What Is Democracy?

Mabel(en)

Feisty, fiercely independent and firmly rooted in place, 90 year-old Mabel Robinson broke barriers back in the 40s when she became the first woman in Hubbards, Nova Scotia, to launch her own business—a hairdressing salon where she still provides shampoo-n-sets over 70 years later. Weaving animation and archival imagery with intimate and laugh out loud moments in the salon, the film celebrates the power of friendship, doing what you love and staying active. With no desire to retire anytime soon, Mabel gives voice to a generation who are not front and center of cinema or the pop hairstyles of the day, and subtly shifts the lens on our perception of beauty and the elderly.

Farewell, Herr Schwarz(de)

A documentary about the outcome of a decision made by a brother and sister in 1945. One missed meeting, two families, and three generations.

Two Hitlers(es)

One is a former police officer, bodyguard and hairdresser. Currently retired, he takes care of his extravagant and almost hundred-year-old illiterate mother. He writes poems and hopes to see them published one day. The other, a declared womanizer, workaholic, and leftist, was imprisoned during the dictatorship, runs a small grocery shop, and controls the life of his young second wife. Both were born in the Uruguayan hinterland during the Second World War, and share the same name as well as the fact that neither has wished to change it. The film is a tragicomic portrait of a country whose cultural diversity, its peculiar history and the character of its inhabitants allow the existence of exceptional and remarkable persons that depict a live picture of Uruguay, with its plurality and contradictions, its small and large history, without departing a single moment from irony or reflection.

News From a Personal War(pt)

A documentary about urban violence in Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro. Policemen, drug dealers, and shantytown dwellers get trapped in a daily war that knows no winners.

Modern British Slavery(en)

Explores the rise of modern slavery in the UK, giving a portrait of the dark world of forced labor through the eyes of the people involved.

urgewald – Auf den Spuren des Geldes(de)

When nature is destroyed, climate targets are disregarded and human rights are violated, there is always a lot of money behind it. This is where urgewald comes in. Since 1992, the environmental and human rights organization has been revealing the sources of money behind destructive projects. Over 30 years ago, a handful of activists gathered around a table in a shared flat to form the basis of the organization. Since then, the small club in the Münsterland province has become a recognized, powerful organization.

Al Franken: God Spoke(en)

Join filmmaking duo Chris Hegedus and Nick Doob as their cameras follow Franken to book signings, campaign rallies and the launch of Air America Radio, documenting his transformation from irreverent funnyman to political pundit.

Ice/Sea(en)

Funny collage of sea, sun and ice. A show from the beach with skiers, tigers, mermaids and much more.

Guitar(en)

A vibrant kaleidoscopic tribute to the guitar that meshes dance, mime, visual art, and virtuoso performances to create a spectacular yet intimate celebration of the instrument. For one exciting week the city of Toronto plays host to the International Guitar Festival. The streets echo with the sounds of the instrument as the great masters from every tradition gather to play for each other -- John Williams from England, Leo Brouwer from Cuba (classical), Turibio Santos from Brazil (folk), Vladimir Mikulka from Czechoslovakia (avant-garde), Rik Emmett and Kim Mitchell from Canada, Steve Morse from the USA (rock).

The Domino Effect(ru)

Rafael - the minister of sports of an unrecognized country, and Natasha - a Russian opera singer, try living together in Abkhazia - a war-torn future-less country. Observing their difficult relations, we see life in a place marked by war and nationalism. The film portrays trapped people dreaming of peace, normality and happiness.

Plains: Testimony of an Ethnocide(en)

A documentary on the massacre of Planas in the Colombian east plains in 1970. An Indigenous community formed a cooperative to defend their rights from settlers and colonists, but the government organized a military operation to protect the latter and foreign companies.

Making 'The Shining'(en)

Directed and edited by Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick, this film offers a look behind the scenes during the making of The Shining.

Control Room(ar)

A chronicle which provides a rare window into the international perception of the Iraq War, courtesy of Al Jazeera, the Arab world's most popular news outlet. Roundly criticized by Cabinet members and Pentagon officials for reporting with a pro-Iraqi bias, and strongly condemned for frequently airing civilian causalities as well as footage of American POWs, the station has revealed (and continues to show the world) everything about the Iraq War that the Bush administration did not want it to see.

Zapatista Women(es)

April 1994 in the Lacandona Jungle, Chiapas, México. The Zapatista women talk about the living conditions of Mexican indigenous populations and the life of peasant women. They explain the reasons for their struggle and their uprising.

Alone(en)

This investigation into the layers of mass incarceration and its shaping of the modern black American family is seen through the eyes of a single mother in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Dominguinhos(pt)

Through rare and precious footages and gigs with great artists such as Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Hermeto Pascoal, Djavan, Nara Leao, Luiz Gonzaga, among many others, "Dominguinhos" reveals this genius of Brazilian music, creator of a deeply authentic, universal and contemporary work. The film values the sensory cinematic experience, a journey driven by Dominguinhos his own.

On Native Soil(en)

The film analyzes the efforts by the families of 9/11 victims to create the 9/11 Commission and what information was revealed by it in the 9/11 Commission Report.

Beyond Right & Wrong: Stories of Justice and Forgiveness(en)

A survivor of the Rwandan Genocide struggles to forgive the man who killed her children. A victim’s daughter strikes up an unusual friendship with the ex-IRA bomber who killed her father. And two men—one Israeli, one Palestinian—form a bond after tragedies claim their daughters.

