Essential Exhibition

Wise Guys: The Lost Show(en)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, two college students set out to make a revolutionary television show. The pilot episode was uncovered and presented alongside exclusive interviews with the cast and crew.

Life & Death Barrier(zh)

A Friend is A Blessing(en)

At a mobile home park in small-town Northern California, five best friend retirees navigate their golden years with grace, humor, and wisdom, and reflect on the importance of genuine human connection.

K'i Tah Amongst the Birch(en)

Filmmaker/activist Melaw Nakehk’o has spent the pandemic with her family at a remote land camp in the Northwest Territories, “getting wood, listening to the wind, staying warm and dry, and watching the sun move across the sky.” In documenting camp life—activities like making fish leather and scraping moose hide—she anchors the COVID experience in a specific time and place.

Thursday(en)

Thursday shot from filmmaker Galen Johnson's high-rise apartment during COVID-19 “lockdown” in Winnipeg, captures people going about their daily routines in the city's eerily empty streets, yards and parking lots, on their balconies and on the riverbanks. The extreme distance and the diminutive scale of humans is paired with sound close-ups—a combination that embodies the strange, heightened intensity of feeling of the time, knowing an era-defining tragedy is happening yet being so physically removed.

Chicago 10(en)

Archival footage, animation and music are used to look back at the eight anti-war protesters who were put on trial following the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Between the Sun and the Sidewalk(en)

Christian Garcia, a fiercely dedicated Latino political organizer, leads a team of young people mobilizing their community for a soda tax. Tested during their fight for the right to vote, the young recruits dare to beat back the goliath soda industry and ignite a youth-powered movement for health equity and justice.

Totally Under Control(en)

This documentary puts a spotlight on the White House’s failed response to the global pandemic and how it could have been prevented. Featuring damning testimony from public health officials and hard investigative reporting, director Alex Gibney reveals a system-wide collapse caused by a profound dereliction of presidential leadership.

The Walls of Bergamo(it)

In the first few months of 2020, huge swathes of Northern Italy were hit by a new virus. The town of Bergamo and its province was to become the epicentre of this pandemic.

Eastern Front(uk)

On February 24, 2022, Yevhen, together with his friends, volunteered to join the first aid squad on the front line. They provided life-saving support and evacuation of the wounded. This film reveals the experiences of these young men for six months full of drama, despair, fear, hatred, bitterness, love, and, most importantly, faith in victory.

High Fidelity: The Adventures of the Guarneri String Quartet(en)

Relationships, rehearsals, performances, hobbies, and family life of the members of the Guarneri String Quartet.

Christmas In Florida(en)

A canceled Thanksgiving parade and no options professionally or personally, Kimberly DiPersia and Alex R. Wagner decide it would be a perfect opportunity to travel to Florida.

Life on the move(en)

In his first heartfelt documentary, Jack Belhumeur takes the viewer on a ride, navigating the trials and tribulations of life as an essential worker far from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hard ♡(fr)

Since 2013, the Casual Gabberz collective has been storming dancefloors and the stages of the biggest festivals with its gabber surge, that hardcore techno sound born in Holland in the 90s. Until a virus causes the planet to go haywire. And triggered an existential crisis within the collective.

Grenzwert(en)

Documentary musical essay on the topic of "Grenzwert". It was created in 72 hours.

Life in a Day 2020(en)

On July 25th, 2020, Ridley Scott and Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald invite you to be part of Life in a Day—a historic, global documentary capturing a single day on Earth. Videos from around the world are woven into a feature film.

It Takes a Circus(en)

Eighteen-year-old Aaliyah flies on aerial silks. Her 16-year-old cousin Bre twirls on hoops. They dream of escaping the violence that marred their young lives. Their possible ticket out is the after-school program Trenton Circus Squad. Now that Covid-19 has changed everything, will the circus and the girls’ dreams survive?

Under the Stars(fr)

Paying tribute to some of America's only surviving drive-ins – and those who keep them running – this heartfelt documentary captures efforts to preserve these nostalgic theaters in small-towns across the country.

Hipoxemia(es)

Wilfredo Morales, a man whose daughter is a bachelor of medicine, is infected while working in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, having to face a poor health system, he starts a race against the clock: Wilfredo only has 2 hours to Find an oxygen balloon and a mechanical ventilator before it's too late.

This Is Closest to How the Last Weeks of March Felt Like(en)

A personal account of the COVID-19 pandemic in America and its effects on an immigrant family as seen through the eyes of a student quarantined at his barren university.