundancies in the Videoton factory in Székesfehérvár in 1989 and through the next several years follows the ups and downs of several of the sacked workers, their struggle to find new jobs and make a living during the economic crisis. Some of them are more successful than others. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1998, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 107 min, DVD-ROMFradi Is Better! / Jobb a Fradi! [FL 1252]
Roma and racists in the same fan club: the filmmakers shot this film about the nature of racism in a peculiar situation. At the Ferencváros football stadium in Budapest they interviewed both young racist fans and the targets of their anger. Inserted into these scenes we can "closely" observe, hear and watch the most radical supporters proudly singing their abusive verses. The attitude expressed by the authors is not black and white but the film closes with a concise and heinous statement by a supporter's girlfriend… Norbert Szirmai, János Révész, Hungary, 2002, Hungarian, 15 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFradi is Better / Jobb a Fradi! [FL 375]
Roma and racists in the same fan club: the filmmakers shot this film about the nature of racism in a peculiar situation. At the Ferencváros football stadium in Budapest they interviewed both young racist fans and the targets of their anger. Inserted into these scenes we can "closely" observe, hear and watch the most radical supporters proudly singing their abusive verses. The attitude expressed by the authors is not black and white but the film closes with a concise and heinous statement by a supporter's girlfriend… Norbert Szirmai, János Révész, Hungary, 2002, Hungarian, 15 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFree Cinema: The Definitive Film Collection [FL 1325]
The British Film Institute has compiled for the first time, the definitive collection of films from the 1950s' Free Cinema movement. Free Cinema not only re-invented British documentary making, but this highly influential period in the country's cinema history was the precursor for the better known British New Wave of social-realist films in the late 1950s and early 1960s.United Kingdom, English, 475 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFree Cuba: Your Greatest Desire / Cuba Libre: El Mayor Deseo [FL 1737]
Cuba Libre (free Cuba) is the name of a popular Cuban drink. It was also the slogan of the revolution that swept Fidel Castro to power in 1959. The revolution became a symbol of a better future and the desire of Cubans for freedom, justice and an end to oppression. Fidel Castro, however, built a totalitarian regime on the back of this slogan which denies Cubans their basic rights and makes them slaves of the communist nomenklatura. Despite the risk of persecution, the director has painted a picture of contemporary totalitarian Cuba, which exposes the reality that lies behind the romantic notions of tourists. Oswaldo Payá Sardinas - an important dissident and the founder of the opposition Christian Liberation Movement - becomes his guide. Payá also describes the struggle of his movement for democratic change in Cuba, which takes the form of a petition called Proyecto Varela. This is a document that more than 14,000 people have signed to demand free elections and other reforms, which would bring Cubans the "Cuba Libre" they dreamed of before the revolution. This documentary comprises an impressive mosaic portraying a country full of contradictions from many angles Mateo Juez, United States, 2006, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFree Europe / Szabad Európa [FL 414]
Television documentary about 'Crusade for Freedom' and 'Radio Free Europe', 'Radio Liberty'. Contemporary American and Eastern European archival footage is used. Images of revolutions in Berlin (1953), Budapest (1956) and Prague (1968) are used. Former RFE/RL directors, editors, journalists and political advisors are interviewed. The interviewees are: Ralph Walter, Paul Henze, James McCargar, Cord Meyer, William Griffith, István Deák and Ross Johnson. Csaba Kardos, Márton Ledniczky, Hungary, 1999, English/Subtitles: Hungarian, 49 min, documentary film, VHSFree space [FL 934]
During the last war in Croatia, many people were forced to leave their homes. This organised and politically premeditated action, called ‘human displacement’, took place especially in the Western part of Croatia, the territory known as Krajina. People from the Serbian minority were forced to go to Serbia or the Republic of Srpska in Bosnia, and became refugees. At the same time, Croats whose houses had been destroyed by Serbs in other parts of the country started to inhabit the empty homes in Krajina. But can you really be happy in somebody else’s house? Are the people who got houses from the government the lucky ones, or also unfortunate? In a rather experimental documentary, the director focuses on one house that is harassed by a plague of snakes. Using hardly any words, he tries to create the atmosphere of a ‘cursed’ house. Damir Cucic, Croatia, 2001, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 23 min, documentary film, VHSFrom a Night Porter’s Point of View / Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera [FL 1550]
With considerable economy and grace, Kieslowski's early short elucidates the workings of the Communist system by airing the views of a misanthrope whose favorite pastime is checking up on other people. This factory porter, a fanatical supporter of strict discipline, tries to oversee everybody and everything in the belief that rules are more important than people. “When a man doesn't obey the rules,” he says, “he's a goner... Children have to conform to the rules too, and adults who live on this earth, for whom this beautiful world has been created. I reckon you've got to have capital punishment ... Just hang him [the culprit]. Publicly. Dozens, hundreds of people would see it.” From a Night Porter’s Point of View is a deep and fascinating portrait of a blind supporter of state power, who does as much as he can with the little authority he has. Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1977, Polish/Subtitles: English, 17 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFrom Home to Home / Evden Eve [FL 961]
Hungarians born outside of Hungary are the largest immigrant group in Hungary. Back in the 80s, as a “more developed and more democratic” country, Hungary was a dreamland for many Hungarians living elsewhere in the Eastern Bloc. The film presents stories of four Hungarians who resettled to the “motherland” in 1980-1991 in search of a better life. Different customs and different patterns of socializing made it diffiult for those immigrants to blend in and to become Hungarians in Hungary. Tamás Almási, Hungary, 2003, Hungarian, 104 min, documentary film, VHSFrom Powisle / Z Powisla… [FL 1731] Kazimierz Karabasz, Poland, 1958, Polish, 10 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
From The Colonies. Netherlands-India In Pictures 1912-1942 / Van De Kolonie Niets Dan Goeds. Nederlands-Indie in Beeld 1912-1942 [FL 1082]
Twelve short ethnograpic films and one short fiction film by Dutch filmmakers, recorded in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes and Bali. Films present the everyday lives of Dutch bourgeoisie, just as parties and picnics, and the work on farms and in rubber or oil factories. Other montage films present religious rituals, cults, customs and work of various tribes, and everyday village life of the aboriginals on the East-Indian colonies.Netherlands, Dutch, documentary film, DVD-ROMFrontlines: Laos [FL 1461]
Ruhi Hamid chose Chong-Cha Lee to be her guide on a journey to the jungle and to be the intermediary during a meeting with the Hmong people, a community that has been hiding away from its persecutors, as well as the eyes of the entire world, for twenty years. It is also a community that needs to be discovered, so that it can be saved from famine and the consequences of untreated diseases. The secret village has been around since the end of the Vietnam War. At the end of the sixties, some of the inhabitants of Laos helped a secret American unit during the conflict. After the Pathet Lao's victory, the US army left and its helpers became enemies of the state. For them, the war has not yet ended even after all this time, and continues every day. The filmmaker goes on a twenty-four hour journey to show how the activities of a democratic regime espousing a policy of helping others can have paradoxical consequences. Ruhi Hamid, United Kingdom, 2005, English, 29 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFrozen Angels [FL 1488]
A film about genetics and conscious genetic self-design with reproductive technology. It follows up on a few cases of surrogate mothers. Eric Black and Frauke Sandig, United States, English/Subtitles: Dutch, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMFull of Grease / Malaccal teljes [FL 1568]
This film tells the story of how the Ormánság Quick Guys from a little village called Vajszó won second place at an international competition for butchers. Lajos Balogh, an enthusiastic local, decides that the village should take part in the competition and raise the fame of local meat products. He recruits a team, finds sponsors, orders uniforms. While the men prepare, the pigs run their course of life from birth to sausage. A true story with a happy ending, and those of us who are natives of the urban jungle have a rare chance to see a few pig killings. Kovács Kristóf, Hungary, 2008, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGalapagos in Canchalagueras / Galapagos en Canchalagueras [FL 1361]
This film tells the memories, conflicts and wishes of an unknown village: San Cristobal, the Capital of the Galapagos. It is a story of human adaption to a context when that context is valued and protected internationally. Rosa Perez Almeida, Spain, 2007, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 72 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGarden / Gan [FL 373]
The Garden is a desolate section of Tel Aviv where young gay prostitutes and drug addicts gather. It's a territory for the dispossessed and for pickups, drug deals, and clashes with the law. The film follows a year in the life of two young men who have made the Garden their home: Nino, a 17-year-old Palestinian, in and out of jail and reformatories; and Dudu, an Arab-Israeli destroying himself through drug addiction. The filmmakers, ever mindful of the trust they have earned, create a powerfully honest film, affording Nino and Dudu the respect and dignity that are all too often denied them in their daily lives. Against the backdrop of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and the unease and ridicule still directed toward homosexuals, the two friends depend on each other for security and love. A poignant film that does not try to numb the pain or reduce the loneliness, Garden is ultimately about longing and belonging, and the elusive meaning of home. Ruthie Shatz, Adi Barash, Israel, 2003, /Subtitles: English, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGarlic and Watermelons [FL 1440]
Summer 2003. With the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics just over a year away, forty Gypsy families are forced to abandon their settlement next to the main Olympic stadium, so that the land can be used for a parking lot.The film follows Prokopis Nikolaou,a produce vendor who lived his entire life in this settlement, as he struggles to find a new home for himself and his family.The local mayor agreed to pay the Roma rent subsidies in exchange for vacating the land, but the money proves elusive and the families are forced to move from place to place due to evictions and sub-standard living conditions. Feeling angry and fooled, Prokopis becomes an unofficial spokesman for the forty families, fighting for both their dignity and the money they were promised. He meets with human rights activists, takes his battle with the mayor to the courts, and shares his story with the international media that descend on Athens in the weeks leading up to the Olympic Games. Cameron Kickey, Lauren Feeny, (n/a), 2005, Greek, Modern (1453-)/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGates of Heaven [FL 1577]
"Gates of Heaven" is the story of two California pet cemeteries transformed into an eccentric portrait of the American dream. Errol Morris began this, his first non-fiction feature, in 1978 after reading a headline in the San Francisco Chronicle: "450 Dead Pets To Go To Napa." "Gates of Heaven" follows the stories behind two pet cemeteries -- one that fails (set up by innocent Floyd McClure at the intersection of two superhighways) and the Harbert family, who apply the latest marketing concepts to the pet cemetery profession. Errol Morris, United States, 1978, English, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGateway of the Gypsies [FL 395]
Two American filmmakers follow the wanderings of a nomadic ethnic group in Northern India, in Rajasthan, in the Thar Desert. A series of short interviews, with minimal narration, carries the viewer through the life of communities which travel from village to village as their living space is narrowed down as a consequence of advancing modernity. The film presents the traditional activities of different tribes: the snakecharmers, storytellers, musicians, metalworkers, salt traders and dancers. Pepe Ozan, Melitta Tchaicovsky, United States, 2004, English, 54 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGeneral Vlasov: Twice Damned General / Власов: Дважды проклятый генерал [FL 834]
This Russian-German co-production touches on one of the most controversial and little-known aspects in the history of Russia's war against Nazi Germany - the story of General Vlasov and his Army. Was he a traitor to his country or a fighter against Stalin's dictatorship? What prompted him to change sides and can he really be considered a collaborator? The film draws on numerous archival documents, which were previously classified and inaccessible to researchers, and on a series of interviews conducted with former members of the Russian Liberation Army (known as ROA), Red Army officers and diplomats, as well as former officers of the British and German armies. Ingo Betke, Pavel Sergeev, Russia, 1995, Russian, German/Dubbing: Russian, 60 min, documentary film, VHSGeorgi and the Butterflies / Георги и пеперудите [FL 537]
The fine line between brilliance and lunacy is extremely thin. This is what Georgi Borissov Lulchev, superintendent of a Bulgarian psychiatric institution, knows more than anyone else. With a fair dose of ingenuity and perseverance, he indefatigably looks for ways to make his institution, situated on the grounds of a former monastery, profitable. The ill-fated ideas sprouting from Georgi's mind are recreated with a keen eye to cinematographic beauty and accompanied by cheerful music. From the development of the property into a pheasant shooting ground for tourists and a snail, fur, ostrich and silkworm farm, to the invention of soy bread for diabetics, time and again Georgi embarks on the next prospectless project with renewed optimism. Neither his wife nor the cook understand why he is doomed to failure every time. Meanwhile, the patients and staff of the institution live together as one big harmonious family under the rotting roof of the old cloister, for there is no money to start using the new accommodation that was finished three years ago. But perhaps one day Georgi will win the lottery, which he plays with his patients' Social Security numbers. Andrey Paounov, Bulgaria, 2004, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 35 min, DVD-ROMGerman Invasion of Poland, 1930: The First Blitzkrieg [FL 782]
The first blitzkrieg, Hitler's invasion of Poland, is vividly portrayed by original Nazi films. Panzers and infantry-men advance as the Luftwaffe bombs enemy targets, including Warsaw. German troops meet their advancing Soviet allies near Lemberg. Hitler is shown with his generals, among regular soldiers and reviewing a victory parade of the German Eighth Army in Warsaw.Germany, 1939, German/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGerman Secret, The / Den tyske hemmelighed [FL 1077]
Kirsten Blohm leaves Denmark traveling to the place of her birth – to the place where the American prison in post-war Germany was. As captured by her husband, director Lars Johansson, the story of Kirsten Blohm’s family background turns out to be more fantastic than fiction, involving captivity and flight, secrecy and lies. Blohm, born in 1946, was raised by her grandparents. She did know her mother, the beautiful but cold Signe Gondrup, but Signe never wanted to disclose anything about her life, let alone about her daughter's father. Following her elusive mother's footsteps, Blohm’s journey takes her to the Czech Republic and Germany where she uncovers a series of dramatic events as well as embarrasing skeletons in the closet. Lars Johansson, Denmark, 2004, Danish, English, German/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, VHSGermany in Autumn / Deutshchland im Herbst [FL 1422]
Germany in Autumn mixes documentary footage, along with standard movie scenes, to give the audience the mood of Germany during the late 1970s. The movie covers the two month time period during 1977 when a businessman was kidnapped, and later murdered, by the left-wing terrorists known as the RAF-Rote Armee Fraktion (Red Army Faction). The businessman had been kidnapped in an effort to secure the release of the orginal leaders of the RAF, also known as the Baader-Meinhof gang. When the kidnapping effort and a plane hijacking effort failed, the three most prominent leaders of the RAF, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Enslin, and Jean-Carl Raspe, all committed suicide in prison. It has become an article of faith within the left-wing community that these three were actually murdered by the state. The movie has several vignettes, including an extended set of scenes with the famous director Rainer Werner Fassbinder discussing his feelings about Germany's political situation at the time. Other scenes include documentary footage of the joint funeral of Baader, Enslin, and Raspe. see in the back, Germany, 1978, German, 116 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGermany, Awake! [FL 878]
A documentary on the World War II German motion picture and its use as a propaganda tool during the times of Goebbels. Clips from more than 20 films made between 1933 and 1945 are included. First released in Germany as a motion picture in 1968. Among the numerous works excerpted are: Bismark, Venus on Trial, Victory in the West, Jud Suss, I Accuse!, The Rothchilds, and The Great King. Erwin Leiser, Germany, 1968, German/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, VHSGhosts of Abu Ghraib [FL 1250]
Wielding startlingly candid interviews with perpetrators, witnesses, and victims, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib provides an inside look at the abuses that occurred at the Iraqi prison in the fall of 2003. Award-winning filmmaker Rory Kennedy explores how, given the right circumstances, typical boys and girls next door can commit atrocious acts of violence. Rory Kennedy, United States, 2006, English, 72 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGiant Buddhas, The [FL 1239]
In February 2001, the Taliban issued an edict that all non-Islamic statues should be destroyed. In March of the same year, two huge statues of Buddha were blown up in the remote area of Bamiyantal in Afghanistan. This dramatic event surrounding the ancient stone colossi – unique proof of an advanced culture that bloomed until the 13th century along the Silk Road – is the starting point for a cinematic essay on fanaticism, terror and tolerance, ignorance and identity. On another path, in another period, Frei follows the footsteps of Xuanzang, the seventh-century Chinese monk famed for his sixteen-year spiritual quest along the Silk Road to India. Bamiyan was one of his stops. In Canada, Afghan writer and journalist Nelofer Pazira reflects on an old photograph of her father posing before the giant Buddhas. In Leshan, China, the director witnesses a kitschy attempt to rebuild the Bamiyan Buddha as a tourist attraction; while in Zurich high-tech reconstructions are created using "photogrammetry." A thought-provoking journey along the lines that both divide and unite people and cultures. Christian Frei,, Switzerland, 2005, English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Mandarin, Dari/Subtitles: English, 95 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGipsy Side [FL 1245]
Mario, Luigi and Mr. Joker keep interrupting each other in the heat of the discussion in this shabby, shady yard in the 8th district, the Harlem of Budapest. They are rapping, gesturing, dancing while the girls and the kids look on. Beatbox or freestyle: you name it, they can do it. They record themselves, edit, then record again – it’s all home-made, the PC is right there in the corner of the room. In the afternoon they make sure the recordings are copyrighted. At the hairdresser’s the Nigerian brother gives them the authentic hip-hop look. He is the authority on the coolest rap accessories, advisor on East-side and West-side styles, and he is the source for Biggie and Tupac outfits. Ponczók Gypsy Béla, the Radio C DJ, offers them a chance to perform on his show and in the rapper contest at the Roma Parliament. This film gives us an insight into what the members of Weszély-s Elemek (Dangerous Elements) and Rap-port want out of life, what they fear, why they sing, and how they live in the 8th district. Balázs Gát, Hungary, 2006, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGirls to Mothers / De Niña a Madre [FL 659]
An average of 400 children are born in Nicaragua every day, 100 of them to adolescent mothers. This documentary narrates the lives of three adolescents, aged 14 to 16, who had not planned to be mothers at such an early age. Florence Jaugey follows the lives of these young mothers for several months – during the last months of their pregnancies, and afterwards, when everything has irreversibly changed. We learn about their families, their stories of love, their doubts, their hopes and the tough reality they went through in their pregnancy and the prospect of having to raise their children. Jaugey builds up a very intimate relationship with her protagonists, detecting their moods and showing how their outward coolness is only a facade behind which they conceal their intricate fears. Along with exposing the alarmingly increasing numbers of adolescent mothers in Nicaragua, the film also raises fundamental questions about women’s identity and the meaning of maternity. Florence Jaugey, Nicaragua, 2004, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 45 min, documentary film, VHSGlimpse [FL 1475]
A visual piece capturing the rich color palette and powerful imagery of South Africa. Alberto Ianuzzi, Dan Jawitz, South Africa, 2005, (No dialogue), 21 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGo to Louisa / Idz do Luizy [FL 1221]
Although Apartheid has officially been history for more than ten years, power relations in South Africa have not really changed. In order to explore the surviving post-colonial hierarchy today, Pacek focused on a rubber production plant and three men involved in its operation, each of whom vehemently promotes his own interests. Stach, originally from Poland, is the factory owner; Gert is a white South African and the company's manager; Andreas is an impoverished worker from the Zulu tribe. As the story unfolds, the factory becomes a symbol of South African society in general. While the workers endeavor to improve their standing, their employers strive to maximize profits. A poignant story of the struggle for rights and humane treatment in the workplace. Grzegorz Pacek, Poland, 2005, English, Polish, Zulu/Subtitles: English, 42 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGod Is With Us, Men That Is / Bóg jest z nami, mężczyznami [FL 1052]
Shot in a village in Northern Albania, the film tells the story of a woman who decides to become a man of her own free will. Bedri is the masculine form of the name Bedrie. Before her whole family, she solemnly pledges to become a man. This peculiar “rite of passage” exists in the mountains of Albania. The entire local community fully accepts and respects Bedri as they would a man. Her brothers will never blush from now on, as she is not going to bring shame upon them. As a man she must have no interaction with women, never have children and remain a virgin till the end of her days. Yet her advice in arranging marriages is valued by the community. Those who do not know her take her for a man anyway since Bedri shaves and dresses like one. Bedri smokes, drinks, plays domino with men and football with village boys. He declares that he is happy with his own self. Jan Sosiński, Poland, 2005, Albanian/Subtitles: English, 46 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGoebbels Experiment, The / Das Goebbels-Experiment [FL 685]
