Emilio Barreto: Angels and Demons

MBS, the Arabia of the future(fr)

For almost a decade, Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, the crown prince and de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, has been shaking up all the pillars of this extraordinary kingdom. The cradle of Islam and the world's leading exporter of crude oil, this Gulf giant has embarked on an unprecedented transformation to meet the existential challenge of the post-oil era. Dreaming of becoming the leader of a stable and prosperous Arab world, MBS is undertaking to transform the austere and rigorous Saudi Arabia into a futuristic utopia. But the rise of tourism, entertainment and the excesses of construction sites are still struggling to make us forget authoritarianism and the repression of opponents. As for the silencing of the religious police, it has not put an end to the oppression of women.

Chubai. Speaking Again(uk)

A theatrical documentary about Hrytsko Chubai, a genius of Ukrainian poetry, a connoisseur of literature, art and music and the brightest representative of Lviv underground culture of late 60s early 70s.

Corporate Accountability(es)

Images of Argentinian companies and factories in the first light of day, seen from the inside of a car, while the director reads out documents in voiceover that reveals the collusion of the same concerns in the military dictatorship’s terror.

La Plata Yvyguy - Enterros e Guardados(pt)

The Legend of the Paraguay War Legend tells that during the Paraguay War (1864-1870), families that lived near the border and soldiers who were leaving for battle used to hide their valuable belongings by burying them in secret spots, in order to safely recover them after the war. In several cases, though, the only people who knew about the secret spots of those personal treasures died before they could go back to recover them. According to inhabitants of that region, the spirits of those tormented men would reveal the location of those "buried and hidden" treasures to chosen people in their dreams, visions or by haunting them. "The Legend of the Paraguay War" approaches local legends in a historic and literary way. Those legends were born from within the biggest conflict in South America, and were developed and influenced by the local imaginary view of the world and which can be considered a relevant part of those people's identity up to this day

Engenho Prado - Guerra de Baixa Intensidade na Zona da Mata Norte de Pernambuco(pt)

Let It Be (1970-1974)(es)

Chapter 15 of the series 18 decades of life in Mexico in the twentieth century. Images of the cultural, social and political life in Mexico from 1970 to 1974. During the presidential term of Luis Echeverria Alvarez fantasies of prosperous and modern country it dissolves; Mexico live in political crisis. It is a time of omnipotence, barbarism, and violence intervention: the world seeks new ways. In Mexico, it held the World Cup, unionism is strengthened and inflation responds to the continuing economic imbalances.

Ore Ru(en)

In July 2015, after 27 years, Paraguay will receive the Pope. Ru Ore is a documentary about the waiting for this important event through four life stories: Gaby, 13, who lives in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Asuncion; Mafe, 16, who is fighting against cancer; the story of Margarita, 53, Indigenous "Aché" fighting for the survival of her traditions and culture; and the history of Tati, 18, a survivor of the Ycuá Bolaños tragedy.

Total Trust(zh)

By exploring the relationship between the watched and the watching, our film uncovers the trauma and hope engendered by the Chinese all-surveilling state and lends a voice to those that stand in resilient defiance of such blatant abuse of power.

Paraguay, Droga y Banana(es)

Documentary that explores the relationship between politics and drug trafficking in Paraguay

The Monopoly of Violence(fr)

As anger and resentment grow in the face of social inequalities, many citizens-led protests are being repressed with an ever-increasing violence. In this documentary, David Dufresne gathers a panel of citizens to question, exchange and confront their views on the social order and the legitimacy of the use of force by the State.

Iran : La Stratégie du chaos(fr)

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.

Uncle Saddam(en)

Everything you've ever wanted to know about Saddam Hussein (but were afraid to ask).

Hitler and the Apostles of Evil(fr)

This portrait that goes against the grain depicts the Führer as a lazy, isolated leader, cut off from reality, incapable of governing without his "apostles". They are Hitler's essential ministers, advisers, rivals, courtiers. They hate each other, and the Führer puts them in competition, often to get the worst out of them. The portraits of Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler, Joseph Goebbels, Albert Speer but also Rudolf Hoess, the commandant of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, and Doctor Joseph Mengele trace the rivalries, hatreds and predations that punctuate the entire frightening epic of Nazism. This documentary is composed of a selection of archive images and testimonies from descendants and specialists of this period.

Queer Egypt Under Attack(ar)

A BBC News investigation has revealed how violent criminal gangs are finding, abusing and extorting people from the LGBT community they meet online in Egypt. Using masking technology to hide the identities of the people he meets, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin navigates the complex online and real-life world of people who identify as queer and who have been repeatedly targeted by a gang with violent viral video humiliations and police arrests.

Revolution: New Art for a New World(en)

Drawing on the collections of major Russian institutions, contributions from contemporary artists, curators and performers and personal testimony from the descendants of those involved, the film brings the artists of the Russian Avant-Garde to life. It tells the stories of artists like Chagall, Kandinsky and Malevich - pioneers who flourished in response to the challenge of building a new art for a new world, only to be broken by implacable authority after 15 short years and silenced by Stalin's Socialist Realism.

The Square(ar)

The Square looks at the hard realities faced day-to-day by people working to build Egypt’s new democracy. Cairo’s Tahrir Square is the heart and soul of the film, which follows several young activists. Armed with values, determination, music, humor, an abundance of social media, and sheer obstinacy, they know that the thorny path to democracy only began with Hosni Mubarak’s fall. The life-and-death struggle between the people and the power of the state is still playing out.

The power of Russian intelligence(de)

Never in Russia's history has the Russian domestic intelligence agency FSB had greater power than it does today. He uses fraud and corruption to achieve his goals. And murder on behalf of the Kremlin. Four people in exile share their experiences. They resisted state arbitrariness and became targets. How far does the FSB control Russian society?

Flor Brilhante e as Cicatrizes da Pedra(pt)

Paraguay was news(es)

August 1, 2004, Asunción, Paraguay. Sunday, noon, a fire in a supermarket that presumably breaks out in the food court, leaves a balance of 400 dead and 500 injured. Survivors and witnesses affirm that the doors were intentionally closed so that customers would not leave without paying. The film follows the trials of the main defendants. The testimonies of victims and of the main actors in the trial are intertwined with the testimonies of the accused, little by little the social drama that Paraguay is experiencing is becoming evident.