In 2007, the Taliban kidnapped 24-year-old Ajmal Naqshbandi and an Italian journalist. Naqshbandi was one of Afghanistan's best "fixers" -- someone hired by foreign journalists to facilitate, translate, and gain access for their stories.
2010-03-12
8
Six years ago, U.S.-led forces drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan for providing sanctuary to al Qaeda terrorists. Now, these Islamist militants are back.
An examination of the infamous thirty-year-old cold case of Iowa paperboy Johnny Gosch, the first missing child to appear on a milk carton. The film focuses on Johnny’s mother, Noreen Gosch, and her relentless quest to find the truth about what happened to her son. Along the way there have been mysterious sightings, bizarre revelations, and a confrontation with a person who claims to have helped abduct Johnny.
Australian filmmaker Jordan Bryon has been living and working as a journalist and filmmaker in Afghanistan for more than six years. After the departure of US forces, he stays to document Afghan life under the male-centric Taliban leadership. With his colleague, Teddy, he heads to a Taliban stronghold in the north-west of the country, shortly after he started transitioning. If the Taliban knew he was trans, they would likely kill him. It’s a chaotic time, for the country and for Jordan, as he navigates his transformation and looks to the future.
After the Kyrgyzstan Independence in 1991, the ancient practice of Ala-Kachuu ("grab and run") returned. Some women escape the men that kidnap them, but many remain married because of tradition and the fear of scandal.
At the peak of her immense popularity in the 1920s, evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson was drawing larger crowds to her revivals than those of P.T. Barnum or Harry Houdini. This chapter of "American Experience" paints a vivid portrait of the controversial and charismatic religious figure. Credited with mainstreaming religion in American culture, Sister Aimee created one of the country's first Christian radio stations, among other accomplishments.
The friendship between Christophe de Ponfilly and Commander Massoud, a legendary figure of the Afghan resistance against the Soviet invader, goes back to the filmmaker's first film, "A Valley Against an Empire", made in 1981. Fifteen years later, weakened, isolated, betrayed by many of his own, the "Lion of Panshir" has not surrendered to his new and implacable enemies, the Taliban. While preparing his next offensive, he evokes his commitment and his fights, and bears witness to a history in which he has been one of the main actors for twenty years. At the same time, the director questions the role and power of the media, as well as his own approach as a filmmaker. Commander Massoud was killed in an attack in September 2001.
The story of Jaycee Lee Dugard, a girl who was kidnapped outside a school bus stop and found alive eighteen years later.
Documentary examining the mysterious disappearance of financial advisor Lynda Spence, who vanished without a trace in 2011 from her hometown of Glasgow. As the police launched their investigation, they began to uncover hidden multiple identities, links to suspected gangsters and property fraud which stretched from Glasgow to London. What followed was one of the longest murder trials in Scotland's history, but without a body, the case remained unsolved. Fast forward to April 2022 and police have reopened the search for Lynda, but will they finally find out what happened to her?
In March 2001, the ruling Taliban destroyed Afghanistan's foremost tourist attraction, the 1600 year-old Buddhas of Bamiyan. This film follows the story of one of the refugees who now lives among the ruins….an eight-year-old boy named Mir.
Immediately after the US pullout from Afghanistan, Taliban forces occupied the Hollywood Gate complex, which is claimed to be a former CIA base in Kabul.
In 1974, 12-year-old Jan Broberg is abducted from a small church-going community in Idaho by a trusted neighbour and close family friend.
Documentary shedding light on the emotional fallout of the murder of Sarah Payne, the eight-year-old girl who was kidnapped and killed in Kingston Gorse, West Sussex, in 2000. Two weeks after her disappearance, Sarah's body was found, and after a high profile police investigation, Roy Whiting was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Testimonies from friends, family, police officers, key witnesses and experts in criminology are combined with an interview with Sarah's mother, to illustrate the tragic toll the case took on those closest to the victim.
The Kabul National Museum, once known as the "face of Afghanistan," was destroyed in 1993. We filmed the most important cultural treasures of the still-intact museum in 1988: ancient Greco-Roman art and antiquitied of Hellenistic civilization, as well as Buddhist sculpture that was said to have mythology--the art of Gandhara, Bamiyan, and Shotorak among them. After the fall of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in 1992, some seventy percent of the contents of the museum was destroyed, stolen, or smuggled overseas to Japan and other countries. The movement to return these items is also touched upon. The footage in this video represents that only film documentation of the Kabul Museum ever made.
The story of the last months of the 20-year war in Afghanistan through the intimate relationship between American Green Berets and the Afghan officers they trained.
According to the official history of Afghanistan, ruthless destruction has always prevailed over art and creation; but there is another tale to be told, the forgotten account of a diverse and progressive country, seen through the lens of innovative filmmakers, a story that survives thanks to a few brave Afghans, a small but very passionate group that secretly fought to save a huge film archive that was constantly menaced by war and religious fanaticism.
A group of teenagers from Flint, Michigan filmed themselves kidnapping and terrorizing a new acquaintance, before taking her out to a woods and dumping her in a shallow grave. They then taunted their terrified and blindfolded victim asking if she had any last requests before they cut her throat. But was the kidnap real or just a game? Three days later the tape was in the hands of the police and the 5 teenager friends were in custody facing life imprisonment. This program talks to the people at the heart of this story - including two of the defendants - in an attempt to understand what really happened in the woods around Flint last year. It also screens the video of the 'abduction'. What is revealed is an extraordinary and disturbing record of a night when something went terribly, terribly wrong.