The name Goebbels stands for unbridled, cynical and - at least partially - successful propaganda. It's a convenient label, regularly used to brand politicians as evil rabble-rousers and polemicists. But Joseph Goebbels' life was more enigmatic and unsettling than his current classification as propaganda genius or 'inveterate liar of the Third Reich' would suggest, and here we see how Goebbels constantly stage-managed his life and reinvented himself, from his beginnings as a 'National Socialist' to his suicide with his wife and children. Unusually, for a documentary, it abstains from the use of commentary - the diary that Goebbels kept from 1924 to 1945 is the only 'voice' in the film. In particular, the film succeeds in conveying the gestures and facial expressions of this manic-depressive man, creating the picture of a modern media manager who devoted his workaholic personality to the whole spectrum of communication - only to fail so completely in political and moral terms. Lutz Hachmeister, Germany, 2004, German, English/Subtitles: English, 107 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGolden Cage, The [FL 1384]
140 years ago, a few hundred Circassians arrived in Israel and settled in two villages in the Galilee. Today the community counts over 4,000 people. The effort to preserve the legacy that they brought with them from Caucasus, in addition to observing a Moslem way of life, lead to daily conflict with the open western way of life. The Circassians, for whom honor and shame are central components in how they relate to the world, quietly bare their immense disappointment from the way they’ve been received into Israeli society. Today, despite the fact that they serve in the army, they are still not accepted as equals. The film follows their attempt to preserve their rigid social codes with regard to tradition among the younger members of the community, and the way they cope with the constant conflict – to go back to Caucasus or stay in Israel. Chana Caledron, Israel, 2005, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 68 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGolden Hut: A Year with Emilke Karácsony in the Hidegség of Gyimes / Aranykalyiba [FL 684]
Thirteen-year-old Emilke, who is similar to Ábel (the protagonist of a famous novel about a young boy living in the mountains of Transylvania – transl.), lives in his mountain hut in a place called Hidegség in Gyimes, Transylvania. From early spring to the first snowfall he grazes cows, makes cheese from the milk, and only sees his parents when one or the other goes up to the mountain pasture and takes the cheese home. These meetings are rare and short. The only companions for the boy are the cows and the dogs, since he has to climb one or two hills just to get to the closest neighbour. The hours, days, weeks, spring, summer, and autumn melt into each other in this solitude… Dezső Zsigmond, Hungary, 2003, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGolden Ice Cream / Zlatni sladoled [FL 841]
Funny and enegetic film about Albanians who live in Istrian town of Porec. The movie deals with two groups of people: Muslims, who are the ice cream, and Christians, who are in the gold business. During the summer the street where they live is packed with tourists coming from different places, but in that melting-pot of different nationalities and cultures both communities preserve their own specific, time-enduring way of live. Fatmir Koci, Croatia, 1999, Albanian/Subtitles: English, 21 min, art documentary, VHSGood Luck! / Barhtalo (Jó szerencsét!) [FL 1405]
A mixture of fiction and nonfiction, this film follows two Gypsy man, Lali and Lóri on their business trip from Romania to Austria and back home. Róbert Lakatos, Austria, 2007, 25 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGood Luck! / Sretno! [FL 852]
In 1998, the last coal mine in Croatia , "Tupljak" near Labin was closed down. 300 miners working there lost their jobs. At the same time, members of the art group "Labin Art Express" are "taking over" the mine. The film will contrast the life of the miners with the conceptualization of the coalmine's environment, "the Underground City", by the Lubin Artist Express. Dalibor Matanić, Tomislav Rukavina Stanislav Tomic, Croatia, 1998, Croatian, 35 min, art documentary, VHSGood morning, Vietnam / Доброе утро, Вьетнам [FL 524]
The love of a Russian girl, Albina, and a Vietnamese guy, Hi, has overcome many obstacles. They met in Russia in the 1980s, and, despite the family resistence to their relationship, got married and lived happily until Hi became injured at the factory where he worked. Not receiving help from the state, the family decided to leave for Vietnam. For Albina life in an unknown country appeared to be the heaviest test. Arkadii Kogan, Russia, 2004, Russian, 26 min, documentary film, VHSGovernors of Empire (Part 1 & 2) / Birodalmi helytartók I-II. [FL 365]
Film about the communist dictatorship in Hungary, with the focus on Mátyás Rákosi, the Imre Nagy group and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Tamás Tóth, Hungary, 1996, Hungarian, 112 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGraham & I - a true story / Graham I Ja - istinita prica [FL 862]
The documentary profiles Graham Bamford, a British citizen who set himself on fire in 1993 in attempt to change the attitude of the British government towards the war in the former Yugoslavia. However, this film is not only about Graham, his actions, the silence built up around them, but also about the filmmaker and his effort to produce a film about the event. Nenad Puhovski, Croatia, 1998, Croatian, 52 min, art documentary, VHSGrandfathers and Revolutions / Nagyapák és forradalmak [FL 1628]
Prime Minister András Hegedüs was the one who signed the approval for the Soviet troops to enter Hungary in October 1956. His grandson, now living in Australia, returns to Hungary to confront his grandfather with past decisions and compromises. Peter Hegedus, Hungary, 1999, Hungarian, 53 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGrandparents / Grosseltern [FL 1447]
The director returns to her grandparents. What begins as an observation of their daily lives develops into a story of devotion and dependence, change and immutability, and the solitude and sharing of two people who grow old together. The documentary shows the daily struggles, as well as the strength and determination of two elderly persons and their survival strategies. It is an intimate glimpse that brings to light existential questions – questions which viewers are inspired to ask themselves. Nicole Scherg, (n/a), 2004, German/Subtitles: English, German, Italian, 35 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGrass: A Nation's Battle for Life [FL 1316]
A classic adventure by the makers of "King Kong." In 1924, neophyte filmmakers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack hooked up with journalist and sometime spy Marguerite Harrison and set off to film an adventure. They found excitement, danger and unparalleled drama in the migration of the Bakhtiari tribe of Persia (now Iran). Twice a year, more than 50,000 people and half a million animals surmounted seemingly impossible obstacles to take their herds to pasture. The filmmakers captured unforgettable images of courage and determination as the Bakhtiari braved the raging and icy waters of the half-mile-wide Karun River. Cooper and Schoedsack almost froze when they filmed the breathtaking, almost unbelievable, sight of an endless river of men, women and children--their feet bare or wrapped in rags — winding up the side of the sheer, snow-covered rock face of the 15,000-foot-high Zardeh Kuh mountain. Although many documentary historians consider "Grass" second only to "Nanook of the North," few people have actually ever seen this legendary film. This restored and full-length version, complete with an authentic new Iranian score, will astonish today’s audiences with its beautiful photography and heart-stopping adventure. Merian C. Cooper, E. B. Schoedsack, M. Harrison, United States, 1925, (silent), 70 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGreat Communist Bank Robbery, The / Marele Jaf Communist [FL 698]
In 1959 Romanian State Bank was allegedly robbed by a mysterious band of gangsters, who got away with millions of lei intended for the salaries of hard-working citizens. The police, helped by the secret agents, 'discovered' that the robbery had been carried out by a group of high-ranking communists, all holding important posts in government and all, as it happened, Jews. A show-trial followed, and the accused were forced to appear in a filmed 'reconstruction' of the robbery in exchange for promises of reduced sentences. The very same film was then used to provide vital 'evidence' for the prosecution. All but one of the defendants were sentenced to death, and the film was later used at closed party screenings for training purposes. Over forty years later, director Alexandru Solomon reconstructs the reconstruction, incorporating interviews with former prisoners, the cameraman of the infamous film, neighbors and secret police agents. Their accounts show that the propaganda film covered up more than it revealed. Alexandru Solomon, Romania, 2004, Romanian, English/Subtitles: English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGreat Patriotic War, The / Великая отечественная [FL 344]
This film is an assemblage of footage filmed during the Second World War by 236 cameraman in different parts of Europe. 40 of the cameraman died at the front. The film is built from the archival material from Russia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Great Britain, and France. Roman Karmen, Soviet Union, 1965, Russian, 128 min, documentary film, VHSGreen Card / Зелена карта [FL 535]
In two Muslim villages in the southern part of Bulgaria the only livelihood of people is growing tobacco. They live on credit for most of the year and pay back their debt when the stacks of dried tobacco leaves are sold. Most of the villagers dream for “the luck to be picked up by computer” – to win the green card that would provide a visa and employment in the United States. Sixty families have already been chosen by the computer which the remaining villagers believe “must be from” their village. Old grannies sit knitting by their video players and indulge home videos displaying their children and grandchildren in America reading English, eating in excess and throwing away the leftovers. An old lady tells her experience at the Atlantic shore “babysitting” her grandchildren and admires a shopping mall “as big as our village”. A pharmacist who applied for a green card and was lucky to win, but could not decide on leaving her good profession and status and leap into the unknown shows her issued visa with a sentiment of regret for missing her chance to see life in America and the Statue of Liberty. The former shop keeper who returns with his wife to visit relatives laments his children who would never come back to the village. Eldora Traikova, Bulgaria, 2001, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 26 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGrissinopoli - Bread-Stickville / Grissinopoli — El pais de los grisines [FL 1098]
Grissinopoli, a debt-laden grissini manufacturer, falls into bankruptcy and is abandoned by its owners. Against the backdrop of growing unemployment and economic insecurity, the plant’s 16 Argentine workers decide to resist by trying their hand at self-management. This utopian solution, born of desperation, is hard to actually put into practice. Almost immediately, the workers face internal dissension, potential expropriation, a lack of funds and management experience, and the risks of political and union co-optation. At the same time, they experience moments of solidarity, as they struggle with lawyers and lawmakers to pass an expropriation law that would allow them to maintain their plant. Following the tradition of direct cinema, this activist film provides an example of a growing social movement, that has already succeeded in saving more than 10,000 jobs in Argentina. Dario Doria, Argentina, 2004, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 80 min, DVD-ROMGrowing Up / Hua Jong Wei Die [FL 1145]
Acrobatics are one of the first performance arts that comes to mind when we think of China. Little children are coming from all over China to Hei Long Jiang Acrobatic Troupe with hope of becoming professional acrobats one day. Their main reason for coming to this place despite its strict discipline and hardships is to provide their family with economic support. However, few can achieve their goals. We see their hardhsips through one girl who can no longer afford lessons and a boy who is hospitalized because of an injured leg during training and who ponders whether the troupe can gaurantee his future. By listening to each child's story, "Growing Up" portrays these children's hopes, their responsibilities to their family, their apprehnsions, and the hidden part of China's acrobatic industry. Wang Dongdong and Chang Yu, China, 2005, Chinese, Mandarin/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGrushin's Defense / Защита Грушина [FL 345]
A film about one of the most secret Soviet design engineers, Grushin, and his work on the creation of anti-aircraft missiles. B. Smirnov, Russia, 2002, Russian, 26 min, documentary film, VHSGugara / Gugara [FL 1526]
In the Evenky language “Gugara” stands for the sound of the bell hanging round a reindeer’s neck. It’s one of the few sounds to be heard in the Siberian forest. In the middle of the taiga lives the family of elderly Dimitri and Tatiana, Evenky reindeer herders. Recently, their entire herd was killed by wolves. Now, like all Evenk without reindeer, they will have to move into a completely different world. Everybody else already has left life in the forest for the nearby Russian village. This perceptive observational documentary about a small Siberian community describes the paradoxical world of former nomads and reindeer herdsmen forced to abandon their ancient way of life. Jacek Naglowski & Andrzej Dybczak, Poland, 2008, Russian, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGulag 113 [FL 1350]
An 89 year old Estonian-Canadian returns to his former home to retrace a terrifying journey to hell that began in 1941. Traveling from Estonia to the northern Russian town of Kotlas where his Gulag labor camp was located, the film follow Eduard as he remembers how he escaped death and reconciles with dark memories. It’s a classic story of one man overcoming insurmountable hardships. The documentary also features rare historical footage and beautifully captured images from locations in Canada, Estonia and Russia. Marcus Kolga, Canada, 2005, Estonian, English/Subtitles: English, 47 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMGypsies from Svinia, The [FL 435]
A few hundred metres from the "white" part of Svinia, an eastern Slovak village, there is a "black ghetto". Half of the village's 12,000 population, the "blacks" or Roma, live there on a drained swamp in crumbling concrete blocks and huts made of sticks and mud. They drink dirty water and go to the bathroom in bushes. Naked children eat from bowls on the floor; flies cling to the faces of sleeping babies. Teenage girls nurse infants while smoking cigarettes. The film centres on Canadian anthropologist David Scheffel, who started a project in 1993 to help the Roma in Svinia become more self-sufficient by building their own houses. It argues that Slovakia's transition from communism to democracy has pushed Roma there to the margins of society. Mostly unemployed and living off welfare, they often steal from the homes and harvests of their white neighbours, causing a cycle of increasing tension in the community. John Paskievich, Canada, 1998, English, English, /Subtitles: English, 92 min, documentary film, VHSGypsies / Cygany [FL 1401]
A cinéma-vérité-style documentary that follows a traveling gypsy caravan across rural Poland. The black anf white antropological film attempts to portray the lifes of the Gypsies by taking the position of the neutral observant. Wladyslaw Slesicki, Poland, 1961, Polish/Subtitles: English, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHack Workers / Mardikor Ayollar [FL 308]
Thrown out of their homes by their husbands, separated from their children and forced (against all Uzbek customs) to earn their living, women find themselves in the hellish world of markets for women hack workers, unprotected by law and subject to violence, rape and murder. Furkatbek Yakvalkhodzhiev, Uzbekistan, 2002, Uzbek, 21 min, VHSHalima's Cellphone [FL 1587]
The story of Halima, a peasant woman living in a reamote area of Bangladesh, who benefitted from a micro-credit program initiated by the local authorities, and bought hersefl a cellphone. How does one, however, make use of a cell phone if no one around has any? Olga Prud'homme, France, 2007, English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHamsa, I am / Hamsa, já jsem [FL 6]
An intimate dialogue with several strong personalities, through which the director succeeds in creating a vivid picture of life in a community of blind conservatory students. The film is surprising for its humorous and non-sentimental rendering of people that most of us approach with shyness. Miroslav Janek, Czech Republic, Czech/Subtitles: English, 59 min, documentary film, VHSHappy Ever After Land / Sretna Zlemja [FL 1700]
Two Croatian groups are taking off for memorial sessions in two different directions. The first group boards a bus in Rijeka for a ride to the village of Kumrovec; its passengers are going to commemorate Tito’s birthday and the happy memories of socialist times by visiting his birth house. The second group takes a bus from Zadar to Bleiburg, the place of surrender of the army forces of the Independent State of Croatia, created during WWII under the leadership of ustasha Ante Pavelić. It is today constructed by the subculture nostalgic about Pavelić's ustasha regime, as a memorial site of militant nationalism. The director follows both journeys from departure to their final destinations. The travelers from both groups are not going on mere recreational or entertaining trips, rather, both groups undertake a time-travel, driven by nostalgia for “good old days” which they imagine radically differently. The sharp contrast brings out an image of a polarized society, where the past haunts the present. Goran Dević, Croatia, 2008, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHappy Man, The / El Hombre Feliz [FL 1184]
The sound of a 24 hour news station broadcast reporting its usual program of international crises and economic downturns provides an insightful foil to Lucina Gil's The Happy Man, a tongue in cheek biography on a self-described "happy man" whose credentials are put to a test by a team of skeptical international researchers. As in Libra, the slice-of-life approach suits the film's structure well, reflecting the film's ideals of enduring love and uncomplicated living. Lucina Gil, Spain, 2007, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 14 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHappy Oblivion / Sretna Nigdina [FL 850]
A story about revitalization of the beautiful Medieval Istrian town of Groznjan which was deserted and abandoned after WW II. Surrounded by hills and woods, many artists have recognized the place as home. Maja Zrnic, Croatia, 2000, Croatian, 28 min, art documentary, VHSHead of the Intelligence, The / Начальник разведки [FL 347]
Film about life and activities of the creator of the Soviet military intelligence service, Ian Karlovich Berzin (1889-1937). He became the head of the intelligence service in 1924. Soviet espionage networks in China, Germany, and within the Soviet Union are presented, along with Stalin's struggle for power within the Communist Party. The film explores the role of the Soviet intelligence services in gathering information about the military activities of Germany prior to the Second World War. In 1935 Berzin was removed from his position and sent to Khabarovsk; he later participated in the Spanish Civil War under the pseudo-name of General Grishin. Later Berzin was interrogated by the new head of NKVD Nikolai Ezhov, and sentenced to death. After the arrest of Berzin, the Soviet intelligence service was severely purged. Boris Borisov, Romualds Pipars, Soviet Union, 1989, Russian, 90 min, documentary film, VHSHealth Matters [FL 1371]
The film takes a panoramic look at health care in India through the everyday experiences of patients in both public and private hospitals, covering a range of rural and urban locations. Shikha Jhingan, India, 2006, Hindi, English/Subtitles: English, 60 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHear it or not: A Portrait of Jakab Orsós / Aki hallja, aki nem hallja. Orsós Jakab portré [FL 1608]
Jakab Orsós's knowledge is archaic - it is the knowledge of a wise storyteller. His knowledge is beyond human. When he goes to a school and talks to Gipsy children, he always emphasizes the importance of equality and human dignity. (Nádas Péter) Kóthy Judit, Topits Judit, Hungary, 2002, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 73 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHearts and Minds [FL 1320]
A courageous and startling film, Peter Davis’ documentary unflinchingly confronts the United States’ involvement in Vietnam. Using a wealth of sources—from interviews to newsreels to documentary footage of the conflict at home and abroad—Davis constructs a powerfully affecting portrait of the disastrous effects of war. Explosive, persuasive, and shocking, Hearts and Minds is an overwhelming emotional experience and the controversial winner of the 1974 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Peter Davis, United States, 1974, 112 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHeavenly Bites / Mennyei Falatok [FL 1415]
In 1980 Bertalan Farkas flew to space with the Soviet Interkosmos program. What did they eat during the expedition? How do they make space food? How much money did the Hungarian government spend on this food? How did Unicum get to space? The film not only confides us to the culinary secrets of space cuisine, but also sheds light upon the most outstanding PR event of the Eastern Bloc in 1980. A glimpse at Soviet propaganda via space food. Katalin Naszódi, Hungary, 2005, Hungarian, 14 min, documentary film, VHSHeidi Fleiss Hollywood Madam [FL 1247]
In her heyday Heidi Fleiss was at the center of a highly successful prostitute ring. The most interesting part of her business was the fact that her clientele reportedly comprised various Hollywood stars. Who can forget her legendary black book? Labeled "Madam to the Stars," this fascinating documentary exposes her world. Includes interviews with Heidi and retired L.A. police detective Daryl Gates. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1995, English, 107 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHelen K Edited Testimony - Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies [FL 918]
A survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, Majdanek and Auschwitz relates her wartime experiences and describes her postwar reunion with her husband, whom she had married in the ghetto at the age of 16. She emphasizes her determination to survive as an act of defiance against Hitler, a decision she reached when her younger brother died in her arms in the cattle car en route to Majdanek. The theme of resistance, both passive and active, recurs throughout her testimony. Mrs. K. concludes on a pessimistic note, wondering whether "it was worth it" in view of the continuing suffering and inhumanity in the world. Dori Laub and Laurel Vlock - Project directors, United States, 1984, English, 30 min, interview, DVD-ROMHer Name Is Sabine / Elle s'appelle Sabine [FL 1576]
A sensitive documentary about Sabine, an autistic woman of 38. This film is the directorial debut of her sister, the well known French actress Sandrine Bonnaire. Over the course of 25 years Bonnaire has recorded the everyday life of her sister. That footage forms a moving portrait revealing her sister's talent, which has been repressed due to an incorrect diagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Sabine's condition deteriorates when she stops spending time with her siblings, who have moved away. As the disease progresses she becomes increasingly aggressive, eventually beginning to attack her mother. From the age of 28 to 33 she is locked up in a psychiatric institution, a move which led to tragic and irreparable results. Today she lives in a family–style therapeutic home where clients with different forms of handicap receive personal care. This intimate picture draws attention to the lack of specialised institutions and shows the harm that can be caused by unsuitable treatment. Sandrine Bonnaire, France, 2007, French/Subtitles: English, 81 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHerbarium / ГЕРБАРИЙ [FL 1494]
How does beauty age? Has charisma got a use by date? Herbarium portrays a brief but significant period in the lives of old people living in an elderly home. A mature women’s beauty contest turns a mundane day upside down and tests delicate social structures. In this pageant, the judges are not satisfied with external beauty alone, but the contestants also have to captivate their audience – some do it by speech, others by singing and dancing. A rare and unusual documentary that flows like a Slavic folk song – beautiful and melancholic while laughing spiritedly in the face of grief. Natalia Meshchaninova, Russia, 2007, Russian/Subtitles: English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHere To Stay [FL 1298]
