Russia from Above(2019)

Cat's Luck(he)

Beni and Reuven, childhood friends and brothers-in-law, work together as TV technicians. They are called for a simple repair job in a place they find abandoned and unlocked, with the door wide open. Inside, they are surprised to find a dead body, unaware that the crime scene they have stumbled upon belongs to a known criminal. They make every possible mistake, turning themselves into the prime suspects of the murder case. From this point forward, they try to stay away from both the crime family and the police.

Best of Video Track 77 & 78(en)

Highland Sunset and a final look at Class 37s on the West Highland Line to Fort William before the introduction of Class 66s. Crewe Open Weekend with a tour of Crewe Works during the open weekend of the 20th and 21st of May with a variety of traction plus coverage of specials to the event with 33 and 37 hauage. Class 58 Profile with only half of the original class still in action we take a look at the class from the 1980s to the present day. Devon Contrasts and Class 67 and 47 motive power along the famous stretch of sea wall from Starcross to Dawlish.

O Mistério do Samba(pt)

A film that depicts the everyday life and the beauty of Portela’s Old Folk – a group of veteran samba musicians who belong to one of Rio’s most revered samba schools, the one with the most first places and accolades in Rio’s Carnaval pageant. These old gentelmen’s and ladies’ musicality and poetry are unveiled through their simple, but rich and meaningful, every day life in Oswaldo Cruz, a quaint neighborhood in Rio’s North Zone, that serves both as set and as a main character in this story.

Life of a Mutt(sr)

Through seven scenes, the film follows the life and destinies of stray dogs from the margins of our society, leading us to reconsider our attitude towards them. Through the seven “wandering” characters that we follow at different ages, from birth to old age, we witness their dignified struggle for survival. At the cemetery, in an abandoned factory, in an asylum, in a landfill, in places full of sorrow, our heroes search for love and togetherness. By combining documentary material, animation and acting interpretation of the thoughts of our heroes, we get to know lives between disappointment and hope, quite similar to ours.

Don Sauvage(fr)

A lesbian couple calls upon a donor by internet to have a child. The relationship that develops between the future biological mother and the donor will not be without consequences for the couple.

Rats Corner(ru)

Klim, illegally convicted of karate training, returns home after five years in prison. Finds shelter with a caring uncle Pasha. But the desire to find the one who sent him on a “five-year vacation”, and even killed a friend, makes Klim stir up the “rat corner” of corrupt cops and local bandits. But the truth is treacherously bitter.

Secret Lives(en)

A German-born woman works as a spy for the French in Switzerland during the First World War, and has to marry an interned French lieutenant in order to be able to stay in the country.

La gatta da pelare(it)

A cartoonist, morbidly jealous of his wife's psychiatrist, work out his feelings through his drawings. When the doctor is murdered, he becomes the prime suspect.

On Your Toes(en)

A Russian dance company agrees to stage the new ballet written by a vaudeville hoofer.

Weapons and Their Names(en)

Struggling to connect with her grieving family after the sudden death of her stepfather, a teenager sneaks off to shoot guns in rural Florida with her best friend.

Σήκω Χόρεψε Συρτάκι(el)

With his pockets crammed with cash, a countryman in Athens becomes the target of a plotting compatriot and a beautiful singer who want to rinse him for every penny. But, he's already in love with the girl next door. Can he win this bet?

Frühling im Herbst(de)

Leni, in her mid-fifties, runs the local bakery with her son in a small Swiss town. When she falls in love with a much younger Argentinean dance teacher, her world is turned upside down.

Mat ¾ (Mat Tiga Suku)(ms)

”Tiga suku”, which literally translates into “three quarters”, is a Malay term used in the context of describing crazy, whacky or oddball-like behaviour; of being mentally “not quite there”. And “Mat Tiga Suku” is indeed an eccentric film that seeks to subvert our usual sense of logic, decorum and good taste. In this film, Mat Sentul is a poor and helpless man, lives in a house that talks to him, and daydreams about wealth and pretty princesses. It is an episodic adventure that follows the slapstick antics of Mat Sentul who, among many pranks, moves the bus-stop at his will, halts an aeroplane that does not give way, and pretends to be an office worker, a barber and a doctor.

