Fireworks

Sky Spirits(en)

The basis of the experimental film Sky Spirits are real-life shots of fireworks. The authors of the film have collected these shots from the year 2001. to 2008. The experiment explores the ultimate limits of fireworks as sources of light, showing this through real-life dynamic light patters which are led through video processors, resulting in chromatically rich animated samples. The material is "laboratory" processed and then formed into a film unit, while respecting the dramaturgy of fireworks. The original sound was used, which was, of course, subsequently processed, too. The whole work process is a kind of "homage to the tape" because the entire work is completely recorded and realised on digital video tapes, without using any kind of computer program.

Uncovering Fukushima(en)

It follows a group of investigators as they return to the nuclear zone in Fukushima to uncover the secrets behind the wildlife that has claimed the toxic environment as its own.

House of Grucci(en)

An illuminating look inside the lives of the Grucci family, whose Long Island-based fireworks business has been lighting up night skies around the world with spectacular displays since the 1800s.

Lili(pl)

A heartwarming story about a precautious, 8-year-old girl exploring the world with her globetrotting father and growing up in an unconventional family.

Midwinter Hue(en)

A man steadily bashes through the snow. He disappears and the trees, covered in white, shift and show a beautiful array of hidden colors. A poetic, meditative short film about letting go of the past and embracing the unknown future.

IEC Long(pt)

The word panchão was first heard in Macao. From the Chinese pan-tcheong or pau-tcheong, dictionaries define it as a Macanese regionalism also known as China cracker. Who inhabits the ancient IEC Long firecracker factory?

Coming Home from Space: The Challenge of Re-Entry(en)

The complex engineering challenges that make re-entry into the earth's atmosphere so dangerous. Scientists have labored for years to bring a crew safely home in what is essentially a meteorite, wrapped in a cocoon of fire, hurtling towards earth six times faster than the fastest bullet. Scientific experts from NASA explain the significance of Columbia's events as they unfolded, offer insights into what may have caused them and how those key events contributed to the shuttle’s ultimate destruction.

Into the Clouds We Gaze(cs)

A gentle love story from the harsh environment of northern Bohemia.

Cyberspace(en)

Documentary looking at the ways which computer on-line services and the Internet have evolved, how they have been applied and the problems they can cause.

In Celebration of Trees(en)

Filmed by Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Al Giddings, this timeless program takes a stirring look at the largest, tallest, longest-living things on the planet: trees. Stunning location footage captures the variety and the grandeur of the Pacific Northwest, the Florida Everglades, the Shenandoah Valley, and the Great Sonoran Desert. Quotations from Sierra Club founder John Muir and others who revere nature are interwoven with information on topics ranging from the function of forest ecosystems, to the effects of deforestation, to the integration of parks into urban landscapes.

Discovery Atlantis(en)

The film presents compelling evidence that Altlantis wasn't so far away after all, but what it omits is just as compelling. Although Plato’s account of Atlantian masonry, consisting of red, white and black stones, was a visually perfect match for the modern walls of the Minoan excavation site favored by the film, and his account of a sea made impassable by small islands of mud could, in fact, be a description of the rafts of pumice left by the catastrophic eruption of an ancient volcano there, little mention is made of Plato's specific account of where Atlantis was or the common root that links Atlantis to the Atlantic ocean. Also omitted is Plato's chronology placing the sinking of Atlantis in the same time frame as the end of the last ice age which caused the inundation of huge expanses of once fertile lands. Is "Atlantis: The Evidence" a thinly disguised example of Eurocentrism in the media? Watch Discovery: Atlantis for a more comprehensive view on an age-old debate.

Rocketships(en)

A look back at the origins of rocket science and forward to the cutting edge technology of reusable rockets and shuttles. Using computer animation, the program also explores the future of space travel that may some day carry commercial passengers or "tourists" into space.

Secret Satellite(en)

Documentary that explores the birth and growth of satellite espionage.

Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang(en)

Known for his spectacular pyrotechnic displays, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang creates his most ambitious project yet: Sky Ladder, a visionary, explosive event that he pulls off in his hometown in China after 20 years of failed attempts.

Finding Vivian Maier(en)

Vivian Maier's photos were seemingly destined for obscurity, lost among the clutter of the countless objects she'd collected throughout her life. Instead these images have shaken the world of street photography and irrevocably changed the life of the man who brought them to the public eye. This film brings to life the interesting turns and travails of the improbable saga of John Maloof's discovery of Vivian Maier, unravelling this mysterious tale through her documentary films, photographs, odd collections and personal accounts from the people that knew her. What started as a blog to show her work quickly became a viral sensation in the photography world. Photos destined for the trash heap now line gallery exhibitions, a forthcoming book and this documentary film.

The Price of Cheap(en)

The Price of Cheap tells the stories of modern slaves in textiles manufacturing supply chains and the brave individuals fighting on the ground against immeasurable odds to help them. We follow a man named Joseph Raj, who runs an organization called T.E.S.T. (Trust for Education and Social Transformation) in Tamil Nadu, India as he goes on raids to rescue underage children from unsafe and labour intensive factories. We hear from the survivors he has helped rescue, hear of their horrific experiences, and desire for education and change. Academics and social justice workers weigh in on why the issue of forced labour persists.

Titanic: Untold Stories(en)

The gripping personal accounts of the people and the tragedy. In never-before-seen footage, we journey with historian Charles Haas, as he descends into the depths of the North Atlantic and guides us on a tour of the RMS Titanic. While recounting tales of triumph and struggle, we see among the many sites the doors where all passengers would have entered, peer through the porthole of a first class cabin, see the davits where the too few lifeboats hung and pause by the mail room where the postal workers heroically died. This unique footage coupled with letters, old stills, artifacts and new recreations tells the amazing human stories of this famous ship as never before.

Passfire(en)

A film about fireworks, the people who make them and the cultures behind them across the globe.

Prehistoric Women(fr)

Living with Wolves(en)

Wolves have been demonized for centuries, blood thirsty beasts haunting our nightmares. We were determined to dispel this myth and show the true nature of wolves. Compassionate family animals, both playful and affectionate. For six years in a tented camp in the wilderness of Idaho, we lived among a pack of wolves, listening to them, earning their trust.Now in "Living With Wolves," we share more of the story of The Sawtooth Pack, first told in our two-time Emmy Award-winning documentary, Wolves at Our Door. Our own lives, brought together by a devotion to wildlife, were forever changed by these elusive, intelligent animals who accepted us. Overcoming forest fires, marauding mountain lions and sub-zero winters, we share with you a heart-warming and unique partnership of human and predator, built on trust and defying the storm of controversy surrounding the wolf.