In this documentary, the filmmakers follow Filipino gay nurse, Fidel Taguinod, over a two year period as he lives out his multiple roles of nurse, migrant activist and bakla (gay) performer in Dublin. Fidel leads the viewer through a series of migrant-led events, as well as through his working & personal life, in which gay politics are playfully mixed with migrant & multi-cultural issues. Alan Grossman & Aine O'Brien, (n/a), 2006, English, 72 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHere We Are / My Zdes [FL 1046]
After World War II, the Krnáč family moved from Central Slovakia to Sub-Carpathian Ukraine. After the territory came under Soviet rule, the family was forced to settle in Balgarka, a village in the Kazakhstan steppe, where they spent over forty years. After the break-up of the USSR, the family decided to leave Kazakhstan. In 2000, they sell the family house and set out on a journey to Slovakia, a country they know only from their parents´ stories. Their first attempts to find jobs and accommodation in Bratislava are not very successful. Looking for a place to settle they cross the country from east to west, but find only half-abandoned villages, closed factories and high unemployment. After a long quest, they settle down in the countryside. The parents start working on a local farm and the children enter high school. This new beginning is hard for all of them: the older family members feel uprooted and keep thinking of their lives back in Kazakhstan, the younger ones struggle to study and be accepted as equals. Filmed over a period of four years, the film is a warm personal portrait of multi-generational search for roots and for the future. Jaroslav Vojtek, Slovakia, 2005, Russian, Slovak/Subtitles: English, 76 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHero Or A Traitor?, A / Hős vagy áruló? [FL 529]
The film is about the so called Dunagate scandal in 1989-1990, when the sate security service illegally surveyed some members of the opposition parties and tapped their telephones. It happened just a few months after the Imre Nagy funeral on 16th June 1989, at the time of the round table negotiations preparing the first free elections. The film shows how the state security machinery operated at the time of the change of the regime in Hungary under Minister of Interior Affairs István Horváth and Prime Minister Miklós Németh. Interviewed persons involved in the case are István Szikinger, head of the research program office of the Ministry of Interior Affairs in 1990; Imre Mécs, member of the steering committee of SZDSZ in 1990; József Végvári police major; Zoltán Lovas journalist; Gábor Roszik MP; Ferenc Kőszeg, member of the steering committee of SZDSZ in 1990; Gábor Fodor, member of the steering committee of FIDESZ in 1990; Géza Finszter, Ministry of Interior Affairs; György Kolláth, head of department at the Ministry of Interior Affairs in 1990; Alajos Dornbach, lawyer in 1990; Gáspár Miklós Tamás, member of the steering committee of SZDSZ in 1990. Róbert Kiss, Hungary, Hungarian, 54 min, 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-ROMHis Missile Majesty / Его ракетное величество [FL 345]
The film is about academician M. K. Iangel', creator of a famous military missile. D. Filyukov, Russia, 2002, Russian, 26 min, documentary film, VHSHistory of my family / История моей семьи [FL 518]
This TV film consists of 6 episodes 26 minutes each. The family story starts with a young couple of Tatar intellectuals, working in Kharbin and getting married in the 1920s. Shortly afterwards they both are accused of espionage, separated from their child and sent to different labor camps. The boy was later adopted by a Turkish family and grew up in Turkey. The woman gave birth to a daughter in the camp, who grew up in the orphanage. Only many years the girl could meet her parents, after their camp sentence was replaced by exile in Siberia. The filmmakers travel to the sights where the members of the family lived and conduct interviews with the family as well as with family friends and neighbors. Marina Razbezhkina, Russia, 2002, Russian, 160 min, VHSHistory of the Red Army, The / История Красной Армии [FL 356]
The first part of the documentary traces the first twenty years of the Red Army through the Civil War, fighting against the Japanese in Manchuria, Stalin's purges and the Finnish campaign. The second part addresses the Red Army during the Second World War, when gross incompetence and technical disadvantages were overcome to bring victory at immense human cost. The story of the campaign on the Eastern Front and of the Soviet Army's later involvment in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan is featured with dramatic footage. Alexander Aizenberg, Matthew King Kaufman, Russia, 1993, Russian, 46 min, documentary film, VHSHistory of the Russian Navy / История русского флота [FL 343]
From the first Russian military fleet created by Peter the Great in the early XVIII century to Khruschev's nuclear missile submarines and to the launch of the first Soviet aircraft carrier in 1990, the story of the Russian Navy is told with unique film footage and graphic material. Alexander Aizenberg, Matthew King Kaufman, Russia, 1993, Russian, 52 min, documentary film, VHSHistory 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-ROMHistory Undercover: Last Mass Execution [FL 882]
In August, 1945, seven German prisoners of war were hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The prisoners did not commit a crime against the United States--they murdered one of their own, German U-boat crewmember, Werner Drechsler. He cooperated with U.S. Naval Intelligence for the interrogation of other German POWs. His fellow POWs demanded retribution for his betrayal to themselves and Germany. When transferred to Fort Leavenworth after his cooperation, authorities put Drechsler into the general population with his former comrades, his former comrades recognized him and passed judgement. They murdered Drechsler on his first night in Fort Leavenworth. Craig Constantine, United States, 1997, English, 50 min, documentary film, VHSHitler - A Film from Germany, Parts 1 & 2 / Hitler - ein Film aus Deutschland [FL 329]
This seven-hour long epic completes the "German Trilogy" of Hans-Jurgen Syberberg, which began with his meditation on the life of Ludwig II of Bavaria and continued with a biography of popular writer Karl May. In this film, he explores the factors in the German psyche which sought for and then deified a man like Hitler. Using absolutely no archival footage from the Nazi era, this highly symbolic and poetic film explores German culture and history. At times, Hitler is depicted as a toga-clad spirit, quoting Richard Wagner, and at times he appears in other guises — all of them critical to understanding his role in the German mind, and hence to understanding the phenomena which caused the German people to support him. The film uses transcripts from radio broadcasts made during the Nazi era to underscore the importance of radio in unifying the nation at that time. Hitler: Ein Film aus Deutschland was made to run in four segments on German, British and French television. The segments were titled "The Grail," "A German Dream," "The End of the Winter's Tale," and "We Children of Hell." Hans-Jürgen Syberberg, Germany, 1977, English, 210 min, VHSHitler - A Film from Germany, Parts 3 & 4 / Hitler - ein Film aus Deutschland [FL 330]
This seven-hour long epic completes the "German Trilogy" of Hans-Jurgen Syberberg, which began with his meditation on the life of Ludwig II of Bavaria and continued with a biography of popular writer Karl May. In this film, he explores the factors in the German psyche which sought for and then deified a man like Hitler. Using absolutely no archival footage from the Nazi era, this highly symbolic and poetic film explores German culture and history. At times, Hitler is depicted as a toga-clad spirit, quoting Richard Wagner, and at times he appears in other guises — all of them critical to understanding his role in the German mind, and hence to understanding the phenomena which caused the German people to support him. The film uses transcripts from radio broadcasts made during the Nazi era to underscore the importance of radio in unifying the nation at that time. Hitler: Ein Film aus Deutschland was made to run in four segments on German, British and French television. The segments were titled "The Grail," "A German Dream," "The End of the Winter's Tale," and "We Children of Hell." Hans-Jürgen Syberberg, Germany, 1977, English, 210 min, VHSHitler in Havana [FL 892]
"Hitler in Havana" is a classic Cold War call-to-arms portrays Castro’s Cuba as a clear and present danger to the United States. Drawing ominous parallels between Castro and Hitler, the film shows Cuba as a nation of concentration camps and firing squads, hell-bent on foreign expansion and communist subversion. Produced by the anti-communist organization INCA (Informational Council of the Americas), distributed to southern television markets in the mid-1960s, "Hitler in Havana" spotlights the growing threat of communism throughout the Americas, warning that "World War III may be fought in New Orleans and New York, not Normandy and Naples." But this is more than an alarmist period piece: the film offers rare and unique footage from the early days of Castro’s regime, smuggled into the United States by anti-Castro refugees, including scenes from the Bay of Pigs invasion and its aftermath.United States, 1966, English, 54 min, propaganda film, VHSHitler, Stalin, and I / Hitler, Stalin a ja [FL 3]
The life story of a Jewish woman, Heda Margoliova, who together with her husband is sent into the Lodz ghetto and then deported to Auschwitz. After the war her husband becomes a communist, only to find himself at the centre of a trial and sentenced to death. His wife is branded as the wife of ‘a traitor to the people’. Helena Trestikova, Czech Republic, 2001, Czech/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, VHSHitler's Birthday Parade [FL 265]
This complete Nazi newsreel shows Berlin - adorned with flags and floral displays by its citizens and monolithic statuary designed by Albert Speer - preparing for the holiday: the 50th birthday of Adolf Hitler. Part of the festival is the greatest military demonstration in the history of the Third Reich.Germany, 1939, German/Subtitles: English, 21 min, newsreels, VHSHitler's Constructions / Die Bauten von Adolf Hitler [FL 264]
This propaganda film shows the varieties of National Socialist constructions: youth hostels and party schools, bridge projects and the Autobahn, ministries and party buildings, as well as the famous monumental works, such as the Zeppelinfeld at Nuremberg.Germany, 1938, German/Subtitles: English, 17 min, propaganda film, VHSHitler's Hitparade [FL 75]
Twenty five songs popular in the Third Reich compose the musical constituent part of the film that puts in a line, side by side, the fragments of period film hits, dancing creations from musicals, amateur films, animated films, instructional films, advertisements, propagandistic materials and documentaries made in Germany between the years 1933-45. The syrupy songs open the Aryan aesthetics up ready to remind in a new composition the role of entertainment in the history of Nazi Germany. This film clarifies the dark epoch of the popular music history, the way how it was abused for the fascist objections. The shots refer to the forms of joy and pandering luck, they show the certain attractiveness of the film as well as of the architecture, home design, technique and power of modern weapons. Yet the shots of the impacts of the dictatorship disturb the beauty, making the visual and the musical dimensions of the film drift apart. Oliver Axer, Susanne Benze, Germany, 2003, German/Subtitles: English, 75 min, archival collage, VHSHold Me Tight, Let Me Go [FL 1585]
The Mulberry Bush School in Oxford is an institutional educational facility for mentally and emotionally disturbed children of school age. In an environment created to resemble a home, some 40 such kids are looked after by over 100 members of staff. The film's title points to the school's approach: the aim is to help traumatised children to control their aggression and express their feelings free of stress and psychological impediments. Therapists try to inculcate an understanding of the rules of society, as well as giving their charges the confidence to return to their lives and to school. Over several months, the renowned filmmaker Kim Longinotto follows the painful and difficult daily struggle for the future of the school's young patients. It is a striking film which makes use of nimble camera–work and an electrifying story–telling style, free of interventions and questions from the director. An authentic portrayal of the fragility of psychologically disturbed childhood, it brings to mind the legendary direct–cinema film Warrendale (1966). The One World Festival has in the past presented several pictures by Longinotto, including Divorce Iranian Style. Kim Longinotto, United Kingdom, 2007, English, 101 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHolidays / Каникулы [FL 1034]
The Mansi children at the boarding school in the small town of Ivdel' - the northernmost town in Sverdlovsk region, 535 kilometers from Ekaterinburg - are waiting impatiently for the winter break. They are eager to return to their native village, where there are no televisions or computer games. It takes a whole day to cover a hundred and fifty kilometers in a weather-beaten lorry, through forests and snow-covered plains. Yet nothing is better than home, where you can go sledging, jump off the roof into the snow, or play cards with grandmother in the bleak light of the kerosene lamp all evening long. Witnessing the everyday life of Treskol'e villagers, this meditative and attentive film carries the viewers across both time and space. The laconic routine is interrupted by accidents which punctuate the predictable passage of time: a child burns himself, a car falls through the ice, somebody gets lost in the woods. The self-appointed shaman advises the locals to leave the village – too few families cannot make a living any longer. The holidays are a short break from town life for the children – will any of them decide to return for good? Marina Razbezhkina, Russia, 2005, /Subtitles: English, 52 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-ROMHomeless F.C. [FL 1540]
Twice a week in Hong Kong, an unlikely group of men gather to play football. They call themselves the Dawn Team, for all of the players have lived through dark times. Beyond a love for the beautiful game, the one thing that unites these people is the fact that they all know what it is like to be homeless. The Dawn Team is training to take part in the Homeless World Cup in Cape Town. Only eight players can go, and secretly, everyone wants to be chosen. The journey to South Africa is a chance to see the world outside Hong Kong, to meet other homeless people, and to re-assess their own lives. Homeless FC follows the Dawn Team through one tumultuous year. It is a year in which a glimmer of hope touches the men’s lives, fights erupt, new relationships take root, and a few dreams appear to come true. Shocking, intimate and immediate, this film enters the world of people who have fallen through the cracks. James Leong & Lynn Lee, Hong Kong, 2007, Chinese, Yue/Subtitles: English, 103 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHonecker's Last Hurrah: East Germany's Military on Parade [FL 325]
October 7, 1989 -- East Germany's Erich Honecker pulls out all the stops in staging huge celebrations for the German Democratic Republic's 40th anniversary, including the grand military parade shown here. As the GDR's armed forces file by crowds of subdued East German citizens, a cast of visiting dignitaries -- including the leaders of all the Warsaw Pact nations -- provides a twilight glimpse of the communist bloc on the brink of extinction. Just hours after this parade concluded, anti-government protests broke out across East Berlin, and massive demonstrations soon engulfed the country. Twelve days later, the Honecker regime was history. This is the actual GDR television broadcast of the event -- news coverage which the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung called a masterpiece of disinformation.Germany, 1989, German, 46 min, VHSHousekeeper / 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-ROMHouses at the Edge of the Village / Faluszéli házak [FL 1402]
The film explores the housing conditions and the questions of assimilation, and the chances of getting out of 'Gypsy ghettos' in rural Hungary in the early 70s. A sociological film about the segregation of Gypsies in Hungary. Pál Schiffer, Hungary, Hungarian, 34 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHouses / Házak [FL 497]
The film addresses the problem of migration from the former Yugoslavia. The crew visits bosnian muslim residents of the Debrecen refugee camp in Hungary. More interviews are conducted with the Serbian orthodox residents of Kojicinovac, Brcko, Jajce and Gorazde, who were forced to leave their houses due to ethnic hatred. Ferenc Szántó, Hungary, 1996, Hungarian, 32 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHousing Problems [FL 894]
Housing Problems is both a propaganda piece and a document of optimism. With its iconic image of new flats rising behind an old row of slum terraces in Stepney, it shows what has been done to improve living conditions by the most 'enlightened' local authorities and planners, and provides an exhortation to others to follow suit. Rather than merely asserting the necessity of new housing, it uses the voices and stories of working class men and women to demonstrate the slums' dreadful conditions, and the benefit of the new estates. Its method - ordinary people talking straight to the camera about their lives - was an innovation in documentary, though to a modern viewer the rehearsed words sound stilted. Arthur Elton and Edgar Anstey, England, 1935, English, 15 min, documentary film, VHSHow 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-ROMHuman Heart Explodes / Human Heart Explodes [FL 1168]
After years of trying to help his fellow Roma (Gypsy) people, Safet Tairov has finally convinced a group of Germans to donate humanitarian goods and build a kindergarten. But many obstacles block Safet's progress in his small Eastern European village: the mayor won't speak to him; the non-Roma citizens are hurt that foreigners are only helping minorities; Safet's organization has little community support and no resources; dealing with Westerners is culturally challenging. Ultimately, the challenges prove victorious. Helder Mira, United States, English, Macedonian/Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHuman Pyramid, The / La pyramide humaine [FL 1105]
The problems of interracial relations in a school in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The director gathers together a group of high school students, Africans and Europeans, boys and girls, and distributes roles: the racists and the nonracists. Nadine is the new European student in the Abidjan high school. Presentation of her friends, one of whom is Denise, a young African and leader of the black group in the class. Alain, a young European who has a scooter, seems the closest to her. The white group and the black group each lead separate lives. Alain takes Nadine to the swimming pool; he comes to see her with Jean-Claude, another European. She is astonished to hear that they never go out with the blacks. They decide to talk to their white friends about it. In the evening, next to the swimming pool, a general discussion among the core members of the white group. Two racists are violently opposed to any attempt at making friends with them, but the majority are favorable to the idea. Coming out of the next class, Jean-Claude tells his African friends about this decision. Meeting of the black group of the class. In spite of the reticence of the two black racists, Denise and her friends Elola, Raymond, and Baka are ready to try the experiment. Introduction by Bernard Surugue. Jean Rouch, France, 1961, French, 88 min, VHSHungarian Chronicles / Magyar kronikak [FL 1715]
Three men and a woman recall their lives between 1956-1989 in Hungary. The narrating protagonists revisit their memories both mentally and physically. One of them survived his own execution, the other became a widower, the third turned from Secret Service officer into a teacher in a remote country village, and the fourth was an intellectual persecuted after 1956. Interestingly, they all remember their youth somewhat differently than they would wish to. There are no conclusions - were there any they would be false. Subtle chronicles of communist Hungary. Gyula Gazdag, Hungary, 1991, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 88 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHungarian Chronicles / Magyar krónikák [FL 1656]
Three men and a woman recall their lives between 1956-1989 in Hungary. One of them survived his own execution, the other became a widower, another turned from Secret Service officer into a teacher. Interestingly, they all remember their youth somewhat differently than they would wish to remember it. Subtle chronicles of communist Hungary. Gyula Gazdag, Hungary, 1992, Hungarian, 98 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHungarian ID / A magyar buletin [FL 1090]
The filmmaker travels across Transylvania to discover the reactions of Hungarian minority in Romania towards one of the then hottest issues in internal Hungarian politics in 2002, namely, the Status Act and the related issue of the so-called Hungarian Card. Holders of the ID have access to the NHS and cultural programs when visiting Hungary, while back home - i.e. Romania, they are eligible to a monthly grant equivalent of $90 for each child studying Hungarian. The Status Act evoked controversial reactions both in Hungary and in the neighbouring countries with Hungarian minority. Gábor Ferenczi, Hungary, 2003, Hungarian, 63 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMHungarian Roma Asylum Seekers in Strasbourg / "Sírsz Magyarországért. Sírjál!" Zámoly - Strasbourg - Zámoly [FL 1278]
In 2000 the Roma of Zámoly turned to the European Court of Human Rights seeking asylum. About 50 of them sought asylum in France. This film follows their trail beginning in the fall of 1999 till 2002. Béla Szobolits, Hungary, 2002, Hungarian, 70 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMI am the Cosmos [FL 1504] Eric Breitbart, United States, English, 19 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
I am Who I am: A Portrait of Miklós Krassó / Vagyok aki vagyok, portré Krassó Miklósról [FL 1291]
Miklós Krassó was one of the great thinkers of the 20th century. Following the failure of the '56 revolution in Hungary he fled to London where he lived until a tragic accident ended his life in 1986. All his life he had been a man of words whose suggestive personality fascinated many, yet he refused to put down his thoughts on paper except for one study he had written about Trotsky. All he has left behind are two video recordings. This film is an edited version of these. István Jávor, Hungary, 2007, Hungarian, 64 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMI Can Already Do That / Ich kann das schon [FL 1426]
In order to understand someone else, we have to enter into dialogue with them. Children suffering from Down's syndrome have difficulties in learning to speak. So how can their parents relate to them and enter into dialogue? The film follows three children suffering from Down's syndrome from spring 2001 to autumn 2002, documenting a phase of their learning process and the joy they have in life. Heide Breitel, Germany, 2005, German/Subtitles: English, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMI Don't Know Where, Or When, Or How / Ne znam ni gde, ni kad, ni kako [FL 310]
Since 1986 the death rate among older people in Yugoslavia has risen five times and the number of suicides has increased dramatically. The film captures a sensitive portrait of a number of aged people in the war-torn country, their alienation, confusion and, most importantly, their sense of dignity. Zelimir Gvardiol, Yugoslavia, 1995, Serbian, 8 min, VHSI Love You as You Are / Gosto De Ti Como Es [FL 1193]
Every year in Lisbon, at the beginning of summer, Saint Anthony's Day is celebrated. In the oldest districts, street festivals and popular community marches are orgnaized. On Saint Anthony's night, each district presents its march in a competition parade along the city's main avenue. This film follows one family from the BICA neighborhood during the preparation and rehearsals for the parade through the point of view of its various members. The expectation grows: will Bica neighborhood win this year's march? Silvia Firmino, (n/a), 2005, Portuguese/Subtitles: English, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMI Never Want To Be Famous / Ik wil nooit beroemd worden [FL 1022]
"I don't ever want to be famous", Tobias mumbles. Tobias is a seriously disabled man and a great Bach enthusiast. Before he went into cardiac arrest and was left handicapped, he was a successful cellist. Now he is in a wheelchair suffering from spastic paralysis and unable to understand very much. By means of archival footage of concerts, photographs and memories of his relatives and a good friend, a picture emerges of the former Tobias, Tobias the cellist. This image is interwoven with images of Tobias today and his life in an institution for the mentally disabled. The contrast between these two worlds illustrates the tough issues Tobias's relatives must grapple with. How much of Tobias is still there? Would he have wanted to live like this? Would it be better if the heart failure had been fatal, or can Tobias still enjoy life? Candidly and sincerely, his relatives and friends discuss the dilemmas that confront them. Tobias himself is hardly, if at all, aware of the questions surrounding him. He enjoys Bach, cries when people leave and says he wants to live to be a thousand years old. Mercedes Stalenhoef, Netherlands, 2005, Dutch/Subtitles: English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMI Remember a Town / Emlékszem egy városra [FL 259]
