In Want of a Mask(2020)

2020(es)

Madrid was one of the hardest-hit regions in the world by the pandemic of Covid-19. When the state of alarm was declared in March 2020, awarded filmmaker Hernán Zin grab his camera and went out to portray it from all fronts: hospitals, ambulances, nursing homes, funeral homes, fire department, police and army operations.He got exclusive access to places and situations that few filmmakers in the world had due to the effort of the politicians to keep the press out of the hospitals and nursing homes.

Sieged: The Press vs. Denialism(pt)

Behind the scenes of news coverage during the pandemic. Follow the work of the professional press in a fight against denialism.

The Curve(en)

An investigative documentary examining America's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hong Kong: 'The Hub of the Orient'(en)

This Traveltalk series short takes a look at Hong Kong.

Beauties of the Night(es)

What happened to those vedettes who represented the mexican cabaret’s exotic beauty in the ‘70s and ‘80s? Four decades after the end of their roles, they tell their stories with dignity.

Lockdown Generation(it)

In the beginning it felt like a holiday, then everything changed due to Covid19.

Covid Diaries NYC(en)

Five young filmmakers share stories of their families, who were on the frontlines during the first wave of the Coronavirus. These intimate accounts shine a light on families caught in chaos and crisis, in a city hiding from a deadly virus, in a country riven by social upheaval.

Disease X: Hunting the Next Pandemic(en)

Virologist Dr Chris van Tulleken embarks on a global investigation into the hunt for the pathogen that could trigger the next pandemic and the cutting-edge science developed to tackle it. Known only as ‘Disease X’, it is shrouded in uncertainty. Its origin is unknown, how it could spread is unclear, but its impact could be much more severe than Covid-19. To uncover what Disease X might be, where it could emerge and what traits it needs to spread, Chris follows the paths of past deadly viruses. He visits the ground zero of the Nipah virus in Malaysia, which inspired the film Contagion. He also heads to the front line of the ongoing bird flu outbreak in US dairy cattle in California.

Break Out(en)

The love story of successful businessman Alexei and young doctor Dimitri unfolds against the backdrop of Russia’s escalating anti-LGBTQ laws and the invasion of Ukraine. Meeting in secret during COVID lockdowns, the couple faces criminalization, police raids, and the looming threat of being sent to the front line. Their fight for freedom takes them across three continents in a desperate bid to live authentically and without fear. First-person testimony is blended with striking animation and dramatic reenactments.

In the Same Breath(en)

This documentary recounts the experiences of people on the ground in the earliest days of the novel coronavirus and the way two countries dealt with its initial spread, from the first days of the outbreak in Wuhan to its rampage across the United States.

Homeroom(en)

Following the class of 2020 at Oakland High School in a year marked by seismic change, exploring the emotional world of teenagers coming of age against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world.

In Delusion: Trump and the American Catastrophe(de)

In 2020, the USA experienced a multiple catastrophe: No other country in the world was hit so badly by the coronavirus pandemic, the economic slump was dramatic, and so was the rise in unemployment. A rift ran through society. In the streets there were protests of both camps with violent riots, authoritarian traits were evident in the actions of the leader of the nation. And all of this in the middle of the election year, when the self-centered president fought vehemently for his re-election. From the start of his presidency, Donald Trump had divided American society, incited individual sections of the population against one another, fueled racism, hatred, xenophobia and prejudice, insulted competitors and denigrated critical journalists as enemies of the people. The documentary shows how this could happen and what role the targeted disinformation of certain sections of the population through manipulative media played.

Restaurant Hustle 2020: All On The Line(en)

Like many businesses, the restaurant industry has been hard hit by COVID-19. This timely film, directed and executive produced by Guy Fieri and Frank Matson, intimately chronicles the impact of the pandemic on the restaurants of four chefs familiar to viewers of The Food Network: Antonia Lofaso, Marcus Samuelsson, Maneet Chauhan, and Christian Petroni. Unfolding as the COVID-19 outbreak sweeps across the US, Restaurant Hustle 2020: All on the Line follows these chefs as they face the reality of shutting down, laying off staff, and finding alternate ways to save their beloved restaurants and industry.

Unerhört!(de)

Republic of Evil Ants(pt)

One of the greatest pests on the planet, the evil ants destroy the forest to protect their family. Memories of the covid-19 pandemic, eroded by ignorance and negationism. What's left in this great country of worms and viruses?

Yellowing(cn)

The turmoil that has overtaken Hong Kong since its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 has spawned a new generation of young, passionately committed activist filmmakers; they want to tell Hong Kong's story with Hong Kong voices. And the best indie documentary to have emerged so far from the HKSAR is this year's Yellowing, by Chan Tze Woon, a 29-year-old with degrees in policy studies and film production. Hong Kong's fraught, tense relationship with its mainland Chinese overseers came to a head with the Umbrella Movement of 2014. A crowd of protesters stormed Civic Square on September 27. The next day police shocked most residents of the HKSAR by attacking the growing crowds with volleys of tear gas, whereupon a wide cross section of Hong Kongers occupied the streets in several areas and stayed for almost 6 weeks. Chan took his camera on the streets for 67 days during these events.

Fishhead(fa)

Filmed during the confinement period in Iran, Fishhead captures fragments of daily life as time stretches and routine becomes absurd. Through minimal gestures and static compositions, the film transforms isolation into a poetic study of silence, repetition, and the fragility of existence.

Lily: A Transgender Story(en)

Filmed over five years, we follow Lily Jones, 20, as she transitions from male to female, leaves her seaside home for the city, undergoes gender reassignment surgery and finds love.

Heiße Ware aus Hong Kong(de)

Made for German TV documentary about the early craze of Hong Kong Martial Arts Cinema. While critical on the subject and not too well informed, it nevertheless offers some interesting insights into the Hong Kong film industry of that days.

2020: A Very Particular Year(de)

At the beginning of the year 2020, a relentless plague sweeps the planet and, as a consequence, a global lockdown is gradually decreed: how did people from very different latitudes, living necessarily very different situations, experience this shared solitude? How did people adapt to the restriction by decree of their personal freedoms and the transformation of many bustling metropolises into ghost cities?