Worlds Apart

Spirits and Rocks: An Azorean Myth(pt)

From the ocean, a volcanic island rises into steamy mist. The black rock of the earth stands in sharp contrast to the billowing vapor that hovers and drifts above the surface. A narrator describes how the island’s first inhabitants sought to explain the violent eruption by attributing the devastation to the wrath of angry gods. With breathtaking black-and-white cinematography, this poetic exploration considers the human relationship to this volatile land, where residents live alongside the looming threat of eruption with reverence, fear, and awe. A collection of scenes where dark and light miraculously coexist illuminates both the physical and spiritual landscapes of this extraordinary place, where life endures the perils of the natural world.

Art Never Sleeps(en)

Acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, with the help of a passionate team of film students with a shared dream for the artistic potential of live digital cinema, work towards realising the director's 'Distant Visions' live-cinema experiment.

The Other Side of Sadness(nl)

In a hybrid film, both documentary and fiction, five young women describe the feeling of grief when losing a parent at a young age. Anna returns to her father's home, a year after his death. In one weekend, she lives through a storm of emotions as these may come and go in the process of grief.

Mergui(en)

Using nature shots with narration and a musical score, this documentary tells the story about the Moken, Myanmar's last sea nomads.

Grief During a Pandemic(en)

Documentary short about grief during COVID-19, how people are dealing with it and how we can move on collectively.

Document Historic Arlington: Ball-Sellers House(en)

The Ball-Sellers House is Arlington Virginias oldest house. Built in the 1740s by a farmer, it is a rare example of a middle class colonial dwelling. By some miracle, it has survived for over 270 years with an original roof in tact! The history that has unfolded in the house is connected to Arlington's history and to the history of the United States. From our agricultural past to the Ciivil War and expansion of the railroads, through World War One and Women's Suffrage, the house's inhabitants were a part of our shared history.

Myanmar Diaries(en)

How does it feel to be forgotten by the world? A powerful collective cry denouncing the crimes of the military dictatorship installed in Myanmar after the coup perpetrated on February 1, 2021: cinema and imagination against horror and in defense of freedom.

Offline(cs)

Four teenagers, everyday life, school, work and a week-long offline challenge. What do the lives of today's teenagers look like when they find themselves without an internet connection? In addition to disconnecting, they were to record their feelings and experiences in a video diary. Without the Internet, without music, without movies and series, and without any communication with the world around them, life can turn upside down.

2012: Time for Change(en)

2012: Time For Change is a documentary feature that presents ways to transform our unsustainable society into a regenerative planetary culture. This can be achieved through a personal and global change of consciousness and the systemic implementation of ecological design.

The Street Performers(en)

This documentary-style short follows two impoverished teens performing on the streets of London in the days leading up to the London Blitz of 1940.

Elevado 3.5(pt)

A documentary about the crowd of people that commingle throughout the 3.5km of the Minhocão, an overpass in the central region of São Paulo, built during Brazil's military dictatorship.

We Were Kings (Burma's Lost Royals)(en)

In 1885 the British army invaded Burma and deposed its King. He died in exile, ending a thousand years of monarchy. The royal family vanished, and the country was plunged into war and the longest military dictatorship of modern times. But after a century of silence they are back, and they're on a journey to bring the family - past and present - back together. Filmed through three years of seismic change in Burma, this is the story of a family and a country emerging from the darkness.

Varga(sk)

Manifest(da)

An intimate statement about the filmmaker’s need for self-expression through her own nudity and simultaneously an effort to reject the taboo of patriarchal society. Using diary entries, anger-filled personal reflections, and discussions with a mother painting her nude daughter, the film opens the topic of overcoming shame for one’s own physicality and female sexuality.

Common Language(ru)

The director, who has always been viewed as the black sheep in her family, sets out to the Belarusian town of Vitebsk to talk with her parents about previous grievances and topics that were considered taboo. The effort to find a common language, which runs into stormy emotions and the inability to voice honest opinions, is captured through both personal moments and detailed shots of the protagonists’ faces.

Our Daily Work(ro)

A group of men share a small space in a prison metal workshop in Botosani, Romania. When they’re not working, they animatedly discuss religion and hypocrisy, lament during tea that they don’t have onions for sausage, or joke and sing.

Greetings from Myanmar(en)

Umbrella drinks and genocide. More than 24.000 Rohingyas have been killed. Over 900.000 Rohingyas have fled their homes. Rapes and beatings are unaccounted for. Myanmar’s sivil leader Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She is calling it an «internal conflict».

First Birthday After the Apocalypse(bs)

In her autobiographical documentary, the young director uses cartoon impressions, photographic memories, and the various stages of baking a cake to draw the viewer into her own stream of consciousness, and using images full of kindness, tenderness, and playfulness, she deals with the sadness that began during a children's birthday party many years ago.

Voice Over the Bridge(en)

For the first time, traditional Burmese singers Khing Zin Shwe and Shwe Shwe Khaing are recording an album that introduces people around the world to the Maha Gita (Great Songs), which have been sung in South Asia for 700 years. They also introduce viewers to life in Myanmar, a Buddhist country of great beauty.

80.000 Schnitzel(de)

Battering, breading, frying – Berta has prepared thousands of schnitzels in her old cast-iron pan over the years. This 83-year-old landlady’s life on the family farm with adjoining guest house in the Upper Palatinate has been marked by constant hard work. A life that her granddaughters Monika and Hannah never wanted to lead. Now, the deeply indebted farm is on the brink of collapse. Despite having an academic background and contrary to her intentions, Monika, in her early thirties, decides to give up her modern life and save the family business. The two women join forces and give themselves a year to sort out the farm’s problems.