China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province(2009)

Behemoth(zh)

Under the sun, the heavenly beauty of grasslands will soon be covered by the raging dust of mines. Facing the ashes and noises caused by heavy mining , the herdsmen have no choice but to leave as the meadow areas dwindle. In the moonlight, iron mines are brightly lit throughout the night. Workers who operate the drilling machines must stay awake. The fight is tortuous, against the machine and against themselves. Meanwhile, coal miners are busy filling trucks with coals. Wearing a coal-dust mask, they become ghostlike creatures. An endless line of trucks will transport all the coals and iron ores to the iron works. There traps another crowd of souls, being baked in hell. In the hospital, time hangs heavy on miners' hands. After decades of breathing coal dust, death is just around the corner. They are living the reality of purgatory, but there will be no paradise.

The Great Piggy Bank Robbery(en)

While reading his favorite comic book, Daffy accidentally knocks himself unconscious and dreams he's Duck Twacy, famous detective, trying to solve the case of the missing piggy banks. Taking a streetcar (conducted by Porky Pig, in a non-speaking cameo role) to the gangsters' hideout, he meets up with such grotesque criminals as Pickle Puss, Eighty-Eight Teeth and Neon Noodle.

Revolutionary Road(en)

A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.

Life of Pi(en)

The story of an Indian boy named Pi, a zookeeper's son who finds himself in the company of a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

Avatar(en)

In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.

The Passion of Joan of Arc(fr)

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

Back to the Future(en)

Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan(en)

Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev travels to America to make a documentary. As he zigzags across the nation, Borat meets real people in real situations with hysterical consequences. His backwards behavior generates strong reactions around him exposing prejudices and hypocrisies in American culture.

Prisoners(en)

Keller Dover is facing every parent’s worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street.

Fanny and Alexander(sv)

As children in the loving Ekdahl family, Fanny and Alexander enjoy a happy life with their parents, who run a theater company. After their father dies unexpectedly, however, the siblings end up in a joyless home when their mother, Emilie, marries a stern bishop. The bleak situation gradually grows worse as the bishop becomes more controlling, but dedicated relatives make a valiant attempt to aid Emilie, Fanny and Alexander.

Gone Girl(en)

With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.

Parasite(ko)

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(en)

Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.

Léon: The Professional(fr)

Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.

Nightcrawler(en)

When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.

Midnight in Paris(en)

While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.

Mystic River(en)

The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.

Beginners(en)

Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna only months after his father Hal Fields has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father, who, following the death of his wife of 44 years, came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life – which included a younger boyfriend.

Brazil(en)

Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.

Stalker(ru)

Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted.

Ruptured City(es)

Filmed mostly with drones, this short film shows what happened before, during and after the devastating earthquake that struck Mexico City in September 19, 2017. Through sound recordings of the rescue operations, accounts from survivors and journalistic chronicles, this film reflects the uncertainty and bewilderment caused by the quake.

THE EARTHQUAKE(tr)

An experimental short film about the Earthquake, that is still ongoing in Turkey.

Ring of Fire(en)

Ring of Fire is about the immense natural force of the great circle of volcanoes and seismic activity that rings the Pacific Ocean and the varied people and cultures who coexist with them. Spectacular volcanic eruptions are featured, including Mount St. Helens, Navidad in Chile, Sakurajima in Japan, and Mount Merapi in Indonesia.

A Global Warning?(en)

Global warming in context. What the climate of the past tells us about the climate of the future.

Arkhé(es)

“Archeology” and “Archive” share the same roots. Both words come from “Arkhé”, the Greek word for “origin”. In the ruins of buildings, lost forever by earthquakes, as in the depth of the archives, we dig. What happened the morning of the big earthquake? The morning of September 19th 1985 is fading away in our memories. These recordings have never been seen. Unedited images of the catastrophe dug out by the archaeological adventure of an archivist that suffered with them. He dug and suffered until he could no longer see.

1985: Heroes among Ruins(es)

"1985: Heroes among Ruins" is a reflection of disaster. It is about the human solidarity, the search and rescue and the importance of civil protection, but above all, the triumph of the people over devastation during the earthquake of September 19, 1985 in Mexico City and the one ocurred in September 19, 2017.

The Day The Series Stopped(en)

On Oct. 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. PT, soon after Al Michaels and Tim McCarver started the ABC telecast for Game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics, the ground began to shake beneath Candlestick Park. Even before that moment, this had promised to be a memorable matchup: the first in 33 years between teams from the same metropolitan area, a battle featuring larger-than-life characters and equally colorful fan bases. But after the 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake rolled through, bringing death and destruction, the Bay Area pulled together, and baseball took a backseat.