Through interviews with former political prisoners, the documentary revisits the 1972, 1973 commemorations of March 15th when thousands of students were arrested for silently protesting against the communist regime with poetry and rosettes. Ágnes Incze, Hungary, 1996, Hungarian, 68 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMI Was Stalin’s Bodyguard / Я служил в охране Сталина [FL 295]
Director Semyon Aranovitch brilliantly blends rarely seen newsreel and documentary footage of Stalin’s three-decade regime. The centerpiece is a long, fascinating interview with the last surviving personal bodyguard of the Soviet dictator. Also included are home movies of Stalin, his family and his inner circle. I Was Stalin's Bodyguard is neither blatantly pro- nor anti-Stalin; it offers the facts, then allows the viewer to make up his or her own mind. Semyon Aranovich, Soviet Union, 1990, Russian/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMIag Bari: Brass on Fire [FL 79]
The story begins with a scene of a young boy pulling a horn from a lake. Coming from a tiny village in Romania, the gypsy brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia has taken the world by storm and gained an international following. A musical documentary rich in poetic imagery that depicts the travels of a group said to be the world’s fastest-playing gypsy brass band. Featuring delightful footage of their performance in Tokyo. Ralf Marschalleck, Germany, 2002, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 103 min, documentary film, VHSIdeas and Summer Camps / Koreszmék és táborok [FL 1565]
The film looks at the events that reshaped the “relationship” between the Romanian security forces and the Hungarians living in Transylvania. The fact that from the 50’s onwards the Transylvanian Hungarians became a potential threat in the eyes of the Romanian secret services can be traced back to an attempted revolution supported both by Romanians and Hungarians in the country. Aladár Szoboszlay, a parson from Arad, founded a Christian labor party, promoted an Austro-Hungarian-Romanian state alliance, and set the exact date of a Romanian revolution for August 28, 1956. This film is a tribute to his revolution that never happened. Muhi Klára & Varga Ágota, Hungary, 2007, Hungarian, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMIdentity (maria) / Identitad (maria) [FL 1306]
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada transforms common people into icons by rendering them in charcoal as urban murals. He delves not only in the identity of the neighborhood where he realizes his work but also in his own identity. By questioning the controls imposed on public space, the role models that represents us in the public space and the type of events that are guarded by the collective memory he brakes preconceptions of where art is permitted, when art is needed and to whom it is directed. Ana Alvarez-Errecalde., Spain, 2005, 8 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMIdle ones, The / Joutilaat [FL 940]
In the far northeastern corner of Finland, close to the Russian border, there is not much work for young people. As a result, they either have to move to the larger cities to find work or stay and wait for an opportunity to present itself. The three idle young men portrayed in this film are representative of the new, disoriented generation of the Finnish north. Yet though they hang around drinking beer and looking for a good time, that is not all they want. They would like to get a job, but they have no work experience, so they have very little chance of finding employment. On the threshold of adulthood, the boys are still struggling to gain their independence. The landscape, shot in poetic images, seems an inappropriate backdrop to their lives. But though they do not fit in with its splendor, they are not a part of everyday life either. In the words of the film, “They are living for tomorrow, but it never comes.” Susanna Helke & Virpi Suutari, Finland, 2001, Finnish, 82 min, fiction film, VHSIlliterate [FL 1598]
Anneke, a young woman, worries about her low level of literacy that limits her ability to function normally in every way: at work, in relationships and coping with household expenditure. Bravely and brimming with emotion she tackles the task of escaping from this straitjacket. She takes evening classes to learn to read and write better. An irreversible sense of pride and liberation takes over and she can embark on a new future. Chris Westendorp, Netherlands, 2007, Dutch/Subtitles: English, 47 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMI'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People who Lived During the Holocaust [FL 1172]
"I'm Still Here" presents the diaries of young people who experienced first-hand the terror of daily life during the Holocaust. Through a montage of rare archival footage, personal photos, and text from the diaries themselves, the film tells the story of a group of brave, young writers who refused to quietly disapear. Lauren Lazin, United States, 2007, English, 47 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-ROMImmortal, The / El Immortal [FL 649]
In 1979 in Nicaragua there occurred the uprising of the Sandinistas, who overthrew the long running dictatorship of the Somozas. The government of the United States at that time was afraid that there would emerge a "second Cuba" in the region and began to organize and finance the anti-revolutionary movement of the Contras. The following civil war, in which over 50,000 people died, affected the lives of almost every Nicaraguan family. The members of the Rivera family's lives were forever changed in 1983, when their village was raided by the Contra units, who burned their house, abducted the twelve year-old José Antonio and his older sister Reina, and drafted them both into the army. Director Mercedes Moncada Rodriguez, creator of the remarkable film The Passion of María Elena, which was screened at the One World Festival in 2004, was also able in her second documentary film to fully use her unquestionable filmmaking talent, emerging out of the tradition of magical realism. This is a visually refined and spiritually tuned film which utilizes imaginative composition and effective music to reveal through the story of one family how deeply war can affect the lives of ordinary people. The recording of the unfortunate fate of a missionary bus serves as a type of metaphor in this poetic story, as it travels to the remote corners of Nicaragua bringing the Christian faith that represents for many a comfort from the endured horrors of the war. Mercedes Moncada - Rodriguez, Spain, 2005, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 77 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 Search of Happiness / V poiskakh shchastya [FL 963]
This documentary comes out of a confrontation between past dreams and present-day realities for Soviet Jews inhabiting a Jewish Republic that Stalin set up in 1934, with the capital at Birobidzhan, Siberia. It brings to life scenes of the first settlers' original enthusiasm and hard work, relating how the community grew into an autonomous social and cultural unit, though it was shaped by traditional ideas as well. The settler's presence is felt even today in the largely depopulated enclave - most of their decendants emigrated to Israel. Old resident and survivor Boris Rak is an erudite and discerning guide to the singular world of one of the first Jewish kolkhozes. His kids live in Israel, yet despite his advanced age, he, his wife and his remaining fellow citizens preserve the well-established rhythm of the local community. Drawing on his own experiences, he comments on the past and present of the country in which he lives, as well as on the pressing problem of anti-Semitism. Alexander Gutman, Russia, 2005, Russian, 53 min, documentary film, VHSIn the Name of God / Ram Ke Nam [FL 595]
This film follows the campaign by the militant movement Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) to destroy a 16th century mosque in the city of Ayodhya. Supporters of the VHP claim that the mosque stands right on the birthplace of the Hindu god Ram, and that in order to build it the temple to Ram was destroyed several centuries ago. In retaliation they now demand the destruction of the Muslim sanctuary and the building of a new temple to honor the god Ram. The conflict escalated into open violence, in which thousands of people lost their lives. The film is a powerful testimony about how far religious intolerance can lead. Anand Patwardhan, India, 1991, English, 75 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMIn the Name of the Emperor [FL 1555]
In 1937, 300,000 people were killed and 20,000 women were raped and then killed when Japanese troops invaded Nanjing (aka Nanking). In the name of the Japanese emperor Hirohito, the desperate soldiers, enraged by intense Chinese resistance, stormed the then capitol of China and over a six week period systematically raped, tortured, and killed many of the inhabitants of that city. Horrifyingly graphic footage, shot by an American missionary during the massacre at Nanjing, is combined with diaries and interviews with survivors as well as soldiers; the latter speak openly about their part in the killing, torture and rape. In the Name of the Emperor raises fundamental philosophical, psychological and ethical questions about the horrors of war. Christine Choy & Nancy Tong, United States, 1995, English, Italian, Chinese, Mandarin, Japanese/Subtitles: English, 52 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-ROMIn the Soldier's Footsteps / I soldatens fodspor [FL 1072]
Steven, a former child soldier in Uganda and a refugee in Denmark, receives news that his missing son is not dead, but now himself a child-soldier. Steven determines to free his son, but things go terribly wrong, and suddenly Ugandan government representatives arrive in Copenhagen to stop this film. They claim that Steven is a terrorist and that Uganda is a free country without child soldiery. Soon the film crew finds itself entangled in a political game that involves the chief of Ugandan intelligence, ministers and generals, a game in which the truth is very hard to get at. Mette Zeruneith, Denmark, 2005, Danish, English/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMInfidels / Koffar [FL 396]
The Godars are nomadic Gypsies who migrated from India to Iran. Nobody knows exactly when, but it is said that in the fifth century, in order to entertain his subjects, King Bahram Djour ordered two thousand Indian musicians to be dispatched to Iran. Among them were dancers, performers, musicians and prostitutes. This tribe speaks Chuleh, which is a combination of Sanskrit, Mazandarani, and Farsi. Their original Animist religion was based on the belief that natural objects and phenomena possess lives and souls. During the Islamic Revolution, they were forced to convert to Islam, but they are still outcasts and considered infidels. The film portrays the four ways which the Godars make their living: dancing, acting, hunting and music. Bahman Kiarostami, Iran, 2003, Persian/Subtitles: English, 40 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMInheritors of Paradise / Наследники рая [FL 371]
An anthropological portrayal of the everyday life of a Roma community in a village on the Volga river, close to Kazan in Tatarstan, in the Russian Federation. Working days are succeeded by holidays and then by working days again: this attentive visual ‘diary’ refrains as much from reiterating traditional stereotypes as it does from imposing strong narratives on the flow of life. Strong ties bind the old and the young together in a single community. Marina Razbezhkina, Russia, 1997, Russian/Subtitles: English, 52 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-ROMInside Russia [FL 272]
A complete survey of the Soviet Union prior to WW II, this rare film was completed only weeks before the German invasion of the USSR. Charles A. Stuart, United States, 1941, English, 75 min, propaganda film, VHSInspirations [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-ROMInterrogation of Enemy Airman [FL 326]
A classified USAF training film, based on actual cases, that re-creates psychological techniques used to extract information from captured prisoners, including interrogations in German, Italian and Japanese.United States, 1944, English, 30 min, documentary film, VHSInto the Field [FL 1620]
The film examines the everyday secular lives of nuns residing in the Romanian Orthodox monastery of Varatec. The majority of the 450 members of this monastery live as small groups in private houses, much like regular villagers, rather than inside the walls of the communal abbey. Throughout the year, they integrate their duties at home with their religious responsibilities to their community and to the church. Alyssa Grossman, United Kingdom, 2005, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 28 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMInvisible [FL 303]
This film, which borders on a sociological study and/or ethnographic report, focuses on the lives of women in such closed and patriarchal communities as Azerbaijani villages in Georgia. Women are "invisible" there. For example, one seldom sees girls attend high school. As to the outside world, it pays just as little attention to gender problems in Azerbaijani communities, as the latter is indifferent to the outside world. Liana Dzhakeli, Georgia, 2003, Georgian/Subtitles: English, 26 min, VHSInvoluntary / Lo retsoni [FL 1532]
Alin and Shani are two young Israeli women. Inside them lives a monster that threatens to burst out at any moment. It is called Tourette Syndrome -- an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder which causes involuntary physical and vocal tics --, and the two have it in its most severe and extreme form. Alin (30) lives on the edge: wild and rebellious, she loves to drink and have a good time. Shani (18) is sweet and intelligent but suffers from social isolation. The worlds of the two are entirely different: Alin comes from the slums of Haifa while Shani is a "good girl" from the Ariel suburb. Director Boaz Rosenberg followed the two young women over three crucial years, during which they grew up, experienced emotional turmoils and dealt with their problematic relationships with their homes and society. Especially prominent is their close yet complicated relationships with their mothers. A fresh and intimate look at survival in a world where one feels "abnormal" and different. Boaz Alexander Rosenberg, Israel, 2007, Hebrew/Subtitles: English, 72 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMIranian/American [FL 1355]
An Iranian and an Iranian-American young man talk about identiy in Iran and in the US; about heritage and homeland; about immigration and integration, about religion and tradition, dance and filmmaking. Mahmoud Karimi, Ali John Zarrabi, Iran, 2007, Persian/Subtitles: English, 40 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMIron Eaters / Eisenfresser [FL 1177]
The annual famine in Northern Bangladesh forces farmers Kholil and Gadu along with several of their relatives to leave their homeland. They are going to work as seasonal labourers in the shipbreaking yards in the south. In the yards that line the beaches of Chittagong, they will dismantle the garbage of the Western world: oil tankers and vast container ships. Director Shaheen Dill-Riaz is witness to a system of exploitation that very few workers can escape from: the seasonal workers from the north don't only do the most dangerous work in the yards, they are also forced into debt and trapped in the south. Shaheen Dill-Riaz, Germany, 2007, /Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMIs It Easy To Be Young? / Легко ли быть молодым? [FL 99]
This documentary interviews Soviet youths from 16 to 20 years of age and captures their disillusioned and cynical attitudes. They reject the ideology of their parents and country, seeking only to have a good time and/or make money. Veterans who fought in the Afghanistan conflict are seen suffering from the same maladies as U.S. soldiers after their experiences in Vietnam. Teens embrace everything from punk-rock music and drugs to the Hare Krishna religion in their search for purpose and identity. Yuris Podnieks, Soviet Union, 1987, Latvian/Subtitles: English, 83 min, fiction film, VHSIsland of Great Hopes / Wyspa wielkiej nadziei [FL 1731] Bohdan Poręba, Poland, 1957, Polish, 14 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
Jaba [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-ROMJackboot Mutiny / Es geschah am 20 Juli Es geschah am 20. Juli [FL 783]
uly 20, 1944: a suitcase bomb explodes in Hitler's headquarters, the opening act of a desperate German officers' plot to overthrow the Nazi regime. But the Führer miraculously survives the blast, and the attempted coup, code-named Operation Valkyrie, is soon crushed, its ringleaders rounded up and executed. The "Jackboot Mutiny," one of the last films by renown German director G.W. Pabst, recreates these events with meticulous care, throwing us headlong into the inner workings and dashed ambitions of the coup and its leaders. Released in 1955 under the German title "It happened on July 20th," Pabst's film presents, in the heroic figure of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a counter-image to Nazism's monstrous past, calling upon postwar Germans to ensure that he and others did not give their lives in vain. Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Germany, 1955, German, 73 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMJaguar [FL 1104]
Three young men from the Savannah of Niger leave their homeland to seek wealth and adventure on the coast and in the cities of Ghana. This film is the story of their travels, their encounters along the way, their experiences in Accra and Kumasi, and, after three months, their return to their families and friends at home. The film is part documentary, part fiction, and part reflective commentary. There was no portable sound synchronized equipment in the early 1950s when Jaguar was shot. Instead, Rouch had the main characters (his friends and "accomplices") improvise a narrative while they viewed the film, which was itself improvized along the way. The resulting soundtrack consists of remembered dialogue, of joking and exclamations, of questions and explanations about the action on the screen. Introduction by Bernard Surugue. Jean Rouch, France, 1967, French, 88 min, VHSJanos Kadar Retires / Kádár János nyugdíjba megy [FL 1650]
Secretary general of the Communist Party Janos Kadar requested his retirement in 1972 which however never materialized. What was behind this request? Who was it addressed to? To Leonyid Brezhnev? Who wrote it? An old, tired man or a cunning politician? Zsuzsa Mery, Hungary, 2001, Hungarian, 45 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMJapan, A Story of Love and Hate [FL 1702]
Naoki, 56, had it all in Japan's bubble economy days: he ran a business with 70 employees, drove a brand new BMW, and lived in a 6-bedroom house. But when Japan's economy crashed in the early 1990's he lost everything, ending up divorced and penniless. He was saved from living on the street by his new girlfriend, Yoshie, 29, who took him in, despite living in a tiny one-room apartment with no windows. At his age, the only job Naoki can find is a part-time one at the post office. Here, part-time means working 7 hours a day for about 400 Euro a month. Yoshie now has to find extra work to support him, slaving for 15 hours a day in 3 jobs. Each evening Yoshie leaves Naoki at home to do the housework and heads for a sleazy chat bar, where she is paid to drink, flatter and flirt with married men. Sometimes she comes home drunk and teases Naoki about his poor income. After taking her nightly dose of sleeping pills, she cannot remember anything. Naoki sees his relationship with Yoshie like one between father and daughter. He admits that since losing his business he has lost his confidence and his ability to have sex with Yoshie, too. Their life is a love story of survival in the world's second richest economy. Sean McAllister, United Kingdom, 2008, Japanese, English/Subtitles: English, 70 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMJazz Talks / Rozmowy jazzowe [FL 1731] Andrzej Brzozowski, Poland, 1957, Polish, 13 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
Jean Rouch in conversation with Pierre-Andre Boutang / Jean Rouch raconte a Pierre-Andre Boutang [FL 1106]
In conversation with Pierre-Andre Boutang (responsible for the programming at Arte and documentary director himself), Rouch tells about his life and ethnographic envolvement, starting from his first trip to Nigeria. The director of 120 films, he shares his philosophy of life and cinema. Pierre-Andre Boutang, France, 1992, French, 104 min, VHSJerusalem Is Proud to Present / Jerušalajim gea lehacig [FL 1583]
In the summer of 2006, Jerusalem was supposed to host the World Pride festival for the first time in its history and this was meant to culminate in a gay pride parade. The festival, however, met with enormous resistance from representatives of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious communities. Above all, ultra–orthodox Jews did not hesitate to use all means at their disposal to prevent the planned event, including intimidation and threats of physical violence. Their intransigent resistance erupted on the streets of Jerusalem with a wave of violence in the days leading up to the scheduled march. This documentary film shows the determination and bravery of the parade's organisers from the Open House association. For them, in an escalating atmosphere of homophobia and in the face of threats and violence, holding the march became something a lot more fundamental than just freely expressing their opinion. Director Nitzan Gilady gives us a unique view of preparations for a festival celebrating tolerance in conservative society, which is deeply intolerant and won't permit any discussion on the subject of minorities with a different sexual orientation. Nitzan Gilady, Israel, 2007, English, Arabic, Hebrew, Yiddish/Subtitles: English, 89 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-ROMJohn Matthews Interview [FL 1505]
John Matthews talks about Radio Free Europe, Free Europe Press and IREX.United States, 1998, English, 90 min, interview, 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-ROMJose Manuel, the Mule and the TV / Jose Manuel, la Mula y el Televisor [FL 664]
After lightening struck the televison antenna and hits the carrier signal, Jose Manuel decided to take matters in his own hands and carry on with the program by himself. He takes his mule and his television set to different local peoplefrom the Sierra Maestra (Cuba) and interviews them about their lives and the problems in the community. Neither he nor his interviewees seem to be disturbed by the setting of the interviews, as they speak to each other through the empty frame of an ex-television. This film takes a gentle look at how one mna uses his creativity and humor to produce social change in a small village in Cuba. Elsa Cornevin, Cuba, 2003, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 14 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-ROMJourney of Change [FL 1661]
Documentary about Roma education; integrated and segregated schools in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.United States, 2001, Czech/Subtitles: English, 43 min, documentary film, VHSJung (War): In the Land of the Mujaheddin / Jung (Guerra) Nella Yerra Dei Musaheddin [FL 36]
’Jung’ means war in the language of the Dari, who consider war to be the very essence of life. This narrative documentary follows the quest of a surgeon who wants to establish an emergency hospital for civilian war victims in Afghanistan and is accompanied by an old correspondent who has reported there ever since the Soviet invasion. A deeply human story set against the backdrop of an endless war that has been forgotten by everyone except its victims. Alberto Vendemmiati and Fabrizio Lazzaretti, Italy, 2000, Dari/Subtitles: English, 114 min, documentary film, Beta SPJunking / Gubera [FL 696]
Lehel Oláh’s documentary is an experiment balancing on the border of several genres. Moments recorded – with brilliant camera work – in different periods of the year tell us a lot about the life of a big city. The authors collect “junk-images” in Budapest during junking developed into a lyric “socio road movie” in order to let other people use them. Oláh Lehel, Hungary, 2003, (silent), 20 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMJuric: fortress 1999 / Juric: tvrdja 1999 [FL 869]
