Playlist
During a world-record attempt, freediving champion Jessea Lu blacked out and was lifeless for four minutes. Director Yuqi Kang's documentary captures the descent of a lifetime, when Jessea returns to the site of her near-death experience to face the traumas of her past and find a way back to connection.
A true story of love and loss, "Adrianne & The Castle" documents the unique life of the St-Georges who built a castle to their love in rural Illinois. Now facing the future without the love of his life, Alan grapples with his grief through creative musical re-enactments of their story, transporting him into the fantasy world they created together.
Amber is one of the many agents working for the Bhutanese government to measure people's happiness levels among the remote Himalayan mountains. But will he find his own along the way?
Agent of Happiness, directed by Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó, offers a unique take on the notoriously exoticized Bhutan and its unusual happiness policy. We follow Amber as he investigates various expressions of contentment across different households and lifestyles while navigating his own struggle as a Nepali minority. The holistic philosophy at the heart of the survey he conducts challenges the conventional metrics of fulfillment and success, often provoking some deeper soul-searching. The filmmakers elegantly capture many tender moments between Amber and his interlocutors, as well as some very revealing conversations filled with unflinching honesty and quiet wisdom.
Through its carefully crafted narrative, the film resonates as a heartfelt exploration of happiness in the face of adversity. As Amber grapples with societal disparities and personal roadblocks while searching for love, this story becomes a beautifully realized reminder to count our blessings.—AT
Marina is haunted by the idea of losing her memory. Her grandmother suffered memory loss and now her mother Aitana, daughter of the writer Maria Teresa Leon and the poet Rafael Alberti, seems to be as well. Locked in a room which her mother has not left for some time, she insists on reliving her memories. In the silence of the night, her family's past returns: it is the history of a country and an entire century.
A filmmaker revisits her childhood pact with her sister and her struggle with anorexia as a Punjabi Canadian kid growing up in a small town in Quebec.
Ontario is the only province in Canada without a ban on cat declawing. Amy Hoggart, the hilarious correspondent from Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, cracks jokes, cuddles kittens and attacks this controversial practice using satire to expose a heart-wrenching catspiracy.
"Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story" reveals the extraordinary rise to fame, sudden disappearance, and resurgence of trailblazing Black trans soul singer Jackie Shane. Told in her own voice through never-before-heard phone conversations and dynamic rotoscope animation—alongside her family's powerful journey to discover her legacy—the film conjures the spirit of an ahead-of-her-time icon who dared to live life on her own terms, even when it came at a great personal cost.
A group of passengers cross a river on a small ferry. Fog, laughter, whispers and faces inhabit a floating, suspended space. Time passes, the shore is now closer and people prepare for another part of their journey. Aqueronte summons the essence of cinema to transport us to unreal spaces where life is crystallised in a changing landscape of light and shadow. In this cinematic trip, Manuel Muñoz Rivas reaffirms the fabulating power of moving images.
Ari Kinarthy is an award-winning composer with type-2 spinal muscular atrophy. This aural and cinematic legacy of his memories through a kaleidoscopic creative process leads him to question the meaning of legacy and the relationship between himself and the audience.
Mined, extracted, and woven, asbestos was the magic mineral. Towns became cities under its patronage, Persian kings entertained guests with its fireproof nature, and centuries of industry raked in the profits of its global application. We now live in the remains of this toxic dream, a dream that with the invention of electron microscopes revealed our material history as a disaster in waiting. Yet the asbestos industry has far from left us with extraction from the soil transforming to extraction from our walls. We are now faced with two options: to remove this material from our homes and start anew, or to build upon its residue. Removal is a dangerous and costly operation. So often we choose to live amongst it instead, choking out our walls with plastic tarping: the failed promises of modernism literally entombed all around us. Shot in the mining town of Asbestos,Quebec, home to the world's largest asbestos mine that only stopped extraction in 2012, the film is a meditation on the entanglement of the fragility of bodies, the nonlinearity of progress, and the persistence of matter.
Audio Caña, a charming 60-year-old farmer in rural Venezuela, fills his days by enchanting his friends and family with marvellous tales. Yet his boldest claim—that a three-metre alligator resides in his pond—is met with skepticism by all except his six-year-old granddaughter.
A film shot in 1957 at the Maudsley Hospital, London, captures children under observation for atypical behavior. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, offering new and insightful interpretations of the children's actions.
Moving images shot from the ground against moving images shot from the sky.
In a mountainous region of northern Iran, a group of men in their forties are looking for a solution to their financial woes. Business is bad, the economy is in the doldrums, and they would leave if they could—but that would also cost money. The only thing they've got left is to seek treasures. This isn't an entirely unrealistic idea in Iran, where thousands of years of history and gold coins lie waiting to be discovered in ancient tombs, catacombs and caves, even though treasure hunting is strictly prohibited.
Filmmaker Hesam Eslami joins this group of friends, and follows them in their daily lives as they seek happiness. They are constantly discussing their treasure hunting plans, pondering the ins and outs of dowsing rods, metal detectors and mini cameras to find that coveted pot of gold.
Meanwhile, the police are on the lookout for illegal excavations, and the friends are caught red-handed. Eslami tries to explain to the judge that the excavation is only an innocent means to make his film a success. "Diggers are dreamers," he states. But then it turns out that the men have not been entirely honest with him. Will their dreams remain unfulfilled?
Unresolved historical injustices and climate change raise the stakes in a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven.
Co-directors Daphne Matziaraki (4.1 Miles, The Me You Can't See) and Pete Murimi (I Am Samuel) craft The Battle for Laikipia with empathy, compassion, and brutal truth. Weaving together themes of environmentalism, colonialism, and conservationism, the film delicately showcases the impact of these crucial topics on the Indigenous farming community of Kenya's Laikipia region. Handled with care, Matziaraki and Murimi's The Battle for Laikipia takes us through a journey that elicits frustration, awe, curiosity, and wonder.—BB
Late Mäntylä, a middle-aged priest, is finally ready to match their appearance with who they are on the inside. It takes a beard, and makeup artist Kata Launonen has offered to show Late how to create one.
On the 200th anniversary of Beethoven's final completed symphony, does it still inspire as a symbol of joy and hope during tumultuous times? From Peanuts to Leonard Bernstein, see how this masterpiece continues to resonate around the world.
A lifetime of being told that she, as a fat person, can't dance—and believing it—leads Glaswegian filmmaker Sarah Grant to re-enact iconic dance sequences.
"The Big Wait" follows a small town called Forrest, isolated in a flat treeless desert, and its population of two people: Greg & Kate, who are there to maintain its emergency airstrip. As they wait for an emergency landing, they keep Forrest's one street and six vacant houses in pristine condition by mowing the green front lawns, blowing the leaves, vacuuming the red dust. At the same time, they find themselves increasingly enjoying the inherent freedom of the place by indulging in more wild activities. But in the face of the uncertainty and ever looming shadow of madness, how long can they keep up this fragile balance between play and routine before something finally cracks?
When a wild otter in desperate need of help washes up on his jetty in the remote Scottish islands of Shetland, Billy, his wife Susan, and their devoted sheepdog Jade find themselves with a unique new member of their family. From National Geographic and Silverback Films, "Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story" is a heart-warming story directed by Charlie Hamilton James and shot in 4K. This documentary film shows us how love can reawaken us to the beauty of nature.
