Shinto: Nature, Gods, and Man in Japan

Born June 8, 1964, Frank Matter films four "twins", born the same day as him, but in other latitudes. Interweaving their life stories with rich archival material, the filmmaker links these Parallel Lives with elements from his own biography, to compose a fascinating fresco where intimate trajectories are part of the advent of the global village.

In the thick of a controversial war of ideas, two enlightening figures, Sam Harris, an atheist and a critic of religion, and Maajid Nawaz, an Islamist-turned-liberal activist, partake in an engaging dialogue on the state of Islam, its potential reform, the militant ideology of Islamism, and where all this lays in a secular world.

Following the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City, one item of clothing has gained a scandalous global reputation: the headscarf. All over the world, a major debate is going on about whether Muslim women should be allowed to wear the headscarf in public.

Le mystère des reliques de saint Pierre

We feel as if we are discovering Turkey for the first time. All of a sudden, we came across a Türkiye with imam marriage and congregations. Actually, that Türkiye has always existed, but we seem to be ignoring it. Especially the iftar dinner given by Prime Minister Erbakan to the leaders of the sect suddenly increased the discussions even more. Sects are a danger to the Republic for some of us, and star people for peace in the country according to others. Regardless, the truth of sects is now a part of our lives. Tonight we will open a 2-part sects file. How many sects are there in Turkey? Who participates, how and why? How do they enter and what do they do? What are the advantages of being a cult member? How many members do sects have? Is Türkiye about to surrender to the sects? Here you will find answers to hundreds of more questions like these. Rıdvan Akar joined various sects. He studied the positive and negative aspects of the sects world. A beautiful file has emerged...

A look at the Hutterites, an Anabaptist religious community similar to the Amish or the Mennonites in rural Alberta. The followers of religious leader Jacob Hutter live in farm communities, devoutly holding to the rules their founder laid down four centuries ago. Through the kindness of a Hutterite colony in Alberta, this film, in black and white, was made inside the community and shows all aspects of the Hutterites' daily life.

L'empire du sushi

Global Sushi : demain nos enfants mangeront des méduses

A 49 minutes documentary on the footsteps of 87 years old "Grandma" Kuniko Shiiba, perpetuating a 4000 years traditional and sustainable form of agriculture. Shohei SHIBATA followed her a whole year through the forest and its medicinal plants, fire spirits and mountains.

The priest Børre Knudsen is Norway's most infamous anti-abortionist, and much hated for this. He fought for his cause without thinking about the consequences for his family and his children even in the worlds most democratic country.

Call Me Malcolm is an amazing story of the human spirit and God's spirit, and the liberating struggle to realize and express with confidence the marvelous gift of one's truest sense of self. As Malcolm shares his own story and through the stories of others we meet, Call Me Malcolm offers us a glimpse into the real lives of real people who are transgender. But it is only a glimpse. There are many stories to be told and Malcolm helps us make connections to our own stories, encouraging us to share them. That can seem daunting in a culture which has done more to heap shame on persons who identify as transgender. The good news of Malcolm's story is the way in which shame and fear are overcome by grace, compassion and knowledge. Viewers cannot help but come to a deeper understanding of faith, love, and gender identity, and by doing so, arrive at a deeper understanding of their own journey.

L'échec du rideau de fer ?

From Belgium, Jialai Wang maintains contact via smartphone and camera with her mother and grandmother in China. When her grandmother’s health deteriorates, Jialai returns to Shanghai, but when she arrives, her grandmother has already died, and she is left alone with her mother. A devout Buddhist, her mother seems to pay more attention to her daily prayers, Maoist past and dog Dongdong than she does to her daughter. She herself had been abandoned as a child by her own mother, when she divorced Jialai’s grandfather and moved to the city.

Haitian history is presented through an explosion of colour, dance and music, as the country prepares for its legendary carnival.

In Japan, more than four million young people survive by taking on precarious jobs. They are called “freeters”. The film gives voice to these “discard-after-use” workers, who regard their situation with both lucidity and desperation, as well as to ex-freeters who have become activists in the fight against exclusions.

In the summer of 2007, Gan Xiaoer led an independent film projection team, using projectors and self-made screens, to tour villages in Henan province to show his feature film "Raised from dust" for 8 times, and recorded the process. The 81-minute version of Church Cinema records only one stop, the Qiliying Church, where "Raised from dust" was shot.

"Heart of the Country" is the story of Shinichi Yasutomo, the extraordinary principal of a rural elementary school in Kanayama, central Hokkaido, Northern Japan. Yasutomo is a man driven by his vision for learning and his passion for educating the heart as well as the mind. The film follows Yasutomo, his teachers and staff, students and their families over the course of one entire school year. The film is also the story of the families of Kanayama. Parents and elders of this once impoverished town embrace Yasutomo's vision, but not without wary glances back to the past. This small community, bound together by love for its children, is also defined by its journey through the cultural upheavals of postwar Japan.

Dania is 21 years old and grew up in a Christian community in the Faroe Islands’ Bible belt. She has just moved to Tórshavn and is seeing Trygvi, a hip-hop artist and poet locally known as Silvurdrongur (Silver Kid). He comes from a secular family and writes poems and texts about the shadow sides of humanity. Dania herself sings in a Christian band but is fascinated by Trygvi’s courage to write brutally honest lyrics. As she tries to find her place in the world and understand herself, she starts to write more personal texts. Her writings develop into a collection of critical poems called ‘Skál’ (‘Cheers’), about the double life that she and other youths must live in the conservative Christian world.

Sacred explores cultural and religious ritual as it relates to life’s cycles: birth, adolescence, marriage, aging and other key passages of life.

WINHANGANHA (Wiradjuri language: Remember, know, think) - is a lyrical journey of archival footage and sound, poetry and original composition. It is an examination of how archives and the legacies of collection affect First Nations people and wider Australia, told through the lens of acclaimed Wiradjuri artist, Jazz Money.