Good Grief?

Con Traje y Sin Zapatos

What would your family reminiscences about dad sound like if he had been an early supporter of Hitler’s, a leader of the notorious SA and the Third Reich’s minister in charge of Slovakia, including its Final Solution? Executed as a war criminal in 1947, Hanns Ludin left behind a grieving widow and six young children, the youngest of whom became a filmmaker. It's a fascinating, maddening, sometimes even humorous look at what the director calls "a typical German story." (Film Forum)

Necromaquiagem

How well do we really know our parents? And their youth? Do we simply have a vague idea of who they are, and were, before they had us? Cécile embark on a quest to discover truths about her mother and her youth, truths that can't be found elsewhere, than right where it all happened. Southern France. The project is a self-inventory, and an attempt to understand the complexity of parenthood and the dynamics between mother and daughter.

One night, nine children from the same Tunisian village attempt the deadly crossing. Like a poem or a prayer, this film welcomes the words of bereaved mothers and gives dignity to their grief.

In the United States, there is an active shooter incident every 12 days. In Memoriam shows the wrenching perspective of wounded survivors, grieving relatives, and heroes of the horrific attacks at the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church in Texas, and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.

In focusing his attention on the competitors of Mr Gay Syria, director Ayse Toprak shatters the one-dimensional meaning of “refugee”. Using the pageant as a means of escape from political persecution, the organiser Mahmoud — already given asylum in Berlin — hopes to offer the winner a chance to travel as well as bring international attention to the life-threatening situations faced by LGBT Syrians.

Filmmaker Krishita Desai explores AI grief technology that lets people interact with digital versions of their deceased loved ones. Through families and experts, the film asks whether it brings comfort or complicates grief and healing.

A creative and personal retrospective of the renowned photographer Jindřich Štreit, accompanied by a selection of his photographs, footage from exhibitions, and encounters with those closest to him.

A symbolic and personal representation of the filmmaker's journey with grief, after losing their father in 2015. He owned a pair of gold Crocs which he wore everywhere, from lounging around at home to going to the shops. These shoes have been with the filmmaker's family throughout their childhood and have great sentimental value. Now these Crocs belong to the filmmaker's family and everybody who visits wears them. They have become a staple of their home where they will continue to see many more years of their family's life events.

An Indonesian man with a communist background named Ramli was brutally murdered when the "Communist" purge occurred in 1965. His remaining family members lived in fear and silence until the making of this documentary. Adi, a brother of his, decided to revisit the horrific incident and visited the men who were responsible for the killings and one survivor of the purge. These meetings uncovered sadistic details of the murders and exposed raw emotions and reactions of the killers' family members about what happened in the past - much to Adi's disappointment.

In 1999, 11-year-old Nisha Platzer lost her older brother, Josh, to suicide. Twenty years later, her search for a specialized medical treatment leads her to the door of someone who was once exceptionally close to Josh. And so it is that she finally has the chance to truly know her brother through his chosen family. Captured over five years in which synchronicities continually manifested, Platzer’s documentation of these encounters gently asserts that both grieving and healing are meant to be communal experiences.

Die Weisse Arche

Life After opens the dialogue surrounding grief and how we experience it. Through conversations with Nicola Winstanley and Carmen Galavan about what grief is and how it affects us, we learn what it really means to live a life after.

A mixed media film exploring the sweet & tender relationship between a family and their dog, Wandsey. ​Named after the borough of their home, Wandsworth, the film tenderly explores what home means, and how the presence & relationship of a pet can transform what home can be. ​With its scrapbook-like form, each memory turns like a page, as Gabby and her dad lovingly revisit the 17 beautiful years they shared with Wandsey. ​Softly and sweetly, the film asks what it means to love — and shows how the love we give & receive from our pets can truly transform a home.

As a “spiritual follow-up” to 'Fin', 'Death Boom' “pulls back the curtain on the catastrophic mental and environmental impacts of the contemporary death care industry. The film, shown through the lens of the workers at the heart of it as they prepare for the passing of 77 million baby boomers, exposes the toll that embalming, cremation, and traditional burial have on those who’ve passed, their families, and deathcare workers, and the corruption – political, religious, and corporate – that stands in opposition to greener methods being nationally legalized and accessible.”

After the untimely death of his 35-year old brother, an artist explores the questions that surfaced from grief by painting 365 paintings and to spur conversation in culture.

Two years after an injury halted his career, Germán, a two-time Olympic medalist, returns to competitions with the desire to win one last medal.

Directors Hetherington and Junger spend a year with the 2nd Battalion of the United States Army located in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous valleys. The documentary provides insight and empathy on how to win the battle through hard work, deadly gunfights and mutual friendships while the unit must push back the Taliban.