Lessons of Darkness

Jarhead(en)

Jarhead is a film about a US Marine Anthony Swofford’s experience in the Gulf War. After putting up with an arduous boot camp, Swofford and his unit are sent to the Persian Gulf where they are eager to fight, but are forced to stay back from the action. Swofford struggles with the possibility of his girlfriend cheating on him, and as his mental state deteriorates, his desire to kill increases.

G.I. Jane(en)

In response to political pressure from Senator Lillian DeHaven, the U.S. Navy begins a program that would allow for the eventual integration of women into its combat services. The program begins with a single trial candidate, Lieutenant Jordan O'Neil, who is chosen specifically for her femininity. O'Neil enters the grueling Navy SEAL training program under the command of Master Chief John James Urgayle, who unfairly pushes O'Neil until her determination wins his respect.

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf: Command Performance(en)

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf: Command Performance shows historic archive photographs and coverage of “Stormin’ Norman’s” role from the inception of Desert Shield to the onslaught of Desert Storm.

Smokehouse(en)

A group of friends reunite in the north of Scotland during summer.

Three Kings(en)

A group of American soldiers stationed in Iraq at the end of the Gulf War find a map they believe will take them to a huge cache of stolen Kuwaiti gold hidden near their base, and they embark on a secret mission that's destined to change everything.

Forests(fr)

In a dark, ambiguous environment, minuscule particles drift slowly before the lens. The image focuses to reveal spruce trees and tall pines, while Innu voices tell us the story of this territory, this flooded forest. Muffled percussive sounds gradually become louder, suggesting the presence of a hydroelectric dam. The submerged trees gradually transform into firebrands as whispers bring back the stories of this forest.

The Hindenburg Disaster: Probable Cause(en)

The History Channel - Sniper - Deadliest Missions(pt)

Saddam: America's Best Enemy(en)

Documents a 40-year relationship between Saddam Hussein and the U.S., through accounts given by those who were witness to and participants in those years of violence. It is about a man and a superpower who used each other, in a marriage of convenience between strange bed-fellows. Includes selected archival footage of Saddam's beginnings, filmed to immortalise his exploits, at 20 years of age, in 1959. Includes also images from the film, Saddam Hussein, le maître de Baghdad, directed by Michel Vuillermet (Zarafa Films)

John Heroux: Gulf War Fighter Pilot(en)

In 1991, John Heroux served in Operation Desert Storm, piloting one of forty F16 Fighter Planes sent in to target large manufacturing facilities deep inside Iraq. Looking back on these missions, John explains that pilots, himself included, felt no pride at causing destruction, but did have pride in serving their country and completing their tasks. This is his story.

The Men Who Stare at Goats(en)

A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.

Courage Under Fire(en)

A US Army officer, who made a "friendly fire" mistake that was covered up, has been reassigned to a desk job. He is tasked to investigate a female chopper commander's worthiness to be awarded the Medal of Honor. At first all seems in order. But then he begins to notice inconsistencies between the testimonies of the witnesses...

The Pentagon Wars(en)

From the director of “Made In America” and “The Money Pit” comes a hilarious look at one of the most expensive blunders in military history. Over 17 years and almost as many billion dollars have gone into devising the BFV (Bradley Fighting Vehicle). There's only one problem. . . it doesn't work. (Spoiler alert: 25 years later ... it does work.)

All You've Got(en)

Three friends' love for volleyball is tested to the limit when their school burns to the ground and they are forced to join a rival school in order to win the national championship.

The Manchurian Candidate(en)

Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco finds himself having terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad-mate Sergeant Raymond Shaw, now a vice-presidential candidate, is the hero he remembers him being. As Marco's doubts deepen, Shaw's political power grows, and, when Marco finds a mysterious implant embedded in his back, the memory of what really happened begins to return.

Ablaze(en)

In November 1947 forty-one people died in a massive blaze that gutted the huge Ballantynes Department Store complex in the heart of Christchurch’s business district. This is the tragic story of New Zealand’s worst fire disaster.