A Place of Our Own(it)

Once ... Agadir(en)

This short-length documentary takes us to Agadir, a city in Morocco that was struck by an earthquake in 1960. The film, made by an expatriate Moroccan who lost family and friends in the disaster, is a memorial to that tragedy and to the past he left behind when he came to North America. Partly allegorical, it employs varying techniques to offset reality from fantasy sequences.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry(en)

An account of the many tribulations that Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, known for his subversive art and political activism, endured between 2008 and 2011, from his rise to world fame via the Internet to his highly publicized arrest due to his frequent and daring confrontations with the Chinese authorities.

Encounter with Disaster(en)

Depicts assorted natural and human disasters, including the crash of the Hindenburg (1937), earthquakes in Alaska (1964) and Long Beach (1933), the LeMans auto racing crash at which 82 people were killed (1955), Hurrican Camille (1964), the eruption of the Mt. Etna volcano (1971), a tornado (1974), the collapse of Idaho's Teton Dam (1976), the sinking of the Andrea Doria (1956) and the Texas City explosion which devastated Galveston (1947).

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom(en)

On 11 March 2011, an earthquake caused a tsunami to hit the Tōhoku (Northeast) region of Japan. In this film, survivors of the tsunami rebuild as cherry blossom season begins. The film is a stunning visual haiku about the ephemeral nature of life–and of the healing power of Japan's most beloved flower.

AS AN EARTHQUAKE(ru)

On February 6, 2023, an earthquake on the border of Turkey and Syria claims more than 55,000 lives. On this day, I am in an oncology center, 6 days since having my tumor removed, and in the afternoon my partner ends our relationships. Blending memory and theory, this autofiction documentary unfolds the relationships between love(s) and catastrophes.

Skopje '63(sh)

"Skoplje '63" is a 1964 Yugoslavian documentary film directed by Veljko Bulajić about the 1963 Skopje earthquake (Skoplje, per film title, is the Serbo-Croatian spelling of Skopje). The filming started three days after the earthquake and lasted for four months. After that, Bulajić spent 12 months editing the footage at Jadran Film studios.

Sangue e cemento(it)

One year after the earthquake that devastated Abruzzo, Sangue e Cemento retraces recent causes and remote responsibilities of those who built poorly to save on materials and techniques, of those who had to control but did not, of the administrators who favored speculation at the expense of the safety of citizens, who paid a price of 299 victims. Interviews and testimonies to seismologists, geologists, territorial and construction technicians, lawyers and judges enrich this film-document that was made by Gruppo Zero, a collective of journalists, filmmakers and communicators who produce investigative documentaries for correct information and free from manipulation.

The Quetta Earthquake(en)

Amateur footage of the devastation caused by one of South Asia's worst earthquakes.

13:14: The Challenge of Helping(es)

On September 19, 2017, at 1:14 p.m., an earthquake devastated Mexico City and its environs. Immediately, citizens mobilized to help, including the actor and youtuber Juanpa Zurita who quickly organized a group of friends that included singers, actors, content creators and other celebrities from the world of entertainment who helped him raise funds for the reconstruction of the city.

Red White(zh)

A small rural township called Red White was seriously devastated by the May 12th Earthquake in China 2008. A 62-year-old Taoist survived even though his temple was largely torn by the disaster. This documentary tells the story of how the Taoist practices the widely believed Chinese traditional religion and the local people’s daily life during the township’s post-quake reconstruction.

Men with Cameras - Capture the Great Kanto Earthquake(ja)

The film is set on September 1th, 1923 , when a huge earthquake hits Tokyo . The quake caused buildings to collapse, and the city was reduced to ashes by fire. The Great Kanto Earthquake killed more than 105,000 people. 100-year-old films recording this catastrophe have been found all over the country.But who filmed the turmoil of Tokyo, chased by raging fires?After investigating, I come across three cameramen. They turned the hand-cranked camera in a trance without being ordered by anyone.

The Radiant(en)

The Radiant explores the aftermath of March 11, 2011, when the Tohoku earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed many thousands and caused the partial meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on the east coast of Japan. Burdened by the difficult task of representing the invisible aftermath of nuclear fallout, The Radiant travels through time and space to invoke the historical promises of nuclear energy and the threats of radiation that converge in Japan in the months immediately following the disaster.