A personal view of the famous fortress in the Croatian town of Osijek, as seen by its director Zvonimir Juric. Past (both distant and recent) and present are juxtapositioned in a very delicate, factumentary fashion. The direct identifies several storie from the arhibes of the Fortress and then he finds their equivalent in present day happenings, thus suggesting the unchanging time of the prerennial fortress. Zvonimir Juric, Croatia, Croatian, 28 min, art documentary, VHSJustice in the Time of War [FL 26]
The Turra family lost their exquisite son in Colombia. Giacomo was a poet, an anthropologist, a sensitive and by all accounts loveable boy. But Giacomo was arrested by the police, and died in their custody. The Turras refused to accept the official explanation, according to which, their son had been in possession of cocaine, and acted violently under the influence. For years they tried get justice for Giacomo but failed. Out of the Turras' story, Fabrizio Lazzaretti has fashioned a parable for our times. It seems that you cannot even secure the minute amount of dignity for your dead son. People will lie to you, and otherwise treat you with contempt. Around this revelation the film weaves a depressing tapestry of contemporary Colombia. It appears to be a place so violent that individual actions no longer mean very much. An impassioned, terrifying film. Fabrizio Lazzaretti, Italy, 2003, Italian, Spanish/Subtitles: English, Polish, 77 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMJuvenile Liaison [FL 1234]
Banned for 22 years after pressure from the Lancashire Police, this often shocking documentary follows a 1968 police youth initiative in Blackburn, Lancashire. Juvenile liaison officers were appointed to the police force with the purpose of serving as a link between families, schools, and young offenders. While the intention of the program was to prevent children from becoming juvenile delinquents, policing methods were often brutal and mentally abusive; the fact that their charges were children was simply not taken into account. The bulky, hulking figure of Sgt Ray berates a tiny Indian girl for stealing eight and a half pence and some pencils; the special needs child George is dragged from his bed to explain his violent behavior. PW Brooks is little better with the psychological abuse she metes out to her charges, using any leverage from family members to break the children. The film stirred up considerable controversy thanks to its depiction of the harsh treatment inflicted on children brought in for minor offences. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1975, English, 91 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKalahari Family, A [FL 85]
Encapsulating 50 years of Namibian history and edited from 2 million feet of 16mm film, A Kalahari Family represents a lifetime of documentation, research, and personal contact with the Ju/'hoansi of Nyae Nyae by filmmaker John Marshall. Through the voices of Oma Tsamkxao and his extended family, viewers learn the extraordinary story of the Ju/'hoansi, beginning with their experiences as independent, self-sufficient hunter-gatherers, continuing through the wrenching changes of dispossession and militarization, and culminating with their attempts to establish viable farming settlements. Part 1: A FAR COUNTRY (90 Min.) In 1951, the Marshall family set out to document the life of the Bushmen of the Kalahari. After a week of hard travel in desert-adapted vehicles, they met Toma Tsamkxao and his Ju/'hoan band in Nyae Nyae. In their own words, Toma's extended family describes how they survive by gathering bush foods and hunting game. Part 2: END OF THE ROAD (60 Min.) John Marshall is reunited with Toma's family in 1978. Like a majority of Ju/'hoansi, they have settled at Tjum!kui, an administrative post run by the South African government. They came looking for water, jobs and an easier life, but found poverty, malnutrition and violence. Desperate for a more stable existence, the family heads back to their traditional water hole, /Aotcha, with shovels, cattle, and plans to start farming. Part 3: REAL WATER (60 Min.) Ju/’hoan farming communities multiply during the 1980s only to face a new threat. The Department of Nature Conservation wants to create a game reserve on Ju/’hoan territory. People will be forbidden to raise livestock or crops. Instead, Ju/’hoansi will be encouraged to act like "Bushmen" and hunt for the amusement of tourists. Urgent grass roots organizing ensues as the people seek to control their traditional lands. Part 4: STANDING TALL (60 Min.) After twelve decades of colonial rule, South West Africa is about to become the independent nation of Namibia and people are looking forward to democratic rule. Members of the newly formed, Ju/’hoan Farmers' Co-op travel throughout white ranching districts and black ethnic homelands to find long-lost relatives. Following Namibia’s first national elections, United Nations troops help relocate these families to traditional Ju/’hoan territory. Part 5: DEATH BY MYTH (90 Min.) Namibian independence attracts vast amounts of international aid, but development programs no longer benefit Ju/’hoan farms. We witness the power of the Bushman myth, belief that Ju/’hoansi live uniquely in harmony with nature and are born to hunt. John Marshall, United States, 2002, /Voice-over: English, 360 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKalinovski Square / Ploshcha [FL 1521]
In March 2006, presidential elections were held in Belarus. Despite the hopes of the opposition and many outside the country, Alexander Lukashenko was reelected for a third consecutive term in manipulated elections; the official result gave him over 85 percent of the vote. The well-known Belarusian director Yuri Khashchevatsky was an observer of the elections and the events surrounding them. He filmed pre–election meetings, the proclamations of candidates, anti–Lukashenko demonstrations and interviews with opponents of the regime who were arrested. In Kalinovski Square Khashchevatsky manages, as in the earlier An Ordinary President (1996), to transform the dark and despotic goings on of present–day Belarus into exquisite political satire. With irony and humor, he points to what the country suffers from most of all – the dictator Lukashenko's self–centered understanding of the world and the totalitarian method of rule which springs from it. The film lifts the lid on an elaborate state apparatus which does not allow the slightest sign of democratisation, and a "free" election which turns into farce. Yuri Khashchevatski, Estonia, 2007, Russian, Belarusian/Subtitles: English, 73 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKassim the Dream [FL 1579]
This is the story of World Champion Boxer, Kassim "The Dream" Ouma - born in Uganda, kidnapped by the rebel army and trained to be a child soldier at the age of 6. When the rebels took over the government, Kassim became an army soldier who was forced to commit many horrific atrocities, making him both a victim and perpetrator. He soon discovered the army's boxing team and realized the sport was his ticket to freedom. After 12 years of warfare, Kassim defected from Africa and arrived in the United States. Homeless and culture shocked, he quickly rose through the boxing ranks and became Junior Middleweight Champion of the World. Kassim, now age 27, seems to have obtained the American Dream with his jovial nature, fame and hip hop lifestyle. As Kassim trains for his next world title fight against Jermain Taylor in Little Rock Arkansas, keeping his demons out of the ring becomes increasingly difficult. His desires to reunite with family in Uganda intensify when Kassim's only hope for a safe return is a military pardon from the president and government responsible for his abduction. Kief Davidson, United States, 2008, English, 87 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKatyn / Hatyny [FL 1624]
Propaganda video produced by "Sport Studio" in Belarus, edited by the Hungarian Communist Youth Organization. Khatyn, Chatyń (Belarusian and Russian: Хаты́нь) is a village in Belarus, all of whose 149 inhabitants were burnt alive by the Nazis, with participation of Ukrainian and Belarusian collaborators from the 118th Schutzmannschaft battalion in 1943. In the Soviet Union, Khatyn became a symbol of mass killings of the civilian population. In 1969 it was named the national war memorial of the Byelorussian SSR. The symbol of the complex is a monument with three birch trees, with an eternal flame instead of a fourth tree, a tribute to the one in every four Belarusian's who died in the Second World War. In the Brezhnev era USSR, much attention was paid to this Nazi crime, presumably with the intention of driving away the attention from the Katyn massacre of Polish officers by the Soviets in 1940. The village of Khatyn was chosen and the memorial created by the Soviet authorities in a calculated policy of disinformation, designed to create confusion with the Katyn massacre.Belarus, 2004, English, 10 min, political propaganda, DVD-ROMKenedi goes back home / Kenedi se vraca kuci [FL 973]
The documentary follows the lives of several Roma, two in particular, who have been deported from Germany to Belgrade, and inserted into economic and social situations totally alien to their previous experience. There is no narrative or music, and the director lets the characters deliver whatever messages the film conveys through their conversations and facial expressions. The two main characters both have very sympathetic stories. The first to be introduced has lost much in being deported, but has managed to buy a car and uses it to earn his livelihood. The second is a young man who has been separated from his parents, and is searching for them in the Roma community around Belgrade, with Kenedi's help. He has spent his entire life in Germany, is obviously bright and well educated, but can't communicate effectively in the local languages. What will happen to this young man, who obviously has a lot of potential? Zelimir Zilnik, Serbia and Montenegro, 2003, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 78 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKenedi is Getting Married / Kenedi se zeni [FL 1375]
Kenedi is in huge debt after building a house for his family. He finds himself searching for any kind of work to support himself, for as little as 10 EUR per day, a scarce amount to help him relief his debt. Ultimately, Kenedi decides to look for money in sex business. Initially offering his services to older ladies and widows, he expands his ‘business’ to offer sex to wealthy men. When he finds out about new liberal European laws on gay marriages, Kenedi sees prospects in looking for a “marriage material”, to renew his search for a legal status in EU. The opportunity arises during EXIT Music Festival, when he meets Max, a guy from Munich. But will their promising relationship bring the solution to Kenedi’s problems? Zelimir Zilnik, Serbia and Montenegro, 2007, 80 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKenedi, Lost and Found / Gde je bio Kenedi 2 godine? [FL 1374]
Two years after completing «Kenedi Goes Back Home» film director Zilnik finds the main protagonist Kenedi Hasani in Vienna and follows him on his journey from western Europe back to Serbia. Zelimir Zilnik, Serbia and Montenegro, 2005, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 26 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-ROMKing of Velichovky, The / Kral Velichovek [FL 1114]
The dramatic story of the Seissers, a Sudeten-German family of prosperous landowners from Velichovky, a little spa town in Bohemia. Drawing on a large family film archive and the recollections of relatives and contemporaries, the director performs at once the function of family chronicler and "time archeologist", reconstructing their life in the 1930-40s, as everyday routine and festivities become more and more intertwined with "big history". Karl's oldest daughter Lili gets married to a Czech doctor in 1934 and the family travels to Germany for the occasion, filming the changing face of Berlin. Ria is dating a low-class clerk of German origin, who gradually starts taking advantage of his ethnic background. Edith, the youngest and most stubborn and rational, falls for a Nazi colonel much older then herself. The birth of their son coincides with his promotion to general in the German army. Adding to the private recordings a soundtrack which is at times meditative or anxious, the director makes us ponder on the complex fusion of personal choices and responsibilities. The flow of time, neither completely lost nor fully recaptured, is nurtured by exceptional intimacy, reachable only with very close people. In 1992, the director Jan S· ikl founded an Archive of Private Film History. King of Velichovky is part of the on-going project called Private Century. Jan Sikl, Czech Republic, 2005, Czech, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKing of Velichovky / Král Velichovek [FL 1028]
The dramatic story of the Seissers, a Sudeten-German family of prosperous land-owners from Velichovky, a little spa town in Bohemia. Drawing on a large family film archive and the recollections of relatives and contemporaries, the director performs at once the function of family chronicler and “time archeologist”, reconstructing their life in the 1930-40s, as everyday routine and festivities become more and more intertwined with 'big history'. Karl's oldest daughter Lili gets married to a Czech doctor in 1934 and the family travels to Germany for the occasion, filming the changing face of Berlin. Ria is dating a low-class clerk of German origin, who gradually starts taking advantage of his ethnic background. Edith, the youngest and most stubborn and rational, falls for a Nazi colonel much older then herself. The birth of their son coincides with his promotion to general in the German army. Adding to the private recordings a soundtrack which is at times meditative or anxious, the director makes us ponder on the complex fusion of personal choices and responsibilities. The flow of time, neither completely lost nor fully recaptured, is nurtured by exceptional intimacy, reachable only with very close people. In 1992, the director Jan Šikl founded an Archive of Private Film History. King of Velichovky is part of the on-going project called Private Century. Jan Šikl, Czech Republic, 2005, Czech/Subtitles: English, 52 min, archival collage, DVD-ROMKingdom of Silence, The / Csendország [FL 391]
The young deaf-mute boy who lives in a small village in Gyimes (Transylvania) receives a camera from his parents. What does the experience of "light-writing" mean to a hearing-impaired child? What traces does the rediscovery of the usual material and natural environment, capturing experiences, leave on the development of Alfi's personality? What perspectives does this new form of communication open for a disabled boy? Róbert Lakatos's attitude is empathic and sensitive enough to help us to find answers to these questions, using his film as a mirror. Although the filmmaker never actually appears in the film, the friendship between him and his protagonist gives the basic tone of the film. Róbert Lakatos, Hungary, 2001, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 37 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKlondike-a / Клондайка [FL 370]
The Russian Klondike brings great losses instead of great gains. The population of Alapaevsk, a town in the Urals, lives off a large dumping area, collecting and selling radioactive waste. For many this 'lively and warm' slum becomes a second home, and for some - a place to lose their lives. The story of a 12 year-old boy sounds like an absurdist comedy until we learn of the tragic cost. Vladimir Popov, Russia, 2002, Russian/Subtitles: English, 24 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKnights of the starting table / Рыцари стартового стола [FL 350]
The film tells the story of the creation of spaceships and spaceship launching complexes by engineer Vladimir Barmin. V. Vanchin, Russia, 2000, Russian, 25 min, documentary film, VHSKoktebel / Коктебель [FL 773]
"Koktebel" centres on a father and son as they make their way from Moscow to the Crimea. Without money, they have to hitch lifts, get work when they can and rely on others' generosity. What prompted them to embark on this journey? Is there such a place as Koktebel on the map at all? Boris Khlebnikov, Aleksei Popogrebsky, Russia, 2003, Russian, 102 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMKomsomolsk mon amour [FL 1356]
A film about the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East, its history and present-day struggles, seen through the eyes of young people, old Communists, former labor-camp prisoners, and the local avant-garde theater KnAM, performing a slow reading of Dostoevskys Notebooks. A film about a love affair with a city, its struggle with the past, and its hope for the future. Thomas Lahusen, Tracy McDonald, Alexander Gershtei, Canada, 2007, English, Russian/Subtitles: English, 56 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKoriam's Law and the Dead Who Govern [FL 1233]
The film sets out to explore the workings and the influence of the Kivung, a powerful religious and political movement in Papua New Guinea. The Pomio Kivung Movement was founded in 1964 by Koriam, a local leader. In the face of official condemnation, its political and religious philosophy sought to uncover that path to a perfect existence, which the colonizing whites seemed to have found and selfishly monopolized. Kivung leaders scrutinized the revelations of missionaries for hidden truths and codes. They examined, too, forms of colonial governance – especially money and bureaucracy – for clues to the source of their power. Koriam’s central question was how to find a way back from the original ancestral fault that put his people in a state of subjugation. He incorporated and localized parts of Christianity whilst seeking an ever closer embrace with the beloved dead. Australian anthropologist Andrew Lattas and philosopher-informant Peter Avarea of Matong village, Pomio, Papua New Guinea guide us through the intricacies of the resulting religious practices. Gary Kildea, Andrea Simon, Australia, 2005, English, Tok Pisin, 110 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMKövek [FL 943]
A short film about the mysteries of an impressive cave; it describes the impact of its sacral interior upon visitors. It appears to be an attempt of showing something that can only be seen rather than explained. László Nádasy, Hungary, Hungarian, 15 min, art documentary, DVD-ROMKovno Ghetto: A Buried History [FL 815]
Before World War II 35, 000 Jews lived in Kovno (now Kaunas, Lithuania.) In a story familiar throughout Europe, few escaped the Holocaust. But despite their great suffering, the courageous inmates of the Kovno ghetto risked their lives to record their fate in thousands of photographs and documents. Incredibly many of these articles surivived the war, stashed away in hiding places, buried underneath the rubble, etc. They are the most complete record of any Jewish community's experience during the Holocaust. "Kovno ghetto" pieces together the story of the Jews of Kovno from the first stirrings of war to the annihilation of the ghetto just days before the city's liberation. And for the first time, 19 survivors of Kovno - including photographer Zvi Kadushin, whose images are at the heart of Kovno's moving legacy - tell their harrowing stories of survival and loss. Narrated and co-written by renoved historian Sir Martin Gilbert, the film is a gripping record of people who risked it all to document the most horrifying experience of their lives. Herbert Krosney, United States, 1997, English, Hebrew/Dubbing: English, 89 min, documentary film, VHSKristina 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-ROMKurds and the Yezidis, The [FL 909]
A documentary film based on Soviet archival footage about the life Yezidis. They represent a small community adherent to Yazdanism and inhabit up to present times a third of Kurdistan. They are primarily ethnic Kurds, but the extent to which they consider themselves as part and parcel of the Kurdish nation is still debated. Most Yazidis live near Mosul, Iraq with smaller communities in Syria, Turkey, Iran, Georgia and Armenia. The archival footage is dated 1928 and represents an excellent anthropological material on the ancient lifestyle of this people.France, (silent), 60 min, documentary film, VHSL. A. Story of Biggie and Tupac [FL 8]
In 1997, rap superstars Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls, the Notorious B.I.G.) were gunned down in separate incidents, the apparent victims of hip hop's infamous east-west rivalry. Nick Broomfield's film introduces Russell Poole, an ex-cop with damning evidence that suggests the LAPD deliberately fumbled the case to conceal connections between the police, LA gangs and Death Row Records, the label run by feared rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 2002, English, 107 min, documentary film, VHSLa Boillat Will Live! / La Boillat vivra! [FL 1378]
At the beginning of 2006, employees at the Swissmetal Boillat factory in Reconvilier (Bernese Jura) occupied the plant for 37 days. They were all united – executives and employees alike – and supported by the entire populace. The management of the Swissmetal Group, the owners of the factory, planned to relocate production elsewhere. This intensive and remarkable resistance raises many questions: for example, what is the purpose of the UNIA trade union; what role and how much power do the democratic Helvetian institutions have? Daniel Künzi, Switzerland, 2007, French/Subtitles: English, 83 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLadies, The / Zananeh [FL 380]
The ladies' room in the center of Tehran becomes a meeting point for prostitutes, drug addicts and runaways, women who reject conventional roles but seek mental comfort. The old woman who runs the place is a support figure for many younger women who are in need of advice, consolation, or just someone to share a joke with. Many intimacies are exchanged, many sad and tragic stories confessed. Nonetheless, the tone of the film is a playful one. The women smoke, gossip about their husbands, drink tea together and sing songs. The rest room becomes a shelter where the women can enjoy a little freedom. Everybody finds sympathetic listeners in this unusual place, a washroom, where they are unveiled, both physically and mentally. Mahnaz Afzali, Iran, 2003, Persian/Subtitles: English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLakshmi and Me [FL 629]
This personal film turns the camera on the director's maid Lakshmi. She works nearly 10 hours a day, seven days a week for a number of Mumbai families, earning in a month what her employers would spend on a good meal. Dress, family relations anchored in tradition, her relations to education, doctors, male and female family roles – in almost everything Lakshmi is different from the families who can afford to employ her. The director eloquently illustrates this point in a number of scenes, such as when the protagonist chooses to eat sitting on the ground at her employer's luxury flat. As well as its Indian elements, the film focuses on questions linked to the justice of work and equality between different social classes. Lakshmi works though she is pregnant, weighs only 44 kilograms and has to deal with serious health problems. The director gradually turns away from the flats of Lakshmi's employers and turns the camera on the subject's own living conditions. Nishtha Jain, India, 2007, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 59 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLand Without Bread aka Unpromised Land / Hurdes, Las aka Tierra sin pan [FL 894]
The region of Las Hurdes, not far from Salamanca, is largely cut off from the rest of the world. To reach Las Hurdes, it is necessary to travel through the town of La Alberca, which itself has some unusual sights and customs. The Hurdanos themselves live in several dozen villages in the nearby mountains, near a valley that contains the ruins of a convent. Bunuel's vision is so strong that the film becomes unsettling, turning the real into the surreal. While it was Buñuel's sole documentary, Las Hurdes is thematically consistent with his other films; its fascination with insects, unblinking look at human cruelty, subtle but clear disgust with the Catholic Church, and moments of jet-black humor mark it as the work of Spain's greatest surrealist filmmaker. Las Hurdes was also embraced as an attack on Franco's regime; a British leftist group screened it in the United Kingdom as "The film that answers Franco." Luis Buñuel, Spain, 1933, French, 30 min, documentary film, VHSLaogai / Laogai [FL 17] Jo Angerer, Rico Carisch, Germany, 1993, 50 min, documentary film, VHS
Last Bolshevik, The [FL 288]
The 20th century history of the Soviet cinema and the Soviet Union itself in the form of six video "letters" sent "posthumously" to the Soviet filmmaker Alexander Medvedkin (1900-1989). Chris Marker, United Kingdom, 1993, Russian/Subtitles: English, 118 min, art documentary, DVD-ROMLast Bus Stop / Hosszú utazás [FL 1560]
A village in Eastern Europe where for more than a century nationality has changed in a season-like cadenza: first it belonged to the Hapsburg Empire, then to Czechoslovakia, then to the Soviet Union. At the end of World War II, the Russians established a border that divided the village of Szelmenc between two separate countries. Families on one side live in Slovakia, which is now a member of European Union. On the other side, their relatives have to endure the unstable political and economic conditions in Ukraine. While the EU is setting up Schengen borders, people living on the Ukrainian side have become even more isolated with the plans to open a new border crossing. A tragicomic story of geopolitical absurdities and those who suffer from them. Böszörményi Zsuzsa & Kai Salminen, Hungary, 2007, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLast Days, The [FL 813]
