Some of the most iconic images in Latvian visual history were taken 30 years ago, when the so-called Singing Revolution took place. This documentary that includes well-known and previously unseen 35 mm footage, is about those who took these shots, told in their own voices, their own emotions and memories.
After the end of the Cold War, the Baltic was viewed almost as a quiet backwater. A nice place to visit to see charming Hanseatic cities and sandy beaches. But since the war in Ukraine the Baltic sea, bordered by eight European Union countries as well as Russia, has become a hot spot of world geopolitics. And tensions are high.
The War Diary is a contemporary road movie that confronts history with the current reality of Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia. An extraordinary document leads Hakob Melkonyan to undertake the journey of a lifetime:
Located on the shores of the Baltic Sea, between Poland and Lithuania, Kaliningrad is a piece of Russia in the heart of Europe. A curious territory, isolated from Moscow after the fall of the USSR, today transformed into a military fortress facing NATO. In Kaliningrad, headquarters of the Russian Baltic fleet, there are 30,000 soldiers, hypersonic missiles and nuclear capability.
DocuDrama about 13th century pre-Christian culture. Danish spy Lars enters the tribal lands of the Baltic peoples, where he takes part in religious rites, cruel forays, gets high during the Summer Solstice, becomes slave to the Couronians and even fights the crusaders. Who were the last pagans of Europe and how did they live? It is a unique trip into the textures of the past and into the unknown lands of the Baltic Tribes.
Does Europe also have its own animistic heritage, like Pachamama in South America and Shinto in Japan? If so, which one? In the Misty Lands, i.e. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, a sacred fire is lit on the winter solstice to celebrate the return of the sun and ancient beliefs that have been forgotten in the rest of Europe for thousands of years. Sophie Planque and Jérémy Vaugeois decided to take a journey on bicycles to experience the Baltic winter and meet the people who keep their ancestral culture alive. A unique heritage that reinforces a deep relationship with nature.
Unustatud rahvad (1970 - 1989) by Estonian composer Veljo Tormas is based upon six Balto-Finnic peoples traditions. Collegium Musicale choir brought the songs to different sides of Baltic coasts to liven current citizens connections for fleeting past and strengthen their identity.
On the verge of retirement, Commissioner Gintas must undertake the investigation of a series of heinous murders, a dangerous task that could expose the many dirty secrets of several prominent members of the social elite of a small Lithuanian town.
The film tells the story of the events during the night of January 19 to 20, 1990, when the Soviet Army invaded Baku and its surroundings and killed many civilians.
Three years before the end of the Soviet occupation, a new juvenile inspector arrives in a small, quiet Estonian town. With each step, the town's secrets and hidden tensions begin to unravel, and it's clear that this place holds more than meets the eye.
The film is a story about the officers, soldiers and seamen who did not betray their oath of loyalty to the people of Ukraine and their first hand accounts about Russia's invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. They continue to fulfill their military obligations on land, on sea and in the air today.
How Anna Sorokin, known as the "Soho Grifter," fascinated the world and conned the highest social circles into believing she was a German heiress worth millions.
"Austria - First Victim of National Socialism" - this is the core theme of the self-image of the country that first welcomed Hitler with waving flags and arms stretched to the sky: Nation, People and Race - Sieg Heil! Monuments, commemorative events and in between the helplessness of dull remembrance. What to do with the lie, where to put the pain, and why again? The war of narratives begins with the liberation of the concentration camps, with the piles of corpses - and it continues to this day. A final journey with those who were there. Which story do we tell ourselves, and which do we want to hear?
During the 90s, Britpop dominated the airwaves and an epic pop rivalry sparked into life when Blur’s single ‘Country House’ went up against Oasis’s ‘Roll With It’ in the charts.
Reba is 14 and she lives with her family in Dhaka. Often on her way to school she is being followed or harassed by groups of boys who shout after her. It's part of everyday life in Bangladesh for young girls. In Reba's school class four girls have already been forced to marry and only one of the girls married out of love. Reba's family might have to marry her off too if they can't afford her education. Her mother wants her to continues her studies and get the education that wasn't possible for her. Reba wants that too. Reading in the papers about the acid attacks and rapes that are happening to women on the streets scare her, but she won't give up.
An account of the Eastern Front, epic in scale and savagery, as Soviets experienced it and Stalin commanded it.
Cast, crew and writers of the much-loved sitcom set in a department store look back on its 13 year run. Chock-full of innuendo, dodgy lifts, occasional customers and much loved regulars, this documentary tells the story of the long running farce set in the clothing section of a dilapidated department store. It's an affectionate look back at one of Britain's most popular sitcoms, where off camera the veneer of camaraderie concealed an undercurrent of envy and sadness.
"The Role of Chance" ("La part du hasard") focuses exclusively on drawing and painting techniques used by the painter Henri Dimier. Shot over several weeks in the same artist's studio, the film shows works in their different phases, processes rarely explained or little known. It also addresses many practical issues (choice of paper, pigment grinding, reports drawings, put the tiles, cliches, etc) as well as broader questions of method and inspiration (use of space, the role of contours, power of suggestion perspectives, use of random processes). Patrick Bokanowski sought with this film to restore the spirit of this teaching, showing how to bend a note or sometimes revealing an essential mystery of creation.