The Love of Books: A Sarajevo Story(2011)

The Satanic Verses: 30 Years On(en)

The publication of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses in 1988 sparked a culture war in Britain between the Muslim community, who considered the book blasphemous and called for the book to be banned, and those defending it as an expression of freedom of speech. Protests, began in England and soon spread to the rest of the Islamic world, culminating in February 1989 with Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issuing a fatwa - a death sentence on the writer. Now, 30 years on, Mobeen Azhar embarks on a journey to examine the lasting effect the book has had on the Muslim community, and continue to have an impact today. Mobeen hears from a range of people affected by the so called 'Rushdie Affair' - from the men who took an early stand against the book; to a writer who wrestled with the book's publication, complex questions of free speech, and her own religious beliefs; and a former member of the National Front who claims that the furor over the book became a recruiting tool for them.

Les Trésors de la Bibliothèque nationale de France(fr)

The National Library of France is the guardian of priceless treasures that tell our history, our illustrious thinkers, writers, scholars and artists. Telling the story of the exceptional treasures of the National Library of France is like opening a great history book rich in many twists and turns. Without the love of the kings of France for books and precious objects, this institution would never have seen the light of day. The story begins in the 14th century under the reign of a passionate writer, Charles V, who set up a library in his apartments in the Louvre. But it was not until the 17th century, and the reign of Louis XIV, a lover of the arts and letters, that the royal library took over its historic quarters in the rue Vivienne in Paris, which it still occupies.

Behind the Doors of Umberto Eco(fr)

Umberto Eco, the author of best-selling novels who passed away in February 2016, unveils the secrets behind his undertakings and novels.

El Secret del Bosc(ca)

Serbian Epics(en)

Paul Pawlikowski's award-winning documentary on life behind Serbian lines in Bosnia. The film observes the roots of the extreme nationalism which has torn apart a country and provides a chilling examination of the dangerous power of ancient nationalist myths.

Partizani(it)

Nikšić, Montenegro, September the 9th, 1943. Few moments after the dawn, the artilleryman Sante Pelosin, nickname Tarcisio, fires the first cannon shot against a German column that was proceeding towards Italian placement. In the following weeks about 20000 Italian soldiers decide to not surrender and join Jugoslavian Resistance. The partisans of the Garibaldi Division narrated in this documentary are simple heroes, that fought the freeze, the hunger, and a crushing typhus fever epidemy, paying with tremoundous sufferings a valiant and aware choice of field .

Bosnia!(bs)

The carnage in Sarajevo provides the focus of this French documentary which seeks to call attention to the terrible conflict in the hopes of finally ending it. The film is divided into five parts. Each part covers a time frame ranging from April 4, 1992, the beginning of the war, to the present. The major issues that occur are three-fold. It depicts the systematic genocide of Bosnians, the silence of Western countries, and the determination of the Bosnians to resist. They refuse to be seen as victims, even though the filmmakers portray them so. Also included are the origins and political aspects of the war. It offers interviews with participants. It also reveals how the U.S. State Department censored reports about Serbian death camps.

All the World's Memory(fr)

Toute la mémoire du monde is a documentary about the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. It presents the building, with its processes of cataloguing and preserving all sorts of printed material, as both a monument of cultural memory and as a monstrous, alien being.

Yugoslavia: How Ideology Moved Our Collective Body(sr)

A research-based essay film, but also a very personal perspective on the history of socialist Yugoslavia, its dramatic end, and its recent transformation into a few democratic nation states.

A Walk Through Prospero's Library(en)

A short made for TV with director Peter Greenaway discussing the dazzling 3.5 minute opening sequence from his film, 'Prospero's Books'. As Prospero (John Gielgud) walks through his library, Greenaway comments on the historical, mythological, biblical & fictional characters occupying the library.

American Animals(en)

Lexington, Kentucky, 2004. Four young men attempt to execute one of the most audacious art heists in the history of the United States.

Brotherhood(cs)

Jabir, Usama and Uzeir are three young brothers in a Sunni family of shepherds. Since childhood, their father Ibrahim has rigidly trained them in the principles of the Quran and has filled their minds with stories of the Bosnian War.

Innocence Unprotected(sh)

A documentary about the famous athlete and movie enthusiast who made Serbia's first sound film, Innocence Unprotected. The Nazi occupation of Belgrade prevented the film from gaining wider acclaim. Director Makavejev intersperses clips of the original film with interviews of surviving cast and crew members, as well as newsreel and archival footage.

The Librarians(en)

Librarians unite to combat book banning, defending intellectual freedom on democracy's frontlines amid unprecedented censorship in Texas, Florida, and beyond.

Kiss the Future(en)

An exploration of the perils of nationalism and art’s role as a weapon of resistance and activism throughout the 1990s Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. Explore how art and music sustained hope, thanks in part to humanitarians and the band U2.

The Living and the Dead of Sarajevo(fr)

Sarajevo was under siege already 9 months when Radovan Tadic flew there with a UNO machine to take pictures of misery and destruction in a city, in which dread is part of everyday life. He lets people talk about their desperate situation and repeatedly the dismay about the hatred between former neighbors. We see pictures of a wedding, interrupted by gun fire, an emergency operation on a soldier is interrupted by a woman's delivery, children disassemble a theater to get firewood. -- A dramatic appeal against carelessness and forgetting.

Totally Personal(bs)

Totally Personal creates a historical document both droll and touching out of Begovic and his family's memories, meditations, and observations. The history begins in the communist era, continues through the war that ravaged the former Yugoslavia and into today's post-war period.

Fragments of Humanity(fi)

In the Kosovo War, human dignity was shattered by the terrors of the Serbian government and the Albanian liberation army. Truths about the victims’ fates faded away, which is why a Finnish forensic research group led by Helena Ranta got a mission to act as an unbiased agent and investigate the real course of events.

The Trial of Ratko Mladic(en)

The war crimes trial of Ratko Mladic, accused of masterminding the murder of over 7000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in the 90s Bosnian war, the worst crime in Europe since WW2.

Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things(en)

How might your life be better with less? The popular simple-living duo The Minimalists examines the many flavors of minimalism by taking the audience inside the lives of minimalists from various walks of life.