The 1998 Academy Award winner for Best Feature Documentary, "The Last Days" chronicles the experiences of five Hungarians who fell victim to Adolf Hitler's final genocidal push at the end of World War II. From the villages of Carpathia to the cosmopolitan city of Budapest, the Nazis ravaged Hungary and filled the Auschwitz death camp beyond capacity. In "The Last Days," survivors journey back to their hometowns and to the places where they faced the Holocaust. Their eyewitness testimony and rare archival footage reveals the harrowing journey that meant death for millions and survival for a precious few. James Moll, United States, 1998, English, German, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 90 min, documentary film, VHSLast Five Years (aka Fall of the Tsars) / Последние пять лет [FL 349]
This film, edited from archival footage and photographs, charts the chain of errors and musjudgements that preceded the fall of the monarchy and ultimately led to the violent death of the Romanov family in 1918. The film contains rarely shown archival film and photo materials from Krasnogorsk film archive related to the celebration of the 300 anniversary of the Romanovs, World War I, and the arrest and exile of the royal family. Alexander Aizenbrg, Matthew King Kaufman, Russia, 1994, Russian, 55 min, documentary film, VHSLast Oasis, The / Posljednja oaza [FL 473] Petar Lalović, Yugoslavia, 1983, Serbo-Croatian/Subtitles: English, 91 min, fiction film, DVD-ROM
Last Peasants, The. Film One: Journeys [FL 378]
The Damian Family, once powerful under the communists, are now the poorest family in the village. Ion and Maria are desperate to leave to join his brother in Ireland or their sister-in-law in Paris. But life in Paris and Dublin is hardly a dream for the brother and sister in law. Their marriage is drifting apart as they both struggle to do much more than work and make money. Angus Macqueen, United Kingdom, 2003, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLast Peasants, The. Film Three: A Good Wife [FL 379]
The episode follows the fortunes of two families - one which decided to stay in the village, the other which split, the wife going to Paris while the husband was left behind. "A Good Wife" is about change and how the immigrants to the West are returning and transforming their homes. Angus Macqueen, United Kingdom, 2003, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLast Peasants, The. Film Two: Temptation [FL 378]
The Oprisc family have dominated the village for generations, through World Wars, occupation and communism. But ten years of "capitalism and democracy" is threatening everything they stand for. They own the water-driven threshing machine and take 10% of the villages corn. But their children do not want to take over the farm. The film tells the story of the collapse of a crumbling world, undermined by the dream of a little known and barely understood world outside. Angus Macqueen, United Kingdom, 2003, Romanian/Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLast Yugoslavian Football Team, The / Het laatste Joegoslavische elftal [FL 515]
Born in the same country, they became world youth champions in Chile in 1989; the 'Chileans' played together until 1990. Then war broke out and Yugoslavia started to fall apart. First the Croatian players left, then the trainer Ivica Osim resigned because the Serbians bombed his home town of Sarajevo. Under pressure of the international community, the team was banned from the European championships in Sweden. In March 1999 they were to share the same soccer pitch for the first time in a direct clash during the preliminary rounds of the Euro 2000 Championship. But this very tense qualification match between Yugoslavia and Croatia was again postponed because of war, this time in Kosovo. In August 1999 the game was played in Belgrade. Two months later the return game was played in Zagreb (Croatia). Players who knew each other intimately, grew up together and were world champions together, were now divided by contradictory interests as a result of the war. The war forced each of them to choose a new fatherland, a new nationality, a new national anthem and a new national football team. This film is his story about a country falling apart, told by its former heroes - the 'Chileans'. Vuk Janic, Netherlands, 2000, Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLe Journal de Dominique [FL 1305] Cyril Mennegun, France, 2007, French, 54 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife, The [FL 1236]
A poignant image of Apartheid in South Africa through the portrait of Eugène Terre'Blanche, founder of the far-right organization AWB. Throughout the film, Broomfield attempts to set up an interview with the control-obsessed Terre'Blanche, who stubbornly undoes all of the plans in order to prove his power. For the majority of the film, during which Broomfield is unable to obtain an interview with the Leader himself, his attention is drawn to the driver and his wife (JP and Anita Meyer) who are happy to share their views on racial inequality and anticipated revolution. Acutely aware of the all-too-seductive nature of Fascism and the media's historical complicity in that seduction, Broomfield has produced an anti-Triumph of the Will, deliberately lampooning a movement whose power rests as much in grave self-importance as it does in violent intimidation. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1990, English, 85 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLeader, the Driver, and the Driver's Wife, The [FL 1247]
A poignant image of Apartheid in South Africa through the portrait of Eugène Terre'Blanche, founder of the far-right organization AWB. Throughout the film, Broomfield attempts to set up an interview with the control-obsessed Terre'Blanche, who stubbornly undoes all of the plans in order to prove his power. For the majority of the film, during which Broomfield is unable to obtain an interview with the Leader himself, his attention is drawn to the driver and his wife (JP and Anita Meyer) who are happy to share their views on racial inequality and anticipated revolution. Acutely aware of the all-too-seductive nature of Fascism and the media's historical complicity in that seduction, Broomfield has produced an anti-Triumph of the Will, deliberately lampooning a movement whose power rests as much in grave self-importance as it does in violent intimidation. Nick Broomfield, United Kingdom, 1991, English, 84 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLearning by Camping [FL 1150]
Tax consultant Wagner, the head of a family leads his wife and seven children through endless summer pilgrimages by camper. This German vacation idyll chronicles the history of a family, a country, and a medium – Super 8 filmmaking. Nicola Hochkeppel, Germany, 2004, German/Subtitles: English, 62 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLesson from Bam / Mashghe Bam [FL 1171]
Made 40 days after the 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran killed over 68,000 people and destroyed the city’s ancient mud-brick citadel, Lesson from Bam honors the Great Citadel – a heritage that is gone, but a memory that should be kept. Director Alireza Ghanie films the children of the Old Citadel School who now attend class in the open air since most of the community’s buildings have been destroyed. The children have written compositions about their experience of the earthquake, and one by one, they read their compositions to the rest of the class… Alireza Ghanie, Austria, 2005, Persian/Subtitles: English, 23 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLeszármazottak / Descendants [FL 1091]
Director meets and talks to the son of László Endre. László Endre held the position of the Secretary of State of Internal Affairs during the last years of the WWII and was responsible for the deportation of the Hungarian Jews to concentration camps in 1944. After the war László Endre was trialed and sentenced to death. His son, Zsigmond Endre, continues to see his father as a politician who served his nation while his own children, who live in Latin America, prefer to suppress the family memory. Ágota Varga, Hungary, 2004, Hungarian, 98 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLetter To The Dead [FL 527]
In a small village of Papua New Guinea three exceptional men rival with each other in the field of rituals and artistic creation in order to win over their neighbours. They send a last letter to their dead who have abandoned them and who may have emigrated to a rich country from which the film-makers come. The film presents the world view of the people living in their communities that is constructed out of bits and pieces of information at hand, conditioned by local traditions, Christian missionaries’ teachings and millenary (year 2000) fears. The film is about the encounter between tradition and modernity. Andre Iteanu, Eytan Kapon, France, 2002, English, 62 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-ROMLiberace of Bagdad, The [FL 691]
Sean McAllister went to Iraq to film Saddam Hussein's trial. He came back with something quite different. He met Samir Peter, once the pianist of the Baghdad Symphony Orchestra, who has spent the past year entertaining journalists and security guards in a hotel bar. Holed up in a heavily fortified Baghdad hotel, the pianist and the film-maker try to survive the 'peace' of post-war Iraq. In his heyday, Samir described himself as the 'Liberace of Baghdad' but today he sleeps in a bricked up hotel room, too afraid to cross town to his seven-bedroomed mansion. He has a visa for America, where he could find fame and fortune in what he calls his 'one last adventure in life'. Will Samir sacrifice his American dream for the sake of his family in lawless Iraq? Sean McAllister, United Kingdom, 2004, Arabic, English/Subtitles: English, 72 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-ROMLife and Deeds of Radovan Karadzic [FL 1740]
“In every environment, Radovan would show a different face” – says one of the persons interviewed in the film. This documentary presents some of the more prominent of Karadzic`s many faces: that of a psychiatrist, poet, politician, commander-in-chief, person charged with genocide and fugitive from international justice. The film examines his rhetoric, arguments he used to manipulate the masses, his political mentors and the aftermath of his actions, described in the indictment issued against him by the ICTY. Lazar Stojanovic, Netherlands, 2005, Serbian/Subtitles: English, 51 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLife as it could be / Éljünk úgy, ahogy élhetnénk [FL 1251]
Short spots about how people could and should interact with each other in various situtions. Alternatives to existence and co-existence. F. Török, I. Enyedi, G. Rohonyi, P. Fazakas, Hungary, 2004, Hungarian, 6 min, short film, DVD-ROMLife Goes On [FL 1189]
Animated short on one man's take of love and losses. Trevor Hardy, United Kingdom, English, 6 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLife in a ghetto / Живот в гето [FL 533]
Shot at first with the intention to reveal “the human rights violations” in a gypsy ghetto, the film features the squalid conditions in dilapidated apartment blocks where ethnic Bulgarian residents are outnumbered by gypsy. The Bulgarian neighbours are alienated and claim to be robbed and assaulted by gypsy gangs constantly. In the film, they explain in a cautious manner their desire to move out of the district with the “disparity between the two cultures”. The electricity bills collector confronts the tricks of the population to hide their consumption and persuades the women in charge of the cash, out of their money. The postal clerk that gives away the ECU checks gives her explanation about the swarming queues in front of her office with the long tradition of pampering the minorities. “I want to be gypsy on the weekends”, she confesses as the narration turns to the bright side of gypsy life – with their incessant wedding parties, music and dances. The film concludes with Prince Charles’ visit to the district, escorted by the Bulgarian president and a couple of British Bobbies, all greeting heartily the gypsy crowds. Assen Vladimirov and Eldora Traikova, Bulgaria, 1997, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 39 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLife in Fresh Air / Život na Svježem Zraku [FL 865]
A film about the village of Djulovac in Western Slavonia, Croatia. The place is very small, but it has many political fractions. The main issue is how to win the votes of the new inhabitants: Croats from Kosovo who moved into houses formerly inhabited by Serbs who had left at the beginning of the war. At the same time, the politicians are also eager to obtain the votes of the returning Serbs who are now reclaiming their houses. Quite humorous, with some very strong cinéma vérité sequences, the film investigates the spirit of the villagers at a time when human values like honesty and dignity are about to lose their meaning. Will the wounds inflicted during the war be deepened or is there a chance to create solidarity in peacetime? The film does not try to provide any answers; it merely poses questions that are crucial to the whole of former Yugoslavia. Silvestar Kolbas's camera wonderfully captures the hidden but significant moments of hesitation, dilemma and human malice dominating the village. Danko Volarić, Croatia, 2001, Croatian, 60 min, art documentary, VHSLife of an Agent, The / Az ügynök élete [FL 397]
Hundreds of propaganda and instructional films as well as short and full-length features were produced by the Film Studio of the Ministry of Interior between 1958 and 1988. The films sought to teach the secret police about the best ways to protect the socialist state. Topics included the clandestine house-search, the operative shadowing of select targets, the installation of tapping devices, and the organization of agents and denouncers. The plain and straightforward narration of the films is slightly out of step with their serious patriotic aims, and modern viewers will be astonished by the amount of money, time and energy devoted to a form of ideological education which was both complex and expensive. This selection neatly illustrates how the coercive organization of Kádár's dictatorship worked, and what major motives lay behind it. Gábor Zsigmond Papp, Hungary, 2004, Hungarian, English, 82 min, archival collage, DVD-ROMLife on Their Shoulders [FL 1187]
In the surrounding mountains of the Black Sea coast, some traditions such as the "yayla" have remained unchanged for centuries: villagers of those mountains go high in the highlands during summer to milk cows and make some butter and cheese for winter. This film tells the story of the women from these villagtes who carry on their shoulders the weight of a life of seasonal migration, in a constant battle against a hostile natural environment Yesim Ustaoglu, France, 2004, Turkish/Subtitles: English, 38 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLife to Live, A / Życie Przed Tobą [FL 376]
Can we see the world of the blind? This film is a perceptive portrayal of blind children, for whom touch, sound, smell, and taste comprise a plentiful universe. Playing, dreaming, talking about their future, the children who cannot see with their eyes learn to sharpen their senses. They face many challenges in a world that is hostile to people who are not like us, the viewers. Using images to tell the stories of hearing, smelling, touching, the film shows how the perception-gap can be bridged with love and care. Maciej Adamek, Poland, 2003, Polish/Subtitles: English, 21 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLife under the label Top Secret / Жизнь под грифом секретно [FL 354]
The film tells the story of the escape of two Soviet intelligence agents from the US in 1948. It was with the help of these secret agents that the first Soviet computer was built; they also tookpart in design work in Zelenograd, envisioned as a version of Silicon Valley in the suburbs of Moscow. The history of Soviet science in the 1950-60s. Grigorii Krichevskii, Russia, 2001, Russian, 49 min, documentary film, VHSLift [FL 956]
The movie documents the everyday traffic of a high-rise elevator off London's Commercial Street. The director positions himself in the lift with his camera and films the people who come in. In this way, we can find out about bits and pieces of these people's lifes and dreams. Marc Isaacs, Netherlands, 2002, English, 25 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLike a Butterfly / Jak motyl [FL 1263]
Przemek, a quadriplegic since birth, was unable to control the movements of his arms and legs and was also unable to speak. Until he was six he believed that he was the same as everyone else and that his mother understood the screeches which he considered to be his speech. The boy grew and matured, but everybody considered him stupid. To make matters worse, when he was eight years old, his mother – afflicted with a serious back problem – put him in a clinic. Przemek stayed there for another eight years, presumed to be a "vegetable". Gradually Przemek realized that nobody had any idea that mentally he was completely healthy. He tried to make contact by batting his eyelids, but it was no use. Finally, a miracle happened. Accidentally, a therapist discovered Przemek’s signaling and the boy’s life took a new turn. At the age of sixteen he began to learn Bliss, a system of pictorial symbols which enabled him to communicate with those around him for the first time. Although Przemek cannot speak, he now writes poems and songs and "shows how beautiful it is to live, despite or because of his handicap." Ewa Pieta, Poland, 2004, Polish/Subtitles: English, 29 min, documentary film, VHSLion Hunters, The / La chasse au lion à l'arc [FL 1103]
Between 1957 and 1964, hunters from the Yatakala region undertook seven hunting expeditions employing traditional bows and poisoned arrows. The film follows the technical and religious aspects of that hunt, which today has disappeared: the construction of the bows and arrows, preparation of the poison, tracking, arrow-making rituals, the death of the prey, cutting up the meat, and the telling of the story to the children. On the boundary between Niger, Mali, and Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) live the Gow—the last hunters of lions with bows and arrows. It is a "nowhere" land—"the bush that is farther than far"—beyond the sedentary villages, where the great Peul or Bella herdsmen wander around scattered ponds. Introduction by Bernard Surugue. Jean Rouch, France, 1967, French, 77 min, VHSLion named the American, A / Un lion nommé l’Americain [FL 1103]
During the five years from 1957 to 1962, the crew followed the hunting campaigns of the Gow group from the village of Yatakala, led by the chief of hunters, Tahirou Koro. Discovery of the trail of a killer lion, "the American," who springs all of the traps of the hunters, who then kill two of his females. The first dies ritually, calmed by the praises of the hunter chief until the moment when she "vomits her death." But the second, "Fitili's lion," counterattacks and dangerously wounds a Peul herdsman before being paralyzed by the poison. So the victorious hunters, "tired but happy," return to their village, where they divide up the lion meat. And in the evening they tell their sons the marvelous story of gawey, gawey, the lion hunt. Introduction by Bernard Surugue. Jean Rouch, France, 1972, French, 20 min, VHSLion's Trail, A [FL 721]
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight” is one of the most recognizable pop songs in the world. But how many people realize that this American hit tune was actually written by Solomon Linda, a Zulu musician who never earned a cent in royalties and died in poverty? A LION'S TRAIL traces the music back to its original source, telling the story of how the Zulu song "Mbube" was transcribed by American folk singer Pete Seeger into "Wimoweh," finally gaining international recognition as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." Verster began work on this film in 1999, when a South African TV show asked him to make a film about how “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” originated as an African song "Mbube"—a fact that came as a surprise to him. Once Verster began researching the original composition, he quickly became fascinated with the story behind the music. A friend gave him an audiocassette from Pete Seeger’s nephew that contained 21 versions of the same song. Verster was amazed at how these variations could all be traced back to Linda’s original four-chord tune. While exploring the moral and legal issues around the song, A LION'S TRAIL is also a vibrant and joyous celebration of the heritage of African music. Versions of the song are performed by musicians across the globe, including the Manhattan Brothers, Solomon Linda's daughters, Pete Seeger and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who lead the Church of God in Africa in the South African town of Clermont. By combining stunning visuals with powerful musical performances, A LION’S TRAIL not only opens up the debate surrounding the origins of “Mbube” itself, but also reveals the controversies regarding copyright and ownership in the global music industry. François Verster, South Africa, 2002, English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLisboners, The / Lisboetas [FL 955]
Lisboetas focuses on a new wave of immigrants from Brazil, Eastern Europe and Africa currently changing the face of a capital that used to be a point of departure and is now seen by many foreigners as a land of opportunity. But who are these new Lisboetas, then? Thirty-one year-old Tréfaut traces a portrait of them, opening a cinematic window onto these people's family lives, work, religious rituals and civil rights. Building a bridge between cinema and contemporary art, Tréfaut had already developed a 30-minute video installation called "Novos Lisboetas", shown in the Parc La Villette (Paris) in 2003, which can currently be seen in the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon). Sergio Trefaut, (n/a), 2004, 58 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLittle America / Kisamerika [FL 1644]
The neighborhood built at the end of the 19th century for the workers of the nearby iron works at Alsohegysor was called Little America from the beginning. This film is about the inhabitants of this colony with a promising name. Laszlo B. Revesz, Hungary, 2000, Hungarian, 52 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLittle by Little / Petit à Petit [FL 1105]
A fable produced as a sequel of Jaguar, which relates the curious and singular adventures of Damouré and Lam, two businessmen of contemporary Africa, in search of their role model. In the village of Ayorou on the banks of the Niger, Damouré, a jovial and malicious man, runs an import-export business called "Petit à Petit." His town partners are Lam, an ex-herdsman with a taciturn nature who cruises the bush in a Land Rover to keep watch on his flocks, and Illo, the fisherman. Having learned that they are going to build a seven-story building in Niamey, the capital of Niger, Damouré calls a meeting of his associates. They decide that they have to go one better: they'll build an even higher building. Damouré flies to Paris to find out how people live in multistory buildings. Perplexed, skeptical, and amused in turn, he discovers the curious ways of living, being, and thinking of the Parisian tribe. He regularly sends "Parisian postcards" to his associates in Niger, until the day when they receive a postcard that states that the Parisians eat only unslaughtered chickens—an unthinkable act in Moslem lands—and they suspect that Damouré has gone crazy and send Lam on a mission to bring him home. After having studied multistory houses of France, Italy, and the United States, Lam, too, falls into the trap of the capital. Faced with the difficulty of getting around in Paris, and since Lam is afraid of the metro, they decide to buy "a car that does not exist, but that is reminiscent of the Land Rover"—a Bugatti convertible. Introduction by Bernard Surugue. Jean Rouch, France, 1971, French, 92 min, VHSLittle Doll, The / Arusak [FL 992]
The documentary represents the author’s observations on the way of life experienced by contemporary Tajik girls and women. In times that are hard for themselves, for their families and for society, they find the strength to affirm their human dignity, to reflect on life, the lot of women and love. And there is not a grain of falsity in their stories, recollections and confessions. Robiya Atoeva, Tajikistan, 2002, /Subtitles: English, 30 min, documentary film, VHSLittle Story that Crosses an Ocean / Historia chiquita que cruza un océano [FL 1260]
Story of a young couple who left Uruguay in 1972 as the threat of a military dictatorship loomed. A graduate trip around the world during which they decided to stay a while in Barcelona. And never returned home. Sesi Bergeret, Spain, 2004, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 45 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLittle Town / Miasteczko [FL 1730] Jerzy Ziarnik, Poland, 1956, Polish, 10 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
