Dag Ma(2023)

A Life on the Farm(en)

A strange story from Somerset, England about a filmmaking farmer and the inspiring legacy of his long-lost home movies.

Florence from Ohio(en)

Filmmaker Stephanie Wang-Breal sets out to cross the generational divide, confronting long-simmering tensions with her Chinese immigrant mother by literally becoming her. Dressing in her mom’s iconic St John Knit power suits and re-creating her 1980s local TV cooking show, Stephanie becomes Beta-Florence, a radical reinterpretation of Asian-American identity.

Blood Amber(my)

Somewhere in Myanmar is a forest rich in amber and controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Most of its inhabitants work in a mine, digging the earth night and days in the hope of finding the precious ore that will get them out of poverty. But on top of the excruciating hardship of the work, they also have to fear an attack from the army.

The Earth Is Blue as an Orange(uk)

Single mother Anna and her four children live in the front-line war zone of Donbas, Ukraine. While the outside world is made up of bombings and chaos, the family is managing to keep their home a safe haven, full of life and full of light. Every member of the family has a passion for cinema, motivating them to shoot a film inspired by their own life during a time of war. The creative process raises the question of what kind of power the magical world of cinema could have during times of disaster. How to picture war through fiction? For Anna and the children, transforming trauma into a work of art is the ultimate way to stay human.

The Test(en)

A Ghanaian maintenance technician at a Virginia retirement community dreams of becoming an American citizen to provide a better life for his family. With their future at stake, he enlists the help of two elderly residents to prepare for the biggest test of his life: the US Citizenship exam.

What Jennifer Did(en)

When Jennifer Pan calls 911 to report that her parents have been shot, she becomes the primary focus of a captivating criminal case.

Good Tough Kid(en)

Kelly Finger-McNeela was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis her freshman year of high school. The only thing on her mind was living a "normal" life. Her disease threatened to make that impossible.

Mary and Bill(en)

Mary and Bill is a film focusing on Mary Stroebe and Bill Wambach. Mary is a 90-year-old triathlete and Bill an 83-year-old high jumper who holds the National record in his age bracket. Bill was also named "Male Athlete of the Year" by the National Congress of State Games. Mary appeared on the "Regis and Kelly Show" and as a result was nominated for and received a "Relly" award. The film follows Mary and Bill immediately after they experience serious health related problems. Mary brakes her leg while down hill skiing and Bill, who had smoked for 45 years, suffers a heart attack. Despite these physical ailments, both decide to train and compete in their respective events. Mary hopes to complete the Lifetime Fitness triathlon and Bill will attempt to win first place in high jumping at the National Senior Olympics. Through their amazing commitment, both Mary and Bill prove that age is just a number.

Seems Like Only Yesterday(en)

Interviews with a dozen California centenarians against a montage of present day media reportage.

Young At Heart(en)

Documents the true story of the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young at Heart Chorus in Northampton, MA, and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music goes against the stereotype of their age group. Although they have toured Europe and sang for royalty, this account focuses on preparing new songs for a concert in their hometown.

Peace(ja)

What is peace? What is coexistence? And what are the basis for them? PEACE is a visual-essay-like observational documentary, which contemplates these questions by observing the daily lives of people and cats in Okayama city, Japan, where life and death, acceptance and rejection are intermingled.

Grey Gardens(en)

Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith, two aging, eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, are the sole inhabitants of a Long Island estate. The women reveal themselves to be misfits with outsized, engaging personalities. Much of the conversation is centered on their pasts, as mother and daughter now rarely leave home.

The Letter(sw)

Karisa’s city-life is interrupted when his Grandma back home is called a witch and receives a death threat. Returning to his rural village to investigate, he finds a frenzied mixture of consumerism and Christianity is turning hundreds of families against their elders, branding them as witches as a means to steal their ancestral land.

Comme un rayon de soleil sur la peau(fr)

Dear Matthew(en)

The story of Tim Reilly (84) whose son Matthew disappeared in1999. All that remains of him today are his paintings, which his father, Tim, curates.

Once again(no)

Picture yourself closing in on 100 years, and that you are truly happy and content. That you still are curious on all the little things in life. That you find happiness in the small things. That you are driven by the love to your life’s sweetheart. Go all in and allow yourself to feel how it is to be alive, right here and now. How Alf, soon to turn 100 years, might be a source of inspiration. Maybe he has the secret recipe?

Those Who Come, Will Hear(iu)

The documentary proposes a unique meeting with the speakers of several indigenous and inuit languages of Quebec – all threatened with extinction. The film starts with the discovery of these unsung tongues through listening to the daily life of those who still speak them today. Buttressed by an exploration and creation of archives, the film allows us to better understand the musicality of these languages and reveals the cultural and human importance of these venerable oral traditions by nourishing a collective reflection on the consequences of their disappearance.

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer(en)

British documentarian Nick Broomfield creates a follow-up piece to his 1992 documentary of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was convicted of killing six men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Interviewing an increasingly mentally unstable Wuornos, Broomfield captures the distorted mind of a murderer whom the state of Florida deems of sound mind -- and therefore fit to execute. Throughout the film, Broomfield includes footage of his testimony at Wuornos' trial.

Alicia(nl)

"It’s not easy to find a foster family for you," an orphanage supervisor explains to nine-year-old Alicia. "After all, you are a very special girl." Alicia is crying. "I’m not special. I’m just a girl." This disturbing scene sets the tone for this film about Alicia, who was taken away from her teenage mother by the Child Welfare Bureau when she was 12 months old. She’s been living in an orphanage since the age of five, and they have never managed to find a foster family for her. In Alicia, we watch as she becomes a teenager, still craving safety and love. Over the course of three years, filmmaker Maasja Ooms follows her daily life up close. Alicia's yearning and powerlessness are palpable in these observations, which painfully reveal the effects of having no prospects.

Leaving Your Skin(en)

Wanda Seux, one of Mexico’s most emblematic actresses and showgirls during the 80’s, has fallen into an abyss, dragged down by the death of her mother, her solitude, and the passage of time. Wanda, however, struggles every day to rise from that vacuum and walk through that dark tunnel into the light of plenitude.