Bulgaria, This Eternal Heresy

Goya's Ghosts(en)

Painter Francisco Goya becomes involved with the Spanish Inquisition after his muse, Inés, is arrested by the church for heresy. Her family turns to him, hoping that his connection with fanatical Inquisitor Lorenzo, whom he is painting, can secure her release.

The Passion of Joan of Arc(fr)

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

Bright Nights(en)

In an experimentally compiled film review, Danielle Jaeggi, Paule Baillargeon and Claudia von Alemann reflect on their work as filmmakers and life as mothers. Just as the title is based on Michel Leiris' book of poems Bright Nights and Many a Dark Day, the film has its own poetry, which is also evident in shots of everyday activities, such as hands washing dishes. “Just the hair or the relationship of the hands to each other or gestures, and then words come in between and film clips that we talk about, and we were amazed to find that the women we portray in the films always have a lot of trouble with theirs Identity, their search for something, for lost people or lost things. “They are usually looking for something that has been lost, forgotten or gone,” said Claudia von Alemann in the 1992 interview conducted by Renate Fischetti, A Pioneer of Female Film Language. An essay about desire, doubt, contradictions. (fib)

Kukeri(bg)

This film documents the Kukeri rituals in Bulgaria, focusing on the mask makers and performers who keep this ancient tradition alive. Their dedication to this agrarian custom is a visual testament to the power of tradition to provide hope and community in a time of diaspora and urbanization.

Kukeri(en)

The Balkans is home to an ancient pagan tradition where magic and mystery still have a sacred place in the cosmic order. The Kukeri festival has had a strong hold over Bulgarian cultural life since the fifth century, surviving the Ottomans, Christendom and communist rule. Every winter, hundreds of terrifying figures prowl snow-capped forests and village centers in search of evil spirits to dispel from their communities.

Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic(en)

Dante journeys through the nine circles of Hell -- limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery -- in search of his true love, Beatrice. An animated version of the video game of the same name.

The Hugo's Brain(fr)

The Hugo's Brain is a French documentary-drama about autism. The documentary crosses authentic autistic stories with a fiction story about the life of an autistic (Hugo), from childhood to adulthood, portraying his difficulties and his handicap.

Exergo(eu)

Departing from peripheral details of some paintings of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, a female narrator unravels several stories related to the economic, social and psychological conditions of past and current artists.

Bart LaRue's The Ark of Noah(en)

A ship half the size of the Queen Mary, made of hand-tooled oak, lies frozen in a glacier on Mt. Ararat in northern Turkey. In this documentary, producer-director-actor Bart LaRue advances the theory that this ruined ship is Noah's Ark. LaRue became so obsessed with this theory that he risked his life to photograph every scrap of evidence he could glean, even bribing an entire company of Turkish soldiers on the Russian frontier to "look the other way" while he took a team of 17 pack horses and his film crew up the mountain. The legend of Noah and his magnificent ship has endured for centuries; now there is scientific proof that the legend is indeed reality. Now you can decide for yourself. Is this the real ARK OF NOAH?

Bulgarian Lamentation Songs(sk)

A documentary about lamentation songs of Bulgarian funeral rites.

La vie au temps de Cro-Magnon(fr)

U(ms)

Death of Hope Part 1: Anarchy Reigns(en)

It is the 30th millennium. Humanity is caught in the midst of a fratricidal war between those of the meta-human Space Marines who are loyal to the Emperor, and those who no longer are. The once noble warriors of the XII and XVII legions are cutting a bloody path throughout the realm of Ultramar, committing boundless atrocities out of sheer spite and hatred for their cousins belonging to the XIII legion. In this episode we gain a glimpse of the aftermath of the battle on planet Sathus, and the living nightmare taking place on a starship manned by traitorous legionaries, as they bide their time on the approach to planet Calth.

Bulgarian Lovers(es)

Graying Spaniard Daniel has a healthy budget for indulging in the finer things in life. Daniel's favorite luxury is playing sponsor to younger men amid the lights and sights of Madrid's gay club scene. After Daniel shares a night with handsome Bulgarian emigre Kyril, he finds himself consumed with an insatiable lust for the charismatic foreigner. But, as their relationship takes shape, Daniel's latest conquest reveals his own manipulative tendencies.

Generation Y X Sluts(fr)

The same place, the same questionnaire, seven girls from generation Y, gathered for the same project: "Are you ready for porn?" Their weaknesses, their reactions, their attitude facing a camera... A closed door to enter the porn industry.

294 statečných(cs)

The Sinful Nuns of Saint Valentine(it)

Lucita has been locked away in a convent by her family in order to keep her away from her lover, Esteban. The pair make plans to elope, but Esteban is accused of heresy before Lucita can escape. Hiding in the convent, Esteban discovers the horrifying depravity of the covent's abbess, Sister Incarnation. Can Esteban rescue his love from this madhouse before the inquisitor discovers what is going on and has everyone executed?

Bulgaria: Fire Dance Ritual(de)

Every year in June, the small Bulgarian village of Balgari celebrates St Constantine with a special ritual. Initiated ‘nestinari’ go into a music-induced trance and dance on bonfires in a display of religious passion.

Menocchio the Heretic(it)

Italy, late 16th century, the Church, threatened by the Protestants, unleashes the Inquisition. Menocchio, an old, stubborn, self-educated miller oppose the new order. Accused of heresy, he ignores the pleadings and stands trial. The story of a man incapable of betraying his own principles.

City of Contrasts(wo)

A fictional documentary that portrays the city of Dakar, Senegal, as we hear the conversation between a Senegalese man (the director, Djibril Diop Mambéty) and a French woman, Inge Hirschnitz. As we travel through the city in a picturesque horse drawn wagon, we chaotically rush into this and that popular neighborhood of the capital, discovering contrast after contrast: A small African community waiting at the Church's door, Muslims praying on the sidewalk, the Rococo architecture of the Government buildings, the modest stores of the craftsmen near the main market.