Bo Kata, loosely translated in English means hacked! That is the victory battle cry when kites are eliminated in raging sky duels, sometimes lasting hours. Filmed entirely in Lahore, Pakistan, over three continuous days, Bo Kata is a rare cinematic documentary treat, depicting uniquely the rooftop kite flyers of Lahore, who have been a traditional part of Pakistan's culture and heritage that has lasted for over 400 years. Their sport is now under threat from a complete ban, after a series of tragic fatalities involving children and motorcyclists, resulting in decapitations and dismemberment from illegal chemically coated strings used to fly the kites. The documentary highlights a population that is associated with the mysterious art of kite dueling amidst the political backdrop of an impending ban
2007-02-07
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7.0BBC The Natural World. In 2004, a team from the Planet Earth series captured the first ever film of a wild snow leopard in the mountains of Pakistan. For Nisar Malik, who led the expedition, these images sparked a passion that compelled him to return. With cameraman Mark Smith, he spent two years documenting the snow leopard's daily life, finally lifting the veil on the most elusive of all cats.
0.0Last May record temperatures provoked a GLOF or glacial lake outburst flood in northern Pakistan, sweeping away bridges and villages in the valley below the Shisper glacier. Higher up the mountains, a semi-nomadic people called the Wakhi were leading their yaks to summer pastures 15,500 feet above in the mountains. Their traditional lifestyle has also been heavily impacted by climate change. From the K2 and the Himalayas, we profile the scientists,mountain climbers, and the villagers on this global warming frontline.
9.0In 1954, a German-Austrian expedition led by Mathias Rebitsch set off for the difficult-to-access Karakoram Mountains, geographically north of the Himalayas. They come across the Hunza, a people who live in the valley of the same name and believe they are descended from the soldiers of Alexander the Great. The documentary conveys impressions of the poor life of the Hunza people, the harvest, a court hearing, festivals and the children's everyday school life. Finally, the expedition sets off again and sets up its main camp on the moraine ridge of a glacier, where they measure the glacier and the earth's magnetic field. Finally, some men from the research community set off for a sub-peak of Batura.
4.6A documentary which explores the lives of gay people and the challenges they face in Pakistan, a country whose laws explicitly outlaw homosexuality.
9.0A Calling to Care is the inspiring story of 55 year-old Grace Stanley, a Canadian nurse who left her home and prestigious career behind to answer a calling halfway around the world in Karachi, Pakistan. Teaching nursing to local women in a strict Muslim culture that forbids them to even to touch men is a formidable task. However, Grace challenges her own values and belief systems to find common ground with her students, helping them to excel and feel respect for themselves in a culture that doesn't respect them. Whether it is getting her hands painted with henna, swimming fully-clothed in the ocean, or marching bravely with them on International Women's Day, Grace bonds with her students in a very special way, and ultimately discovers how the West can learn a lot more from the Third World than she ever thought.
7.0Amir, shot during the height of the Afghan civil war in the 1980s, investigates and portrays the life of Afghan refugees living in and around the city of Peshawar in northern Pakistan through the experiences of the musician Amir. The aspirations of Afghan refugees are expressed through their political songs dealing with the civil war in Afghanistan, with exile, with Afghan nationalism and with the Islamic revolution. In highly charged and tragic circumstances, music can be used in very direct ways, both to promote solidarity and as an agent of catharsis.
The story of Nisar Ahmed Khan, told through his children and the people he served, a spiritual guide whose followers still visit his tomb on his birth and death anniversaries. And alongside how his family spends a few days at the village keeping his traditions alive.
0.0The parallel stories of four Pakistani immigrants in Greece become the trigger for the director to explore the story of his father, a worker in the Perama Shipyard. The background unfolds a most deadly shipwreck, Libyan immigrants found in limbo, as well as a (possibly racist) crime, which was committed during the shooting of this film.
6.5Follow French kayak superstar Nouria Newman and two childhood friends, as they navigate one of the world's most challenging sections of whitewater: the Rondu Gorge of the Indus River, in Pakistan. Documenting Nouria's attempt at completing the first integral descent of the Rondu Gorge by a woman, Big Water Theory is a compelling exploration of human spirit and the relentless pursuit of adventure. It offers a powerful and inspiring, yet highly detailed and informative look at the world of extreme kayaking. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Karakoram mountains, the film highlights the irreversible nature of the sport, with heart pounding descents that test the kayakers' psychological and physical limits.
0.0Looking at the consequences of first cousin marriage in Britain.
6.0A Balinese documentary about the traditional art of kite-making.
8.5After the United States mounted a covert mission to eliminate America's number-one terrorist target, celebration turned to mounting questions. Now, Peter Bergen obtains rare access to interview former CIA agents, Navy Seal operatives, and a Black Hawk pilot who reveal how the United States gathered the intelligence needed to pull off the surprise attack. He'll talk to White House and Pakistani intelligence officials, as well as neighbors of the Pakistani compound and eyewitnesses to the raid.
