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In 1952, TV Tupi, Brazil's first television channel, invited psychiatrist Júlio Gouveia and his wife, Russian writer Tatiana Belinky, to develop the network’s children's programming. The couple then asked the sons and daughters of their friends to join the cast of the newly created shows, the most prominent of which was Sítio do Picapau Amarelo. And so, Antonio Silvio, Lia, Lídia, Sérgio, and David José embarked on an unexpected journey that would come to shape the future of Brazilian television. Memories of the Sítio is a trip through the personal recollections of these actors and the story of the first television adaptation of Monteiro Lobato’s work.
A microcosm of everything Brazil stands for: the good, the bad and the ugly. This immersive and intimate portrait of the largest residential building in Latin America and its inhabitants shines a light on a country being torn apart by corruption, populism, polarized politics and a collapsing democracy.
Gilberto leaves his home on the last day of his father's life, travelling around the city in search of the places that were meaningful to him: his old house, the museum where he worked, and the streets of a very lively city. This escape becomes a reconstruction of the father, a journey through memory and a farewell.
This documentary shows the fascist might of the Marcos regime and how militarisation and human rights violations were institutionalised in Philippine political life. The film exposes the human rights violations during the Marcos regime, unmasking the dictator's claims that there were no political detainees under martial law. Arrogance of Power (1983, TRT 38 mins.) is a documentary by AsiaVisions (previously named Creative Audio-Visual Specialists or CAVS) made originally in Super 8 migrated to U-matic and digitized for access.
A full-length documentary tracing the history of Britain's premier folk rock group.
Quearborn & Perversion: An Early History of Lesbian & Gay Chicago (2009, 109 min) is a documentary on LGBTQ life in Chicago from 1934 to 1974. Moving from the speakeasys and Henry Gerber’s founding of the Society for Human Rights in the 1930s, to the underground social structure of the 1940s and 1950s, to the dawn of consciousness-raising entities such as the Daughters of Bilitis and Mattachine Midwest in the 1960’s, and concluding with the emergence of the gay liberation movement with the first Pride March and opening of the first community center in the early 1970s.
Brazil has a long tradition of coup d'états. These coups would have not been viable without the support of the big media, particularly TV Globo. Two Brazilian journalists in the UK reveal the manipulative tactics of these organisations.
Klaus Kinski has perhaps the most ferocious reputation of all screen actors: his volatility was documented to electrifying effect in Werner Herzog’s 1999 portrait My Best Fiend. This documentary provides further fascinating insight into the talent and the tantrums of the great man. Beset by hecklers, Kinski tries to deliver an epic monologue about the life of Christ (with whom he perhaps identifies a little too closely). The performance becomes a stand-off, as Kinski fights for control of the crowd and alters the words to bait his tormentors. Indispensable for Kinski fans, and a riveting introduction for newcomers, this is a unique document, which Variety called ‘a time capsule of societal ideals and personal demons.’
A series of 34 short documentary films for ESPN featuring testimony from the only men alive to have scored a goal in a world cup final. In the history of the World Cup only 68 people have scored a goal in the final (including penalty shoot-outs). Of which 34 are alive today.
Max Frisch was the last big Swiss intellectual widely respected as a “voice” in its own right – a character hardly found today. The film retells Frisch’s story as a witness of the unfolding 20th century, wondering if such “voices” are needed at all, or if we could do without them.
In World War II. African-American GIs liberate Germany from Nazi rule while racism prevailed in their own army and home country. Returning home they continue fighting for their own rights in the civil rights movement.
In 1990, the beheaded body of a young woman was found in a Rotterdam canal. The body remained unidentified until 2008, when new DNA techniques revealed that the victim was the American model Melissa Halstead. A joint investigation by the Rotterdam cold case unit and their colleagues in the United Kingdom led to John Sweeney. Sweeney is known to have a tumultuous relationship with Halstead – as evidenced by the many lurid drawings he made during their time together in Amsterdam.