They share a common ideology and vision of totalitarian power yet reportedly, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko hate each other. As popular opposition in Belarus and the war in Ukraine force them closer and closer together, we examine the relationship between these two men. We also look back at Lukashenko’s rise to power and hear from some of the protestors brave enough to oppose him. Filmed undercover in Belarus in the weeks up to and just after the invasion of Ukraine.
They share a common ideology and vision of totalitarian power yet reportedly, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko hate each other. As popular opposition in Belarus and the war in Ukraine force them closer and closer together, we examine the relationship between these two men. We also look back at Lukashenko’s rise to power and hear from some of the protestors brave enough to oppose him. Filmed undercover in Belarus in the weeks up to and just after the invasion of Ukraine.
2022-06-26
5.7
Inside Belarus: Putin's Puppet Regime
The Yakut shaman Alexander Gabyshev believes that Vladimir Putin is "a product of dark forces," so he went on foot to Moscow to "expel" him. The shaman began his journey alone, but soon his followers began to join him. In Chita, he gathered a large rally. Buryatia was the next region on the path of Gabyshev: mass protests began in Ulan-Ude because of the detention of his supporters. Gabyshev was going to go to Moscow for two years - so as not to rush to communicate along the way with the people. The shaman and his followers moved along the roads, overcame an average of 20 kilometers per day, stayed for the night in tents, sometimes in roadside hotels. Local residents and people passing by went to talk to him, take pictures, help with groceries and money.
A recently widowed, now single father struggles to raise his sixth-grade son with autism. The pressure of his job and coping with the loss of his wife proves to push him nearly to the breaking point.
"This piece, with the generic title Film, is a series of short videos built around one protocol: a snippet of news from a newspaper of the day, is rolled up and then placed on a black-inked surface. On making contact with the liquid, the roll opens and of Its own accord frees itself of the gesture that fashioned it. As it comes alive in this way, the sliver of paper reveals Its hitherto unexposed content; this unpredictable kinematics is evidence of the constant impermanence of news. As well as exploring a certain archaeology of cinema, the mechanism references the passage of time: the ink, whether it is poured or printed, is the ink of ongoing human history." –Ismaïl Bahri
Phase Gaye Re Obama is a comedy set against the backdrop of global recession/meltdown that originated in USA. The film traces the journey of OM Shashtri, an American citizen of Indian origin, who loses all his wealth overnight to the global recession & has been asked to vacate his home by the bank unless he pays up $100,000 (mortgaged amount) within 30 days. Seeing no other option Om comes to India to sell a small piece of an ancestral property. But within days of landing in India he is kidnapped by a 'recession-hit' underworld gang those who think that he is still a millionaire. What happens to Om, is he able to save his home, how did the 'poor' gangster cope with their 'poor' catch & what do small town Indian gangsters have to say to President Obama...is largely forms the rest of the story. The film, showcases how global recession/ meltdown impacted lives from an America based businessman to underworld dons in the dusty plains of small town India.
Jacob’s dream is to be a rap artist, so he works on a song that will give him the big breakthrough. To his big frustration, his dreams are tested every time his roomie Adam gets a visit from his girlfriend Frederikke. And through a journey of unforeseen events Jacob meets additional challenges that test his working discipline.
"Maine-Ocean" is the name of a train that rides from Paris to Saint-Nazaire (near the ocean). In that train, Dejanira, a Brazilian, has a brush with the two ticket inspectors. Mimi, another traveler and also a lawyer, helps her. The four of them will meet together later and live a few shifted adventures with a strange-speaking sailor (Mimi's client).
Set in the year 2065 and tells the story of a man who enters an old holographic booth, intending to take a nap, but accidentally activating the resident sexual hologram.
A woman battles to establish peace between the sexes after her longtime boyfriend falls under the thrall of a Machiavellian schemer, who has murdered and harnessed the virulent powers of a famous kung-fu master, as part of a plan to restore absolute male domination.
A man, his business partner, and his wife are enlisted to transport an unknown object from a Russian military base, only to discover that the object is a giant, genetically-altered python.
Anton and Erika started out as friends for five years and got into a romantic relationship for seven years. Anton is a commercial director while Erika is a former band member and becomes his stay-at-home partner. The day finally comes when he asks her to marry him.
In an effort to discover the depth of the country's polarization, four recent college graduates decide to travel across the United States gathering stories encompassing the spectrum of life in America. Their goal is to find the human stories behind the nation's social and political schism, proving that Americans are not tied together by political identity, geographical location or belief systems, but primarily by love, hope and dreams - universal truths.
Christian Slater is a stranger who comes to a small town. The local citizens think he's up to no good. After bothering him for a while, he blurts out in frustration, that he is there to kill himself.
A double leg amputated woman sits and writes a long meandering letter while her ineffective nurse attempts to attend to her stumps.
Two young women and their friends spend spare time at an exclusive nightclub in 1980s New York.
A comedy about a naive young architect and his wild designs for a “New Moscow.” The Soviet censors weren't at all amused and shelved it.
The Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple had an opportunity to take part in an episode of East of Main Street, an HBO documentary series that has been produced for the past three years to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. This year’s episode, Milestones, focuses on how different groups of Asian Americans mark the milestones throughout their lives.
A young down-on-their-luck couple settle for a cheap apartment that seems too good to be true. Little do they know, something lurks in the drain of the bathtub. Something that's thousands of years old...and it is hungry.