Spirits of Defiance: The Mangbetu People of Zaire

Gorilla(en)

This fascinating film tells the story of one man's struggle to protect a small population of gorillas on the slopes of Mount Kahuzi in Zaire and of his incredible relationship with Kasimir, the great silver-backed male, and his family.

When We Were Kings(en)

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

Soul Power(en)

Soul Power is a 2008 documentary film about the Zaire 74 music festival in Kinshasa which accompanied the Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight boxing championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in October 1974. The film was made from archival footage; other footage shot at the time focusing on the fight was edited to form the film When We Were Kings.

Mobutu, King of Zaire(fr)

This film is the result of more than two years of work tracking down archive material and witnesses close to Mobutu in Africa, Europe and the U.S. More than 950 hours of footage have been seen by the world. Among the 104 hours selected as the basis for this film, are 30 hours of archives recently discovered in Kinshasa and never before released. Completing these exceptional documents, are more than 50 hours of interviews with those close to the former president and the events surrounding his reign, conducted by the director in Kinshasa, Brussels, Paris and Washington. Like a vast historical puzzle, this film pieces together the tragic history of a country, and its self-styled leader - the dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, "King of Zaïre".

Kisangani Diary(en)

Along an overgrown rail track south of the Zairean town Kisangani, a UN expedition together with a handful of journalists discover “lost” refugees. They are eighty thousand Hutus from far away Rwanda, the last survivors of three years of hunger and armed persecution that transpired throughout the vast Congo basin. The Hutu-refugees leave the forest, gathering in two gigantic camps. Hundreds of refugees die every day from diseases and malnutrition The Rwandans are promised repatriation with airplanes out of Kisangani. The film traces those refugees into the heart of the rainforest, and the hopeless attempts to help them.. But only four weeks later, the unprotected UN-camps are again attacked by machine-gun fire, deliberately massacred by factions of the rebel army (AFDL) of today’s Democratic Republic Congo. Eighty thousand men, women and children disappear once again back into the jungle. (jedensvet.cz)

Mission Congo(en)

A documentary that examines whether a charity organized by Pat Robertson to aid Rwandan genocide refugees was a front for diamond mining.

The Rumble in the Jungle: George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali(en)

George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as The Rumble in the Jungle, was a heavyweight championship boxing match on October 30, 1974, at the 20th of May Stadium (now the Stade Tata Raphaël) in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), between undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. The event had an attendance of 60,000 people and was one of the most watched televised events at the time. Ali won by knockout in the eighth round.

White Witch Doctor(en)

Ellen Burton arrives in Africa to join Dr. Mary as her nurse, bringing modern medicine to the native peoples. Lonni Douglas, an animal wrangler and fortune hunter, agrees to take her upriver, despite his misgivings about her suitability for Africa. They battle escaped gorillas, hostile natives, infected lion wounds, and hostile witch doctors to reach their destination and on the way, they fall in love. Will their contrasting interests doom their romance?

The Ivory Ape(en)

An ivory ape escapes from a freighter and makes its way to Bermuda. Two anthropologists want to save it, but the local authorities hire a big-game hunter to track it down and kill it.

Black Box BRD(de)

Black Box BRD steps back into German history, showing the Federal Republic of Germany of the 70s and 80s. The country is polarized due to the power struggle of the German state and the "Red Army Faction". Society is torn, the fronts are irreconcilable. The life stories of both Wolfgang Grams and Alfred Herrhausen are tragically linked to this era. Grams is the one who takes up arms for moral rigor; Herrhausen however seizes power and dies when powerful.

Lucie et Maintenant(fr)

In May of 1982 Julio Cortázar, the Argentinean writer and his companion in life, Carol Dunlop set out in their VW bus on a journey along the highway from Paris to Marseille that, for each of them, was to be their final one. Twenty-five years later, Océane Madelaine and Jocelyn Bonnerave set out to undertake the journey again.

Back To Africa(en)

An Austrian director followed five successful African music and dance artists with his camera and followed their lives for a year. The artists, from villages in Ghana, Gambia and Congo, were the subjects of Africa! Africa! touring across Europe, but they have unbreakable roots to their homeland and their families. Schmiderer lovingly portrays his heroes, who tell their stories about themselves, their art and what it means to them to be African with captivating honesty. The interviews are interwoven with dance scenes and colourful vignettes set to authentic music.

King Lines(en)

King Lines follows Chris Sharma on his search for the planet's greatest climbs. From South American fantasy boulders to the sweeping limestone walls of Europe, Sharma finds and climbs the hardest, most spectacular routes. Off the coast of Mallorca he discovers his most outrageous project yet, a 70 foot arch rising from the Mediterranean Sea...

La Paloma. Sehnsucht. Weltweit(en)

Back to Normandy(en)

A filmmaker returns to Normandy thirty years after a working on a movie based on a local homicide and tries to find the actors who worked on the project.

Navigation(fa)

“Navigation” is the name of a documentary film directed by Hossein Rajabian, the Iranian filmmaker.It was produced for an anthropological NGO in the Middle East, but was never released due to censorship in Iran.The movie is about a group of children between eight and twelve years of age who had not left their village before the production of the work in 2005. They had not even gone to nearby villages because of the impassibility of the roads in their place of residence. However, one day, their teacher decides to take them to the sea. Their trip accidentally coincides with the travel of Anousheh Ansari, the first female Iranian astronaut, to space. The movie simultaneously narrates both events.

Starr Farm(en)

Every summer, the extended Gravell family gathers for a weekend at a seasonal cottage on Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont. Everyone comes to eat, drink, swim, catch up and reminisce for a short three days, after which the farm goes silent for the rest of the year. Starr Farm is an experimental document of this annual event, as well as a contemplation of its transience.

The Quarryman(cy)

Slate is the lifeblood of Blaenau Ffestiniog, but its dust can be deadly, with a painful legacy for family and society. this drama portrays aspects of the quarryman’s life in Blaenau Ffestiniog – work, home, chapel, courtship – and indicates the importance of education to the younger generation. The story highlights the hardships and tough choices that were part and parcel of life in such a society, alongside its cultural vibrancy and community spirit.

The Psychic Connection(en)

Visual observation of psychic phenomena including psychic surgery, prior life regressions, skin vision, metal bending, and tongue skewing.

Winter, the Dolphin that Can(en)

A baby dolphin caught in a crab trap rope is rescued, beginning a series of events that has become one of the most inspiring stories of our generation. Travel behind the scenes of Winter’s amazing story. See footage of the rescue, and follow her through the trials of losing her tail, learning to swim without a tail, and the miracle of swimming again with her new prosthetic tail. Learn how the tail research is now helping human amputees. Hear from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium team, and experience the joy of children and wounded soldiers who have found her to be a life-changing role model.