Bismuna - Ein Abenteuerfilm

When the revolution in Nicaragua won its victory nearly 40 years ago, the world began to dream. A young generation was taking the reins in a country of grand utopias. From West Germany alone, 15,000 “brigadists” travelled to help rebuild the war-torn country: liberals, greens, unionists, social democrats, leftists and church representatives harvested coffee and cotton, built schools, kindergartens and hospital wards. No movement has mobilised so many people. What became of the hopes and dreams of the revolutionaries and their supporters?

How can a country survive when its jungle borders hold 4000 hostile troops?

¡Las Sandinistas! uncovers the disappearing stories of women who shattered barriers to lead combat and social reform during Nicaragua’s 1979 Sandinista Revolution, and who continue to lead Nicaragua’s current struggle for democracy and equality.

The conflict between Dole Food Company and Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten unfolds dramatically in the documentary "BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS!" as the corporation attempts to suppress Gertten's earlier film, "BANANAS!"—chronicling Nicaraguan workers' lawsuit against Dole. Initially selected for the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival, "BANANAS!" was abruptly removed from competition, followed by a negative article in the Los Angeles Business Journal and legal threats from Dole's attorneys. Gertten captures this saga of corporate intimidation, media manipulation, and legal challenges in his documentary, showcasing the struggles documentary filmmakers face and highlighting the threat to freedom of speech posed by powerful corporations protecting their reputations.

This 1979 documentary depicts the daily life of gangs in the South Bronx. It deals primarily with two African American and Puerto Rican gangs known as the "Savage Skulls" and the "Savage Nomads".

The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising stories of three Violence Interrupters — former gang members who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once caused.

A group of Miskito Indians use Nicaraguan child soldiers in their resistance against the Sandinistas.

Father Edward J. Flanagan is a familiar name to many Americans, often for the Oscar-winning 1938 film starring Spencer Tracy about Flanagan’s groundbreaking child welfare organization. But the story extends far beyond that, to a man whose name and legacy are still well-known as far as Germany and Japan. Flanagan gained influence and admiration over the course of his life from Presidents, CEOs, celebrities and more, but none mattered more to him than that of the children for whom he tirelessly worked. A sobering reminder of this was during WWII, as Flanagan saw droves of former Boys Town citizens go off to war. In fact, so many former Boys Town boys named Flanagan as their next of kin that the American War Dads Association named him as America’s No. 1 War Dad.

Hakim Chajar - Projet Nicaragua

FLYIN' CUT SLEEVES, completed in 1993, portrays street gang presidents in the Bronx. Their world was the streets, set against a backdrop of uprooted families, cultural alienation, drugs and violence. Neighborhood teenagers responded by organizing into street groups known to the members as "families", but labeled in the most alarming terms as violent gangs by the press. The documentation of these lives over a twenty-year period offers a remarkable perspective on life in the ghetto (spanning four generations), and the means that people devise to cope from the time that they are children to when they serve as parents and role models for a new generation.

Thomas Hirschhorn, one of the few Swiss artists of world renown, often touches on social wounds with his provocative works. In 2013, Hirschhorn built a monument for Italian philosopher and communist Antonio Gramsci in a public housing project in the Bronx. The contentious artist collaborated with neighborhood residents whose everyday life is impacted by poverty, unemployment and crime. Conflicts and misunderstandings are bound to arise as Hirschhorn’s absolute devotion to art is confronted with the resident’s lack of prospects and fatalistic outlooks. The «Gramsci Monument» becomes a summer-long experiment where diverse worlds collide: blacks and whites, the art elite and street kids, party people and poets, politicians and philosophers. A nuanced film about art, politics and passion.

A documentary on reformed ex-con Rick Maylender and his attempts to help troubled youths by taking them out of their environment and showing them how to find and repair abandoned classic vehicles.

Sjaak and Clara founded the very first food bank in the Netherlands in 2002. Since handing over their responsibilities at the food bank, they have continued their mission unabated. They still run a soup kitchen and the Social Café Onder de Oranjeboom (Under the Orange Tree), where vulnerable members of society can find a hot meal, support, and a good conversation. For many years, this dedicated couple has been committed to helping people in Rotterdam living in poverty.

Five people talk about how easy it is to build up and how difficult it is to get out of it again. They fall ten prey to the powerful industry. Fines and extra costs make them so aware that they can no longer be solved on their own.

Juan “Accidentes” Dominguez is on his biggest case ever. On behalf of twelve Nicaraguan banana workers he is tackling Dole Food in a ground-breaking legal battle for their use of a banned pesticide that was known by the company to cause sterility. Can he beat the giant, or will the corporation get away with it?

This third opus will take us into the homes of some of the ADAMANT and AVERROES & ROSA PARKS’ protagonists, during the visits led by their caregivers.

Nicaragua, una patria libre para vivir (la insurrección de los nietos de la revolución sandinista)

Born from the ashes of the iconic punk band Ebba Grön, this documentary tells the story of Imperiet and their journey to become the leading star of the post-punk generation and one of Sweden's biggest rock bands. It's also the story of Sweden, at a time in which they took their firm position on the world stage and when political commitment from the artists was a necessity.

Soldat for frelseren

At a public hospital in Nicaragua, Ob/Gyn Dr. Carla Cerrato must choose between following a law that bans all abortions and endangers her patients or taking a risk and providing the care that she knows can save a woman's life. In 2007, Dr. Cerrato’s daily routine took a detour. The newly elected government of Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist revolutionary who converted to Catholicism to win votes, overturned a 130-year-old law protecting therapeutic abortion. The new law entirely prohibits abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, or when a woman’s life is at stake. As Carla and her colleagues navigate this dangerous dilemma, the impact of this law emerges—illuminating the tangible reality of prohibition against the backdrop of a political, religious, and historically complex national identity. The emotional core of the story—the experiences and situations of the young women and girls who are seeking care—illustrate the ethical implications of one doctor's response.