Voices from the South

Plaasmoorde: The Killing Fields(en)

Included in this groundbreaking work are interviews with active farm attackers and serving police officers who confirm corrupt police are complicit in the mass‐slaughter of South Africa’s whites. Their truths are horrifying—a man and woman branded with hot irons and left to die. A husband killed in front of his wife and children. An elderly woman raped, another with half her face blown off from a shotgun. And they all share a common thread: revenge. This is a disturbing documentary—it wrought both an emotional and physical toll on all involved. What’s more, Katie was detained at the airport in South Africa on the orders of the African National Congress (ANC) for her work on this project because Plaasmoorde is the story—the truth—they don’t want you to see. We owe it to the victims—to our fellow man—to listen and to open our eyes to the truth.

Ritual de Luz(es)

South Africa: The White Laager(en)

Explores the history of the Afrikaners and Afrikaner nationalism, and the development of apartheid and its relevance to South Africa's political situation today.

Valley of a Thousand Hills(en)

The halcyon days of skateboarding are alive in rural South Africa. Indigo Skate Camp is home to the village's very first generation of skaters, who are growing up with a different outlook on life from their elders.

Penguins Under Siege(en)

The untold story of South Africa's blackfoot Penguins.

The African Penguin(en)

The African penguin is the only penguin that lives on the African continent. It was known as the jackass penguin because of its donkey-like call. This film covers the life cycle of this incredible bird, fom mating to laying of eggs to hunting and the moulting cycle. Sadly, it also shows the stark reality of a bird on the road to extinction.

Black Pénélope(fr)

A discovery of the pictorial art that Ndebele women traditionally practice in South Africa: painting the walls of their houses.

The Illness and Recovery of Buda Brakus(sh)

The protagonists of this docudrama are old farmers who migrated to Banat after the First World War, in 1922. The film is focused on a couple of important events in their impressive lives, which are woven into lively scenes and stories full of wise instances. Their statements become spontaneous recounts of the lives of people in this region.

Las Preguntas que Perdimos(es)

Grandmother Told Grandmother(en)

The little-known story of Ukrainian children torn from their homes in the crush between the Nazi and Soviet fronts in World War II. Spending their childhood as refugees in Europe, these inspiring individuals later immigrated to the United States, creating new homes and communities through their grit, faith and deep belief in the importance of preserving culture.

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain(en)

An intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon. This unflinching look at Anthony Bourdain reverberates with his presence, in his own voice and in the way he indelibly impacted the world around him.

2 or 3 Things I Know About Him(de)

What would your family reminiscences about dad sound like if he had been an early supporter of Hitler’s, a leader of the notorious SA and the Third Reich’s minister in charge of Slovakia, including its Final Solution? Executed as a war criminal in 1947, Hanns Ludin left behind a grieving widow and six young children, the youngest of whom became a filmmaker. It's a fascinating, maddening, sometimes even humorous look at what the director calls "a typical German story." (Film Forum)

Vincent Lindon - Cœur sanglant(fr)

For three years, Vincent Lindon recorded himself on his iPhone to document his insecurities, fears and fits of rage as if in a diary. Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai use these unique recordings to paint an unusual portrait of the actor, who openly addresses personal questions about his profession, his age and his emotions.

The Giant is Falling(en)

The film documents the key political issues in recent years in South Africa that have marked the demise of the African National Congress (ANC). These include the Marikana massacre in August 2012, whereby 34 striking miners were gunned down by the ANC government's police force. Rehad Desai documented this historic event in his 2013 film MINERS SHOT DOWN. He refers to the incident once again in his latest film and shows how the ANC is undermining its close connections to the trade unions it set up as a freedom movement under Nelson Mandela, and how students have also turned on the party to protest against tuition fees under the motto #FeesMustFall. The film's compelling footage unmasks the cynical despotism of corrupt president Jacob Zuma, who is chiefly responsible for the ANC's demise and its catastrophic losses at the most recent elections. It also introduces opposition movements that are challenging his now-untenable position.

Maccaia(it)

Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony(en)

The struggle to eradicate apartheid in South Africa has been chronicled over time, but no one has addressed the vital role music plays in this challenge. This documentary by Lee Hirsch recounts a fascinating and little-known part of South Africa's political history through archival footage, interviews and, of course, several mesmerizing musical performances.

Africa Light / Gray Zone(en)

"Africa Light" - as white local citizens call Namibia. The name suggests romance, the beauty of nature and promises a life without any problems in a country where the difference between rich and poor could hardly be greater. Namibia does not give that impression of it. If you look at its surface it seems like Africa in its most innocent and civilized form. It is a country that is so inviting to dream by its spectacular landscape, stunning scenery and fascinating wildlife. It has a very strong tourism structure and the government gets a lot of money with its magical attraction. But despite its grandiose splendor it is an endless gray zone as well. It oscillates between tradition and modernity, between the cattle in the country and the slums in the city. It shuttles from colonial times, land property reform to minimum wage for everyone. It fluctuates between socialism and cold calculated market economy.

Seems Like Only Yesterday(en)

Interviews with a dozen California centenarians against a montage of present day media reportage.

How To Smell A Rose: A Visit with Ricky Leacock at his Farm in Normandy(en)

In the year 2000, Les Blank, along with co-filmmaker Gina Leibrecht, visited Richard Leacock (1921-2011) at his farm in Normandy, France and recorded conversations with him about his life, his work, and his other passion: cooking! With the flair of a seasoned raconteur, Leacock recounts key moments in his seventy years as a filmmaker and the innovations that he, D.A. Pennebaker, Albert Maysles and others invented that revolutionized documentary filmmaking, and explores the mystery of creativity. With the passing of both Blank and Leacock, the documentary is a moving insight into the lives of two seminal figures in the history of film.

The Mango(km)

A village in Cambodia. Bopha raises her son Sokhem alone. One night, guided by a strange voice, he sets off in pursuit of a magic mango. Bopha follows him and reaches the border between the world of the living and the dead. Memories of war and oppression resurface. Bopha then reveals his heavy secret.