Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom(2015)

Michael Lost and Found(en)

When a feature film is made about them seven years after their break-up, Benjie Nycum visits his ex-boyfriend Michael Glatze and finally tries to get answers about his bewildering shift from gay activist to ex-gay evangelical.

Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful(en)

Women were clearly at the core of legendary photographer Helmut Newton's work. The stars of his iconic portraits and fashion editorials – from Catherine Deneuve to Grace Jones, Charlotte Rampling to Isabella Rossellini – finally give their own interpretation of the life and work of this controversial genius. A portrait by the portrayed. Provocative, unconventional, subversive, his depiction of women still sparks the question: were they subjects or objects?

Cottontail(en)

After the death of his wife, Kenzaburo receives an unexpected letter from beyond the grave. His late wife asks him to travel to Lake Windermere in England with their son to scatter her ashes. Plagued by sweet and painful memories of his wife, Kenzaburo travels to England from Tokyo to fulfill her final wish, but the father and son’s fraught relationship threatens to upend their journey.

To Be a Miss(es)

In a country famous for its success in international beauty pageants, three young women are fighting to participate in their nation's most celebrated cultural institution. But obtaining a place in the Miss Venezuela contest is no easy task. Women must endure grueling diets, consent to intensive plastic surgery, and find the resources necessary to transform themselves from ordinary citizens into famous and illustrious Misses. To Be a Miss is a character-driven documentary that takes the viewer through the inner workings of Venezuela's renowned beauty factory, revealing the risks and rewards associated with this multi-billion dollar industry while exposing what nationalism, personal ambition, and the influence of mass media has meant for women in the country.

Citizen Jane: Battle for the City(en)

Writer and urban activist Jane Jacobs fights to save historic New York City during the ruthless redevelopment era of urban planner Robert Moses in the 1960s.

The Jump(lt)

In the Cold War years of the 1970s, an American patrol boat meets a Soviet ship off the east coast of the United States for talks about fishing rights in the Atlantic. In the midst of this, while Russian commanders are aboard the U.S. Coast Guard vessel where the talks are being held, a Lithuanian sailor jumps across the ten feet of icy water separating the boats. Crash-landing on the deck of the American ship, he desperately begs for asylum. Though they try, the Americans ultimately fail to provide protection and the Soviets are allowed to capture him and brutally return him to their vessel. Thus begins a stranger-than-fiction story of imprisonment, discovery, fame, and freedom. Through rare archival footage and a dramatic first-person re-enactment of that fateful day by Simas Kudirka, the would-be defector himself, this tale of one of the biggest Cold War muddles takes us on a journey of uncanny twists of fate, and the emotional sacrifices of becoming a universal symbol of freedom.

A Few Stories About a Man(xx)

The film is a portrait of Jerzy Orłowski, an armless graphic artist. Impressionistic scenes present the protagonist in various situations: when he has to deal with everyday chores, when he jumps into water, skis and draws. Even the simplest activity requires struggle, resilience and outstanding fitness from him. Many takes are in slow motion, contemplating the smallest detail, which the director is so skilfully able to bring out.

India's Daughter(en)

The story of the short life, and brutal gang rape and murder in Delhi in December 2012 of an exceptional and inspiring young woman. The rape of the 23 year old medical student by 6 men on a moving bus, and her death, sparked unprecedented protests and riots throughout India and led to the first glimmers of a change of mindset. Interwoven into the story line are the lives, values and mindsets of the rapists whom the film makers have had exclusive and unprecedented access to interview before they hang. The film examines the society and values which spawn such violent acts, and makes an optimistic and impassioned plea for change.

E-Team(en)

E-Team is driven by the high-stakes investigative work of four intrepid human rights workers, offering a rare look at their lives at home and their dramatic work in the field.

Summer Palace(zh)

Yu Hong leaves her home village and starts university in Beijing, where she develops a consuming and compulsive relationship with another student. The student riots from 1989 then ensue and take a toll on their lives.

