Documentary Movies

Under the spell of the bomb

Documentary about whistleblower Frits Veerman, who in the 1970s exposed the nuclear espionage at Urenco in which his Pakistani colleague Abdul Khan smuggled nuclear data out of the country. He was fired and fought for 40 years for rehabilitation. Frans Bromet examines the moral compass of the headstrong whistleblower in the politically shadowy and high-profile espionage scandal. Bromet wants to understand what underlies years of backroom politics, an intelligence agency that refuses to grant access to the file, and international interests that apparently prevail over the protection of an observant citizen by his government. The fact that the Dutch State takes no responsibility in this matter weighs heavily, literally and figuratively, on Veerman. The threat of a nuclear bomb remains real. Will a potential rehabilitation offer the satisfaction he has been waiting for forty years?

Legacy of Screams: The Evolution of Horror Movies

Dive into 60 minutes of blood, bravado and brilliant scares as we trace the evolution of horror cinema from Dracula (1931) to today.

Katka

“You bet on someone in the beginning of the process and then you wait and see what life does with them.” This is how Czech director Helena Trestikova explains her long-term documentaries. Following on from the European Film Academy Award winning RENE (2008), Trestikova brings us KATKA – 14 years in the life of a drug addict. KATKA is an extraordinarily raw and uncensored character portrait of a troubled young woman living on the edge of human existence, desperately searching for love and salvation. Will she find it in the rehab? Will she find it in the arms of the man she loves? Or in the first cry of her long-desired baby? Tagging along with her through the back streets and squalors of Prague, Trestikova gets deep under the skin of a person most of us would cross the road to avoid, and shows us Katka’s profoundly human face. You might be angry with Katka, or your heart may go out to her. One thing is certain – you will never forget her.

Звездные годы конструктора Бабакина

This Is Elvis

Though several actors portray Elvis Presley at different stages of his life, this documentary is comprised mostly of actual performance footage and interviews with Elvis, his fans and those close to him. This biographical docu-drama features rare footage of Elvis and dramatically recreated scenes from Elvis' life.

JA

Jacob, an elderly man living in a luxurious villa near Geneva called Rosebud, has just changed his name for the third time and become a Swiss citizen. His granddaughter comes to visit to make a portrait of him. As she searches for a way to bring his story to life, Jacob abandons the project…

Pellegrino

J.

Found memories decayed by the shock patterns of childhood trauma. This films is made mostly with footage found in the bin of an ophanage. The white progressivelly disolve within a darknest more and more dense. Faces progressivelly disolves within one another.

Naboer

A woman is found dead in her apartment in the middle of Oslo. She’s been dead for more than a month. No next of kin, friends, or family. How do you remember someone that no one knew? The film explores how an anonymous life still leaves an imprint, even if it’s led without much contact with other people in the middle of a city. How is she remembered by her neighbors?

Heaven Earth

This documentary examines ayahuasca shamanism near Iquitos (a metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon), and the tourism it has attracted. The filmmakers talk with two ayahuasqueros, Percy Garcia and Ron Wheelock, as well as ayuahuasca tourists and local people connected with the ayahuasca industry.

Puuluup: Cables in the Car

Puuluup: Cables in the Car, Still is a humorous and poetic music documentary about two middle-aged musicians who are bringing the long-forgotten Talharpa to world stages. Dry humor, absurd situations, and "neo-zombie-post-folk" music intertwine in a portrait where the glory of the stage clashes with everyday life and fatherhood. The film proves that late success can be the sweetest.

Shiny Jewels

Shine Louise Houston speaks with Shine Louise Houston and her co-director Shine Louise Houston about a day in the life of an adult filmmaker.

Terre promise

Once Upon a Time in HKDSE

How challenging is the Hong Kong university entrance exam? Is failing it the end of the world? Popular Youtube Channel “Trial & Error” spent 8 months documenting the journey of Hong, an exam candidate that doesn’t give much thought to his future. With the help offer by the team, will Hong be able to make up for the lost time and secure a spot in university?

Privilege

Henri unravels the infrastructure of the LGBTQIA+ Community as we take a stroll through his daily life and get a grasp of what it truly means being different while trying to live an honest life in a world ruled by politics and religion.

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

This documentary, hosted by actor Burgess Meredith, explores the life and career of movie director Otto Preminger, whose body of work includes such memorable films as Anatomy of a Murder, Exodus, Laura, Forever Amber, Advise and Consent, In Harm's Way, The Moon Is Blue, The Man with the Golden Arm, and many other movies made from the '30s through the '70s. Interviews with actors Frank Sinatra, Vincent Price, James Stewart, Michael Caine, and others who worked with the flamboyant and sometimes control-obsessed director add information and insight to the story.

Chaylla

Chaylla is fighting to free herself from a violent relationship. Her determination comes up against a part of herself that still hopes it is possible to share her life with the father of her children. This magnificent first feature film sheds upsetting light on violence against women and the difficulties of finding a way to justice.

The University

On a NASA research base in Silicon Valley, there's an organization that's changing the world ... Singularity University (SU). Created by renowned futurist Ray Kurzweil and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, with support from NASA, Google, and others, the university brings in some of the smartest students from around the world, and gives them a crash course in the most powerful exponential technologies on the planet. The students are then given a challenge: create companies that will impact a billion people within ten years. The film follows the students and their companies over five years, as they use the support of scientists, astronauts and billionaires in their attempt to make a dent in the universe.

Watchers 5: Let Me In

The Watchers series has reached new, extraordinary heights, presenting one thrilling segment after another. LA Marzulli and Richard Shaw's ongoing adventures continue with the story of black-eyed children who appear at hotels and car windows, even on boats at sea! They appear with a singular purpose—they want to be invited in! Demons? Alien hybrids? Urban legends? Speaking of legends, our host interviews the leading expert on The Spear of Destiny, the weapon that pierced the side of Christ and supposedly gives its owner the power to rule the world. What significance does the word OBAMA have in the Bible codes, referencing the Gog and Magog war? And what secrets does the North Pole hold? Were Admiral Byrd and Adolf Hitler's suspicions right? Is the Hollow Earth theory credible? There's even more—the latest news from Israel—an interview with David Brennan, author of the Israel Omen—Russian UFOs and new, laboratory revelations from alien implant physician, Dr. Leir.

Hotel Aporia

Ho Tzu Nyen's Hotel Aporia features a cast of historical figures from Japan's interwar period, including World War Two kamikaze pilots, philosophers of the Kyoto School, filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu, and animator Ryuichi Yokoyama. They were all caught up in the heady mix of Japan's militant nationalism, anti-modernism, and cultural propaganda. Letters and correspondence between the artist and his Japanese collaborators, the writers Tomoyuki Arai and Yoko Nose, form the narrative basis of the work. Experimenting with the epistemological and affective capacities of animation, Ho superimposes animation images of featureless faces onto found footage clips from Ozu's fiction films and Ryuichi Yokoyama's animation propaganda films. This is a single-screen cinematic presentation of Hotel Aporia. Its original form, first presented at the Aichi Trienanle, is a video installation projecting layers of animation and hybrid-animation images onto multiple screens within a heritage building.