Journalist Shiori Ito embarks on a courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender. Her quest becomes a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country's outdated judicial and societal systems.
Black Box Diaries was born out of Ito's need to document her investigation — a response to the authorities' refusal to pursue her case in a meaningful manner. More importantly, it was a way to journal her fears and thoughts as she anticipated the backlash that followed.
As the film's director, Ito accomplishes something remarkable. On one hand, Black Box Diaries has a raw and honest quality to it — it's a personal journey from the perspective of a victim piecing together the crime she experienced, while pushing herself to the extreme. At the same time, it is an impressively crafted, concise piece of filmmaking — guided by a strong sense of purpose and broken up by occasional moments of joy. Shiori Ito came forward to challenge her high-profile abuser despite knowing the risks. Her bravery meant hope for others and the prospect of real change to a broken system.—AT
A poetic portrait of a young artist and activist named Puck—which isn't their legal name; Puck is a character they have created for their performance-based work, which includes queer post-porn and wrestling.
The true rags to riches tale of Sash Simpson, a runaway child from the streets of India, who was adopted into a Toronto family with 31 siblings before becoming a world-renowned chef.
A group of young politicians campaigning against an authoritarian constitution speak up, spark hope and ignite a once-in-a-generation movement in this energetic exploration of the recent elections in Thailand.
A thoughtful merger of the filmmaker's personal experience of migration and longing for her lost country with the fractious history of the iconic statue of María Lionza, the Goddess of Venezuela.
A migrant farmer's quest for a better life in Canada unfolds through his own words and from his daughter's perspective in this poignant family portrait.
Planet Fantastic presents Force of Will, a free program including a screening of the Mighty Jerome documentary and an insightful Q&A with Charles Officer's industry colleagues and excerpts from the previously unseen last full length video interview with Charles Officer in late 2022.
After bringing some of the first and most striking visual evidence of our changing planet to the fore through the groundbreaking study of melting glaciers, photographer James Balog returns to Iceland to close the last chapter of his life's work.
"Christmas, Every Day" gives a slice-of-life glimpse of preteen influencers Peyton and Lyla Wesson, ages 11 and 12, as they perform for their online fans under their mother's watchful guidance. Shot in a series of highly composed, locked-off takes, the film examines everyday cultural practice under late stage capitalism, juxtaposing rural life with the patina of the virtual world. As Peyton and Lyla shift between performance and reality, ideas of self-presentation as empowerment, female confidence, and self-branding come to the fore.
How can pop-up ads used to sell shoes also undermine global democracy? Digital advertising no longer only markets products, but increasingly disinformation. Investigative journalists and online activists reveal the unsettling reach of an unregulated industry in this alarming tech-sposé.
Shéhrazade is a sex worker who is reclaiming her body and mind from trauma by using illustration and animation to express her point of view and to tilt the power dynamic between voyeur and object.
Some months before Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, chimpanzee Ham is blasted into the stratosphere, as seen through archival footage in this tragicomic look at the space program and the animals that "made it" before humankind.
Five best friends pursue their dreams of becoming Canadian National Curling Champions. Follow these girls through their high school years in British Columbia as they navigate the perils of modern teenage life on and off the ice.
An 18-year-old musician designs a cybernetic organ and illegally implants it into his own body, acquiring a new sense that purportedly allows him to perceive sounds coming from outer space while on the surface of the Earth.
Daughter of Genghis is the story of Gerel Byamba, a Mongolian neo-nazi, who hates the Chinese and wants to protect her country from foreign exploitation. Gerel is also a single mother trying to give her son Timüjin care and attention. The film follows Gerel and her son over seven years, and tells an epic tale of a proud nomadic people fighting to forge a path for their culture and identity.
Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C., jail.
A moving lesson in empathy and forgiveness, Daughters is a result of an eight-year documentary journey that filmmaker Natalie Rae and Angela Patton, an activist advocating for "at-promise" girls, embarked upon. As Aubrey, Santana, Raziah, and Ja'Ana get ready for the special event, they speak candidly about their hopes, dreams, and disappointments. There is an innate wisdom and honesty to what they share about their dads' inconsistent presence; an awareness far beyond their years. Daughters meaningfully challenges many stereotypes around incarceration and serves as a poignant reminder that maintaining family bonds can be both healing and empowering. We get to witness a lot of joy, but in keeping with the film's vérité style, Rae and Patton don't shy away from more challenging moments, including heartbreak, skepticism, reluctance to engage, and anger. But then comes a classic dad joke, and the mood shifts again.—AT
In 1975, 90% of Iceland's women walked off their jobs and out of their homes. The nation stopped. Unexpectedly funny and laced with evocative animation, this is the true story of how Iceland became a world leader in gender equality.
On Christmas Eve 1989, when Patricia was only two years old, her mother was killed by two gunmen in their home in Uganda. On Christmas Eve 2013, Patricia gave birth to a daughter whom she named Imelda after her mother. Now, more than 30 years after the killing, Patricia is finally ready to return home and take a look at her traumatic past.
Devi is a mother, a rebel warrior, and sexual violence survivor of Nepal's civil war. Inspiring and courageous to her core, she battles personal demons in her campaign against rape's erasure from the narrative of war.
Lebanon, 2018. War, politics or revolution: these are the choices faced by Georges, Joumana and Perla Joe. Three destinies and a shared desire to rebuild a troubled country. How is it possible to continue to dream when everything around is falling apart?
Born underground and taken on a wild ride into the mainstream, disco was co-opted, exploited and then tossed aside to the fringes. This is the true story of disco music and the communities who hustled for their freedom on the dance floor.
Through stick figure cartoons, Rachita Taneja challenges India's entrenched social taboos like menstruation, mental health and queer rights. In the face of prosecution, she dedicates herself to amplifying the voices of young, liberal individuals in a society of eroding free speech.
When Rene (86) buys flowers, he always thinks about what color his wife would have chosen if she were alive. This elderly Danish man, being interviewed about his life with a group of his contemporaries, spent more years of his life with his wife than he has alone.
In Echo of You, filmmaker Zara Zerny tenderly portrays nine elderly Danish people. They talk about their love lives, growing old, grief, and their perspectives on life and death. The eloquent, candid and sometimes poetic speakers are filmed at home, seated in a chair or in bed. Zerny intercuts these static shots with artistic, sometimes dreamy or abstract representations of their testimonies. Old home videos are also projected onto the interviewees, reflecting a different, bygone existence.
The interviews create a group portrait of a unique generation that will not be with us for much longer. With their passing, their stories will perish, along with the furnishings and objects they have valued for decades, ranging from wooden ceilings, voile curtains and pendulum clocks to double rows of framed photos of generations of their relatives and forebears.
Visionary musician and artist Brian Eno — known for producing David Bowie, U2, Talking Heads, among many others; pioneering the genre of ambient music; and releasing over 40 solo and collaboration albums — reveals his creative processes in this groundbreaking generative documentary: a film that's different every time it's shown.
Filmmaker Gary Hustwit brings to the Sundance Film Festival the first career-spanning documentary about visionary musician and artist Brian Eno. This innovative bio-doc also elevates the documentary form to become an evergreen, algorithmic performance.