Mother Earth(en)

This short documentary is a celebration of life on planet Earth. Made from haunting visual images selected from 50 years of NFB productions, the film looks at human beings, their place on earth, and their deep interconnection with all other beings. Evocations of forces that threaten the planet and all its inhabitants also offer avenues for reflection.

Imprint in Clay(en)

“Sardar Gurcharan Singh was the father of studio pottery in India. "Daddyji" as most called him lovingly was very close to my father. I often tagged along to visit his home studio where pottery wheels were lined up under the big neem trees in his old brick house. My father wanted me to make a film on Daddyji, who was then 95. He was afraid that Daddyji's wonderful story would be left untold. He not only introduced studio pottery in India but due to his longevity, mentored many potters. So despite not knowing anything about films, I made the documentary, Imprint in Clay with a classmate of mine, which was mostly funded by my father.”

Liberation: Direction of the Main Blow(ru)

This five part epic war drama gives a dramatized detailed account of Soviet Union's war against Nazi Germany during world war two. Each of the five parts represents a separate major eastern front campaign.

Last Ma(i)nland(ru)

Photographer Grigory Yaroshenko gets a chance to visit Antarctica and learn about the life of polar explorers. But his wife is expecting their second child, and life changes. Gregory is faced with the question of male self-identification and acceptance of new family circumstances.

Just Retired 2(fr)

Marilou and Philippe decide to show their grandchildren their new holiday home in Portugal. But once there, they discover to their horror that the house is still under construction. This is just the beginning of the problems for the grandparents, because soon they will lose their children. They have only two days left to find them, before their parents join them.

Kill Shot(en)

Posing as hunters, a group of terrorists are in search of $100 million that was stolen and lost in a plane crash en route from Afghanistan.

Sonic & Shadow Lovely Lavat(en)

Sonic sends TikToks to his husband Shadow everyday but Shadow never respond, Sonic thinks his husband Shadow doesn't love him and don't care about him, they fight and Shadow makes Sonic cry and now Shadow doesn't know what to do.

Skal: Fight for Survival(en)

My name's Arthur, a huge Internet star who's just hit 3 million subs. While in the midst of throwing an epic party to celebrate, the universe had the balls to bring on the effing apocalypse and cut my night short. What was supposed to be a perfect hangover, has turned into an epic fight for survival.

Return(xx)

An old man is isolated in his home. Haunted by the loss of his beloved, he embarks upon a journey to return to her.

Battle Over Britain(en)

A young pilot, fresh out of training, is called to join a Flight while they wait for the call to scramble. Throughout a single day, he witnesses the skies of southern England filled with deadly dog fights, and after every exhausting battle the men return to their dispersal hut, only to find another of their number missing. Unwilling to surrender, the pilot and his comrades unite to take to the skies once more, determined to defend not only the airfield, but their entire country.

Return(en)

Return is a methodical construction of the approach of an individual towards an unseen goal, which assumes metaphorical significance. Viola moves toward the camera/viewer, pausing every few steps to ring a bell, at which point he is momentarily thrust back to his starting place, and then advanced again. Finally reaching his destination, he is taken through all of the previous stages in a single instant and returned to the source of his journey.

Lord of the Streets(en)

When Jason Dyson refuses to make his prized fighter throw an MMA match, a notorious gangster collects his debt by killing the fighter and kidnapping Jason's daughter. Now he must train a prisoner to endure five consecutive underground fights to save her.

Return Ticket(hu)

Five old men and a kid are travelling in a train's cabin without purpose. They travel because it's free and they don't have another place to stay. From their conversations we learn the tragedies of their lives. Also the hidden interlockings of their faith will out slowly.

Paradise and Back(da)

Kingdom IV: Return of the Great General(ja)

Depicts a continuation of the "Battle of Mayang", an all-out war against the neighboring country Zhao that Shin and Wang Ki fought in in the previous work "Flame of Fate".

Blowback(en)

When a master thief is sabotaged during a bank heist and left for dead, he seeks revenge on his former crew one target at a time. Now, with the cops and the mob closing in, he's in the race of his life to reclaim an untold fortune in cryptocurrency from those who double-crossed him.

Juicio de faldas(es)

Brent Weinbach: Appealing to the Mainstream(en)

Brent Weinbach is weird. In this show, Brent attempts to adjust his quirky personality so that he can fit in with the world around him, which would be valuable to his career as a comedian and entertainer. Through an absurd and abstract discourse, Brent explores the ways in which he can appeal to a broader, mainstream audience, so that ultimately, he can become successful in show business.

Avatar(ja)

Michiko lost her dad in a car accident when she was 10 years old. After the car accident, Michiko has lived with her mother Kyoko. Michiko, now in her 2nd year of high school, gets a cell phone from her mother as a birthday present. Michiko is so excited to have her very first cell phone. Soon afterwards, she is forced into joining social networking site "AvaQ" by classmate, and queen of the classroom, Taeko.

Box(en)

8mm film by Swiss artist Roman Signer.

Return(en)

After reading an article about hypnotic regression, a woman whose maternal grandfather died when she was only three years old contacts the hypnotic subject named in the article believing that he is the reincarnation of her grandfather, and hoping that she can learn the truth about how he died.

Sunburn(en)

Davin McDerby is a handsome, irresponsible slacker who arrives in Montauk Long Island for a summer of fun. He has no intention of working too hard and every intention of enjoying himself as much as possible while simultaneously escaping the pressing problems that await him back home in Ireland. Over a summer of car-jacking, pool-hopping, and tequila-drinking Davin and his new found friends discover that they have affected one another causing them to re-evaluate their lives.