Set in the mountains of northeast Italy, this film may be considered an observational documentary about rural life. Although this is undeniably the case, at the same time Under the cold stars can hardly be considered a documentary: the microcosm on which it focuses appears to be a reflection of a broader reality and perhaps a way to deal with the themes of man’s existence and his relationship with animals, nature and, most importantly, with time. As written by Franco Piavoli "it is a film which essentially relies on images and sound, where words themselves are sound and the music of life, of the relentless flow of time."
Chu Liuxiang is having drinks with his friend, Monk Wuhua. Gong Nanyan of the Holy Water Palace suddenly appears and accuses Chu of having stolen the palace's Heaven's One Holy Water and committed a series of murders. She agrees to give Chu a month's time to clear his name, or else the mistress of the palace will kill him. Chu's curiosity and eagerness to prove his innocence spur him to investigate the case.
Jonathan Pie: Hero or Villain? A question often asked and one that Pie hopes to answer in his brand-new live show. Join him as he celebrates the UK’s greatest heroes (Nurses / Gary Lineker / 24-hour off license proprietors) and takes a verbal blowtorch to its villains (The Tories / Cyclists).
Short film built from photographs, sped up like a traditional stop motion and is meant to be an evocation of the English Eerie and Folk Horror.
Winter, north of Quebec. A spanish woman has a short an intense relationship.
In the confined space of a typical school bus, two contrasting characters share an ordinary day on the road just before Christmas.
It follows young alchemist Amélie as she acquires a magical power: partially influencing the flow of time. But she is split in time, and Amélie from the present meets Améliw from the past, who accompanies her every step of the way.
1989: 64th and last year of the Showa era. A girl is kidnapped and killed. The unsolved case is called Case 64 ('rokuyon'). 2002: Yoshinobu Mikami, who was the detective in charge of the Case 64, moves as a Public Relations Officer in the Police Affairs Department. His relation with the reporters is conflicted and his own daughter is missing. The statute of limitations for the Case 64 will expire in one year. Then a kidnapping case, similar to the Case 64, takes place. The rift between the criminal investigation department and police administration department deepens. Mikami challenges the case as a public relations secretary.
Usher in the Year of the Dragon with a story about a young girl who has a special shapeshifting ability. Together with Director Marc Webb, Apple brings you this charming and heartwarming tale about self-discovery in our pursuit of life in the modern world.
«I often have dreams. Careless dreams. When the sun was shining. It was calm and quiet. And a peaceful sky overhead.» An experimental musical film on the theme of love. Memories of the past excite the imagination and make you evaluate what is happening in the present in a new way.
Comedy about faith and family directed by Shavar Ross. When a recently widowed Baptist preacher (Bill Toliver) loses the respect of his congregation over rumors of his impending marriage to a woman 45 years younger, best friends hatch a plan to help him regain his flock.
An undercover cop and slick con-man form an alliance against a evil and vicious drug lord who takes advantage and uses the poor people of a small village with his equally evil henchmen.
Danny Breznitz, late 40s, a detective in the Tel Aviv Police, is hospitalized following a near-fatal car accident. His relationship with his sexy mistress, Eva, early 30s, is falling apart, and his obsession with her is pushing Eva even further away. Living in the same apartment with Ruthie, his wife, are the only remains of their childless marriage. Following convalescence, Breznitz is handed an insignificant case by his hostile superior which he considers beneath him. But when an unknown body is found in the woods, and nobody cares, Dani finds a cause he can believe in. He makes a tour-de-force of Israel's "low- life" – an Arab intellectual who wants to admit to a murder he has not committed, a prostitute turned hairdresser, a pimp who poses as a born-again Jew, a homosexual artist who was excommunicated by his parents. The journey becomes an obsession that threatens to kill him but Breznitz wouldn't stop until he reveals the shocking truth...
This shows physicist Stephen Hawking's life as he deals with the ALS that renders him immobile and unable to speak without the use of a computer. Hawking's friends, family, classmates, and peers are interviewed not only about his theories but the man himself.
A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.
The passenger pigeon, the most abundant bird species in North America for thousands of years, became extinct by human hands in a geologic heartbeat. Its story remains relevant to conservation challenges today, and there are even plans for its possible revival. Rare archival material, CGI animation, and aerial cinematography combine to recreate the awe-inspiring nature of these birds.
In Finland, a small child is waiting for his time to begin. His heart is broken. A major heart surgery is expected. There is a fight against time. The boys parents are wandering in the corridors of the hospital. The heart is stopped during the surgery operation. Le Locle, a village in Switzerland acts as the heart of watch industry. Narrow streets of the village carry vital parts to watches and nowdays also into human bodies, for example pacemakers. Village is formed as a big factory line and appears as a time-twisting machine. There pieces are refined and workers hands turns the time on and off.
One of the most mysterious animals to inhabit the jungle is the pygmy hippopotamus - up to 300 kg in weight, just 2 meters long, and 80 cm tall, and a true loner. Since its discovery in 1844, generations of researchers have attempted to study it in the wild - but in vain. Although it proved possible to catch a few specimens for zoos, no one ever got to see them before they were already inside the trap. They eluded the gaze of the researchers like phantoms under the protection of the enchanted forest. These are the first ever pictures of pygmy hippopotami in their natural surroundings - the rain forest of West Africa. Set amid stories about their habitat, the film allows a first impression of this timid creature's life. While their ten-times heavier relatives are loud and gregarious and live in open stretches of water, the pygmy hippopotamus moves furtively through the thick undergrowth.
