Scenes from a lavish pageant held during the royal visit to India, celebrating King George V’s coronation.
Boats and steamers on the mud flats and lakes of the Assam district, India.
A strange story from Somerset, England about a filmmaking farmer and the inspiring legacy of his long-lost home movies.
Tenei village is located in Fukushima prefecture's beautiful surrounds. It is 70 kilometers away from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. When the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant failed in March 2011, radioactive particles fell and contaminated the rice fields. But the farmers couldn't just abandon their land as they live on the land and wanted to protect it for future generations. The farmers decided to pursue scientific methods to secure food safety. They were on their own without Government assistance. This film documents their determination and efforts in overcoming an environmental crisis that had never been experienced before.
The river Yamuna, known to the locals as 'Jamna', the lifeline of Delhi, is going through a major crisis due to pollution, mismanagement and sheer ignorance. A documentary crew tries to make sense of the situation by talking to different stakeholders and Shyam - a boatman who relies on the river for his livelihood.
Through archival footage of his parents' wedding, the filmmaker embarks on a personal and societal reflection on the theme of love and marriage in contemporary Serbia. The film follows scenes from a traditional Balkan wedding, where songs, dances, and rituals reveal deeply rooted heteronormative values. As he watches these moments, the filmmaker questions his own relationship to marriage as an LGBT individual in a society grappling with change, yet resistant to equality. Will he, as their son, ever have the chance to experience love and marriage the way his parents did? The film explores the dilemma between tradition and modern love, confronting the past with hopes for a future where everyone has the right to love and union without restrictions. Through this personal narrative, the filmmaker addresses the issues of acceptance, family, and dreams that may never become reality in the current social context.
February 2013, Allahabad, India. Over the next 55 days, nearly a hundred million people will come here, to the Great Kumbh Mela. This incredible and awe-inspiring celebration of the world's oldest religion happens every 12 years at the place where Hindus believe two sacred rivers meet. For many Hindus this is their most important pilgrimage, and it happens at one of the most holy sites in India. Hindus come to cleanse themselves in the sacred waters of the river Ganges, to pray and emerge purified and renewed. This follows British pilgrims as they embark on a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey. A journey that will take them into the heart of Hinduism - its philosophy, its beliefs and its traditions. A journey that will culminate in the largest ever gathering of humans in one place.
Welcome to the largest human gathering ever in this one-hour special, World’s Biggest Festival: Kumbh Mela. Imagine a crowd so massive, it is visible from space. A crowd, likely 100 million strong, intent on just one thing: bathing in a sacred river to wash away sins and gain a chance at a new beginning. In the World’s Biggest Festival: Kumbh Mela, experience the dazzling spectacle of spiritual fervour and collective diversity as Hindus from across the globe converge on the Maha Kumbh Mela. Not only is it the world’s largest religious festival, but it is also believed to be the largest gathering of humans in one place, at one time on Earth.
The story of the short life, and brutal gang rape and murder in Delhi in December 2012 of an exceptional and inspiring young woman. The rape of the 23 year old medical student by 6 men on a moving bus, and her death, sparked unprecedented protests and riots throughout India and led to the first glimmers of a change of mindset. Interwoven into the story line are the lives, values and mindsets of the rapists whom the film makers have had exclusive and unprecedented access to interview before they hang. The film examines the society and values which spawn such violent acts, and makes an optimistic and impassioned plea for change.
Richard Beymer first met David Lynch when Lynch cast him as Ben Horne in the series Twin Peaks. Years later, Lynch saw one of Richard's documentaries on the founder of Transcendental Meditation, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and asked him to come to India to document a journey he was making tracing Maharishi's footsteps from one end of India to the other. This film is not just a record of their 10-day journey, it's also a rare and personal look at David Lynch "unplugged."
The Sufi and the Scientist is the collective story of Sufi healer Sayyid Arif Hussain, the medieval Sufi Sheikh Haji Ali, and Dr. Thornton Streeter, a scientist working in the realm of human consciousness.
The daughter of famed actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree gets hitched to a military Captain during WWI.
Former child bride Selvi escapes her child marriage to become South India's first female taxi driver.
For over two decades, International Cricket Star Sachin Tendulkar dominated his sport and claimed lost every record for his home nation India. But the one thing that eluded him was the sports ultimate prize - the cricket World Cup.
Hundreds of thousands of Indian men and women – indigenous inhabitants and landless farmers – demand their right to existence by making a 400 kilometre protest march from Gwalior to Delhi. How can one fight for one’s rights without using violence? With such an important contemporary question, the film spreads far beyond the borders of India. It shows the multiple facets of this imposing protest march and focuses as well on the daily realities of these proud people.
1972 in Haute-Savoie (France) : the Bertrand's farm, with a hundred dairy cows owned by three bachelor brothers, is filmed for the first time. In 1997, they were the subject of Gilles Perret's first movie, as they let their farm to their nephew Patrick and his wife Hélène. Nowadays, 25 years later, Gilles Perret take another look at this farm, managed by Hélène who will step down. Through their words, an intimate, social and economic history of the rural world.
Phoolan is a documentary film about the extraordinary life of a village girl, gang-rape survivor, bandit leader, and finally parliamentarian. This is the story of one woman’s fight against incredible odds for justice and dignity. Known as India’s Bandit Queen, Phoolan Devi is considered by many to be one of the most extraordinary and controversial women of our time.
Stately scenes in India, likely filmed during the 1903 Delhi Durbar.