Hustwit and creative technologist Brendan Dawes have developed a bespoke generative software designed to sequence scenes and create transitions out of Hustwit's original interviews with Eno, and Eno's rich archive of hundreds of hours of never-before-seen footage, and unreleased music. Each screening of Eno is unique, presenting different scenes, order, music, and meant to be experienced live.
The generative and infinitely iterative quality of Eno poetically resonates with the artist's own creative practice, his methods of using technology to compose music, and his endless deep dive into the mercurial essence of creativity.—SF
Nasar still feels young. But the truth is that the time he has ahead of him is becoming much shorter than the time behind him. His body is starting to show wear and tear, and there's a chance he won't live to see his young children grow up. In an attempt to cheat death, the amiable Brit wants to be cryonically frozen at the moment when his heart stops beating—the idea is that in a distant future, all being well, he can then return to life again.
The film unfolds in the warm embrace of the family, observing the effects of Nasar's decision on his loved ones from within. His desire to evade death, partly inspired by the traumatic loss of his mother, means that the family members are constantly preoccupied with his mortality—as well as their own. After all, what sense does it make if Nasar has himself frozen but his wife and children don't? What if he wakes up in a world full of strangers?
Startups are using AI to create avatars that allow relatives to talk with their loved ones after they have died. An exploration of a profound human desire and the consequences of turning the dream of immortality into a product.
"I wanted to see if he was okay," explains Christi, one of the users of Project December. With this innovative software, users can communicate with a virtual version of the deceased through a chatbot that simulates the dead person's conversation patterns. Hers was an attempt to check on her first love. Others may simply miss someone, seek permission to move on, or want to rid themselves of guilt.
Little is known about the effects that this kind of generative AI might have on our brains, hearts, and wallets. The filmmakers, Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck (The Cleaners, 2018 Sundance Film Festival), do not claim to have the answers, but instead bring up various emotional and moral complexities we should be aware of. Eternal You poses important questions about algorithmic immortality, and the need to take a closer look at our future "digital remains."—AT
Through the eyes of a scientist questioning plant consciousness, a pea plant dreaming of its past in Rome's Colosseum, and a botanist unravelling a mystery, The Everlasting Pea invites a profound reimagining of our relationship with the vegetal world.
Amid the glamour of Hollywood, Los Angeles, a woman finds herself on a transformative journey as she nurtures wounded hummingbirds, unraveling a visually captivating and magical tale of love, fragility, healing, and the delicate beauty in tiny acts of greatness.
A film of joy and wonder, EVERY LITTLE THING offers profound truths in a deceptively simple story. What does it mean to care for another, and what impact does this act have on us? In tending to these fragile yet resilient hummingbirds, Terry Masear finds a sense of healing from her own past. Her diminutive patients — brought into sharp focus through breathtaking, beautifully detailed photography — become memorable protagonists in their own right. The viewer becomes emotionally invested in Cactus, Jimmy, Wasabi, Alexa, and Mikhail, celebrating their small victories and lamenting their tiny tragedies. The compassion and empathy that Masear shows her Lilliputian charges serves as a lesson to us all — a reminder that in the smallest of acts, and in the tiniest of creatures, we might find grace.—BT
Through his personal voyage, Raoul Peck deconstructs the making and masking of history, digging deep into the exploitative and genocidal aspects of European colonialism—from America to Africa—and its impact on society today.
For decades, Cristina García Rodero captured the spirit of Spain through her incredible award-winning photography. Now in her 70s, the tireless self-taught photographer points her lens outward into the world, capturing celebrations of life, death and the humanity in between.
After 40 years working in the mine at Tierra del Fuego, Toto doesn't qualify for the social security that would allow him to retire. So his son Jorge attempts to build a gold harvesting machine to bring them a better future.
Two Black families in North Carolina fight to preserve their land and generational legacy of sustainable forestry.
Amidst COVID lockdowns, India's farmers rise up on an unprecedented scale against unjust new laws. Over half a million protesters—men and women from all generations, religions, classes and castes—gather and reinvent co-existence while winning a rare victory over the state.
Gazing from one hundred feet above the boreal forest, Fire Tower draws us into the lookouts' world: a critical line of defense in wildfire detection; inviting us to contemplate how solitude inspires a different connection with nature, community and our creativity.
An eye-opening he said/she said perspective on timbó fishing, a traditional practice of the Indigenous Yanomami people that involves the entire community and a vine used to stun fish.
To stand on the edge of a cliff and throw your body into the wind, one has to be willing to lose everything. That could mean the love of your life, or it could be the life you love. FLY is an intimate portrait of three romantic couples entwined in the world's most dangerous sport. Can they protect their partners while also setting them free?
After giving birth to a deaf daughter, a Pakistani mother questions the custom that would have her hide her child out of family shame, and ends up building a community that uplifts deaf children through education and respect.
From age 16, the filmmaker has recorded each of her male and female lovers. Using only these early videos and present-day interviews with each partner, she assembles her fluid lusts, loves, rejections and growth into a history of her heart.
In the south of France, two young North African men seek a new life through Camargue races, a traditional sport where you survive by literally trying to take a bull by the horns.
Two women, one a Stalin devotee and the other a vehement anti-Stalinist, are separated by generations but united by the shared loss of their fathers to war.
January 2021. The UK is in its 3rd lockdown and all entertainment venues remain closed. For theatre actors Sam and Mark, the future looks bleak. As the pandemic drags on, Mark - single and childless - is increasingly socially isolated, while Sam panics about how he is going to support his young family. They spend their days in the online digital world of Grand Theft Auto and when they stumble across a theater, they suddenly have an idea to stage a full production of Hamlet within the game. This film charts their ridiculous, hilarious and moving adventure as they battle violent griefers and discover surprising truths about life, friendship and the enduring power of Shakespeare.
Helen was a rebellious young hippie when she met and married U.S. Congressman Pete McCloskey, a Republican star known for opposing his own party. Forty years later, anticipating Pete's death, she reflects on marriage, sex and the astounding complexity of true love.
An international diary of the impact of climate change is constructed from thousands of hours of in-the-moment footage. Through the process, we witness the deep human resilience, resourcefulness and courage necessary to confront the world's most pressing challenge.
Combining drawing and collage, this animated film captures the deep attachment bond between Edna, a hospitalized baby, and friends of her parents who regularly visit to comfort her, exploring themes of connection, life, grief, and vulnerability with poetic grace.
Writer Hanna Asefaw uses a model of the council housing flat her Eritrean family lived in in Oslo to memorialize its diverse community, which was ultimately destroyed by the building's privatization. – DeWitt Davis
Ten years after she last used, Katy investigates her memories through a photographic archive, creating a journey of self-exploration and reflecting on her addictive relationship to pain, love and drugs.
jaye simpson, an Oji-Cree-Saulteaux indigiqueer writer, poet, activist and drag queen, navigates the complexities of their multifaceted artistic expressions while grappling with the loss of their mother and reflecting on their experiences in the Canadian child services system.
The young generation of Iraqis has known little else but war since the US invasion. Although their daily lives differ significantly from those of Western youth, they are united in their pursuit of happiness, freedom, and safety. The film takes a hopeful look into a world little known to audiences
As the Women, Life, Freedom protests rage in Tehran, a woman from a conservative family engages in intimate conversations with them, struggling to maintain their bonds across three generations under the pressures of a shifting society.
