David Gan: the Front Lines

Das Boot(de)

A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.

Shooting Crows(de)

A deceptively quiet park in the mist. Mysterious things are happening: a woman disappears, trees fall as if struck by a sudden weakness, and shots ring out. Surveillance cameras observe crows from unfamiliar perspectives. They are the protagonists here – it’s a well-known fact that they are among the most intelligent birds. The camera in their territory: is it a friend or an enemy? A commotion ensues, the crows move to attack. Or are we just imagining all this?

The English Patient(en)

In the 1930s, Count Almásy is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal Geographical Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert along with several other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds, Almásy enters into a world of love, betrayal, and politics.

The Pianist(en)

The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.

Schindler's List(en)

The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.

Philippe Pétain(fr)

The Man in the Photograph(sh)

Pro-Nazi police arrests an ordinary man from the street because he is a dead ringer for a legendary resistance leader.

Sunflower(it)

After World War II, a woman refuses to believe her husband, missing on the Russian front, is dead. Flashbacks reveal their brief courtship and marriage. Years later, she travels to Russia with his photo, determined to find him. What will she discover?

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1(en)

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, one veteran dies by suicide in America every 80 minutes. While only 1% of Americans has served in the military, former service members account for 20% of all suicides in the U.S. Based in Canandaigua, NY and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Veterans Crisis Line receives more than 22,000 calls each month from veterans of all conflicts who are struggling or contemplating suicide. This timely documentary spotlights the traumas endured by America’s veterans, as seen through the work of the hotline’s trained responders. CRISIS HOTLINE captures extremely private moments, where the professionals, many of whom are themselves veterans or veterans’ spouses, can often interrupt the thoughts and plans of suicidal callers to steer them out of crisis.

Positively Naked(en)

No clothes. No apologies. This film marks artist Spencer Tunick's third 'Naked' documentary which feature photo shoots that create art from the naked bodies of men and women. In this shoot, 85 HIV-positive men and women gather in a downtown Manhattan bar where they bare it all for Tunick's camera, creating an unsentimental look at life with AIDS in America today.

The Decisive Moment(en)

Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment is an 18-minute film produced in 1973 by Scholastic Magazines, Inc. and the International Center of Photography. It features a selection of Cartier-Bresson’s iconic photographs, along with rare commentary by the photographer himself.

To End All Wars(en)

Based on a real-life story, this drama focuses on a small group of Allied soldiers in Burma who are held captive by the Japanese. Capt. Ernest Gordon, Lt. Jim Reardon and Maj. Ian Campbell are among the military officers kept imprisoned and routinely beaten and deprived of food. While Campbell wants to rebel and attempt an escape, Gordon tries to take a more stoic approach, an attitude that proves to be surprisingly resonant.

Elgin Park(en)

Michael Paul Smith is a unique character. He has spent most of his reclusive life struggling through bullying, prejudices and health issues until he found a way to eliminate it all. His answer was to create a fictional town called Elgin Park. We go deep into the mind and the magic behind Michael's 1/24th-scale recreation his town.

Weresquito: Nazi Hunter(en)

Horrific Nazi experiments have left a surviving WWII soldier with a terrifying condition: at the sight of fresh blood, he transforms into a man-sized, blood-sucking killer insect. Refusing to let his affliction destroy him and all he loves, he instead commits himself to using his "powers" for good-by finding the people responsible and bringing them to justice.

The Bridge on the River Kwai(en)

The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.

Bits of Our Aircraft are Missing(en)

British Air Ministry short film highlighting the need for the public to stay clear of aircraft wreckage during World War II.

Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory(fr)

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

Children of Wind River(en)

A film made by Victress Hitchcock and Ava Hamilton in 1989 on the Wind River Reservation for Wyoming Public Television.

Refuge(en)

A documentary about the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order in London.

Extreme Consequences: The Reality of Prison Life(en)

A compelling look at the choices that lead to incarceration and the reality of being locked up in Pelican Bay State Prison.