The Milk of Sorrow(es)

Fausta is suffering from a rare disease called the Milk of Sorrow, which is transmitted through the breast milk of pregnant women who were abused or raped during or soon after pregnancy. While living in constant fear and confusion due to this disease, she must face the sudden death of her mother. She chooses to take drastic measures to not follow in her mother's footsteps.

Banksy Does New York(en)

On October 1, 2013, the elusive street artist Banksy launched a month-long residency in New York, an art show he called Better Out Than In. As one new work of art was presented each day in a secret location, a group of fans, called “Banksy Hunters,” took to the streets and blew up social media.

Perfect Strangers(ar)

Do we truly know one another? Every one of us has three lives: a public, a private and secret one. What we once stored in our memories is now being stored in our phones - what happens when these are made public?

The Speed Cubers(en)

This documentary captures the extraordinary twists and turns in the journeys of Rubik's Cube-solving champions Max Park and Feliks Zemdegs.

Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King(en)

When the young founder of a collapsing cryptocurrency exchange dies unexpectedly, irate investors suspect there's more to his death than meets the eye.

Dear Comrades!(ru)

When the communist government raises food prices in 1962, the rebellious workers from the small industrial town of Novocherkassk go on strike. The massacre which then ensues is seen through the eyes of a devout party activist.

Night Moves(en)

The story about three radical environmentalists coming together to execute the most intense protest of their lives: the explosion of a hydroelectric dam.

The Look of Silence(en)

An optician grapples with the Indonesian mass killings of 1965-1966, during which his older brother was exterminated.

Virunga(en)

Virunga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s oldest national park, a UNESCO world heritage site, and a contested ground among insurgencies seeking to topple the government that see untold profits in the land. Among this ongoing power struggle, Virunga also happens to be the last natural habitat for the critically endangered mountain gorilla. The only thing standing in the way of the forces closing in around the gorillas: a handful of passionate park rangers and journalists fighting to secure the park’s borders and expose the corruption of its enemies. Filled with shocking footage, and anchored by the surprisingly deep and gentle characters of the gorillas themselves, Virunga is a galvanizing call to action around an ongoing political and environmental crisis in the Congo.

Boy & the World(pt)

Suffering because of his father's departure to the big city, a boy leaves his village and discovers a fantastic world dominated by bug-engines and strange beings. An unusual animation with various artistic techniques that portrays the issues of the modern world through the eyes of a child.

Eastern Front(uk)

On February 24, 2022, Yevhen, together with his friends, volunteered to join the first aid squad on the front line. They provided life-saving support and evacuation of the wounded. This film reveals the experiences of these young men for six months full of drama, despair, fear, hatred, bitterness, love, and, most importantly, faith in victory.

Життя і Смерть у Гуцулії(uk)

Charles Gagnon(en)

Documentary about Charles Gagnon, Québécois politician, FLQ member and communist leader.

Crimea. As It Was(uk)

The film is a story about the officers, soldiers and seamen who did not betray their oath of loyalty to the people of Ukraine and their first hand accounts about Russia's invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. They continue to fulfill their military obligations on land, on sea and in the air today.

Maidan(uk)

A chronicle of the civil uprising against the regime of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych that took place in Kyiv in the winter of 2013/14. The film follows the progress of the revolution: from peaceful rallies, half a million strong in the Maidan square, to the bloody street battles between protesters and riot police.

The Tentmakers of Cairo(ar)

Amid the tumult of the Arab Spring in Cairo, vendors in a small souk observe the political upheaval while seeking to preserve an ancient tradition of fabric making.

The Dybbuk: A Tale of Wandering Souls(uk)

30 thousand Hasidim journey to Uman in Ukraine to celebrate the Jewish New Year at the gravesite of Rebbe Nachmann. A Ukrainian far-right group erects a cross at the site of Hasidic prayers and builds a monument to Cossacks who slaughtered thousands of Jews and Poles in 1768.