The destruction caused by the war against Ukraine is shown in lengthy tableaux. Intercepted phone conversations between Russian soldiers and their families set up a shocking parallel world. Sound and image stare each other in the face, stunned.
Invisible People is an experimental documentary film dedicated to Japanese Butoh dance. It includes a series of film portraits of Butoh masters and performers, with a special focus on Butoh master Yoshito Ohno, the son of Butoh-founder Kazuo Ohno, who passed away during the shooting of the film. The film unites elements of Tatsumi Hijikata's poetic-philosophical texts on butoh, recounted life stories of various protagonists, and a mysterious search for the "Invisible People."
A quiet take on a very noisy subject—the rise of hate and intolerance against the LGBTQIA+ community—as two young brothers observe and absorb their first Drag Story Hour.
Delving into the relationship between Venice as a place and the people who move through it, J'adore Venise focuses on the phenomenon of disappearing bodies that result from both anthropogenic environmental degradation and the pervasive influence of surveillance capitalism.
Facing cultural genocide, a group of Indigenous women from Peru file a groundbreaking lawsuit demanding the government recognize the Marañón River, which flows into the Amazon, as a person with rights in order to protect the world of powerful spirits led by the Karuara.
Freestyle skier Kelly Sildaru was just 13 when she won gold at the 2016 Winter X Games. After breaking countless records, she broke her silence when she accused her coach, and father, of abuse, setting a new standard for sports bravery.
When the Indian government passed the Citizenship Amendment Act, it effectively excluded Muslims from citizenship. Working-class Muslim women gathered in Delhi, staging a non-violent protest for over 100 days.
The Le Mans race in 1955 made history through tragedy when more than 80 spectators were killed. Uncover the story of the crash that took the lives of so many and, to this day, looms over the world of motorsports.
in 2014, the young Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly was on an exchange in Norway when the borders of his home Gaza were closed for an unspecified period. This posed several problems, one being that the Norwegian government would not accept his Palestinian passport, meaning that Jabaly was now stateless. Then his application for a work permit was rejected, because being a self-taught filmmaker meant he didn't have the necessary qualifications. It meant he was trapped with his host family in the arctic city of Tromsø, and couldn't travel. One of the upshots of this situation was that he was unable to attend the screening of his 2016 debut film Ambulance at IDFA.
While awaiting a decision from the court, and following the dismal paths of political and bureaucratic logic, Jabaly films himself and his Norwegian friends and colleagues in the snow-covered serenity of the spectacular Norwegian landscape. These scenes contrast starkly with the agonizing images and messages he receives from family and friends in Gaza. The close-knit artistic and film community in Tromsø, meanwhile, is making every effort to support Jabaly.
Limits of Europe features Saša Uhlová and her journey through the world of European employment. Using a hidden camera, Saša puts herself in the shoes of workers from the Eastern Europe who migrate to the West to earn a living. She tells us about her despondency and exhaustion as she travels from country to country and from job to job, walking a fine line between precarity and exploitation. Who better to reflect on the inequalities in the European workplace than those who have experienced it first-hand?
A group of New York City psychics conduct deeply intimate readings for their clients, revealing a kaleidoscope of loneliness, connection, and healing.
Look Into My Eyes by Lana Wilson (Miss Americana, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, The Departure) gives us an intimate view of psychics in New York City. Over a series of interviews and with a camera that is not afraid to get up close and personal, Wilson highlights the ins and outs of being a psychic and what that entails, while constructing a tender portrayal of the clients. A thoughtfully paced and oftentimes deeply personal piece, it unfolds the grief, turmoil, and loneliness that come along with being a human. On the flip side, the joys of gaining clarity, achieving closure, and even having a pet are experienced. Wilson's truly masterful work with Look Into My Eyes cements her as a powerhouse documentary filmmaker.—BB
Pick a card, any card! World champion magician Shawn Farquhar delves into a medieval murder cold case among Jacks, Queens and Kings as he devises a new trick inspired by the world's best sleight-of-hand artists.
Futurists Martine and Bina Rothblatt commission an advanced humanoid AI named Bina48 to transfer Bina's consciousness from a human to a robot in an attempt to continue their once-in-a-galaxy love affair for the rest of time.
Love Machina is where futurism meets love, where love meets humanity, where humanity meets AI. Director Peter Sillen (Benjamin Smoke, 62,000:1 Three Teams One City One Year) delivers a film transcending time and space. Sillen's approach feels as imaginative and dreamlike as our protagonists. Love Machina is entrancing to watch — packed with discovery, curiosity, and heart. Sillen shares a love story between Martine and Bina Rothblatt, entangling us in their world of passion and extravagant determination. At the forefront of many social movements, Martine and Bina set out to do what previously seemed impossible, taking their love story past "till death do us part" to "as long as we both shall live." Thoughtful and inquisitive, Sillen dares to transport us to infinity and beyond.—BB
Luther Vandross started his career supporting David Bowie, Roberta Flack, Bette Midler, and more. His undeniable talent earned platinum records and accolades, but he struggled to break out beyond the R&B charts. Intensely driven, he overcame personal and professional challenges to secure his place amongst the greatest vocalists in history.
If you know, you know — there's only one Luther. Acclaimed Festival alum Dawn Porter invites audiences on a musical journey into the life of the iconic Luther Vandross, the man with the soulful velvet voice. An archival tapestry of performances and recording sessions immerse us in his legendary musical talent as a singer, songwriter, and producer. Porter then goes beyond the spotlight to delve into the man behind the music — insights from musicians and friends alongside archival interviews with Luther himself reveal his humor, frustrations, loneliness, and unwavering dedication to his craft. Luther: Never Too Much delivers a sensitive and jubilant celebration of Luther Vandross and his music that resonates with evocative power. Some will form newfound admiration for Luther, while others will be transported to moments when his timeless melodies were the soundtrack to their lives. Good luck not singing along and dancing in your seat.—SO
Directing great, Martin Scorsese, offers an intimate and personal consideration of the work and influence of fellow filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Responsible for classics including The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp and Black Narcissus, the filmmaking duo left an indelible mark on the world of cinema. They also had a formative influence on the Killers of The Flower Moon director from an early age and in David Hinton's documentary, he reflects on how they not only shaped his own filmmaking but on a later friendship he developed with Powell.
On the coasts of the Basque Country, 57 female weavers work—a traditional occupation they continue as if time were suspended. With their hands covered in salt, they weave in silence, without stopping. They are part of the sea and its mystery.
Set against the backdrop of escalating farmer suicides in India, Sanjeevani, a young farmer's widow, discovers strength, joy and companionship in a group of resilient women who share the same loss. During peer-to-peer sessions with a local psychologist, she finds the courage to overcome her grief, tackle social taboos, and strive for financial independence and a better future for her children. While new suicides in her community test her determination, she finds healing in the act of confronting her grief and helping other women farmers like her in a deeply patriarchal society.
An ambitious young Quebecois man sacrifices everything in his obsession to resurrect the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. As he transforms physically to emulate his hero, dance moves and all, the lines between dreams and reality blur.
Ruth divulges the history of a precious artifact: a medallion that signifies her family's struggles, successes, and hopes for the future. – Anita Raswant
Meet Me at the Creek tells a story of interconnectedness and Cherokee values through Jim's lifelong fight to restore Tar Creek, which is officially recognized by the government as "irreversibly damaged," a designation Jim refuses to accept.