Putin: The New Empire(fr)

Since Russia was brought to its knees in the 1990s by crippling debt and the grip of the oligarchs following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Putin has made it his mission to return superpower status to Russia. While not partisan to Putin's wrongs, this insightful doc examines the logic and motivations of Putin's vilified regime, and why he is so loved in his homeland.

The Last Days of the USSR(fr)

From 1989 to 1991 a string of unpredictable events happened that brought to light the rivalry between two men: Gorbachev, hindered by the economic results of his perestroika, and Yeltsin, embodying the hopes of the Russian people. Illustrated with interviews of top protagonists such as Mikhail Gobachev himself, the documentary recounts the critical last two years of the former USSR.

Baker Street Live(en)

The sort film “Baker Street Live” is being produced for December 2016 exhibition “The Masterpieces of Russian Cinematography”. The film is aiming to intrigue the viewer by the strength of British culture taking place within Russian cinematography influencing and shaping the soviet and modern Russian society. The story of two puppets – Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson - undertaking an investigation and finding the lost pages scattered around London by which they are mostly intrigued. As the puppets keep finding page by page, they unveil their own story as if one discovers himself from within. And as ever, the successful investigation by Serlock results in the re-union of the lost pages with their lawful owner.

The Hitler–Stalin Pact(fr)

How could Hitler and Stalin, sworn ideological enemies, come to a secret pact in 1939? The captivating and detailed story of the diplomatic fiasco that led to the signing of the Nazi-Soviet pact and its devastating consequences.

Moscow 1996, Vote or Lose!(fr)

Moscow, January 1996. Boris Yeltsin gets ready to run for a second mandate of the presidency of the young Russian Federation. Polls are in the single digits. A painful economic transition, war in Chechnya, and the rise of criminal groups have left the majority of Russians dissatisfied with Yeltsin… and willing to vote for the communist leader Gennady Zyuganov. Yet six months later, Yeltsin won the election with nearly 54% of the vote. How did that happen?

The Condemned(en)

With unprecedented access, this documentary looks into the hidden world of one of Russia's most impenetrable and remote institutions - a maximum security prison exclusively for murderers. Deep inside the land of the gulags, this is the end of the line for some of Russia's most dangerous criminals - 260 men who have collectively killed nearly 800 people. The film delves deep into the mind and soul of some of these prisoners. In brutally frank and uncensored interviews the inmates speak of their crimes, life and death, redemption and remorselessness, insanity and hope. The film tracks them though their unrelenting days over several months, lifting the veil on one of Russia's most secretive subcultures to reveal what happens when a man is locked up in a tiny cell for 23 hours every day, for life. A startling insight into inscrutable minds and the forbidding world they have been condemned to. (Storyville)

Barbarossa: Hitler Turns East(hu)

Hitler's invasion of Russia was one of the landmark events of World War II. This documentary reveals the lead-up to the offensive, its impact on the war and the brinksmanship that resulted from the battle for Moscow. Rare footage from both German and Russian archives and detailed maps illustrate the conflict, while award-winning historian and author John Erickson provides insight into the pivotal maneuvers on the eastern front.

People of Russia(en)

This FitzPatrick Miniature visits the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the largest geographically unbroken political unit in the world, covering one-sixth of the world's land mass.

And When They Shall Ask(de)

PQ17: An Arctic Convoy Disaster(en)

Jeremy Clarkson tells the dramatic story of the Arctic convoys of the Second World War, from Russia to the freezing Arctic Ocean.