Live Containers / Живые контейнеры [FL 304]
This report from a women's prison tells about a recent but already widespread calamity . Economic hardship and political chaos have led many Tajik women to become, out of sheer necessity, "live containers", smuggling heroin inside themselves. These women, who led ordinary lives yesterday, could not possibly be called criminals. The government recognizes this and occasionally amnesties those women who were caught with relatively "small" (by Tajik standards) amount of drugs. Yet, despite their sincere repentance and their joy at being liberated, there is no guarantee that life will not make them go down this terrible path again. Orzu Sharipov, Tajikistan, 2002, Russian/Subtitles: English, 27 min, VHSLiving Proof: The Right to Live in a Community / Svjedočanstva: Pravo na život u zajednici [FL 719]
"Living Proof" provides a voice for members of society who are all too often ignored. Stigma and discrimination are perpetuated by a social welfare system that keeps people with intellectual disabilities from realizing their fundamental right to live independently. By describing the experiences and presenting opinions of people with intellectual disabilities, this film demonstrates the importance of achieving change in the social welfare system and in society as a whole. "Everyone should leave the institutions and be in apartments the way I am. …they would be better off, like me. They would have their own lives," said Ivka Krzelj, one of the people interviewed in Living Proof. In Croatia, however, one in three people with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities lives in a long stay institution, isolated from society. The film was shot by members of the Association for Promoting Inclusion (API) in Zagreb, which since 1997, has provided community-based programs as alternatives to institutionalization, empowering people with intellectual disabilities to realize their rights and participate as equal citizens in society. "Living Proof" premiered in Croatia on December 8th, 2005 at the opening of a conference on the right to live in the community organized by API.Croatia, 2005, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 20 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLiving Rights: Roy [FL 532]
Ten-year-old Roy lives in a small Peruvian village. Instead of going to school he often goes to the local mine, where under extraordinarily difficult and dangerous conditions he attempts to extract enough gold to help lift his family out of poverty. Duco Tellegen, Netherlands, 2004, English, 37 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLodz Ghetto [FL 1420]
This documentary concerns the 200,000 Czech and Polish Jews of Lodz ghetto who were enslaved by the Nazis during World War II. Forced into labor camps, only 800 had survived by the time the camp was liberated by the Allied forces. Historical documents, archival films, interviews, and the reading of diaries of the prisoners were used to assemble this chilling story of the horrors of war. Over 1,000 still photos actually taken by ghetto residents who risked their lives were also used. Alan Adelson, United States, 1988, English, 118 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLook into the Past, A - Serbia 1965-91- part 3: “Opening of the Serbian Question” [FL 404]
Writer Dobrica Cosic’s circles and the Praxis group – the former open the Serbian national issue, while the latter stand up for the Yugoslav idea. In late 60s and early 70s the two opposition groupings are unquestionably alike – both criticized the Yugoslav socialist system. Many Yugoslavs turn into Serbs. The concept of a unified Yugoslavia turns into the idea of cultural union of territories inhabited by Serbs. When accepted as a full member of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cosic delivers a speech that as of that moment associates just one of his phrases, “Serbs are wartime victors, and peacetime losers.” Zlatko Pakoviж, Serbia and Montenegro, 2003, Serbian, 60 min, documentary film, VHSLook into the Past, A - Serbia 1965-91- part 2: “Rise and Fall of the Liberals” [FL 403]
Serbian intellectual circles respond to the desire for more independence voiced by republican leaderships of the former Yugoslavia by calling for the integration of all Serbs, primarily in the cultural domain. At the same time an alternative group – known as the Liberals - emerges within the communist party. As a solution to interethnic relations, the Liberals advocate more independence for a decentralized Serbia, and consistent federalization for Yugoslavia. Zlatko Pakoviж, Serbia and Montenegro, Serbian, documentary film, VHSLook into the Past, A - Serbia 1965-91- part 1: “The 1965 Reform” [FL 402]
The when and whys of the failed processes of the country's democratization and decentralization. Was the disintegration of Yugoslavia already foreshadowed back at that time? From the 1960s onwards the conflict between modern and conservative, reform and anti-reform, centralist and federalist forces dominates the League of Communist of Serbia, and Serbian society as a whole. The anti-reform current wins the battle. The 1968 student protest and the Praxis group. A period crucial to understanding the processes that triggered the dissolution of the Yugoslav state and the accompanying wars. Zlatko Pakoviж, Serbia and Montenegro, 2003, Serbian, 60 min, documentary film, VHSLook into the Past, A - Serbia 1965-91- part 10: “The International Community and Yugoslav Crisis” [FL 411]
The international community endeavors to maintain Yugoslavia – but how? Germany and the Vatican recognize an independent Croatia, but under certain conditions. The Hague Conference – the international community’s last attempt to prevent a war in the territory of ex-Yugoslavia. Prospects for the SFRY’s joining Euro-Atlantic organizations and programs – the Council of Europe, PHARE, EBRD, associate membership of the European Community – open in parallel. Zlatko Pakoviж, Serbia and Montenegro, 2003, Serbian, 60 min, documentary film, VHSLook into the Past, A - Serbia 1965-91- part 4: “The 1974 Constitution” [FL 405]
The model of centralised rule is definitely worn out. Over debates that precede the declaration of the Constitution, more and more reference is made to Yugoslavia as an artificial creation, the dungeon of the Serbian people. The 1974 Constitution – the last attempt to preserve the multiethnic state through federalization, but also a source of its disintegration. The Constitution does not guarantee political freedoms or a market economy, but it sets up institutions supposed to replace Tito. The provinces are entitled to constitutions of their own, and their competencies actually equal those of the republics. The prevalent cultural and political elites of the majority Serbian nation strongly oppose the change. Zlatko Pakoviж, Serbia and Montenegro, 2003, Serbian, 60 min, documentary film, VHSLook into the Past, A - Serbia 1965-91- part 5: “National Program Completes” [FL 406]
Early 80s – intellectual elites stage a campaign for the freedom of expression, assembling intellectuals from all over the former Yugoslavia. Professors from the Praxis group make up the core of the strongest opposition group, the Free University. Mid-80s – intellectuals propagating a national state of all Serbs as the only option begin to take over the Serbian political scene on the eve of the country's disintegration and wars. The concept that turns into a state policy when Milosevic comes to power. Zlatko Pakoviж, Serbia and Montenegro, 2003, Serbian, 60 min, documentary film, VHSLook into the Past, A - Serbia 1965-91- part 6: “Party Plays the Oracle” [FL 407]
Late 80s in the former Yugoslavia – economic crisis, high levels of debt, inflation, unemployment. The Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences' Memorandum, the first program committed to paper that promotes the national unity of Serbs even beyond Serbia's borders. Tendencies towards more independence grow stronger in Slovenia and Croatia, as well as in the province of Kosovo. In East Europe's last decade of communism, it is authoritarianism that carries the day in Serbia. The dogmatic wing in the League of Communists of Serbia that defeats the pro-compromise group, joins hands with opposition cultural elites. Zlatko Pakoviж, Serbia and Montenegro, 2003, Serbian, 60 min, documentary film, VHSLook into the Past, A - Serbia 1965-91- part 7: “Homogenization” [FL 408]
April 1987 – S. Milosevic goes to the town of Kosovo Polje and promises to the Serbian masses, “No one is allowed to beat you.” In June 1989 in Gazimestan, he goes public with his solution to the crisis and says, “Six centuries after the Battle of Kosovo we are again in battle. Though this is not an armed conflict, even such conflicts are not to be ruled out.” The Berlin wall is toppled. Instead of opting for political and economic reforms, the Serbian regime, cultural elites and opposition parties which emerged in 1990 actually reach a consensus on the Greater Serbia program. Zlatko Pakoviж, Serbia and Montenegro, 2003, Serbian, 60 min, documentary film, VHSLook into the Past, A - Serbia 1965-91- part 8· "Kosovo" [FL 409]
The emancipation of Albanians in Kosovo in the aftermath of the World War II and a historical overview of Kosovo’s autonomy. What makes Kosovo Albanians demand a republic of their own in 1968? What makes Serbs and Montenegrins move out? Serbian authorities clamp down on every Albanian revolt. It is Kosovo where the repression of political prisoners is the worst. Kosovo’s autonomy is annulled after an unprecedented anti-Albanian campaign throughout the 1980s. Zlatko Pakoviж, Serbia and Montenegro, 2003, Serbian, 60 min, documentary film, VHSLook into the Past, A - Serbia 1965-91- part 9· "The Role of the Yugoslav People's Army" [FL 410]
In 1980s the YPA is reorganized. The territorial defense system is dismantled. Serbia prepares for war. Top army officers see Milosevic as the “only champion” of the SFRY and thus of the YPA's interests. The YPA distances itself from other Yugoslav republics, turns into a Serbian army and plays a crucial role in the dissolution of ex-Yugoslavia. Zlatko Pakoviж, Serbia and Montenegro, 2003, Serbian, 60 min, documentary film, VHSLook out, Hooligans! / Uwaga chuligani! [FL 1730] Jerzy Hoffman, Edward Skórzewski, Poland, 1955, Polish, 12 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
Lora - Testimonies / Lora – svjedočanstva [FL 602]
A film about the prison located in the 'Lora' military harbor area in Split where over 1000 prisoners from Split, Dalmatia, Yugoslavia and Bosnia Herzegovina were held from 1992 until 1996. The testimonies recorded in this film confirm the system of brutal torture and also the death or 'disappearance' of some 70 prisoners. Former Croatian military police officers claim they can no longer remember the events in question, despite the detailed accounts previously given to pre-trial investigators. Likewise, former inmates of the prison have declined to answer court summonses or have changed their testimony on the stand. Nenad Puhovski, Canada, 2004, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 65 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-ROMLost, The / Boran [FL 1339]
In the mid-1990s, for several years there were regular protests by the so-called “Saturday mothers” in Istanbul making charges for the state organized disappearance of their sons; political, mainly Kurdish, rebels. This is an unconventional film, moving between staging and documentation. Huseyin Karabey, Turkey, 1999, Turkish/Subtitles: English, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLouis Stettner [FL 1504] Eric Breitbart, United States, 2005, English, 16 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
Love and Diane [FL 2]
Diane Hazzard, a recovering crack addict, and her troubled daughter Love navigate the obstacles of joblessness, parenthood and the American welfare system. Diane has spent years separated from her six children after the state split them up in foster care. Whereas her mother and siblings drank their futures away, Diane's chosen weapon was crack cocaine. Her then 8-year-old daughter Love reported Diane's neglect to authorities, unwittingly triggering the state action that tore the family apart. Now, after years apart, the family members practically limp in from their respective corners to reunite. Jennifer Dworkin, United States, 2002, English, 153 min, documentary film, VHSLove is… / Lyubovta e... [FL 1463]
A love story shaped by the sense of humor of the protagonists, yet predestined to develop dramatically. Ivan Tonev, Bulgaria, 2005, Bulgarian/Subtitles: English, 30 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLove on Delivery / Fra Thailand til Thy [FL 1703]
In the northern part of Denmark there live 575 Thai women married to Danish men. 15 years ago there were almost none. But Sommai was there – a former sex-worker from Pattaya. With Sommai as the front woman “From Thailand to Thy”, the film depicts a network of industrious and strong Thai women. Together with a number of compatriots, Sommai now works in a fish factory. She tries to help her niece Kae to find a husband after the girl arrives in Denmark on a three-month tourist visa. With personal ads and female intuition they search for the right man for Kae. Through this rather different love story, we get an intimate insight into the marriages between Danish men and their Thai wives in northern Denmark. An insight that tells the story of globalization, poverty, survival, and our common needs for security, love and “somebody to care about”. Each side has something to offer that the other can't find at home. Janus Metz, Denmark, Danish, Thai/Subtitles: English, 59 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLove, Communism, Revolution & Rivonia - Bram Fischer's Story [FL 1195]
Bram Fischer's journey from being at the heart of Afrikaner aristocracy to leading the South African Communist Party in the struggle against apartheid. Fischer led the defense at the Rivonia Treason Trial, arguably saving Nelson Mandela and other ANC leaders from execution. When all of Fischer's comrades were jailed or exiled, he took a defiant solitary stand, speaking out against the Afrikaner Establishment and the apartheid government. Pursued by the state's security police agents, for a while Fischer lived in disguise as apartheid's most wanted man. Finally, he was captured and sentenced to life imprisonmnet in 1966. Sharon Farr, (n/a), English, 81 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMLublin Old Town / Lubelska starowka [FL 1731] Bohdan Kosiński, Poland, 1956, Polish, 5 min, documentary film, DVD-ROM
Lubyanka: Genius of the Intelligence Service / Лубянка: Гений разведки [FL 787]
Another film in the documentary TV series "Lubyanka" is dedicated to little-known aspects of the career of one of the most successful Soviet intelligence agents, Nikolay Ivanovich Kuznetzov. Long before the beginning of the World War II, Kuznetzov, then an NKVD agent living under a different name, was already receiving invaluable information from the German embassy in Moscow. From this source, Stalin was personally informed about the Nazi plans to launch an offensive against the Soviet Union. During the first few months of the War against the USSR, Kuznetzov undertook special training as a saboteur and was sent far beyond the front line on a mission to assassinate a high-ranking official in the Nazi "Ukraina" Reichkommisariat.Russia, 2002, Russian/Subtitles: English, 78 min, television series, DVD-ROMLucky Kid / Sretno dijete [FL 545]
In this documentary, Igor Mirković, originally a news reporter, portrays the emergence of the independent, vibrant new wave punk-rock musical scene in Zagreb, ex-Yugoslavia, emerging at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. Most of the documentary consists of his interviews with Zagreb rock singers and other important actors on the scene as well as with some of their Belgrade counterparts. With plenty of original musical and archival images from the period, the film makes no claim to objectivity, but is rather a monument to the generation that grew up in the belief that rock’n’roll is larger than life. The story is narrated from the perspective of an outsider since the author was just a teenager when the scene exploded and is concerned with illustrating the life-long influence of rock-music on his way of life. Through Zagreb, Ljubljana, Vienna, Belgrade, Budapest, Paris, Utrecht and New York, the author thus finds himself in pursuit of the heroes of his youth. Mirković also implicitly tried to interconnect his rock story with the fall of socialism: he provides a historical background by bringing in important political moments of the period such as the death of Tito or the evolving economic crisis. Igor Mirković, (n/a), 2003, Croatian/Subtitles: English, 97 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-ROMLullaby / Колыбельная [FL 274]
The film praises Soviet womanhood. They're employed in a variety of professions, from agrarian to industrial. Besides, it promotes Stalin's role in the progress that has been made since the "equalizing" Revolution. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1937, Russian, 56 min, propaganda film, VHSMABA: Documentaries, shorts, animation, and music [FL 1395]
Documentaries, shorts, animation, and music works of the 2004-2005 graduates of the Utrecht School of the Arts, Faculty of Art, Media and Technology.Germany, 2005, documentary film, DVD-ROMMad Masters / Les maîtres fous [FL 1103]
The film presents the ceremony of a religious sect, the Hauka, which was widespread in West Africa from the 1920s to the 1950s. Hauka participants were usually rural migrants from Niger who came to cities such as Accra in Ghana (then Gold Coast), where they found work as laborers in the city's lumber yards, as stevedores at the docks, or in the mines. There were at least 30,000 practicing Hauka in Accra in 1954 when Jean Rouch was asked by a small group to film their annual ceremony During this ritual, which took place on a farm a few hours from the city, the Hauka entered trance and were possessed by various spirits associated with the Western colonial powers: the governorgeneral, the engineer, the doctor's wife, the wicked major, the corporal of the guard. Introduction by Bernard Surugue. Jean Rouch, France, 1956, French, 28 min, VHSMagnitogorsk: Forging the New Man / Magnitogorsk, de jeugd van de hoogovens [FL 1059]
In the early thirties, the bare steppes of the Urals were transformed at breakneck speed into a blast-furnace complex and a city was erected out of nothing. Magnitogorsk was a model project to demonstrate the energy with which the first five-year plan of the communist state-controlled economy was put into operation. In 1932, Joris Ivens was invited to make a film about the building of the Soviet Union. He chose Magnitogorsk as an example of how the new world and the new man were to be forged, and the resulting film, Song of the heroes, encapsulates the prevailing ideology of the period. Joris Ivens lauded the enthusiasm with which the blast-furnace project was brought to fruition. Pieter Jan Smit's documentary sets out to find those who built and resided in the city of steel and to talk to them about their ideals yesterday and today. Magnitogorsk shows us what became of the heroes of Ivens' film. Pieter Jan Smit, Netherlands, 1996, Russian, Dutch/Subtitles: English, 60 min, DVD-ROMMagyar Stories / A Dunánál [FL 1613]
A documentary about the impact of Communism in Hungary, specifically on the people in Dunapataj who discuss the political and social events in the light of their own everyday experiences. Bálint Magyar, Pál Schiffer, Hungary, 1988, Hungarian/Subtitles: English, 125 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMaharaja of Jodhpur, The [FL 1360]
The story of a boy who would be king. The Maharajah of Jodhpur is an exclusive documentation of the life of one of India's most distinguished royals -His Highness The Maharajah Gaj Singh II of Marwar Jodhpur. The film folllows his life from his coronation, at age 4, to his eventual quest to reinvent his role in the Democratic Republic of India. Anu Malhotra, India, 2004, Hindi/Subtitles: English, 78 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-ROMMammy Water / Mamy Wata [FL 1103]
Daily life of the Fanti fishermen of Ghana, and rituals for the opening of the fishing season at Shama, Ghana. Introduction by Bernard Surugue. Jean Rouch, France, 1956, French, 18 min, VHSMan Called Brian, A [FL 1344]
The film introduces 55 year-old Briton called Brian Haw who has staged a 24-hour sit-in opposite the Houses of Parliament in London for over five years in protest against the invasion of US and British military forces of Iraq and Afghanistan. Mahmoud Shoolizadeh, United Kingdom, 2005, Persian, English, 39 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMan with a Movie Camera / Человек с киноаппаратом [FL 368]
This playful film is at once a documentary about a day in the life of the Soviet Union, a documentary about the filming of the same documentary, and a depiction of an audience watching the film. Even the editing of the film is documented. Dziga Vertov, Soviet Union, 1929, Russian, 80 min, documentary film, VHSManufactur Number… / Изделие номер... [FL 350]
History of the creation of the atomic weapon. The film contains unique material on the cradle of the Soviet atomic industry, the town called Arzamas-16. V. Gladyshev, Russia, 2000, Russian, 25 min, documentary film, VHSManufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media [FL 1334]
Funny, provocative and surprisingly accessible, Manufacturing Consent explores the political life and ideas of Noam Chomsky, world-renowned linguist, intellectual and political activist. In a dynamic collage of new and original footage, biography, archival gems, imaginative graphics and outrageous illustrations, the film highlights Chomsky’s probing analysis of mass media. A mammoth two-part project, Manufacturing Consent is nonetheless light on its feet, favoring a style that encourages viewers to question its own workings, as Chomsky himself encourages his listeners to extricate themselves from the “web of deceit” by undertaking a course of “intellectual self-defense.” Appearing in the film are major journalists and critics, including Bill Moyers, William F. Buckley, Jr., Tom Wolfe, Peter Jennings, Jeff Greenfield, philosopher Michel Foucault, White House reporter Sarah McClendon, New York Times editorial writer Karl E. Meyer and revisionist author Robert Faurisson. Mark Achbar, Peter Wintonick, Canada, 1993, English, 167 min, documentary film, VHSMao, the Real Man / Az igazi Mao [FL 331]
This satirical Hungarian pseudo-documentary speculates upon the true identity of Chairman Mao. The fun begins as Jonathan W. Highstone, an art history professor at Michigan University, lectures upon Mao's early life. According to Highstone, Mao's older brother moved to Chicago in 1906 where he immediately began a life of crime. He soon adopted the nickname Wasp and became involved in mob wars. In 1935, as Mao was embroiled in the Long March in China, Wasp suddenly disappeared. Using amazing film clips, Professor Highstone compares the pre-march Mao to the post-march Mao two years later. The latter Mao appears remarkably robust and healthy after the ordeal. On the basis of the photographs, Highstone concludes that the man in the photographs after the Long March is not Mao at all, but his older brother. The real Mao died en route. Therefore, the man who became China's leader was, in fact, a petty gangster. This explains how the Red Chinese got hold of military equipment (the Italian Mafia arranged it). Szilveszter Siklósi, Hungary, 1995, English/Voice-over: Hungarian, 55 min, VHSMaradék / Maradék [FL 1092]
Maradék is a village south of Novi Sad, close to Belgrade. In addition to the majority of Serbian residents there is a minority of Croatians and about 500 Hungarians as well. The film is a glimpse into the life of these Hungarians as they try to preserve their ethnic and linguistic identity in Serbia. Vilmos Ambrus and Balázs Krasznahorkai, Hungary, 2005, Hungarian, 25 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-ROMMarch of the Living, The / Marsz zywych [FL 35]
One day a catholic priest, a Jew whose parents died in a Nazi concentration camp and who was brought up by a Polish family, answered a phone call from Martin Bormann, the son of the Martin Bormann who was a close associate of Hitler. The phone talk moved the priest. Some days later he received Borman's autobiography. After considerable effort and a correspondence which provoked strong emotions on both sides, it was possible to persuade the son of the oppressor and the son of the victims of Holocaust to meet to discuss the memories of the past. Grzegorz Linkowski, Poland, 2003, Polish/Subtitles: English, 50 min, documentary film, Beta SPMarch of Time, The : The Cold War 1946-1951, Part 1: Changing Attitudes 1946-1948 [FL 243]
