A major shift of political power in Sudan started with street protests throughout Sudan on 16 December 2018 That resulted in the overthrow of the dictator Omar Al-Basheer. The Sudanese Revolution took over 38 weeks to achieve its demands with over 300 casualties and +1200 arrests. Fire in the Nile is a documentary about how the people dealt with the government and how to protest until their demands have been granted.
Benjamin and Awad run Sudan's national film archive. The two men, who have worked together for more than 40 years, are devoted to protecting their country's visual memories. Home to some 13,000 films, the archive preserves pivotal moments of Sudan's turbulent history and is one of the largest in Africa. But the archive is in a fragile state. Following years of neglect and poor storage, many film reels are turning to dust in Sudan's unforgiving tropical climate. The two friends are determined to turn it around and embark on a mission to save the old films. Will they succeed in preserving Sudan's visual history for future generations before it's too late?
Amid the tumult of the Arab Spring in Cairo, vendors in a small souk observe the political upheaval while seeking to preserve an ancient tradition of fabric making.
The elder filmmaker makes a strong statement against the practices of circumcision as they performed around Africa and particularly Sudan. The film is typical of the later Gubara films which are determined to take a stand against the tyrannies that are still keeping people down. Gubara has stated that circumcision is "Nothing more than a bad habit".
Gubara was proud of the first color film in African cinema, which attempts to give an African response to the city symphony genre by capturing disparate images of daily life in Khartoum and setting it to music, particularly romantic Arabic songs.
Although perhaps without foresight, Gubara seemingly set out to capture a historic picture of a city that today has completely vanished. He reveals to us the livelier place that Khartoum was before fateful circumstances turned it into a tough, surviving shell of its former self.
In an extensive mini-documentary by Michelle Boley (@roguekite) and Taylor Gill (@taylorcgill) and produced by TYT and Rogue Kite Productions, the true story of what happened leading up to and after the 2016 California Democratic Primary is uncovered.
Lebanon today. The traces of the civil war are all too tangible as government corruption becomes unbearable. In a country where conflict and peace are caught in an endless cycle, musicians from different backgrounds pool their talents to create an underground music scene. Each evokes his or her representation of Lebanon: its shifting geographical, political, historical and social borders, its painful passage through conflict and instability. A touching portrait of a young generation trying to build an oasis in a hostile environment where the forces of destruction continue to wreak havoc.
When the revolution in Nicaragua won its victory nearly 40 years ago, the world began to dream. A young generation was taking the reins in a country of grand utopias. From West Germany alone, 15,000 “brigadists” travelled to help rebuild the war-torn country: liberals, greens, unionists, social democrats, leftists and church representatives harvested coffee and cotton, built schools, kindergartens and hospital wards. No movement has mobilised so many people. What became of the hopes and dreams of the revolutionaries and their supporters?
Lebanon is a country hijacked by sects, money, and power. While citizens long for a collective identity to thrive as a community, politicians use the sectarianism for their corrupt ambitions. Unless there is a change, Lebanon will be lost forever.
How does one trigger a revolution? In the Romanian uprising in 1989, everything seemed to happen by itself. The people were fed up and were plagued by poverty and terror. There comes a time when action must be taken! But, it turns out that history is not that simple, as this investigative documentary proves. The film is a thorough and revealing reconstruction of the events leading up to Ceaucescu’s downfall and execution. In actual fact, the Romanian revolution was a strictly managed operation, controlled from the outside. Hungary, Germany and especially America had big fingers in the pie.
While serving with the African Union, former Marine Capt. Brian Steidle documents the brutal ethnic cleansing occuring in Darfur. Determined that the Western public should know about the atrocities he is witnessing, Steidle contacts New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof, who publishes some of Steidle's photographic evidence.
This program illustrates how video activists have developed sophisticated use of small format video, with poetic and powerful imagery, complex mixes of sounds and scores and an effective editing style that belies the urgency under which it is being made. The video movement in Taiwan has made successful use of home cassette distribution, via both mail and street vendors. The Green Team collective has pioneered in this effort with over 100 titles in distribution, documenting the struggles of farmers, students, workers and environmentalists.
These are strange times indeed. While they continue to command so much attention in the mainstream media, the 'battles' between old and new modes of distribution, between the pirate and the institution of copyright, seem to many of us already lost and won. We know who the victors are. Why then say any more?
An asylum seeker from Hong Kong builds a new life for himself in Glasgow, using his passion for street food to maintain his cultural identity.
In 1794, French revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre produced the world's first defense of "state terror" - claiming that the road to virtue lay through political violence. This film combines drama, archive and documentary interviews to examine Robespierre's year in charge of the Committee Of Public Safety - the powerful state machine at the heart of Revolutionary France. Contesting Robespierre's legacy is Slavoj Zizek, who argues that terror in the cause of virtue is justifiable, and Simon Schama, who believes the road from Robespierre ran straight to the gulag and the 20th-century concentration camp. The drama, based on original sources, follows the life-and-death politics of the Committee during "Year Two" of the new Republic.
'Karama has no walls' is set amidst Yemen's 2011 uprising. The film illustrates the nature of the Yemeni revolution in stark contrast to the gross violations of human rights that took place on Friday, March 18th 2011. Juma'at El-Karama (Friday of Dignity) marks a turning point in the Yemeni revolution as the tragic events that took place on this day -when pro-government snipers shot dead 53 protestors - shook the nation and propelled hundreds of thousands more to flock to the square in solidarity with their fellow citizens. Through the lenses of two cameramen and the accounts of two fathers, the film retells the story of the people behind the statistics and news reports, encapsulating the tragic events of the day as they unfolded.