A documentary focused on the transitional years from the totalitarian regime to democracy in Bulgaria. A thorough interpretation of the period as a reference note to world-famous French philosopher and sociologist Jean Baudrillard’s notion of ‘simulation’. The film’s title is an ironic extension of Sigmund Freud’s famous quote, "America is a mistake, admittedly a gigantic mistake", which implies the Austrian scientist’s disappointment from empty American life in which money is the utmost value.
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0.0Bettina and Frank are from Saxony, without a job and are on vacation for the first time. They go to the sunny beach, where the unemployed Bulgarians Tenscho and Radka open a boutique to earn money with the Germans.
0.0The fearsome bat is amongst the stealthiest hunters in the Animal Kingdom, but for all their ingenious abilities, a species of grasshopper in the mountains of Bulgaria has learnt to outsmart them. Now, join a team of researchers armed with state-of-the-art ultrasonic cameras, as they discover the mechanisms behind this standoff. The Secret Life of Bats reveals the science behind sonar, and the hidden hunting challenges faced by this deadly predator.
0.0Wolves divide and fascinate us. 150 years after they were driven to extinction in Central Europe, they are returning slowly but inexorably. Are they dangerous to humans? Is it possible to coexist? Using Switzerland as a point of departure, where wolves have returned in the very recent past, this documentary sheds light on the wolf situation in Austria, eastern Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, and even Minnesota, where freely roaming packs of wolves are more common sight.
0.0Every year in June, the small Bulgarian village of Balgari celebrates St Constantine with a special ritual. Initiated ‘nestinari’ go into a music-induced trance and dance on bonfires in a display of religious passion.
3.0A Finnish documentary follows four young men who have one year to find new love in Helsinki.
6.8The story of six young people addicted to heroin in Sofia, Bulgaria.
0.0Paintings, performances, experiments, electronic music sounding in the spaces of two old houses in a small Italian town, heated conversations about contemporary art, touching meetings with the closest people and places in Bulgaria after 50 years of separation. "Flying with Fins" is a film about the constant search for meaning in art and life. Alzek Misheff, artist - rebel and experimenter, leads us in this philosophical and aesthetic journey through time, space and ideas.
8.0One of the best Bulgarian mountain runners – Kiril Nikolov, known as Disl, attempted to set a new record – to run through the longest and legendary Bulgarian mountain route – 600 km from the mountain peak of Kom on the west border to cape Emine on the Black Sea coast, in less than 5 days. Through steep mountain paths, pouring rain, and sticky mud, the glorious adventure takes him beyond the barriers of his own consciousness, facing hidden fears, pain and exhaustion. Tо the point where he has to make a tough choice – to quit or to push his will to the ultimate challenge, beyond his own limitations.
0.0The film explores the hurdles facing organ transplant recipients in Bulgaria, once among Eastern Europe’s leaders in the medical procedure, but now ranking last on the continent for the number of transplants performed.
0.0We follow the story of a Bulgarian elderly couple living in a stagnant small village called Balabansko. Taking care of the family house passed down the generations has been their life’s work. What does their future hold and why can’t they let go of the past?
0.0A portrait of a seemingly ordinary house - one that holds cherished memories while also bearing the burden of abandonment and neglect. Revisiting my grandparents’ house, I find myself exploring the intersection of home, nostalgia, and the passage of time while trying to grasp the essence of a place where time seems to stand still.
0.0A documentary about the life and music of the great Bulgarian folk-jazz clarinet player Ivo Papasov - Ibryama.
0.0In the 90s Bulgaria joined the Eastern Bloc's race for freedom. But as thousands flooded the streets calling for democracy the shadows were giving birth to criminal enterprise. And before anyone could realise, the criminals had taken over the new 'democratic' society. The street gangs dominated, a steel hand of fear was forced on the population. And freedom had come to Bulgaria! They quietly privatised everything in their own interests.
4.2This film was made on the occasion of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Ilinden (St. Ellias Day) Rebellion. This panoramic film depicts the most significant historic figures and places situated in the Aegian, Pirin and Vardar regions.
0.0Eight thousand feet above sea level, in the sacred heart of Rila mountain, in sweltering heat, and rain, and fog, the only transport being mules, deprived of water, means and fuel, next to the sky, only to God’s eternal eye, a crazy medley cast of seventy plays Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, Hamlet!
6.0After twenty-five years spent in France, I return to Bulgaria, camera in hand, with a vertiginous suspicion: what if my family had collaborated with the political police of the communist regime? And what if they were part of the "red trash" that the demonstrators on the street want to see disappear? I decide to investigate and to film, constantly, ready for anything. My adventure transforms itself into a tragic comic odyssey; a film that combines espionage with family.
0.0"Natural Film" is a delicate documentary portrait of the writer Georgi Gospodinov, inspired by his cult classic Natural Novel. Unfolding through a series of beginnings, the film is a cinematic experiment centered both on the author—the first Bulgarian winner of the International Booker Prize—and on the man searching for a path and meaning through memory, melancholy, and the poetry of everyday life.
5.0Staged behind the scenes look at the McWalter movie.
A documentary about lamentation songs of Bulgarian funeral rites.
6.9Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
7.0The most comprehensive retrospective of the '80s action film genre ever made.
7.7A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
6.7The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
8.4A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
7.4The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
7.5Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
7.8Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
6.9A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
7.6When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
7.0Martin Scorsese’s portrait of writer and social commentator Fran Lebowitz, celebrated for her sharp wit and observations on modern life. Filmed at New York’s Waverly Inn and intercut with archival footage and interviews, the documentary captures Lebowitz’s distinctive worldview through her spontaneous monologues and public appearances.
6.9This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.
6.8JB Smoove and Martin Starr host a celebration of 20 years of "Spider-Man" movies, from the Sam Raimi trilogy to Marc Webb's movies and the trio from Jon Watts.
7.0A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.
7.1A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
6.1A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
5.9A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.
7.4The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
8.1A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.