Conflitos e Abismos: A Expressão da Condição Humana(2014)

Loyal to My Image(en)

Through one woman's experience as an adopted person and also as a mother who relinquished her child in 1971, this documentary highlights the many complex issues associated with adoption.

The Invisible Contract(es)

A reflection on the concept of invisibility, narrated by women who clean public spaces in Mexico City. Combining documentary, fiction and still photography, the film is an intimate mosaic of testimonies and experiences that highlight the precariousness of work in the cleaning industry, in a world where subcontracting rules.

Option Zero(es)

There are countless stories of Cubans reaching their dream destination of Florida as boat refugees. A lesser known route to the United States starts with a flight in a ramshackle plane to Guyana. Then the refugees travel to Colombia where they cross the jungle to arrive in Central America, from where they hope to reach the promised land of America—a hard and dangerous journey. Cuban filmmaker Marcel Beltrán visits them in a refugee camp in Panama, where one of the residents gives him an idea. Many people here have filmed their journey, she says, and these videos tell their real story. These jerky, shocking videos are interspersed with Beltrán’s footage of the camp, tangibly illustrating the difference between the hectic pace of the journey and the insecure life at the reception center.

Earning a Living - Ten Years in Marta's Life(fr)

Marta and Karina are sex workers also studying to become lawyers. Filmed over ten years, this documentary captures their unlikely journey from prostitution to the defense of women's rights.

Resistance Climbing(en)

In 2014, during a trip, American Tim Bruns discovered cliffs in a small village five minutes north of Ramallah in Palestine and got to work equipping all the easy routes, then setting up climbing routes so that we can start teaching people how to climb. Bruns and Harris also opened Wadi Climbing, the first indoor climbing gym in Palestine. Today, gathered in the conflict-torn hills of Palestine, a diverse team of Bedouins, activists and urban professionals have embraced climbing as a much-needed respite from the burden of Israeli occupation. American writer and climber Andrew Bisharat visits the West Bank to explore his own roots and the power of climbing to transform lives. This documentary is part of the Reel Rock 17 series released in 2023.

I'm Just A Layman in Pursuit of Justice: Black Farmers Fight Against USDA(en)

"I’m Just a Layman in Pursuit of Justice" chronicles the injustices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, also known as ‘the last plantation,’ and the lived experiences of Black farmers who chose to fight against discrimination.

The Void Inside(en)

After getting caught in a fight, Vahid needs to sell one of his kidneys to avoid a prison sentence of many years. While waiting for the liberating call from a buyer, a wish for a better life starts to grow within him.

We Are Not Princesses(ar)

We Are Not Princesses is a documentary film about the incredible strength and spirit of four Syrian women living as refugees in Beirut as they come together to tell their stories of love, loss, pain and hope through the ancient Greek play, Antigone.

China: The Uighur Tragedy(fr)

A relentless chronicle of the tragedy of the Uighurs, an ethnic minority of some eleven million people who live in the Xinjiang region of northwest China, speak a Turkic language and practice the Muslim religion. The Uighurs suffer brutal cultural and political oppression by Xin Jinping's tyrannical government: torture, disappearances, forced labor, re-education of children and adults, mass sterilizations, extensive surveillance and destruction of historical heritage.

The New World of Xi Jinping(fr)

Behind his polite exterior lies a formidable leader with a ruthless character, ready to do anything to make China the world's leading power by the People’s Republic’s centenary in 2049. This well-documented portrait of the Chinese president gives an unprecedented insight into his politics and shows how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

Alone(ru)

Alone explores the existential pain of Ukraine through the eyes of an unlikely protagonist, one of the country’s most commercially successful pop stars. Andriy Khluvniuk, lead singer of hip-hop rock band Boombox, has millions of devoted young fans who adore him as a singer songwriter and sex symbol but know nothing of his personal turmoil caused by the political instability and military aggression in his homeland. Andriy is on a mission to raise awareness and motivate his fans to join him in taking a stand against the war in the east of Ukraine, and call for the release of Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker and political prisoner in Russia. As tensions between Ukraine and Russia become a footnote on the world’s media agenda, Andriy use his fame to refocus the global spotlight on the fragile independence Ukraine is fighting for. The film culminates in an incredible sequence of events that result in Oleg Sentsov's release in a prisoner swap. Andriy and Oleg can meet each other at last.

Motherland(be)

Svetlana has lost her son who was found dead while he was in the army. As she tries to shed light on the culture of violence and abuse in the Belarusian military, a group of young friends from the techno underground soon face being drafted themselves. They go to rave parties in undershirts and round sunglasses, but in a moment the party could be over – at least until huge protests break out in the streets following the recent ‘re-election’ of dictator-president and Putin sympathiser, Aleksandr Lukashenko. A glimmer of hope and a promise of change, which only causes the brutality of the authoritarian society to erupt in full force.

Hot House(he)

In a candid and unflinching portrait of Palestinian prisoners, Shimon Dotan takes viewers inside the highest security prisons in Israel where thousands of Palestinians fill these detention facilities.

Belarus: An Ordinary Dictatorship(fr)

It’s the last dictatorship of Europe, caught in a Soviet time-warp, where the secret police is still called the KGB and the president rules by fear. Disappearances, political assassinations, waves of repression and mass arrests are all regular occurances. But while half of Belarus moves closer to Russia, the other half is trying to resist…

A Flaming Forest(en)

This film explores the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, home to the Soliga adivasis, highlighting their deep connection with the forest and the impact of exclusionary conservation policies since 1974. Documenting five decades of Soliga resistance and the ecological effects of restricted practices, it challenges forced eviction models and advocates for recognizing Soliga rights. This work is the result of a two-decade collaboration between researchers and filmmakers.

War and Justice(de)

War and Justice is the first and only true-life documentary about the International Criminal Court (ICC), thanks to unprecedented access to Ben Ferencz, Luis Moreno Ocampo (ICC’s first prosecutor), and Karim Khan (its current prosecutor). Film directors Marcus Vetter and Michele Gentile follow Ocampo around the world as he enlists the support of Academy Award-winning Angelina Jolie and as they join Ferencz in the uphill battle against wars in the Congo, Libya, Palestine, and Ukraine.

Before Father Gets Back(ka)

In a darkened classroom, the white cracked walls serve as a movie screen. We are in a remote mountain village in Georgia. The light from the projector breaks the darkness: the children's first cinematic experience is about to begin. Among the kids are Iman and Eva, two Muslim girls, for whom the experience becomes a turning point and inspires them to pick up a camera and start filming their daily lives. The girls are growing up in a valley infested by radicalism, where most people live in constant fear that their relatives will sacrifice their lives in the name of God.

La marche gaie(fr)

A short documentary about the October 14 1979 March For Lesbian And Gay Rights in Washington D.C.

Crimes of Honour(en)

Throughout the Islamic world, each year hundreds of women are shot, stabbed, strangled or burned to death by male relatives because they are thought to have “dishonoured” their families. They may have lost their virginity, refused an arranged marriage or left an abusive husband. Even if a woman is raped or merely the victim of gossip, she must pay the price. Crimes of Honour documents the terrible reality of femicide – the belief that a girl’s body is the property of the family, and any suggestion of sexual impropriety must be cleansed with her blood. We meet women in hiding from their families, a brother who describes his reasons for killing the sister he loved, and a handful of women who have committed themselves to the protection of young women in danger of losing their lives.

The Silent Route(en)