Malena had her tubes tied after an abusive relationship and fled to Mexico City seeking a better life, but her ex-spouse took custody of her children despite her fierce fight. Today she has a new partner and is finishing the house where she dreams of living with her three children and a new baby. She needs IVF treatment if she is to have a second chance now that she's older and wiser. Malena decides to quit her job as a domestic worker and return home to set up a business and have the family she always dreamt of. Feeling abandoned, her children punish her while her partner threatens to leave if the IVF fails. Can she pull everyone together and make her dreams come true?
If Méliès had a son, it would be Michel Gondry. A brilliant jack-of-all-trades whose eccentric talent convinced the creative elite of international pop music to entrust him with his music videos (Björk, the Rolling Stones, Daft Punk, The White Stripes, Beck, etc.) before allowing him to chart his own course in Hollywood—without ever renouncing his rather crazy style—and to become one of the rare Oscar-winning French filmmakers (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). From hand to eye, Michel Gondry has been offering us for thirty years to seize what surrounds us to create and tell the world. A work that is a constant praise of wonder through craftsmanship: whether we approach his relationship to music and his beginnings as a videographer; the notion of magic inherent in his conception of the image; its roots in childhood and the world of dreams; the paradox of his Hollywood career; and the humanist ambition of its craftsmanship... which is also a political act. Do it yourself.
Egyptian filmmaker Yasmina El Kamaly reflects on her family's matrilineal history by examining her relationship with her mother, as well as the complicated bond between her mother and grandmother.
In this emotional, sweeping tale of healing and forgiveness, powerhouse Jamaican American poet and LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin embarks on an international journey to re-imagine the art of mothering—having been abandoned by her own mother as a young child.
A trove of home video tapes spurs a filmmaker to investigate repressed parts of his past and come to terms with his own identity. An investigation into his father's surprising death turns into a cathartic journey of reconnection and healing.
Pati, a young film producer, is fighting to carve out a professional career in the film industry. It is May 2019 when her laptop is stolen during a business trip in Madrid. Two months after, an anonymous Hacker accesses all the stored data in the stolen device and finds three very private photos of Pati. He threatens that if he doesn't receive $2,400 he will mass-mail the pictures to all her work contacts in order to ruin her professional reputation. The shame, anger and distress caused by the ineffectiveness of the legal forces lead Pati to set out on her own investigation to stop the Hacker and regain control and power over her privacy.
My Stolen Planet is a diary-style narrative by Farah, an Iranian filmmaker. Born during the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, she captures moments of joy and defiance in her daily life, navigating the contrast between domestic freedom and external oppression. Simultaneously, she collects 8mm archives from people she doesn't know. Relying on these recordings from other people, she gains a new perspective on losing memories. Her connection with Leyla, an Iranian professor who left Iran during the revolution, adds a name and a story to one of the faces in her archive. Farah's mother, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, motivates her to continue her fight against forgetting. In the autumn of 2022, the Women, Life, Freedom uprising becomes a turning point in Farah's life, as well as in the lives of many others in Iran. This is a homemade history.
New Zealand–born groundbreaking CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth risks it all to show the reality of war from inside the conflict, staring down danger and confronting those who perpetuate it.
Moth's intrepid energy and kinetic lust are rendered beautifully in this documentary that deftly captures both her powerful personality and the nascent development of the 24-hour news cycle. Never Look Away asks hard-hitting questions about where our desire for conflict coverage comes from, whether it can ever be satiated, and what we are running from when we are absorbed by work and by relentless global news. Margaret's indelible commitment to her work, her striking aesthetic, her deeply mysterious nature, and her gargantuan contributions to the field of journalism all come to the fore in this potent biopic.
Renowned actress Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess, Battlestar Galactica, Parks and Recreation) steps behind the camera in this impressive directorial debut. Lawless creates a distinctively female, Kiwi lens to cover this titanic career that shows both the horrors and life-affirming dimensions of war from a woman's point of view.—AH
In a forest in Norway, a family lives an isolated lifestyle in an attempt to be wild and free, but a tragic event changes everything, and they are forced to adjust to modern society.
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen's portrait of the Payne family is an intimate encounter with a family coming to terms with a new reality. For years, the family of five enjoyed a slower-paced, independent life in harmony with nature on a picturesque farm. Now they are at a turning point, and Jacobsen captures their journey with a caring eye. The vulnerability and compassion they extend to each other, the land, and their animals are tenderly and beautifully observed by a camera that feels part of the family, while home videos woven throughout provide meaningful insights into years past. Joyous moments spring through the heartache, and the Paynes' strong bond and love for each other guide them through each challenge they face. Jacobsen crafts a sensitive, affectionate, and completely heartfelt experience that is as much about navigating grief as it is about graciously accepting change.—SO
Quirino, 76, has lived all his life in the Cape Verdean ghost village of Ribeira Funda, which was deserted 40 years ago. In 1983, a man was killed by a rock that broke loose following heavy rainfall. As a result, all the villagers moved to nearby Estância de Brás—all except Quirino, that is.
Here in this deep and spectacular valley between the sea and the mighty mountains, Quirino spends his days alone but for the company of a chicken and the radio that is his lifeline to the rest of the world. It is on this majestically shot rocky coastline that he reflects on his own life and on life in general—on how brief our time is here, never knowing our destination.
"Life in Cabo Verde is really hard. It doesn't give any stability. It's like a boat without a keel," he says in this thoughtful and melancholy portrait. Quirino notices that he is becoming increasingly stiff and forgetful. He faces a dilemma: should he stay or should he leave the only place he has ever known, to live out his last days elsewhere?
When Russia began bombing Kharkiv, Ukraine, some members of a 50+ women's cheerleading team chose to stay while others escaped, and through their sport they keep sane and connected even as cracks appear. Witness true strength in this exceptional study of sisterhood.
In the dense forests of the Eastern Himalayas, moths are whispering something to us. In the dark of night, two curious observers shine a light on this secret universe.
Deep in the pitch-black forest, a few hundred moths are drawn by a single source of illumination to a piece of hung canvas. Only through this intimate examination can their existence, and the happenings of their world, be made visible. Though moth life spans are measured in hours and represent only a small amount of the immense biodiversity of their species, in these small beings lies a history of our planet. With a transportive and experiential visual style and immersive sound that brings you to a place few people can travel, co-directors Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan's Nocturnes gives us a multi-millennia vision of time nearly beyond our human-scale perception.—SS
To promote SIAN (Stop the Islamization of Norway) racist-ivist Lars Thorsen publicly burns the Qu'ran, hiding behind freedom of expression laws. The outraged public pushes back in this revealing look at the street-level battle for democracy.
Two women are waiting: one for death; the other for her life to begin. Based on recorded conversations between a centenarian and her caregiver, Nothing Special uses animation, miniatures and props to bring the caregiver's active imagination, deferred dreams and observations on the delicacy of dust motes to effervescent life.
Reconstructing the past culminates in a poetic observation on the process of letting go as a Japanese Canadian woman returns to empty her childhood home, reviving the memories of her mother, a survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bomb.