In the summer of 2001 the Taliban strategically captured 24 Shelter Now International Aid hostages that captured the attention of the world for more than three months. With representatives from the United States, Australia, Germany and Afghanistan, the Taliban set out to create an insurance policy against the pending attacks of September 11th. What transpired through their story was an overwhelming journey of faith, grace and endurance. Based on the true story as told by the captives, Kabul 24 captures the gantlet of their 105 days in captivity and the cruel treatment of the Muslim co-workers at the hands of the Taliban who accused them of converting to Christianity. Revisit their journey from the grueling interrogation to their sham "trial" before the Taliban Supreme Court, to the dangers endured during the bombing of Kabul and a crushing sense that the world had abandoned them.
Documentary about the twin sister Jutta and Gisela Schmidt. In the late sixties the two women rebelled against middle class society as if they gave vent to a new kind of art. They became active in the underground communist party KPD and showed a heart-felt interest in the colour red, the aesthetics of the revolution. Soon, though, the twins quit their experiments in Germany. They left their husbands and went to Rome, where they met the fabulously wealthy Paul Getty III, and soon things got really out of hand.
Capturing Avatar is a feature length behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of Avatar. It uses footage from the film's development, as well as stock footage from as far back as the production of Titanic in 1995. Also included are numerous interviews with cast, artists, and other crew members. The documentary was released as a bonus feature on the extended collector's edition of Avatar.
Inuyasha and his brother, Sesshomaru, each inherited a sword from their father after his death. However, their father had a third sword, named Sounga, that he sealed away. Seven hundreds years after his death, Sounga awakens and threatens mankind's very existence. How will the children of the Great Dog Demon stop this unimaginable power?
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
Chris has vast experience in driver training both as an advanced driving instructor and driving examiner. This is the third in the Ultimate Driving Craft series of high quality advanced driving DVDs which have received international acclaim having sold to 39 countries. Filmed with two HD professional movie cameras and professionally edited by Green Gecko Television Ltd who have also added some excellent animation to support Chris's teaching of driving skills. In this DVD Chris highlights a problem that affects all drivers. It is called the natural focal point and not the best way to drive. He explains what it is, why it happens and what we, as drivers, can do about preventing it.
When his sister disappears after leaving their home in hopes of singing stardom, Luis tracks her down and discovers the grim reality of her whereabouts.
As the Lich King's zombie legions ravage the world, a cursed young sorceress embarks on a quest to obtain a weapon from the gods. But when she joins her sworn enemy in a desperate attempt to save the world, she must recover the good in herself before her friends are all dead, and defeat the Lich King before the gods are destroyed and the world forever enslaved.
A true-crime comedy exploring a failed music festival turned internet meme at the nexus of social media influence, late-stage capitalism, and morality in the post-truth era.
On a cold Christmas Eve, selfish miser Ebenezer Scrooge has one night left to face his past — and change the future — before time runs out.
A serial killer whose mother was a prostitute starts killing streetwalkers as a way of paying back his mother for her abuse.
is a creative documentary-fiction film and a film that might expand your sense of reality. It is the story about a man who enters the virtual world Second Life to pursue his personal dreams and ambitions. His journey into cyberspace becomes a magic learning experience, which gradually opens the gates to a much larger reality.
As Gotham City's young vigilante, the Batman, struggles to pursue a brutal serial killer, district attorney Harvey Dent gets caught in a feud involving the criminal family of the Falcones.
As election time nears, current Triad chairman Lok faces competition from his godsons. At the same time, Jimmy looks to increase his business relations with mainland China.
After seeing Meicoomon's abrupt transformation and killing of Leomon, Agumon and the other Digimon are kept isolated in Koushiro's office in order to prevent them from infection, but signs of infection begin to appear in Patamon.
A man is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. When his wife is murdered and his son kidnapped and taken to Mexico, he devises an elaborate and dangerous plan to rescue his son and avenge the murder.
Early morning silence is broken by screeching tires as a helicopter bears down on a speeding vehicle. Taking a quick corner, the team tumbles out into the woods as their car pulls away. Now they must make their way through the thick of nature and thick gunfire to accomplish their mission. Not a single word of dialogue is spoken throughout the entire film. Instead, the music, sounds, images and deeply truthful acting turn a simple plot into an intense experience. Passion and intrigue keep building to the very end.
After blowing his professional ballet career, John's only way to redeem himself is to concoct the demise of his former partner, Leah, who he blames for his downfall; he rehearses his salvation in his mind in the way that he rehearses a dance, but being able to break from the routine will be the key to his success.
A young woman lives sadly in a small garrison town with a soldier. Little by little, won over by boredom, sadness, total inaction, she develops a relationship with plants and starts talking to plants.
A documentary about unemployed people who bought fruit and vegetables at moderate prices at the wholesale market and sold these in the streets of Frankfurt. Since they had no permits they were constantly with their bulky carts on the run from the police. One part of the film was shot at the fairgrounds in front of the wholesale market. Newspaper and lottery ticket vendors, propagandists offering their ware for a few pfennigs, all convey the mood of a time when need made people inventive.