Life in Australia: Mount Gambier(1964)

Servant or Slave(en)

During the time of the Stolen Generations, thousands upon thousands of Aboriginal girls were taken from their families and pressed into domestic servitude by the Australian Government. They were supposedly employed as servants, but with total control over their movements, wages and living conditions, their lives all too frequently became an inescapable cycle of abuse, rape and enslavement, with consequences that echo powerfully to this day. Recounting the stories of five of these women – Rita, Violet and the three Wenberg sisters – Servant or Slave is a commanding piece of first-person testimony to a dark and unacknowledged corner of Australian history. Shot with admirable craft and humanity by documentarian Steven McGregor (Croker Island Exodus, MIFF 2012), Servant or Slave is a work of great sadness and urgency, bringing to forceful life the human tragedy of Australia's Indigenous history in the unadorned words of those who lived it.

Fabinho(pt)

Island Shunters(en)

Short documentary on the shunters in the Darling Island, Sydney, Australia railyard. Filmed in 1977.

Pauline Hanson: Please Explain!(en)

Director Anna Broinowski explores how Pauline Hanson's speech in 1996 and the decades of debate that followed has influenced Australia today; the impact of her political career on modern multicultural Australia, and the people who have helped her transition from local fish shop owner to Member for Oxley. Featuring many of Hanson's critics, opponents, advisors and commentators, from former Prime Minister John Howard, to current members of the media, including Margo Kingston and Alan Jones; and leading Indigenous commentator, Professor Marcia Langton.

Concerning Violence(sv)

Concerning Violence is based on newly discovered, powerful archival material documenting the most daring moments in the struggle for liberation in the Third World, accompanied by classic text from The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon.

Deconstructing The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour(en)

Deconstructing The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour explores the music written for the Magical Mystery Tour TV show, as well as the additional songs that appeared on the 1967 LP. In 1967, The Beatles embarked on an ambitious project, writing and directing a one-hour film, Magical Mystery Tour. The music written for the film is some of The Beatles' psychedelic best. In Deconstructing The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour, Mr. Freiman delves into the creative process behind “The Fool On The Hill,” “Blue Jay Way,” “I Am The Walrus,” and other selections from Magical Mystery Tour. Scott will also “deconstruct” other songs from the Magical Mystery Tour album, including “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Penny Lane,” and “All You Need Is Love.”

The Elephant Will Never Forget(en)

A fond farewell to London's trams - whose peculiarly endearing qualities were discovered only at the threat of their disappearance.

Turning Man - 81RPM(de)

Jürgen Leppert, also known as "Der Dreher" or "der Kreisel" is a graduate engineer, speaker inventor, 360 degree dancer, gifted Frisbee player and thoroughbred 68er. Everything revolves around the Karlsruher legend, and not just on the dance floor. A declaration of love to music, dancing and rebellion. A portrait of a tough person who still swims against the stream and the living proof that 81 years is far from too old for hard raves.

About ‘Song of Ceylon’ by Basil Wright(de)

Song of Ceylon was commissioned for the short-lived German TV-series Telekritik and broadcasted in 1975. In Telekritik documentary approaches were analysed and made available for a critique of contemporary TV, its aesthetics and modes of production. Other authors for the series include Hartmut Bitomsky, Rainer Gansera and Klaus Wildenhahn.In the 30-minute movie, Farocki shows and comments on excerpts from the film Song of Ceylon by Basil Wright (and a short segment of Eisenstein's Mexico-fragments). Farocki's voice-over describes part of the movie, focussing on details and montage. He also uses didactic and descriptive drawings and intertitles to confront the classic documentary and its stylistic approaches with contemporary TV.

The Wheat Curse(es)

The Algerian region of Tindouf is home to more than 170,000 Sahrawis, who have been living in refugee camps since 1976, when Morocco occupied the Western Sahara region. In a place of inhospitable conditions and scarcity, the Sahrawi population lives on dwindling humanitarian aid. Six percent of them face the added difficulty of coeliac disease.

Still Standing(en)

Discover the untold story of Pinball and Arcade in Australia in this heart-warming, and at times heart-breaking, nostalgic journey through the golden era of gaming.

Smoke Signals(en)

"Smoke Signals" follows the volunteers at High Point Lookout, one of the last remaining fire lookout towers in California. Alternating between the daily duties of the fire lookouts, and a series of profiles on wildfires that have traced their history, "Smoke Signals" questions the role of the fire lookouts in the face of rapidly advancing technology and climate change.

Brazen Hussies(en)

Reveals a revolutionary chapter in Australian history, the Women’s Liberation Movement (1965 -1975). Interweaves fresh archival footage, personal photographs, memorabilia, and personal accounts from activists all around Australia to show how a daring and diverse group of women joined forces to defy the status quo, demand equality, and create profound social change. These women defined one of the greatest social movements of the 20th century, sometimes at great personal cost.

Cult People(en)

In interviews, various actors and directors discuss their careers and their involvement in the making of what has come to be known as "cult" films. Included are such well-known genre figures as Russ Meyer, Curtis Harrington, Cameron Mitchell and James Karen.

Hollywood Rated 'R'(en)

A roller-coaster ride through the history of American exploitation films, ranging from Roger Corman's sci-fi and horror monster movies, 1960s beach movies, H.G. Lewis' gore-fests, William Castle's schlocky theatrical gimmicks, to 1970s blaxploitation, pre-"Deep Throat" sex tease films, Russ Meyer's bosom-heavy masterpieces, etc, etc. Over 25 interviews of the greatest purveyors of weird films of all kind from 1940 to 1975. Illustrated with dozens of films clips, trailers, extra footage, etc. This documentary as a shorter companion piece focusing on exploitation king David F. Friedman.

Dual Injustice: Feminicide and Torture in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua(es)

This documentary short explores disappearances and murders of women in Mexican border towns.

Odd One Out(en)

'Odd One Out' is a 15 minute, short coming of age documentary, about the Head Designer & Co-owner of the OSCAR & BAFTA winning prosthetics, animatronics and creature design company, Odd Studios. In a sit down interview, Adam deep dives into his pathway to success. Stories from 'Farscape', the opening of Fox studios, to the stark reality of leading the mould shop in prosthetics at the age of 20, and the lessons he learnt along the way whilst creating his dream career. Taking inspiration from supernatural, sci-fi 90s classic films and monsters through the mind of a 10 year old in 1985, guided by the words of his 43 year old self in 2023. We explore how an 'odd one out' kid, feeling the pressure and disregard of society can become a pioneer for prosthetics and animatronics across Australia and Hollywood.

The Beloved Child, or I Play at Being a Married Woman(fr)

A young mother, alone with her daughter, confides in a friend who happens to be the director herself. Chantal Akerman, although she sympathizes with the mother, does not say a word.

Once upon a time returning to my hometown(ja)

Extra, behind scenes from Hideaki Anno's film Ritual (also known as Shiki-Jitsu).

The King Without a Crown(en)

This short explores the possibility that Louis XVII, son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, escaped death during the French Revolution and was raised by Indians in America.