Once Upon a Time in a Forest is a film about brave young people who are defending one of the last coniferous forest areas in Europe. It is a morality play and a love story of a younger generation whose main object of love is the Finnish forest. This cinematic documentary explores environmental feelings and witnesses how the 22-year old protagonist Ida grows up to be the leader of the new Forest Movement.
Christopher Clark, an eco-warrior, has established his unique Outpost of Progress in the heart of the Amazon rainforest — a utopian society based on the perfect balance between nature and technology, run and safeguarded by the forest's dwellers. Unfortunately, the situation is getting worse every year, and a new wildfire now threatens to destroy the Outpost. In a daring bid to capture the world's attention about the impending catastrophe and to urge the Brazilian government to create a protective reserve, Chris decides to take a bold gamble: organizing a spectacular Pink Floyd concert amid the verdant inferno. After all, in the mind of a dreamer, the realm of possibilities knows no bounds.
When the Iron Curtain fell, travel for Hungarians was finally possible but completely unaffordable. Droll animation unearths the little-known story of how three pranksters forged train tickets for a generation to finally discover the world.
After the filmmaker discovers more than 50 hours of audio interviews by her deceased mother, journalist Sheila Turner-Seed, she seeks to connect with her mother while unveiling an invaluable archive of conversations with some of the greatest photographers of the 20th century.
Célia plays Roblox with her 12-year-old sister Anna. Things get out of hand after they meet another player who wants to play Truth or Dare.
A filmmaker's invitation into a deeply personal and fiercely nostalgic journey that delves into love, longing, the trauma of forced migration, and the loss of a family home in Palestine.
Under roaring fighter jets and missile strikes, Ukrainian artists Slava, Anya, and Andrey choose to stay behind and fight, contending with the soldiers they have become. Defiantly finding beauty amid destruction, they show that although it's easy to make people afraid, it's hard to destroy their passion for living.
And how does one continue to live when everything you love is under a vicious attack? Porcelain War argues that you can learn to fight back using all the tools you have, including your art, in order to avoid erasure. "We're ordinary people in an extraordinary situation" is how co-director Slava Leontyev describes their current life. Meanwhile, there is absolutely nothing ordinary about them — these artists, farmers, IT specialists — coming together to fight their oppressor. Porcelain War is a true cinematic gem. Leontyev and co-director Brendan Bellomo manage to gracefully capture the dissonance between the horrors of war and the fragile beauty of nature and artistic practice. Anya's and Slava's porcelain pieces come to life in delicately crafted animations that offer context to their makers' story and a stunning outlet for processing grief.—AT
Driven to maintain social order, policing in the United States has exploded in scope and scale over hundreds of years. Now, American policing embodies one word: power.
A cogent essay film inviting conscious engagement and reflection on a system of control that has gone largely unquestioned, Power is a sweeping chronicle of the history and evolution of policing in the U.S. With assured precision and deep insight, filmmaker Yance Ford (Strong Island, U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Storytelling, 2017 Sundance Film Festival) compellingly argues that the perceived danger of race to the status quo is central to the origins of policing and to its unchecked expansion. Asking pointed, uncomfortable questions about privilege and class; about who belongs to the social order and who is excluded; and about our collective responsibility in actively or tacitly permitting those in power to escape accountability, Power confronts us with the prescient words of Frederick Douglass: "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."—BT
Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond travels to the four corners of Turtle Island and across Europe to explore the world's fascination with Native Americans, recognizing the profound impact Indigenous people have had in shaping modern Western culture.
A young queer writer, on the verge of having her first novel released by a mainstream French publisher, confronts the literary scene in Paris and fears her work will be misread.
An expansion of his short film My Disability Roadmap, Samuel Habib is a typical 21-year-old, itching to move out, start a career and find love. But "no one tells you how to be an adult, let alone an adult with a disability."
Darkness falls over Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and its 17 million inhabitants. It is just before Christmas and people are struggling to gain access to electric light. Kudi is mobilising the residents of his Kisenso neighbourhood to collect money for a new power cable. On Mount Mangengenge, a holy place overlooking the city, Pastor Gédéon delivers a sermon about the light of Christ as the path to life and truth. Davido is searching for a place to stay after his house was flooded by the Congo River. Together with other young men, he kills time by working out and dreams of a better future.
Tongo Saa is a sensitive portrait of the residents of Kinshasa as they face the challenges of life in an environment plagued by violence and coloured by the uncertainty of tomorrow.
In the extremely competitive world of high-school basketball, the young men of River Rouge, Michigan, have had decades of championship glory. The legacy of the Panthers has been enshrined and they are in pursuit of their 15th state championship. Rouge follows the current coach and four players, who shoulder the weight of the team's celebrated history as well as the pressures of making future careers for themselves. Older legends tell tales of former victories while also exploring the challenging economic and environmental circumstances of the industrial town. Despite the hardships, the team players—both old and new—continue to compete and thrive in the game they love so much. This storied school athletics program has continued to defy odds and raise the bar on and off the court, providing a sense of community and hope for the future.
"Sandcastles" parallels two Singapores: one in Southeast Asia, and one buried on the western coast of Michigan. On top of sharing the same name, these two places also share a fraught relationship with sand. Singapore, Michigan was a thriving lumber town in the late 19th century until erosion from mass deforestation caused the sand dunes around it to shift and swallow the town whole. Just as quickly as Singapore, Michigan disappeared under sand, its namesake in the East emerged from it through land reclamation. The film weaves a narrative that intertwines the two Singapores to depict the temporal nature of human edifices built on and destroyed by nothing more than sand.
This experimental film by acclaimed French director Chris Marker collects footage recorded in various countries around the world and presents it in collage-like form. The movie features no synchronized sound, but instead ties the various segments together with music and voice-over narration, which ponders the topics such as memory, technology and society. As the scenes shift, locations range from Japan to Iceland to Africa, creating a truly international work.
In 2003, eight Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment inside the Providence Place Mall and lived in it for four years, filming everything along the way. They snuck in furniture, tapped into the mall's electricity, and even constructed a wall, smuggling in over 2 tons of cinderblock. Far more than just a wild prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for its inhabitants – a personal expression of defiance against local gentrification, a clubhouse to coordinate artistic charity, and finally, a 750 square foot "F you" to The Man. From Jeremy Workman, whose "Lily Topples The World" won the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW 2021 and from Executive Producer Jesse Eisenberg.
Launched in the late '80s, educational software Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing taught millions globally, but the program's Haitian-born cover model vanished decades ago. Two DIY investigators search for the unsung cultural icon, while questioning notions of digital security, AI, and Black representation in the digital realm.
Jazmin Jones' inventive directorial debut boldly embraces outspoken questioning. Jones turns the camera onto herself and co-investigator Olivia McKayla Ross, foregrounding their investigatory process and supportive friendship. While unraveling the complex narrative of Mavis Beacon, they uplift the pioneering of Black women in technology, and self-reflect on their own methodologies in the process. Jones celebrates diverse ways of embodying knowledge by creatively connecting various sources of information. Observational footage of herself and Ross sit alongside interviews, memes, and insights from activists and artists. The meaning of each clip is made richer by Jones' astute and witty layering, often incorporating the digital interface of a desktop. The dynamic investigation also reveals questions about documentary practice, the incompleteness of archives, and the right to exist on one's own terms. Jones' vision is vibrant, full of curiosity, and refreshingly openhearted. —SO
When Segura accepts a scholarship to study film in Canada, the move offers crucial distance from her alcoholic father. After four years, she returns to Cuba hoping to make amends. But her father's sudden death just days after her arrival forces Segura to explore his troubled past and the role Cuba's highly militarized system played in his downfall.