Originally produced as a newsreel by Time Magazine, The March of Time was seen monthly for sixteen years in more than 50,000 theatres around the world. Content: 1. Atomic Power -- Exciting historic footage of the creation of the atomic bomb, on film for the first time. Included are interviews and anecdotes from such legendary figures as Albert Einstein, Dr. Conant and Dr. Bush. 2. The Russia Nobody Knows. -- Exclusive, uncensored motion pictures from behind the Iron Curtain! March of Time's cameraman has photographed the Russian people in their daily lives, just as he found them. Here is the chance to see them as they really are -- at work, at worship and at play. 3. The Cold War: Act I -- France -- See how the French people are dealing with post-war life. The Communists are ousted by Premier Robert Schumann, and we see a sample of the frugal way of city life through the eyes of the DuBois family. Their farming relatives fare slightly better; but if the middle-of-the-road policy is to work, the Marshall Plan must be implemented. 4. The Cold War: Act II. -- Crisis in Italy. A hard-hitting, realistic film vividly showing the vital importance of the U.s. Government's European Recovery Plan. This film gives us the shocking truth about the number of Communists in Italy, plus reasons for their success and strength. 5. The Cold War: Act III. -- Battle for Greece. A country torn by conflicting powers. March of Time takes a look at the U.S. and British efforts to bring aid to this ravaged country, through the American Mission for Aid to Greece, and their help in the reconstruction of agriculture, foreign trade and home industries.United States, 1995, English, 88 min, documentary film, VHSMarch of Time, The : The Cold War 1946-1951, Part 2: Hostility Grows 1948-1949 [FL 244]
Originally produced as a newsreel by Time Magazine, The March of Time was seen monthly for sixteen years in more than 50,000 theatres around the world. 1. Battle for Germany -- A must for updating oneself on the developments in Germany. There is no war guilt shown by the activities in the daily life of a typical family. Democratic ways come hard to this Teutonic race, and we see the communists sabotage the U.S. program by inciting labor unrest, as well as the "Airlift Crisis." 2. America's New Air Power -- The race for superior technology is on! Already the planes that won the war are obsolete. In this fascinating film we see the swing to jet propulsion, the incredible size of these planes and a new breed of specially trained "jet" pilots. 3. Answer to Stalin -- Did we defeat the Nazis just to trade them for the communists? Concern for Russian tactics in world politics is growing. Communist success in creating strife in Middle Europe is highlighted, plus the current tension in France and Germany. The film climaxes with a view of the Economic Cooperation Administration under Paul Hoffman. 4. Asia's New Voice -- The dramatic, inspiring birth of a nation--India! A country of extremes, it has fabulously wealthy princes and dirt-poor "Untouchables." With its own mysterious caste system and its terror stricken migrations, India is a Twentieth Century phenomenon. An impartial view of the weakness and strengths of this new, potentially great, nation is the focus of this study. 5. Report on the Atom -- What exactly is Atomic Power, and how is it going to affect us? These are the issues dealt with in this relevant study. The production of radioactive materials and the disposal of the dangerous waste combine with a look at the use of these materials in industry, agricultural and medical research.United States, 1995, English, 90 min, documentary film, VHSMarch of Time, The: The Cold War 1946-1951, Part 3: Peace or War, 1949-1950 [FL 245]
Originally produced as a newsreel by Time Magazine, The March of Time was seen monthly for sixteen years in more than 50,000 theatres around the world. 1. Sweden Looks Ahead. -- Unique among northern European countries, Sweden has been neutral for 135 years. But in uneasy contemporary times the policy of nonpartisanship is difficult to maintain. March of Time captures modern Sweden's carefully constructed society, including fair labor unions, well-run cooperatives and excellent social security. 2. MacArthur's Japan -- Return of the conquering hero! The U.S. occupation, lead by General MacArthur, introduces democratic reforms into the social, political and educational realms of post-war Japan. The U.S. hopes to thereby stem Communism in this defeated Asian country, and teach them to rule themselves. 3. A Chance to Live -- What happened to all the war orphans? In this heartwarming story, we see the history of the Italian Boys' Republic at Santa Marinella. It was established by a kindly priest, but is now run democratically by the boys themselves. The camera follows a boy from his initial distrust of the kindness there to his eventual integration into the community. 4. As Russia Sees It -- Imagine the world situation from the Russian viewpoint. That is what this film does, and, then shows us why they chose Korea for their offensive. It goes on to portray the U.S. meeting of the challenge: reactivating planes, tanks and ships to check the aggression of Stalin and his Communist satellites. 5. The Gathering Storm -- How prepared is America for all-out war? This pictorial analysis gives us a vivid look at just how ready we are for direct attack. Also shown is how much better prepared we are now than we were prior to World War II. This could well be the most dramatic dilemma facing us today -- a communist attack on America!United States, 1995, English, 83 min, documentary film, VHSMarch of Time, The: The Cold War 1946-1951, Part 4: Time Marches on 1950-1951 [FL 246]
Originally produced as a newsreel by Time Magazine, The March of Time was seen monthly for sixteen years in more than 50,000 theatres around the world. Contents: 1. Tito: new ally -- Yugoslavia today lives up to its reputation as a homeland for fighting men. Out of her 16 million people she boasts 30 army divisions - divisions hopefully on the side of democracy should Russia decide to invade and overtake Europe. 2. Strategy for victory -- What the world needs now is mutual defense! Using UN retreats in Korea and debates over American foreign policy, this film shows what is being done through the Mutual Defense Assistance Program to build a European army strong enough to discourage Russian aggression. 3. Flight plan for freedom -- This is the story of the Strategic Air Command, under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Curtis LeMay. The purpose of this highly trained group of daring men is to carry swift, devastating retaliation to any power attacking the free world. 4. Moroccan outpost -- For the second time in nine years, engineers race to build air bases in Morocco. But there are many problems to be faced in this uneasy Moslem land, by both the US and France. 5. Crisis in Iran -- Here we see how fierce nationalism can upset the balance of world power. Iran is the hottest spot in the world today. We are shown the economic and political conditions that are responsible for the present crisis, and the people who manipulate these conditions. 6. Formosa: island of promise -- In this key area of the Orient, we see Chiang Kai-Shek as the head of both the military and the nationalist government. Working with progressive K.C. Wu, governor of Formosa, they jointly conduct the affairs of state.United States, 1995, English, 105 min, documentary film, VHSMarch to the Fuehrer, The / Der Marsch zum Führer [FL 324]
Marching boots were heard on German roads years before the Second World War, as each summer thousands of Hitler Youth traveled on foot from their home towns to Nuremberg to participate in the annual Nazi Party Congress. This Third Reich propaganda film tells of these columns as they march through the mountains, forests, fields and towns of Hitler's realm. Their pilgrimage climaxes by the colorful ceremonies of the Nuremberg Congress as they parade before their Führer and are addressed by Nazi youth leader Shirach, Rudolf Hess, and Hitler himself. Behind the splendid pageantry of this film and the remarkable discipline of its participants is revealed, as vividly as in any cinematic record in existence, the skill of the Nazi leaders in preparing Germany's youth, both physically and psychologically, for war.Germany, 1937, German/Subtitles: English, 50 min, VHSMardikor [FL 914]
This film tells the story of Tadjik youth being forced to work in Moscow because of rampant unemployment in their own country. Several characters are followed from the time when they decide to try leave for Russia, through their many day-long train trip, to their lives in Moscow. It is a story of hardship and loneliness, about people forced to uproot themselves and live away from their families and friends. Some ultimately will strive to find a new home in Moscow, thus remaining forever away from their native lands. Mairam Ysupova, Russia, 2001, 65 min, documentary film, VHSMaria [FL 1358]
Maria's work is of an extraordinary physicality. The camera follows the young farmer onto the field or into the stable capturing the woman's strength and vitality. Then, the film also reveals how precarious Maria's life circumstances are. Isabella Willinger, Germany, 2007, German, 12 min, short film, DVD-ROMMarshal of Victories, The / Маршал побед [FL 342]
Documentary film about Marshal Konstantin Rokossovskii. B. Golovnia, Russia, 2002, Russian, 39 min, documentary film, VHSMarshal's Sister, The. Elizavetha Tukhachevskaia / A marsall húga. Jelizaveta Tuhacsevszkaja [FL 293]
Memories of Soviet marshal Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky or Toukhachevski, 1893–1937. He was an officer in the czarist army from 1914, joined (1918) the Bolshevik party after the Russian Revolution and held important commands in the civil war of 1918–20 and the Russo-Polish war of 1920. Tukhachevsky was instrumental in suppressing the Kronstadt rebellion (1921) against Bolshevik rule, and he led the modernization and mechanization of the Red Army (1935–36). In the purges instituted by Stalin in the 1930s he and seven other generals were charged with treason, tried in secret, and executed. His reputation was restored by Prime Minister Khrushchev in 1958. Tamás Tóth, Hungary, 1997, Hungarian, 42 min, documentary film, VHSMartial Law / Statárium [FL 1632]
This film presents how martial law paves the way to show trials. The film evokes the so called "arson" show trials in Bekes county; those convicted, those executed, the relatives, and the prosecutors. Andras Sipos, Hungary, 1989, Hungarian, 102 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMasha Mom [FL 695]
Filmed in Russia over seven-years, this documentary follows Masha, a Russian American Jewish lesbian, in her quest for motherhood. After Masha’s open-minded grandmother urges them to give it a try, Masha and her girlfriend Kate set out to find a donor. After numerous disappointments and growing tension, the relationship breaks down, but Masha continues to follow her dream. She explores a variety of options, navigating the Russian social and legal landscape. Paradoxically, the legal system is not an obstacle in Russia, where an unmarried woman with a child has more rights than the biological father, who is rarely given custody. This one woman’s plan to create a family incorporates multiple approaches and an impressive amount of support from the people in her life. It is courageous attempt to make different roles compatible: to be a woman, to be a lesbian, to be a mother. Michał Bukojemski, Poland, 2003, English, Russian, 34 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMaterial [FL 1716]
A visual diary assembled from previously unused film material shot at the time before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Put together in a poetic, non-linear way, Material takes off from the premise of recycling, archaeologically as well as reflexively, orphaned images, vagabond, almost ghostly scenes. Such as those recorded by Thomas Heise himself, during the staging of a play by Heiner Müller – but observed from the point of view of the relationship between the audience and the piece, and between the two directors. Images of Democratic Germany up to the present, where political acts, television shows, interviews with prisoners and policemen, the fall of the Berlin Wall and even stones thrown at Müller’s lens follow one after the other. Any film or digital format suits Heise’s digressive memory exercise. Just as the director himself says: “Those residual images have besieged my head, constantly reassembling themselves into new shapes that are further and further removed from their original meaning and function. They remain in motion. They become history. The material remains incomplete. It consists of what I held on to, what remained important to me. It is my picture.” Thomas Heise, Germany, 2009, German/Subtitles: English, 164 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMax by Chance / Rejsen på ophavet [FL 1074]
This is the story of Max, the director's own story, playfully animated within the realms of documentary. Max's story traces back several generations to sailers, industrialists and Summer of Love hippies - everyone depicted with whole-hearted love and equal amounts of irony. But there is something more at stake here, something larger than the biographical filmic note of a single man. The film embraces with vulnerable playfulness life's many coincidences and grapples with questions such as genetics, destiny and family patterns. Max Kestner, Denmark, 2004, English, 29 min, documentary film, VHSMaximum Penalty / Den højeste straf [FL 1075]
In 1937 the Danish communist Arne Munch-Pedersen disappeared in the Soviet Union. He was never heard from again. Sixty-two years later, another prominent Danish communist goes back to the secret archives in Moscow in search of the truth. A disheartening story of Stalin's paranoia and the price some people had to pay. Tómas Gislason, Denmark, 2000, Danish, Russian/Subtitles: English, 89 min, documentary film, VHSMe, a Black / Moi, un Noir [FL 1104]
The lives of young Nigerian émigrés in Treichville on the Ivory Coast. The hero is Edward G. Robinson, a young Nigerian, who has no job, no place to live. He crosses the lagoon in a small motorboat and gets off at Treichville. Different activities of Nigerians in Abidjan. Unskilled laborers, porters, dock workers, and "coaxers"—men who coax passengers into trucks. Robinson's two best friends, Tarzan and Eddie Constantine, are a taxi driver and a peddler–cloth merchant, respectively. Robinson and his friend Eddie are looking for work as occasional laborers. Robinson keeps his eye on the hiring at the entrance to the port where once in a while he works all day loading sacks of coffee. At noon he has lunch at the Hotel des Bozeri, sleeps in the street, and returns to his work, reminded of his military campaigns. In the evening he goes back to the "Nigerian Fraternity," where they gamble away the day's wages at cards. He tells stories about the granddaughters of the chief of the Nigerian community, and goes to the Ambiance bar to find Tarzan in his boxing workout. Eventually the three friends go back down to the edge of the lagoon, which reminds them of their Niger homeland. Robinson becomes more and more bitter. Heading back to Treichville, on the banks of the lagoon, he recalls his military life and the war in Indochina, and philosophizing all the while, he crosses the new bridge, telling "Little Jules" that maybe the future will be better. Introduction by Bernard Surugue. Jean Rouch, France, 1959, French, 70 min, VHSMechanical Love [FL 1516]
The ability to love and be loved is one of the basic definitions of humans. Nevertheless, as modern technology increasingly encroaches upon people's everyday lives, this idea might need to be redefined, i.e. how does artificial intelligence fit into this concept? Director Phie Ambo follows the story of Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro from Osaka University who creates a Geminoid – a remote–controlled duplicate of himself – and prepares to introduce him to his wife and daughter. Another Japanese scientist creates an artificial baby seal called Paro, who keeps lonely and mentally handicapped people company and demonstrably increases their brain activity as a result. The animal–robot responds to the voice of its owners and can even "remember" its name with the aid of sensors. Naturally, these innovations necessarily give rise to some ethical questions: Is it right to allow someone to live under the illusion that they are "loved" by a machine, which does not have the same feelings for them? And then there is the old question about robotics itself: If machines can replace us, are we therefore not totally redundant? Phie Ambo, Denmark, 2007, , English, German, Danish, Japanese/Subtitles: English, 79 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMein Bruder. We'll Meet Again / Mein Bruder [FL 1107]
My brother is a chef. He left the city and his favourite bar in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district. He has been living in France for the past year, in the mountains, in the attic of Micha and Yvonne's guesthouse. Andreas thought he had come here to die: three heart attacks, an operation, and nothing left to live for. But things have turned out differently. My big brother has fallen in love. With Vanina, wife of the blacksmith and mother of the three sons. Micha finances the little guesthouse with his work in cardiac wards in Switzerland and Germany. He is a cardio-technician; as Yvonne used to be. She is now taking time for the children. My brother works for Micha and Yvonne. He cooks for them and for the few summer guests. It is October now and my visit is short. I want to talk to my big brother about Micha, his friend. The man who spied on us for the Stasi. Thomas Heise, Germany, 2005, German, 57 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMelbourne 1956 / Melbourne 1956 [FL 1646]
A film about the journey of the Hungarian Olympic team to the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. While the country was burning with revolution followed by heavy Soviet retaliation, the Hungarian team managed to win 9 gold medals. Most of them however never returned to Hungary. Gyorgy Sibalin, Hungary, 2004, Hungarian, 67 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMemories Denied [FL 1166]
This historical-psychological documentary film tells the story of the experiences of the director´s mother and her twin sister in a totalitarian society under Stalinism, Soviet occupation and terror, when repressing memories was the only method of self-defense. The film is an analysis of memory which goes through violent personal memories of the Second World War sixty years after Stalin’s concentration camps and Soviet terror. In the documentary, the director depicts her mother’s past and, at the same time, that of all Estonia. Although it is still hard to talk about the unresolved past which crosses generation lines, this journey must be completed in order for the community to heal from the wounds of history. Imbi Paju, Finland, 2005, Estonian/Subtitles: English, 59 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMemory of Max, Claire, Ida and Company [FL 1228]
Lost, Max Trachter walks Baycrest’s corridors until he finds Claire Mandel, his sweetheart. She invites him to sit with her and her friend Ida Orliffe. Then, together with her family, Max and Ida celebrate Claire’s 89th birthday. The hard part comes when the family leaves – so hard, that for Claire, even the cake becomes meaningless. But Claire and Max love singing and Claire happily blows kisses to the camera. Ida is the odd woman out. Everyone here is looking for love and attention. An actuality drama of eight seniors living at Baycrest’s long-term care facility in Toronto. These individuals – in varying stages of cognitive decline – share their humor, anger and fear about losing their memory. A stirring, complex and emotional look at the human condition from veteran filmmaker Allan King. Allan King, Canada, 2005, English, 112 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-ROMMessage From Behind the Wall [FL 1391]
In February 2005 Agricola de Cologne visited several places where the Israeli government erected the segregation wall. The part of the wall filmed in Message from behind a Wall is situated in opposite of the AIDA refugee camp and was at the time a temporary playground for children. Wilfried Agricola de Cologne, Israel, 2005, Arabic, English, 10 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMimoune [FL 1392]
Illegal immigration is not only a problem to the host society; for immigrants the social uprooting comes with the family division. This documentary was born of the desire to put together, even if it was only through a camera, a family that since long ago wishes to be reunited. Gonzalo Ballester, Spain, Arabic/Subtitles: English, documentary film, DVD-ROMMinders, The [FL 697]
This film was made by Sean Mcallister during the last Iraqi crisis (the one defused by the UN's Kofi Annan in person). With air strikes averted, Mcallister decided to carry on filming, making a double portrait of his two Ministry of Information minders, Kifah and Alla. The likeable and decent Kifah, a former English teacher enjoying a rare spell of paid work, is a football mad Anglophile: 'I can't forget Bobby Moore,' he sighs. Alla, Head of Protocol, is a suave ladies' man and pop fan (very taken with Chumbawumba). Mcallister carries on filming Kifah after he is dropped as a minder and in doing so creates an illuminating and touching picture of the man and of everyday life in Iraq. Sean McAllister, United Kingdom, 1998, English, 55 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMined America / América Minada [FL 1386]
The issue of the landmines and its victims throughout the whole continent is disclosed, with impacting pictures and testimonies, by the launching of the video-documentary América Minada / Mined America, by the documenters Vinicius Souza and Maria Eugênia Sá. The 27-minute documentary co-produced by TV Brasil Canal Integración, the international channel of the Brazilian state, provides a deeper analysis of the theme in Colombia and Peru by means of interviews with specialists and anti-mine activists, in addition to heartbreaking testimonies by the victims of those explosive devices, which were prohibited 10 years ago but are still broadly utilized. Vinicius Souza, Maria Eugenia Sa, Brazil, 2007, Portuguese, Spanish/Subtitles: English, 27 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMiner's Tale, A [FL 707]
Joachim is a migrant labourer who is torn between his responsibilities for his junior wife in South Africa and his senior wife and family in Mozambique. When visiting his home village after a long absence, he is also torn between his understanding of the responsibilities of his HIV status and what traditional society expects of him as a man. He has to make a choice: he cannot please and protect everybody at the same time. The elders are adamant that Joaquim must do his traditional duty and give his wife more children. What will he choose? Nic Hofmeyr, Gabriel Mondlane, South Africa, 2001, English, 38 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMinister Backtracks, A / Minister krydser sit spor, En [FL 936]
While the war in Bosnia is over, the aftermath still resonates among its victims. This documentary follows the odyssey of one Danish woman from the comforts of the Danish ministry in Copenhagen to the heart of Bosnia to investigate a hideous war crime. In her position as the Danish Minister of the Interior, Birte Weiss was compelled to deny entry to many who were fleeing atrocities in the former Yugoslavia. Yet, she could not forget the heart wrenching accounts of the refugees seeking asylum. She resolved to step down as Minister to conduct an investigation into a particular massacre that had been described to her. She journeys to Bosnia and presides over the grim ordeal of exhumation of a mass grave. Relentlessly she pursues the Serb responsible for giving the orders to shoot over 200 people. To her amazement, he turns out to be the mild mannered former principal of the local school. This man had ordered the execution of his former students, yet he was not the embodiment of evil she expected. Ulrik Holmstrup, Denmark, 2000, English, 59 min, documentary film, VHSMinius [FL 1397]
Minius pitches upon an unexpected thing. Ferenc Simon, Imre Ábrahám, Krisztián Varga, Hungary, 2005, (No dialogue), 21 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMMissing Lives: Disappearances and Impunity in the North Caucasus [FL 1530]
Missing Lives addresses the lack of accountability for the enforced disappearances of more than 3,000 people in the Russian North Caucasus. 'Counter-terrorism operations' conducted by Russian military and security forces in Chechnya since 1999 have resulted in the enforced disappearances of over 3,000 people. Due to the lack of adequate investigation and prosecution of these abuses, the problem has spread to the neighboring republics in the North Caucasus. Missing Lives addresses the culture of impunity surrounding these abductions and the damage done in the lives of people whose loved ones are missing. The video provides insight into the struggle of relatives trying to break through the system of lawlessness to seek information and redress for the crimes against their loved ones. Zaroma Mukusheva, United States, 2008, Chechen, Russian/Subtitles: English, 14 min, documentary film, DVD-ROMMitumba, the Secind Hand Road / Mitumba, the Second Hand Road [FL 1136]
Story of a t-shirt and how it travelled from the North to the South of the world. It's the onside-out story of a piece of clothing forst and second life and everything that happens in between. Rafaelle Brunetti, Italy, 2005, English, 53 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