7.1A woman in Pakistan sentenced to death for falling in love becomes a rare survivor of the country's harsh judicial system.
9.0Flying Paper tells the uplifting story of resilient Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip on a quest to shatter the Guinness World Record for the most kites ever flown.
7.0In 1962 Joris Ivens was invited to Chile for teaching and filmmaking. Together with students he made …A Valparaíso, one of his most poetic films. Contrasting the prestigious history of the seaport with the present the film sketches a portrait of the city, built on 42 hills, with its wealth and poverty, its daily life on the streets, the stairs, the rack railways and in the bars. Although the port has lost its importance, the rich past is still present in the impoverished city. The film echoes this ambiguous situation in its dialectical poetic style, interweaving the daily life reality (of 1963) with the history of the city and changing from black and white to colour, finally leaving us with hopeful perspective for the children who are playing on the stairs and hills of this beautiful town.
A simple story of happy home and family relationships, showing various childhood activities. Does not give guidance for kite flying.
6.7An Iranian diplomat who miraculously survived Taliban's raid on the Iranian consulate in Mazar E Sharif (Afghanistan) narrates his 19 days of hide and escape to reach Iran's borders meanwhile on the other side, the Iranian troops are preparing for retaliation.
0.0A Hazara film director follows a gravestone maker, a water girl and a man who buried his limb, as their daily lives unfold in a graveyard.
0.0Zia Mohyeddin, Pakistan's most venerated actor, devotes his final years to resurrecting interest in Urdu poetry and passing it on to a new generation of South Asians.
7.0What does it take to be the fastest? From award-winning filmmaker Mark Neale, comes Fastest, a spectacular maximum-speed, full-length documentary delving deep into the world of MotoGP™. This thrilling documentary, narrated by Ewan McGregor, highlights the thrills, spills and incredible commitment and courage the sport demands of it stars. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access and never before seen angles, interviews and insight, this truly cinematic experience charts the exhilarating highs, crushing lows, career-threatening crashes and spectacular comebacks, including Rossi’s 41 days turn around to race following a leg shattering crash.
7.6By vividly recounting the TT's legendary rivalries and the Isle of Man's unique road racing history, this 3D feature documentary discovers why modern TT riders still risk their lives to win the world's most dangerous race. The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy is the greatest motorcycle road race in the world, the ultimate challenge for rider and machine. It has always called for a commitment far beyond any other racing event, and many have made the ultimate sacrifice in their quest for victory. A story about freedom of choice, the strength of human spirit and the will to win. It's also an examination of what motivates those rare few, this elite band of brothers who risk everything to win.
6.8A coming of age story following a young meerkat pup, Kolo, growing up in the Kalahari desert; and an inspiring look at how one family's connection to each other and their surroundings is a model of resilience and fortitude for us all. Shot using ground-breaking techniques, this dramatised documentary is a one-of-a-kind presentation from The Weinstein Company and the BBC, featuring narration by Paul Newman.
7.2A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.
7.8A look behind the lens of Christopher Nolan's space epic.
8.1A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
6.2A football player and his mates travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.
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.
6.9The elite pilots of the Air Force Thunderbirds display exceptional skill, trust and courage during a high-stakes training season.
6.9This 2004 documentary by Werner Herzog diaries the struggle of a passionate English inventor to design and test a unique airship during its maiden flight above the jungle canopy.
6.1A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
6.8Director John Dullaghan’s biographical documentary about infamous poet Charles Bukowski, Bukowski: Born Into This, is as much a touching portrait of the author as it is an exposé of his sordid lifestyle. Interspersed between ample vintage footage of Bukowski’s poetry readings are interviews with the poet’s fans including such legendary figures such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Joyce Fante (wife of John), Bono, and Harry Dean Stanton. Filmed in grainy black and white by Bukowski’s friend, Taylor Hackford, due to lack of funding, the old films edited into this movie paint Bukowski’s life of boozing and brawling romantically, securing Bukowski’s legendary status.
8.0Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creators of the hit television series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, reflect on the creation of the masterful series.
6.5The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
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.
6.5Disaster seems imminent when scientists discover that the planet Mongo is about to crash into Earth. Luckily, heroic young Flash Gordon is on hand to lead an investigative mission into outer space and onto the speedily approaching planet. There, he and his best girl, Dale, who is along for the ride, learn that Ming, the devious ruler of Mongo, has purposely put the planet on a collision course with Earth, and only Flash can stop him.
7.2An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
8.1Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
7.0Featuring new, previously unseen footage documenting the bizarre and unsettling things that happened to filmmakers David Farrier and Dylan Reeve as Tickled premiered at film festivals and theaters in 2016. Lawsuits, private investigators, disrupted screenings and surprise appearances are just part of what they encounter along the way. Amidst new threats, the duo begins to answer questions that remained once the credits rolled on Tickled, including whether the disturbing behavior they uncovered will ever come to an end.
6.8Ordered to teach a martial arts class of rambunctious bunny kittens, Po tells stories of each of the Furious Five's pasts.