UNCOUNTED - The Story of the California Election(en)

In an extensive mini-documentary by Michelle Boley (@roguekite) and Taylor Gill (@taylorcgill) and produced by TYT and Rogue Kite Productions, the true story of what happened leading up to and after the 2016 California Democratic Primary is uncovered.

Life and Fate by Vassili Grossman(fr)

The convoluted and moving story of Russian writer Vassili Grossman (1905-64) and his novel Life and Fate (1980), a literary masterpiece, a monumental and epic account of life under Stalin's regime of terror, a defiant cry that the KGB tried to suffocate.

1848(fr)

The film explains the French Revolution of 1848. Bernard Blier's narration is supported by pictures once drawn by contemporary artists including Honoré Daumier. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.

Fishball Revolution(en)

An asylum seeker from Hong Kong builds a new life for himself in Glasgow, using his passion for street food to maintain his cultural identity.

Taiwan: The Generation After Martial Law(zh)

This program illustrates how video activists have developed sophisticated use of small format video, with poetic and powerful imagery, complex mixes of sounds and scores and an effective editing style that belies the urgency under which it is being made. The video movement in Taiwan has made successful use of home cassette distribution, via both mail and street vendors. The Green Team collective has pioneered in this effort with over 100 titles in distribution, documenting the struggles of farmers, students, workers and environmentalists.

Disaster at Chernobyl(en)

The explosion at Chernobyl was ten times worse than the Hiroshima bomb and was due to a combination of human error and imperfect technology. An account of the sixty critical minutes prior to the explosion of the nuclear power plant on the night of April 26, 1986.

Ukraine-Poland: The Border of Solidarity(fr)

Since 24 February 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, several million refugees have already been taken in by Poles. In the Lublin region, near the Bug River, which marks the border with Ukraine and Belarus, farmers, shopkeepers, a photographer, and a teacher tell how their daily lives have been transformed by the outbreak of this war.

Kim Jong-un: The Unauthorized Biography(fr)

A journey through several countries to find those who really know Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader, in an attempt to profile a contradictory dictator who seems to rule his nation with both disturbing benevolence and cold cruelty while being worshipped as a living god by his subjects in exalted displays of ridiculous fanaticism.

Checkmate: Strategy of a Revolution(de)

How does one trigger a revolution? In the Romanian uprising in 1989, everything seemed to happen by itself. The people were fed up and were plagued by poverty and terror. There comes a time when action must be taken! But, it turns out that history is not that simple, as this investigative documentary proves. The film is a thorough and revealing reconstruction of the events leading up to Ceaucescu’s downfall and execution. In actual fact, the Romanian revolution was a strictly managed operation, controlled from the outside. Hungary, Germany and especially America had big fingers in the pie.

Investigating Operation Condor(en)

In the name of the struggle against terrorism, a special operation - code named CONDOR - was conducted in the 1970s and '80s in South America. Its target were left-wing political dissidents, the organized labor and intellectuals. Condor soon became a network of military dictatorships supported by the U.S. State Department, the CIA, and Interpol.

Khamsin(fr)

Lebanon today. The traces of the civil war are all too tangible as government corruption becomes unbearable. In a country where conflict and peace are caught in an endless cycle, musicians from different backgrounds pool their talents to create an underground music scene. Each evokes his or her representation of Lebanon: its shifting geographical, political, historical and social borders, its painful passage through conflict and instability. A touching portrait of a young generation trying to build an oasis in a hostile environment where the forces of destruction continue to wreak havoc.

Ukraine: The People's Fight(en)

Filmmaker Olly Lambert spends two months on Ukraine’s southern frontline with volunteer special forces as they begin the push to capture Kherson. The film follows “Hummer”, an experienced military commander who now finds himself a chaperone to completely inexperienced forces on the frontline.

Homeland Gone(es)

Lebanon is a country hijacked by sects, money, and power. While citizens long for a collective identity to thrive as a community, politicians use the sectarianism for their corrupt ambitions. Unless there is a change, Lebanon will be lost forever.