The Back Window

Captured: Meet Robert A. Robinson Photographer(en)

Bob Robinson (1927-1996) and American photographer living and working in many parts of the world. Norway was one place. His book "Captured by the Norwegians" was published in 1958. Founding member of Manité - a photographic collective. Made the film about Sylvie Becker from East Berlin.

Looking for the Wild(es)

Have you ever wanted to take a year traveling the globe? 10-year-old Unai and his family do just that on an extraordinary mission to photograph an endangered animal on each continent in its natural environment. A documentary made by nature photographer Andoni Canela with his family is narrated by his young son who shares his experiences and observations as they camp in jungles, deserts, and glaciers in search of wolves, elephants, lions, bison, penguins, hornbills and crocodiles. Seen through the boy's eyes, their journey across all continents conveys an innocent and unconditional love of nature and reveals an urgency to protect the delicate diversity of our planet's wildlife. Breathtaking cinematography and an insider's view on the daily life of a professional photographer on assignment enhance the documentary's story of a family learning, playing, and living on a trip of a lifetime together.

Top Rider(en)

An in-depth look into the isolated sport of Motocross in the much more isolated island of Bermuda.

Notarangelo the Soul Hunter(it)

David Griecos documentary showcases the underappreciated photography of Domenico Notarangelo, and through it, tells the story of Matera, it's people and it's history.

La Meilleure Façon de tracer(fr)

Ramón Masats: el ojo irónico(es)

A journey through the life and outstanding work of the Spanish photographer and filmmaker Ramón Masats.

American Jail(en)

In this deeply personal film, director Roger Ross Williams sets out on a journey to understand the complex forces of racism and greed currently at work in America's prison system.

Stay Apart Together(en)

Stealing Africa(en)

Zambia's copper resources have not made the country rich. Virtually all Zambia's copper mines are owned by corporations. In the last ten years, they've extracted copper worth $29 billion but Zambia is still ranked one of the twenty poorest countries in the world. So why hasn't copper wealth reduced poverty in Zambia? Once again it comes down to the issue of tax, or in Zambia's case, tax avoidance and the use of tax havens. Tax avoidance by corporations costs poor countries and estimated $160 billion a year, almost double what they receive in international aid. That's enough to save the lives of 350,000 children aged five or under every year. For every $1 given in aid to a poor country, $10 drains out. Vital money that could help a poor country pay for healthcare, schools, pensions and infrastructure. Money that would make them less reliant on aid.

Bread(en)

Life on the breadline in the 1930s was hard enough, but times were desperate when you fell beneath it. Hunger marches organised by the National Unemployed Workers' Movement drew attention to the cause, but this left-wing collective picked up a cine-camera. The fictional story at the heart of the film is somewhat melodramatic, but the authentic surroundings give its message realism and weight.

Ara crema(ca)

Soviet Bus Stops(en)

“There’s a bus stop I want to photograph.” This may sound like a parody of an esoteric festival film, but Canadian Christopher Herwig’s photography project is entirely in earnest, and likely you will be won over by his passion for this unusual subject within the first five minutes. Soviet architecture of the 1960s and 70s was by and large utilitarian, regimented, and mass-produced. Yet the bus stops Herwig discovers on his journeys criss-crossing the vast former Soviet Bloc are something else entirely: whimsical, eccentric, flamboyantly artistic, audacious, colourful. They speak of individualism and locality, concepts anathema to the Communist doctrine. Herwig wants to know how this came to pass and tracks down some of the original unsung designers, but above all he wants to capture these exceptional roadside way stations on film before they disappear.

Tourist Pictures(en)

Short documentary of Stefan Nadelman's road trip across America, focusing on other tourists and their compulsions and desires to photograph. The film won the Perrier Across America short film contest and earned a spot in the national ResFest touring digital film festival.

City of Photographers(es)

A film about the fearless photographers and photojournalists who documented strikes, demonstrations, protests etc during the Chilean military regime of Augusto Pinochet, sometimes risking their very lives.

Blood and Water(en)

When the 2004 tsunami hit the coast of Sri Lanka, 65-year-old Anton Ambrose's wife and daughter were killed. "In five minutes," he says, "I lost everything." A year later, Anton returns to Sri Lanka. With him is his nephew, award-winning filmmaker Rohan Fernando. A Tamil, Anton moved to California in the 1970s and became a very successful gynecologist. His daughter, Orlantha, made the opposite journey, returning to Sri Lanka where she ran a non-profit group that gave underprivileged children free violin lessons. Blood and Water is the story of one man's search for meaning in the face of overwhelming loss, but it is also filled with improbable characters, unintentional comedy and situational ironies.

Nadar, le premier des photographes(fr)

A documentary about the French photographer Nadar aka Gaspard-Félix Tournachon

Swagger(fr)

A teen-movie documentary, Swagger carries us in the midst of the astonishing minds of eleven teenagers from an underprivileged neighborhood.

The Explorer(fr)

A former lawyer leaves everything behind to embark on the quest for a dinosaur-like animal supposedly living in Africa's unexplored forests.

Band of Exile(en)

Here in Toronto, four young Somali refugees are finishing high school. What did they bring with them? What did they find in Canada? Their testimonies, about us and about themselves, interspersed with newsreel footage and sequences of a theatrical creation in which they put all their soul, make them immediately endearing and overturn many prejudices held against refugees. A film that makes you want to get to know them better.

American Teen(en)

A documentary on seniors at a high school in a small Indiana town and their various cliques.