Another Day(en)

Kate's boyfriend dies in a fire after a fight over the couple's unborn child. After Kate is involved in a near-drowning accident a few years later, she wakes up on-shore to find that she's living two days before her boyfriend's fatal fire.

Midnight's Child(en)

Spooky tale of a lawyer who sees Satan in the Swiss au pair she and her artist husband have hired for their young daughter.

Fires of Kuwait(en)

After Saddam Hussein had the Kuwait Oil wells lit up, teams from all over the world fought those fires for months. They had to save the oil resources, as well as reduce air pollution. The different teams developed different techniques of extinguishing the fires. Man's emergency creativity can be seen at it's best.

Life in Four Elements(fi)

A journey into four classical elements through the four main characters of the film. The main characters in the movie represent each of their own elements.

2000 Meters to Andriivka(en)

Amid the failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther they advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that this war may never end.

For Sama(en)

A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.

City of Ghosts(en)

With unprecedented access, this documentary follows the extraordinary journey of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently”—a group of anonymous citizen journalists who banded together after their homeland was overtaken by ISIS—as they risk their lives to stand up against one of the greatest evils in the world today.

Naqoyqatsi(en)

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

20 Days in Mariupol(en)

As the Russian invasion begins, a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting the war's atrocities.

The Age of Stupid(en)

Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?

Warfare(en)

A platoon of Navy SEALs embarks on a dangerous mission in Ramadi, Iraq, with the chaos and brotherhood of war retold through their memories of the event.

They Shall Not Grow Old(en)

A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of Armistice Day, and the end of the war.

Tom Clancy's Without Remorse(en)

An elite Navy SEAL uncovers an international conspiracy while seeking justice for the murder of his pregnant wife.

Five Broken Cameras(en)

Five broken cameras – and each one has a powerful tale to tell. Embedded in the bullet-ridden remains of digital technology is the story of Emad Burnat, a farmer from the Palestinian village of Bil’in, which famously chose nonviolent resistance when the Israeli army encroached upon its land to make room for Jewish colonists. Emad buys his first camera in 2005 to document the birth of his fourth son, Gibreel. Over the course of the film, he becomes the peaceful archivist of an escalating struggle as olive trees are bulldozed, lives are lost, and a wall is built to segregate burgeoning Israeli settlements.

Sahara(en)

In Libya, an American tank commander, along with a handful of Allied soldiers, tries to defend an isolated well with a limited supply of water from a German Afrika Korps battalion during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II.

Global Meltdown(en)

A helicopter pilot and an environmental scientist lead a exodus of survivors in a search for a safe haven after a catastrophic tectonic event causes the crust of the earth to break apart.

The Last Survivors(en)

In the near future, society collapses and water becomes scarce. When a greedy water baron starts violently clearing out survivors, Kendal, a 17-year-old teenager, fights the baron's henchman to keep a well open.

The Condemned(en)

Jack Conrad is awaiting the death penalty in a corrupt Central American prison. He is "purchased" by a wealthy television producer and taken to a desolate island where he must fight to the death against nine other condemned killers from all corners of the world, with freedom going to the sole survivor.

Hornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant(en)

Acting Lieutenant Hornblower attempts to study for his promotion examination, but becomes distracted by the serious supply problems that face his crew.

Koyaanisqatsi(en)

Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.

84 Charlie Mopic(en)

An Army cameraman is embedded with a reconnaissance patrol and charts their mission across territory controlled by the North Vietnamese.

Fahrenheit 9/11(en)

Michael Moore's view on how the Bush administration allegedly used the tragic events on 9/11 to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Louis Theroux: Twilight of the Porn Stars(en)

In 1997, Louis Theroux made a documentary about the world of male porn performers in Los Angeles. 15 years later, he returns to find a business struggling with the deluge of free porn on the internet. Louis revisits some of the original programme's contributors as well as meeting the latest crop of porn performers dreaming of porn stardom.

Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie(en)

"Trinity and Beyond" is an unsettling yet visually fascinating documentary presenting the history of nuclear weapons development and testing between 1945-1963. Narrated by William Shatner and featuring an original score performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, this award-winning documentary reveals previously unreleased and classified government footage from several countries.