Babushka(ru)

Twenty-five years after she moved away, Canadian filmmaker Kristina Wagenbauer (a participant in the 2019 Talent Lab) returns to her native Russia to visit her grandmother – her Babushka – with whom she spent part of her childhood, in this film brimming with tenderness and humour. The two women reflected in the mirror bear an undeniable resemblance, and each seeks to recognize herself in the other. Plumbing her memories, Wagenbauer hopes to re-establish a lost bond of intimacy and to confront the wounds of the past. Babushka has survived the Second World War, the break-up of the Soviet Union, the void that her daughter and granddaughter left behind when they moved abroad, and, more recently, the death of the love of her life. Despite all of this, she holds to life with a strong spirit of resilience.

Rock(ru)

Documentary — featuring both interviews and live footage — about underground rock music in Russia, during the last years of the Perestroika.

Juifs de Russie(fr)

Pussy Versus Putin(en)

In 2012 two members of anarchistic female band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a Mordovian labor camp for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred". Russian film collective Gogol’s Wives follow each step of the feminist punk band’s battle against Putin including their first disruptive performances on a trolley bus, shooting a video about transparent elections, a controversial performance in a Red Square cathedral, and footage shot in a jail cell. Support comes from many corners including Madonna who painted the words "Pussy Riot" on her back and wore a balaclava during her Moscow show. The documentary portrays the grim state of present-day Russia, a country starkly divided between conservatism and anarchy. Pussy Riot believes that art has to be free and they're willing to take it to extremes. "Pussycat made a mess in the house," they say, and the house is Russia. The filmmakers do not seek to moralize, they simply edit events and leave viewers to draw their own conclusions.

Placebo: Alt.Russia(en)

As the band Placebo approach their 20th Anniversary they were given a unique opportunity to play ten cities throughout Russia. In a time when Russia was at the forefront of the world’s current affairs, little was actually reported outside Russia about the internal culture of the country. Fronted by Placebo’s Stefan Olsdal, the film explores the alternative cultures that are present within Russia’s major cities. As the tour travelled through the country the band went out and met various artists, architects, animators and musicians, finding out about the alternative creative culture and celebrating all they have to offer. From Krasnoyarsk in Siberia to St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea, Placebo: Alt.Russia takes you on the band’s journey through Russia, meeting great characters on the way, investigating the alternative culture in Russia, and taking in the raw emotions of Placebo’s powerful concerts.

Disgraced Monuments(en)

Filmmakers Laura Mulvey and Mark Lewis use rare archival footage and interviews with artists, art historians, and museum directors to examine the fate of Soviet-era monuments during successive political regimes, from the Russian Revolution through the collapse of communism. Mulvey and Lewis highlight both the social relevance of these relics and the cyclical nature of history. Broadcast on Channel Four as part of the 'Global Image' series (1992-1994).

Gravity is just a habit(en)

The band OK Go gives viewers a look at the behind-the-scenes work -- and 21 flights -- that went into filming their famous zero-gravity music video.

Moscow Does Not Believe in Queers(en)

Documentary about the ten days the director spent in Moscow, during the 1986 Moscow Youth Festival, as kind of a gay delegate.

Putin's Games(en)

The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia will be the first ever to be held in a subtropical resort. The most expensive games ever break all records when it comes to corruption and megalomania. Putin's administration has everyone at its beck and call, from oligarchs down to the ordinary people who have to pay the Olympic bill. Both the powerful and the weak speak out in this investigative documentary, which unveils the hidden story behind Putin's games. Government critic Garry Kasparov says that Putin's Olympic propaganda is really all about speeding up the privatization of land in Sochi. Many inhabitants have had to make way for hotels, ski jumps and a large harbor, which were subsequently swept away by storms and landslides – the Olympic village was built on a swamp in the hottest region of Russia. To a large extent, the story of these environmentally unfriendly Olympic Games is one of threats and enormous misappropriations of money.

Alexeï Guerman, cinéaste bien interdit(fr)