Sitting at the negotiating table with the Taliban, four extraordinary women navigate the harsh reality of Afghanistan's new chapter and the political impact on women's rights, proving their unyielding commitment to the people of their country.
Foča is a municipality in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina where women were raped and abused on a large scale during the Bosnian war. Women, and girls as young as 12 years old, were imprisoned at various locations to be gang-raped, mostly by Serbian fighters. This was cause for the Yugoslavia Tribunal to designate "systematic rape" and "sexual slavery"—war crimes that frequently went unprosecuted—as torture and crimes against humanity. As a result, these crimes can now be universally prosecuted.
The so-called Foča case called on great courage from the countless women who testified about their horrific experiences. To preserve their anonymity the women were identified using numbers or letters. In this forensic video essay, filmmaker Kumjana Novakova uses mostly written testimonies by the women to explore the collective memory of the rape camps. In grainy video footage, the camera explores the places where these inhuman crimes took place, while the women speak about the unspeakable.
After her mom's tragic death on the Polish-Belarusian border a 16-year-old Kurdish girl Runa has to become a mother for her 4 younger brothers. A partially animated coming-of-age story in the times of a global refugee crisis.
Travel with acclaimed Cree filmmaker Dr. Tasha Hubbard through the North American plains as Indigenous nations reintroduce the keystone species to the land and help reclaim territories and cultures that signal a turning point for long-term, collective survival.
Following multiple scandals surrounding Canada's hockey infrastructure and its dishonest leaders, a generation of young athletes finds itself facing a moral dilemma.
During its 2012 election campaign titled "Smiling Georgia," the governing party promised its country's poorest residents new teeth in exchange for their vote. Dentists began to pull people's decayed teeth, but after the election defeat, the trusting public never received their new pearly whites… In his bitterly humorous documentary, Luka Beradze takes us to a sleepy Georgian village, introduces us to its inhabitants, and shows that it rarely pays to believe the promises of populist politicians and to vote for purely selfish reasons. In the broader context, the film asks questions regarding the value of ordinary people in the eyes of political leaders.
Is Christmas really the most magical time of the year? Shot on glorious 35mm, master storyteller Ken Wardrop captures the sadness and crushing expectations the holiday creates for residents of a small Irish town. 'Tis the season with Irish heartache and humour.
Reflecting on the construction of oral history and its relation to the land, The Soldier's Lagoon dives into the misty Páramo region and offers an elusive living archive that navigates the dense fog separating Simón Bolívar's past and Colombia's present.
The Swedish-Iranian filmmaker Nahid Persson is known for uncompromisingly critical films about her native country. In her latest documentary, she focuses on the Iranian journalist Ruhollah Zam.
Like many of his colleagues, Zam operates from abroad, in his case France, due to the lack of press freedom in Iran. Drawing on secret sources and anonymous video footage, and constantly speaking on the phone from his small home, he exposes the corruption and hypocrisy of the Iranian regime. He does so at the risk of his own life and lives under permanent guard.
In matter-of-fact style but with mounting tension, the documentary shows Zam's suffocating existence. In his world, everyone seems to be spying on each other—even fellow journalists don't trust each other. The scandals are huge, the amounts of money embezzled astronomical, and the atmosphere is sometimes unbearably tense. Who is the mysterious millionaire from Australia? How reliable is Shirin, Zam's intermediary? The film seems more like a spy thriller than a documentary. But tragically, it's all too real.
A relentless, emotive and playful radiography of the post-war period in Spain and Franco's regime creates a collage of pieces rescued from oblivion.
Kim and Billy work at carnivals. This summer, Kim procrastinates. He plans to leave this family of colleagues to devote himself to his passion, the search for precious stones. The layoff of Billy, his best friend, accelerates his disenchantment. We always dream of elsewhere.
When the Thirty Meter Telescope is set to be built on Mauna Kea, three Native Hawaiian families risk it all to defend their sacred mountain. Standing Above the Clouds explores intergenerational healing and the struggle to retain ancient ceremonies.
Through a series of revealing interviews, filmmaker Sarah Polley investigates the truth about her family history.
When the Pan-African activist Mwazulu Diyabanza walks into the Afrika Museum in the Dutch village of Berg en Dal and leaves with an exhibition object under his arm, the police arrest him for theft. But according to Diyabanza, he is merely retrieving what was stolen from Congo during colonial rule and returning it to where it came from.
With striking design enriched by archive material, this documentary explores various aspects of the colonial looting of art. The film centers on the history of Ne Kuko, a chieftain in Boma, now in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who fell prey to a Belgian adventurer on a trading expedition around 1878.
The narrator calmly explains how land was stolen from Ne Kuko, as well as his nkisi. The theft of this object, which is believed to have spiritual powers, not only meant a loss of identity for Ne Kuko, but also disrupted the local community. A century and a half on, the nkisi is still waiting to be returned to Boma.
Every year thousands of European citizens travel from one country to another evading the restrictive laws and ethics of their countries in order to access basic human rights. Stray Bodies follows simultaneously a young student who travels from Malta to Italy to have an abortion, a single 40 years old woman from Italy that reaches a well known fertilization clinic in Greece, an old man who travels from Greece to Bulgaria to find out how to have access to cremation, and a couple travelling from Bulgaria to Switzerland to meet Dignitas, an association that assists them with accompanied suicide. Like Stray Bodies, they travel by boat, car, airplane and train, dizzily crossing borders, highways, tolls, airports, harbors and train stations, on a harrowing yet surreal journey, all searching for answers to existential questions about life and death. As the characters of this road movie cross their countries' borders, they come together in a cinematic trip through Europe about issues of vital importance: what rights do we have on ourselves and other people's bodies?
When a young Olympic skater is murdered, it galvanizes Kazakhstanis. Tracing the steps of a young journalist and a strong-willed political scientist, the camera observes a society learning to raise its voice, despite decades of fear and oppression.
Follow the psychological and emotional journeys of California prisoners as they organize the largest hunger strike in US history. Intimate interviews and never-before-seen footage recount their struggle to regain their freedom from decades of solitary confinement.
In 2023, French star Emmanuelle Béart revealed she was a victim of incest from ages 10 to 14. Joined by three other survivors, Béart co-directs this deft critique of how France's laws and social mores enable a national child abuse crisis.
Dinosaur fossils are worth their weight in gold in a market where serious scientists and fortune hunters vie to be first to the next big find. An eye-opening adventure documentary about bones, cash and big egos - and an absolute must for dinosaur fans.
Bread & Roses offers a powerful window into the seismic impact on women's rights and livelihoods after Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021. The film follows three women, in real time, as they fight to recover their autonomy. Sahra Mani captures the spirit and resilience of Afghan women through her raw, intimate depiction of their harrowing plight. The Apple Original Film is an Eyan Foundation presentation in association with Extracurricular. The documentary is produced by Jennifer Lawrence and Justine Ciarrocchi with Sahra Mani, alongside executive producers Malala Yousafzai and Farhad Khosravi.
