I Was Possessed by God

The Monastery(fr)

For the first time, cloistered sisters agree to be filmed for one year in all aspects of their lives. The nuns of Berthierville, the only Francophone community of Dominican nuns in North America for nearly a century, engage in a rare and unique documentary in which exceptional testimonies and archives intermingle.

We're All Angels(en)

The story of rising stars Jason and deMarco, two attractive pop stars - both Christian and gay - and lovers. They sing Christian rock, including dance remixes. They are gay and they have been a couple for four years. They talk about their childhood and youth - Jason belonged to a Pentacostal church, deMarco was raised Catholic. They and their parents talk about family, coming to terms with sexuality, and the changing views of homosexuality within some churches. Jason and deMarco's particular mission is to reach gay youth with an anti-suicide message, helping them to reconcile the spiritual with the physical.

A Boy Has Been Dead(en)

An investigation on the death of a 18-year-old boy and its cover-up by the police.

Venerdì Santo - Bronte(it)

God's Cadets: Joining the Salvation Army(en)

To become a Salvation Army officer, cadets must shed the skin of their old lives, promise to reject treasures on earth in favour of true spiritual gifts and commit to 'care for the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, love the unlovable and befriend those who have no friends'. This documentary takes us inside the training college for this most distinctive of British institutions, introducing the individuals and families who give up their jobs and leave their homes to work full-time for 'The Army' for just £7,500 a year.

God & Country: The Rise of Christian Nationalism(en)

Examines the implications of Christian Nationalism, how it distorts not only our constitutional republic, but Christianity itself, and asks the question: What happens when a faith built on love, sacrifice, and forgiveness grows political tentacles, conflating power, money, and belief into hyper-nationalism?

For the Bible Tells Me So(en)

An exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S. and how the religious right has used its interpretation of the Bible to stigmatize the gay community.

Carving Thy Faith(tl)

A five-year visual ethnography of traditional yet practical orchestration of Semana Santa in a small town where religious woodcarving is the livelihood. An experiential film on neocolonial Philippines’ interpretation of Saints and Gods through many forms of rituals and iconographies, exposing wood as raw material that undergoes production processes before becoming a spiritual object of devotion. - A sculpture believed to have been imported in town during Spanish colonial conquest, locally known as Mahal na Señor Sepulcro, is celebrating its 500 years. Meanwhile, composed of non-actors, Senakulo re-enacts the sufferings and death of Jesus. As the local community yearly unites to commemorate the Passion of Christ, a laborious journey unfolds following local craftsmen in transforming blocks of wood into a larger than life Jesus crucified on a 12-ft cross.

Outremont et les Hassidim(en)

OUTREMONT AND THE HASIDIM reveals the challenges of accommodating the “Hasidim” – or ultra-Orthodox Jews – in the affluent Montréal borough of Outremont.​Some 7,000 Hasidim live in or near this choice neighbourhood of Québec’s Francophone elite. After settling there more than 70 years ago, the Hasidim are a rapidly growing minority group which today represents about 23% of Outremont’s population.​Thanks to unprecedented access to this self-isolated community, the film lifts the veil on its practices, traditions, music and life as they had never before been seen on Canadian television, without ignoring the community’s expectations, fears. and hopes.

Aside From That(en)

How do we live, knowing we are going to die? In search of answers, we probed the minds of atheists, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, physicians, philosophers, authors, academics, a legendary stand-up comic, and scores of random pedestrians.

Bearing Witness(en)

The Jehovah’s Witnesses are a religious group with eight million followers in multiple nations, including Australia. A knock on the door and an earnest offer to share their teachings is the only interaction most people will have with this god-fearing organisation. Few would know the extreme nature of their beliefs. The conduct of the religious group came under scrutiny in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Pilgrimage(en)

St. Joseph's Oratory, a picturesque shrine silhouetted against Mount Royal, draws pilgrims by the thousands every year. They come from California by Greyhound bus, from Vancouver by plane, and on foot from many parishes surrounding Montréal. What is the fame of this shrine, that it attracts the devout and the curious alike? The story is told by Brother Placide Vermandère of the Order of the Holy Cross, who was personally acquainted with Brother André, after whom the shrine's famous temple is named. Cameras follow a procession of the League of the Sacred Heart through the streets of the city to the famous sanctuary and show many of the religious observances conducted in the church, including Mass attended by invalids who come in the hope of being healed of various afflictions.

Daughters of Wisdom(en)

An intimate portrait of the nuns of Kala Rongo, a rare and exceptional Buddhist Monastery exclusively for women situated in Nangchen, in remote and rural northeastern Tibet. These nuns are receiving religious and educational training previously unavailable to women, and playing an unprecedented role in preserving their rich cultural heritage even as they slowly reshape it. They graciously allow the camera a never-before-seen glimpse into their vibrant spiritual community and insight into their extraordinary lives. Some shy, some outspoken, all are committed to the often difficult life they have chosen, away from the yak farms and herding families of their birth. It is the story of their spiritual community, one that couldn't have existed 20 years ago but is thriving today.

Beyond Kicks(en)

In the early 1970s, a group of young volunteers, the Free Youth Clinic of Winnipeg, operated a "crisis bus" to rescue young people experiencing bad drug trips, usually from LSD.

Rusia: Revolución conservadora(es)

This American Journey(en)

As children, British actor Paul Blackthorne and Australian photographer Mister Basquali both fell in love with America. Later they each fulfilled their dream to live here, but after two wars, a near economic collapse, and uncertainty about the country's direction, these two expats began to have doubts -- was America still the great place they once dreamed of? They drive across America to find out, interviewing random people about issues that affect and confront us all. From the ghetto to the gun show, the courthouse to the cattle yard, they are touched by the wisdom and insight of the people they meet. This American Journey is a cinematic postcard from the people to the people, teaching us that hearts can be healed at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected places.

Woodstock(en)

An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.

Himmelska bikers(sv)

Pull of Gravity(en)

North Philadelphia, PA – Kev, El and Andy are three men united by one struggle: they are trying to defy gravity. As part of the 700,000 prisoners released into society every year, they find themselves faced with a chilling outlook: 67% of ex-offenders re-offend within three years. What explains this invisible force that keeps former inmates in a seemingly unending cycle of incarceration? Filmed on the street over the course of two years, Pull of Gravity is an intimate portrait of these three men that confronts head-on the gritty details of lives cut short by poverty and drugs, where dealing is seen as the only route to economic prosperity, where using offers an escape from powerlessness, and where prison is too often the next stop. The film’s unfiltered lense captures its subjects as they lay bare their stories, fears, and tentative dreams.

Insides and Outsides(ur)

Insides and Outsides is a documentary film project, which captures a timeline from the end of 2019, when the CAA/NRC protests were at their peak, till 2022 when the pandemic had upturned everyone's personal life. In an increasingly hostile environment of escalating violence, Arbab explores what it is like being a Muslim in India. The film ebbs and flows between looking outside, where a constant stream of hate erupts, and inside, where Arbab's parents renegotiate their place in the country with changing times.