Symbols of an Alien Sky(2009)

Lost Cities of the Amazon(en)

Over the centuries, explorers traded tales of a lost civilization amid the dense Amazonian rainforest. Scientists dismissed the legends as exaggerations, believing that the rainforest could not sustain such a huge population—until now. A new generation of explorers armed with 21st-century technology has uncovered remarkable evidence that could reinvent our understanding of the Amazon and the indigenous peoples who lived there. Using CGI and dramatic re-creations, National Geographic re-imagines the banks of the Amazon 500 years ago, teeming with inhabitants living in the Lost Cities of the Amazon.

The Last Dragon(en)

"The Last Dragon" is a nature mockumentary about a British scientific team that attempts to understand the unique incredible beasts that have fascinated people for ages. CGI is used to create the dragons.

Son of Torum(et)

In the same vein as Meri's other documentations, this one takes advantage of the glasnost policy to discuss the social and ecologic impact of the Russian oil industry on the natives and the lands they inhabit.

Ukonvaaja(fi)

Ukonvaaja - The Hammer of Ukko - is a documentary film that focuses on ancient Finnish folklore and mythology.

Jung On Film(en)

This compelling film represents a rare record of an original genius. In Jung on Film, the pioneering psychologist tells us about his collaboration with Sigmund Freud, about the insights he gained from listening to his patients' dreams, and about the fascinating turns his own life has taken. Dr. Richard I. Evans, a Presidential Medal of Freedom nominee, interviews Jung, giving us a unique understanding of Jung's many complex theories, while depicting Jung as a sensitive and highly personable human being.

Nostradamus Decoded(fr)

Debunking the mythology surrounding the 16th century French prophet, Nostradamus.

Mythscape: Remembering The End Of The World(en)

Based on more than two decades of systematic research and cross-cultural comparison by comparative mythologist David Talbott, Remembering the End of the World reconstructs a cosmic drama when planets hung in the sky close to the earth–an epoch of celestial wonder giving way to overwhelming terror. This highly visual presentation offers new answers to enigmas that have baffled experts for centuries. Why did every ancient civilization celebrate a former “Age of the Gods”, an age claimed to have ended in earth threatening disaster? What was meant by the lost “Golden Age?” Why did ancient sky worshipers refer to Saturn as “the sun?” Why was Venus worshiped as the “Mother Goddess?” And why did both Old and New World astronomers celebrate the planet Mars as a great warrior whose battles shook the heavens?

Eami(es)

Eami means ‘forest’ in Ayoreo. It also means ‘world’. The story happens in the Paraguayan Chaco, the territory with the highest deforestation rate in the world. 25,000 hectares of forest are being deforested a month in this territory which would mean an average of 841 hectares a day or 35 hectares per hour. The forest barely lives and this only due to a reserve that the Totobiegosode people achieved in a legal manner. They call Chaidi this place which means ancestral land or the place where we always lived and it is part of the "Ayoreo Totobiegosode Natural and Cultural Heritage". Before this, they had to live through the traumatic situation of leaving the territory behind and surviving a war. It is the story of the Ayoreo Totobiegosode people, told from the point of view of Asoja, a bird-god with the ability to bring an omniscient- temporal gaze, who becomes the narrator of this story developed in a crossing between documentary and fiction.

It's The Same Story(hi)

Two storytellers put forth their versions of the story of Shravan Kumar. The art for the film uses painted images from a wooden portable shrine called a Kaavad. The film is a collaborative work between traditional Kaavad storytellers and Kaavad artists from Rajasthan, together with the filmmaker. Combining lush animation with live-action, the film is an interpretation of two stories which are forever fused in the act of telling and retelling.

The Aswang Phenomenon(en)

What would happen if a country of 97 million people were taught at a young age that the boogie man was real. In the Philippines for the last 400 years, the 'aswang' has been used as propoganda and social control by Spanish Colonizers, the Catholic Church, the Philippine Administration, and even the CIA.

The Mystery of the Trojan Horse(de)

The story of the Trojan Horse is probably one of the most famous stories ever told: after ten years of bloody war, the Greek coalition decides to lift the siege and depart, but not before leaving at the gates a huge wooden horse, which the Trojans confidently lead into the city. A few hours later, the once invincible Troy goes up in flames. What exactly happened? Is this myth true or false?

Hidden Cities(de)

"The theme of the film HIDDEN CITIES is personal urban perceptions, which we call 'the city'. The city, as a living organism, reflecting social processes and interactions, economic relations, political conditions and private matters. In the city, human memories, desires and tragedies find expression in the form of designations and marks engraved in house walls and paving slabs. But what the city really is under this thick layer of signs, what it contains or conceals, is what we are researching in the HIDDEN CITIES project. The source material for the film are 9 sequential photo works created by Gusztáv Hámos between 1975 and 2010. Each of these 'city perceptions' depicts essential situations of urban experiences containing human and inhuman acts in a compact form. The cities in which the photo sequences have been made are Berlin, Budapest and New York – places with a traumatised past: Wars, dictatorships, terrorist catastrophes."

TimeWave Zero(en)

Terence McKenna gives us a detailed description of his TimeWave concept and a demonstration of the software Terence originated in his early exploratory period of deep study with the I Ching, the ancient oracular Chinese Book of Changes. He proudly takes us on a biographical tour of our culture from his personal library in the early 80's to what he saw the TimeWave project to 2012. Terence describes the Time Wave as his "only original work". The first part of this piece is the first visual description of Terence's unique theory. The second chapter of the tape astounds the viewer with the display of the the historical resonances that demonstrates how the last 4000 years are compressed into the increasingly speeded up, drawn and squeezed collective thoughts of the "Gaian matrix". Terence McKenna partnered with Sound Photosynthesis' media magicians Faustin Bray and Brian Wallace at the helm to create the visuals that dance and spiral with Terence's every suggestion.

Finding Joe(en)

Finding Joe is an exploration of the studies of mythologist Joseph Campbell, and of their continuing influence on our culture. Through interviews with visionaries from a variety of fields—interwoven with enactments of classic tales by a sweet and motley group of kids—the film navigates the stages of what Campbell dubbed "the hero’s journey": the challenges, the fears, the dragons, the battles, and the return home as a changed person.

maɬni—towards the ocean, towards the shore(en)

An experimental look at the origin of the death myth of the Chinookan people in the Pacific Northwest, following two people as they navigate their own relationships to the spirit world and a place in between life and death.

The Mythology of Star Wars(en)

George Lucas discusses how Joseph Campbell and his concept of the Monomyth (aka the Hero's Journey) and other concepts from mythology and religion shaped the Star Wars saga.

Haunted Jamaica(en)

Why are there so many ghosts on the island of Jamaica? Why is the island so notoriously haunted by tales of voodoo and dark mystical lore? "Haunted Jamaica" seeks to answer these questions ...

L'abatis(fr)

Penthesilea: Queen of the Amazons(en)

Penthesilea, the first of six films made by Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen, traverses thousands of years to look at the image of the Amazonian woman in myth. It asks, among other questions, is the Amazonian woman a rare strong female image or is she a figure derived from male phantasy? The film explores the complexities of such questions, but does not seek any concrete answers.

The Atlantis Puzzle(fr)

Fascinating new translations and fresh research are transforming the myth of Atlantis from the realm of fantasy into an incredible reality. Travel across continents and centuries to unlock the secrets of Plato's final legacy - a true story of Ancient Greece, Africa, and climate change across deep time.