Hidden away, deep in the suburbs of Los Angeles, legendary cult musician Swamp Dogg, alongside housemates Moogstar and Guitar Shorty, have transformed their home into an artistic playground. Together, they navigate the tumultuous music industry, forging a unique and inspiring bond across time and space.
While on holiday at a French campsite, three young teenage girls face romance, family relations and online obsessions in this poignant look at coming of age in a digital world.
Isolated on an island, an elderly woman embraces freedom by open-sea swimming with sea lions, while a champion swimmer tests her endurance in the world's iciest of waters.
Filmed during the "Teaches of Peaches Anniversary Tour" in 2022, this documentary seamlessly weaves together exclusive archival gems with dynamic tour footage to capture the transformative journey of Canadian Merrill Nisker into the internationally acclaimed cultural powerhouse that is Peaches. From the inception of the stage show to the rigorous rehearsals and riveting performances, the film provides an intimate look at the inner workings of the tour. As a feminist musician, producer, director and performance artist, Peaches has spent over two decades challenging gender expectations, solidifying her status alongside pop and music industry icons. Her fearless originality has called social norms into question, dismantled stereotypes and confronted patriarchal power structures. Through biting wit, she advocates for LGBTQIA+ rights and tackles issues of sexual and gender and identity, leaving an indelible mark on popular culture.
Dreams and desires are confronted as a cast of neurodivergent teens prepare to come of age in their school's time-travelling, John Farnham–themed musical. A funny and heart-warming peek behind the curtain with some banger songs.
A chain letter to vote the music video for seminal boy band New Kids on the Block's "Hangin' Tough" onto MTV's Total Request Live makes the rounds over online message boards in 1999.
After battling double pneumonia and being declared dead for a moment, the filmmaker's uncle emerges with vivid, detailed visions. Uncle Bardo animates these memories via an inventive mix of documentary and experimental stop-motion animation.
Forced to flee their country after risking their lives to rebuild it, four women struggle to focus the world's attention on the crisis in Afghanistan, while coming to terms with having their power usurped and two decades of progress dismantled.
The Amazon Labor Union (ALU) — a group of current and former Amazon workers in New York City's Staten Island — takes on one of the world's largest and most powerful companies in the fight to unionize.
Chronicling the historic efforts of the ALU, Union is an intimate and surprising story of dogged determination, unorthodox tactics, and speaking up despite David vs. Goliath odds. Capturing up-close, in-the-trenches moments with the upstart labor union leaders — including the charismatic Chris Smalls — as they try to build support for their movement on their own terms, filmmakers Brett Story and Stephen Maing bear witness to the realities of labor organizing in the United States — challenging at best; near-impossible when facing the unlimited resources and influence of a corporate giant. They track exhilarating victories and demoralizing setbacks along the way, but foremost spotlight the far-reaching ability of collective action to inspire hope and bring self-determination to workers who've long felt disenfranchised and powerless.—BT
`Inspired by early photographic techniques, Via Dolorosa is an immersive animation documentary that takes us through Jerusalem's local punk scene, where director Rachel Gutgarts spent her youth. Hoping to find atonement, Gutgarts depicts instead a permanent state of war hovering over tales of violence, addiction, sexuality, religion, and racism as told by teenagers approaching adulthood.
In Sainte-Marie, Quebec, a couple stands witness to the heart-rending demolition of their home, which was lost to the devastating floods of spring 2019.
In 1989, television infrastructure was brought into the rural villages in Tunisia through the advocacy of Alain Decaux, then Minister for the Francophonie. The TV became the spot where families gathered and watched programs, and the broadcast images left a strong imprint on the villagers.
In The Wasp and the Orchid, filmmaker Saber Zammouris looks at TV's influence in rural Tunisia and tells the story of those who left the villages for France. Are they searching for the images they once saw, and do they find what they are looking for?
The film cuts between scenes in the desert village, from where many people have emigrated, and Paris, where they have become migrant workers. In the desert, the power lines stand out starkly against the sky. In the early mornings of Paris, the migrant workers get ready for their daily shifts in warehouses, driving delivery trucks or working in fast food restaurants. Conversing with the laborers, the filmmaker asks: "Was it a choice or an obligation? Did someone drive us out of our country or did someone lure us to go somewhere else?" The questions of agency, power and imagination echo throughout the film.
For over 50 years, British undercover police officers have infiltrated activist groups, specifically targeting and manipulating women, forming romantic relationships and even having children with them.
In San Pedro Amuzgos, Oaxaca, where weaving is not only a way of life but the main economic export, the importance of tradition and the responsibility of legacy are explored in this reflective debut feature by Ismael Vásquez Bernabé.
In the summer of 2019, a middle-aged couple are subjected to cyberstalking threats and bizarre deliveries including a bloody pig mask and funeral wreath. As the harassment intensifies, the police and FBI close in on a Silicon Valley giant and some very unlikely suspects. "Whatever It Takes" tells the extraordinary story of eBay, a Fortune 500 company founded on the principle that "people are basically good", and how members of their security team ended up in federal prison after trying to protect the CEO from a corporate raider. This is a timely true crime caper about dysfunction, the disintegration of ethics, and a couple of unsuspecting journalists whose lives are changed forever.
Four hundred years ago, freed Black folks braved the Atlantic Ocean to travel to Africa. On arrival, they walked from the shore to a tall cotton tree, where they took respite from their journey.
High atop Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, two individuals brave the deadly peaks and trails to pursue their personal conquests before the slopes melt away, confronting climate change and our role in its prevention.
The death of a father and a chilling encounter deep in Panama's untamed jungle trigger a personal exploration of life and death through encounters with a diverse collection of people who face mortality's physical and symbolic borders in their life and work.
Seamlessly moving between earth and stars, past and present, Wilfred Buck is a hybrid feature documentary that looks to one man's life to tell a story that spans generations. Our guide is the charismatic and irreverent Wilfred Buck, a Cree elder and ceremonial leader who came to his calling through a harrowing history of displacement, racism, and addiction in 1960s Canada. Adapted from his memoir, and blending verité, archive and stylized re-enactments, the film charts colonization's attempts to extinguish Indigenous ways of knowing – and what it means to reconnect with and regain ancient teachings that are as relevant today as ever.
Underpaid and undermined, a Slovenian village pastor pours her heart and raw personal trauma into ministering to her parishioners. But as the cracks in her private life deepen, the woman beneath the collar must choose between true faith and real healing.
A Yanomami woman observes a shaman during the preparation of the Yãkoana, the food of the spirits.
Having built a colorful life in Iowa, a costume designer returns to their island hometown, Guam, to make costumes for a children's theater show and reconnect with distanced parents.
An unexpected and joyous exploration of womanhood, autonomy and self-reinvention, told through the video diaries and personal archive of the free-spirited XiXi and the evolution of the friendship between her and the filmmaker.
Following members of the Wet'suwet'en nation along with Hereditary Chiefs and their communities of land defenders, Yintah, meaning land, tells the story of the Wet'suwet'en people resisting the construction of multiple pipelines across their territory.
A series of photos and screenshots tell the story of how the directors, two transmasculine artists, fall madly in love with each other. We witness their first meeting, the start of a long-distance relationship, the meeting of the families, Z's top surgery – all milestones are recorded in a uniquely intimate and moving way. A portrait of queer/trans love that we don't get to see often enough.