Documentary Movies

Skæve dage i Thy

Documentary about the construction of Thy Lejren in 1970 - an alternative summer camp. Features concerts by bands such as Gasolin' and Gnags.

Kids

Marie, Arthur, Emine, and Christian are ten years old. They live in Berlin. Strolling through the city with them, we experience their freedom as well as first notions of opposition.

Hartman

Just as everything seems to be going his way, Quilindschy Hartman is struck by a serious injury. Missing football is tough for him. In the documentary Hartman, you follow his journey back—leading up to his return at De Kuip, against Sparta Rotterdam.

Tree Man

Francois the Tree Man is far from his wife and three small children in Quebec, selling Christmas trees and living in a van on the streets of New York City. He does it for them. But this is home, too. Like the hundreds of Christmas tree sellers who descend upon the city from Canada, New England and even Europe, Francois delivers the magic of the season over a grueling month in his adopted neighborhood. He's a star, a storyteller, a Santa Claus in a sap-stained coat, a confidant, a friend, and a father figure to the local characters who are his New York family. They also need him. TREE MAN is the story of Francois's journey, how he arrived here, what holds him, and the conflict that will cause him to leave. As one of Francois' long-time customers says: "This has nothing to do with the trees anymore."

A Cidade do Salvador (Petróleo Jorrou na Bahia)

Documentary about power and class relations in the sociocultural context of Bahia, considering the history of oil extraction in the state.

Panic Button

The cooperation of Central Asian countries such as Kyrgyzstan helps Russia resist Western economic sanctions. Due to the country’s strategic location, all Chinese goods bound for Central Asia and Russia must cross its borders, and it serves as a transshipment point for goods from countries with which Putin is not officially allowed to trade. Investigative journalist Ali Toktakunov, a long-time staff member of Radio Free Europe’s Kyrgyz section, helped to uncover the deeper implications.

Elizabeth Maconchy

Documentary about the composer Elizabeth Maconchy, filmed during the rehearsal of a new composition

Beyond 'PlayTime'

This short documentary from 2002, written by Jacques Tati scholar Stéphane Goudet and featuring rare archival footage, explores the genesis of the director’s hugely ambitious 1967 film production.

Rock Paulista

A brief overview about the rock movement from São Paulo bands such as Titãs, Ira!, RPM and Mercenárias, presenting their performances from the festival Hollywood Rock in 1988. The documentary also presents interviews with some rock n'roll fans.

Aurora

Mildas istaba

A documentary about Milda Palēviča (1889–1972), Latvia’s first female philosopher and a doctoral graduate of the Sorbonne, whose independent spirit and intellectual freedom endured despite the hardships of the Soviet era. Facing personal tragedies, a stifling daily reality, censorship, and the destruction of her academic career, Milda nevertheless preserved her inner world and commitment to thought. Her legacy survives in nine diaries written between 1911 and 1972—an extraordinary chronicle that offers a unique female perspective on the dramatic social, political, and cultural transformations of 20th-century Europe.

Follow Back

After discovering a stranger’s livestream, a month unfolds under his balcony, through watching and being watched.

Testigo

It tells the story of a Hiroshima survivor.

Quay

In 2015, Christopher Nolan curated a selection of short films by the surrealist animators the Quay Brothers to be distributed as a touring 35mm presentation. The three films—"In Absentia" (2000), "The Comb" (1991) and "Street of Crocodiles" (1986)—were accompanied by this brief portrait of the brothers at work in their London studio.

Elysian Fields

Strong winds shake the leaves of drought-stricken trees in an ancient olive grove near Delphi, reminding us of the wildfires that are engulfing the country. Here, a family of farmers attempts to restore its land.

Bloomers

Animated fabric brings the story of a lingerie factory in Manchester to life. Silk, cotton and lace go under the camera, as the workers recount the history of Headen & Quarmby, the UK garment manufacturing industry, and British family traditions of making. A specially composed soundtrack by Swedish composer Malin Bång, inspired by sounds of sewing machinery, evokes the ups and downs of the factory.

Proyecto Jazz

Proyecto Jazz is a musical documentary that deals with jazz in Santa Fe based on an assignment given to the musician Pedro Casís, to compile material of the band from the last 30 years of jazz in the capital city for the shooting of a film. To do so, Pedro enlists the help of old colleagues from the Santa Fe Jazz Ensamble, a big band founded in the early 80s. Along the way, he interacts with friends, students and alumni, trying to assemble the different generations as important pieces of the film project. Life stories, memories, performances, anecdotes, clinics and of course the music, are addressed in the documentary around the making of the film.

Misha and the Wolves

A woman’s Holocaust memoir takes the world by storm, but a fallout with her publisher-turned-detective reveals her story as an audacious deception created to hide a darker truth.

El niño de la nube

The life and thought of Uruguayan educator Jesualdo Sosa, author of "Life of a Teacher," which chronicles the events of a single school year in a humble rural school in the 1930s.

Raeda-مبروكة عليكو

Forced to abandon her education at 18 to marry her cousin, Raeda navigates life with an unloving husband as two of her children are diagnosed with a rare genetic disease. Through intimate family testimonies and visits to significant locations from her past, this short documentary explores a chapter of Raeda's life, offering a rare glimpse into Jordan's Christian social fabric in the 1990s.