Don't Lose Heart

Rising Phoenix(en)

Elite athletes and insiders reflect on the Paralympic Games and examine how they impact a global understanding of disability, diversity and excellence.

Natsufuku no shōjotachi: Hiroshima Shōwa nijūnen hachigatsu muika(ja)

In 1945, the second- and third-year students of a Hiroshima girls' school are taken away to work in war factories. The remaining 220 girls of the first year try to make the best of their new-found status as the only teenagers in an almost deserted town, even amid the deprivations of wartime. On the seventh of August, an American bomber changes their lives forever. Broadcast on the 43rd anniversary of Hiroshima in memory of "the girls who lost their lives to the atom bomb." (Source: Anime Encyclopedia)

In the Shadow of War(en)

The compelling stories of four young people as they struggle to survive a war that ended nearly 20 years ago. The physical conflict is over - but its psychological impact continues. Can they break the cycle of violence?

To Die in Madrid(fr)

Morir en Madrid brings together several papers on the Spanish Civil War and integrates capturing different points of view, intended to represent the continuity of the suffering of the Spanish during the Franco regime. The death of Federico Garcia Lorca, Guernica, the defense of Madrid, the International Brigades, are some of the items comprised in this document.

Leonora Carrington: The Lost Surrealist(en)

British surrealist Leonora Carrington was a key part of the surrealist movement during its heyday in Paris and yet, until recently, remained a virtual unknown in the country of her birth. This film explores her dramatic evolution from British debutante to artist in exile, living out her days in Mexico City, and takes us on a journey into her darkly strange and cinematic world.

Remake, Remix, Rip-Off: About Copy Culture & Turkish Pop Cinema(de)

Turkey in the 1960s and 1970s was one of the biggest producers of film in the world. In order to keep up with the demand, screenwriters and directors were copying scripts and remaking movies from all over the world. This documentary visits the fastest working directors, the most practical cameramen and the most hardheaded actors to have a closer look into the country's tumultuous history of movie making.

I Betrayed Hitler(fr)

During the worst days of World War II, the British government asks the mathematician Alan Turing to unravel the mysteries of the German Enigma encryption machine, an impossible task to accomplish without the invaluable information that Hans-Thilo Schmidt, a disenchanted but greedy German citizen, had been handing over to the French secret services since 1931.

Judi Dench: My Passion for Trees(en)

A fungi expert also shows Judi the incredible action going on beneath her feet, revealing an astonishing underground fungal network that looks up to the tips of tree roots, connecting many trees in a forest together. It's an incredible system known as the 'wood wide web'. It is confirmation for Judi that trees aren't just trees, they are a real community that help each other, humans and the planet.

Happy Porno? Das Ende der Scham(de)

The Hitler Youth(en)

The historical documentary Hitler Youth explores Adolf Hitler's maniacal construction of the titular organization - one comprised of young Aryan men who would rule the world by fear, intimidation and violence. Via a compendium of terrifying archival footage, the program documents the establishment of the Hitler Youth, its escalation from a membership of 13,000 to 10,000,000 within fifteen years, and the death of the organization following Hitler's suicide in 1945.

Dakota 38(en)

In the spring of 2005, Jim Miller, a Native spiritual leader and Vietnam veteran, found himself in a dream riding on horseback across the great plains of South Dakota. Just before he awoke, he arrived at a riverbank in Minnesota and saw 38 of his Dakota ancestors hanged. At the time, Jim knew nothing of the largest mass execution in United States history, ordered by Abraham Lincoln on December 26, 1862. Now, four years later, embracing the message of the dream, Jim and a group of riders retrace the 330-mile route of his dream on horseback from Lower Brule, South Dakota to Mankato, Minnesota to arrive at the hanging site on the anniversary of the execution. This is the story of their journey - the blizzards they endure, the Native and Non-Native communities that house and feed them along the way, and the dark history they are beginning to wipe away.

Male Rape: Breaking the Silence(en)

It is estimated that one in six men are victims of rape, but only 10% of these men report the crime to the police. This film tells the stories of three men who are now breaking their silence, revealing a unique perspective on male rape in Britain today.

Bitter Lake(en)

An experimental documentary that explores Saudi Arabia's relationship with the U.S. and the role this has played in the war in Afghanistan.

Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier(en)

Sensationalized in the media as a high profile catfishing case involving an NBA superstar and an aspiring model, Shelly Chartier was portrayed as a master manipulator who used social media as her weapon. Through the sensitive and intelligent lens of Indigenous directors Lisa Jackson and Shane Belcourt, the sensationalism is swept aside to reveal something much more compelling and complex - the story of a young woman caught in historical circumstances beyond her control and how she struggles to rebuild her life after incarceration.

The Real Tom Thumb: History's Smallest Superstar(en)

Michael Grade reveals the story of General Tom Thumb, the world's first global show business celebrity who went from humble beginnings in America to international superstardom.

Death Camp Sachsenhausen(de)

Documentary about nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen.

They Wore The Red Suit(en)

Every year, tens of thousands don the Red Suit for families, parties and parades, but only a handful of men have reclaimed the connection to childhood magic by turning the portrayal of Santa into a full-time career. They Wore the Red Suit is a documentary featuring the rare individuals who have devoted their lives to keeping that magic alive in the world by actually being Santa Claus 365 days a year.

Syria: Israel's invisible Hand(en)

A horrible six year conflict befell Syria with a multitude of factions fighting for territories backed by a score of foreign players. The script for war as with Iraq in 2003 originated with Zionist partisans with Israeli interests in mind. From Oded Yinon to the Israeli "Clean Break" papers, the Zionist regime made it very clear what their intentions were in Iraq and Syria. American mass media had a uniform message that "Assad must go" for years until the Trump administration took power. In Iraq, after the US made it clear that they did not back Kurdish secession and would not give them air support, the Iraqi forces chased out the Peshmerga in a mere 36hrs. The world must know that the US was dragged into these conflicts via Israeli pressure and deceptions.

Hitler's Mountain: Hidden Traces(en)

The Obersalzberg was an ordinary Bavarian mountain until Adolf Hitler discovered it in 1923. There at the Berghof, the Nazi leader spent his time surrounded by his most faithful lieutenants and his mistress, Eva Braun. Though mostly destroyed, remnants of the vast building complex still exist.

Out of the Ashes(en)

Against a backdrop of war and poverty, Out of the Ashes, traces the extraordinary journey of a team of young, Afghan men, as they chase a seemingly impossible dream, shedding new light on a nation beyond that of burqas, bombs, drugs and devastation. This feature-length documentary follows the Afghan cricket team in their quest against the odds to qualify for the 2011 World Cup, premiering at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 17th June. Backed by BBC Storyville and Oscar-winning director and cricket fan, Sam Mendes, 'Out of the Ashes' follows the squad over two years as they go from playing in their shalwar-kameezes on rubble pitches to batting their way around the globe and up the international league tables.