The compelling story of 30-year-old climber Tom Ballard who disappeared on one of the Himalayas' most deadly mountains, Nanga Parbat, in February 2019. Tom was the son of mountaineer Alison Hargreaves, who perished on K2 in 1995. Mother and son, two of the greatest climbers of all time, died at almost the same age in neighbouring mountain ranges, both doing what they loved best. They now lie forever encased in the ice of two of the world’s highest mountains. Left behind to cope with the enduring tragedy are Tom’s sister, Kate, and their father, Jim.
Documentary on the village of Viganella, in the Piedmont Alps, and on its mirror that reflects the sunlight on the hamlet, which otherwise would not reach the valley.
In the animal world, as in our own, looks aren’t everything. In fact, some of the most aesthetically challenged creatures — from warthogs and proboscis monkeys to bull elephant seals — are also the most fascinating. A stunning variety of these ghastly yet glorious forms are explored in NATURE’s The Beauty of Ugly.
Jimmy is a burglar and a loner, Long-Fingered Fred excels in breaking into cars, while Merlin prefers to target restaurants. Meet the alpha males of the infamous Smits Baboon Gang.
Cat experts explain the behaviors of domestic cats and how their sometimes undesirable actions are really innate instincts, revealing how closely they are still connected to their wild ancestors.
German nature film from 2011. Mention the "Elm Fight" in Sweden and most people there think of when protesters and police fought in Kungsträdgården in 1972. But only for a few years previously, a stealthy enemy had reached Sweden, which today threatens the elms far more than any city planner.
In 1907 Herman Hesse spent a few days mediating and fasting in a cave near Monte Verità. During these days he collected the visions and insights that went on to be very influential in his thinking and shaped some of the most important works of his literary career. The images and sounds of this film were shot there and are a homage to this cave and its possible invocations. Grotta is part of Fieldworks, an ongoing experiment with ambient video and radio frequencies.
In DIARY OF A BEE we follow the adventurous journey of a single bee from its birth (or hatching) to the founding of a new colony. Three years of shooting with the latest macro camera technology and special post-processing enable a unique visual language that allows completely new insights into the world of bees - without becoming unscientific. This story is told by Anna Thalbach as the "winter bee" and her daughter Nellie Thalbach, who takes on the role of the "summer bee". Welcome to the big drama of the little pollen collectors!
In the heart of France from ground level to the top of the trees, scientists reveal the incredibly rich flora and fauna hidden in our everyday landscape.
On January 8, 2005, the storm Gudrun pulled over southern Sweden and large parts of the Småland forest blew down. How do you cope when your food disappears overnight? Anders and Lisbeth Ericsson, who run a smaller farm, were hit hard by the storm. 70% of their 250 ha were blown down. This put them in a difficult economic and emotional crisis. They realize that it is important to find new solutions in order to live on now that the conditions have changed so completely. Johan Forsman and his father Jan have a large farm with 1500 ha of forest. For them, it is not just a financial loss, the extensive work to take care of the broken forest feels endless. It is difficult to get enough people to work. Some of the assistance is taken from other parts of the world, including Finnish forest workers. The problem is that the Finns only speak Finnish, and a little Russian…
In the Philippines, the reefs, coasts and islets of the island of Palawan, the Straits of Balabak and the Sula Sea are amongst the richest in biodiversity on Earth. Some scientists claim that the entire submarine wildlife of the Pacific originated from this area. The coral is magnificent and the protected sites offer an incomparable vision of marine life to scuba divers from all over the world. However, since the end of the Second World War, Philippine fishermen have been fishing with dynamite all over the coral reefs of this marine Wild West. Today, far from diminishing, this form of fishing has taken on industrial dimensions and 50% of the coral has been destroyed, turning this underwater Eden into arid desert…
Only twenty-five years ago, the first evidence of self-medicating behaviour among animals was reported among chimpanzees. On the basis of this pioneering research, led by the American Michael Huffman, a new science was founded: "zoopharmacognosy", or the study of animal pharmacopeia. Animals are apparently able to treat themselves actively, to detect natural substances that can provide a remedy for health problems, or to prevent them. The primatologist Michael Huffman explains how he discovered that chimpanzees can heal their diseases with medicinal plants from their environment. The scientist then comments on other very surprising examples: Birds that disinfect their nests by filling them with aromatic plants with repellent properties, a rodent that covers its coat with toxic sap as a poisonous defence against predators and elephants that place mud plasters on their injuries. Some therapeutic behaviours may even be transmitted socially among certain species.
News from the troubled Korean peninsula comes frequently and often deals with the risks of new fighting between North and South Korea. But between the two there is a zone where the wild got a chance and where rare animals can live on in the shadow of all weapons.
A black-and-white visual meditation of wilderness and the elements. Wildlife filmmaker Richard Sidey returns to the triptych format for a cinematic experience like no other.