bakaw(an)

The film is an exploration of the queer body’s struggle to attain validation and evade exploitation. In a society where queer identities have always struggled to be recognized, our bodies have often been a medium of our expression and avenue for satisfaction. However, we, as a community, have subjected ourselves as victims to a system that exploits our vulnerabilities and bodies, to the point of moral decay.

The Hawaiian world view was once clearly reflected in a society created over 2000 years of existence in the islands. With the changes brought in the last 200 years, we who now live in the land of the Hawaiian may wonder: what does it mean to be Hawaiian in Hawaii today? A contemporary Hawaiian world view is shared here by 11 Hawaiians who have struggled with the question of maintaining cultural identity in this modern world, and who have each found their own answers. (Victoria Keith)

In memory of Brent Hinds 1974-2025

In Nauruan, Anubumin means "night"—and darkness is what the fourth joint film by Zanny Begg and Oliver Ressler begins with. The small and inconspicuous island of Nauru with close to 10,000 inhabitants lies in the Pacific at a great distance to the mainland. But Nauru is a tragic place steeped in history that has been overwritten by numerous narratives. The film addresses these different narratives, starting with the early exploitation of the island and its calcite and phosphate deposits by the colonial powers in the 19th century. After the golden 1970s, when the "Birdshit island" was flush with money, the phosphate was completely mined and the island state soon became insolvent. Since then, Nauru has turned into a gloomy place: 80% of the area is uninhabitable; the attempt to tap new sources of income led to the wide-scale practice of money laundering.

The film UMBRA deals with rare and common optical phenomena that occur in nature. These phenomena evoke familiar images such as shadows or reflections on a water surface; but also unusual ones like the "Brocken spectre" or the pinhole effect during a solar eclipse. These ancient and natural projections can be considered as precultural and independent of any apparatus. They occured even before mankind and are united by their intangible, ephemeral presence. In their immateriality and fragility, they are precursors of the cinema image. UMBRA develops a visual dialogue between phenomenon and apparatus, archetype and image, self and self-perception.

On the eve of postponed Congolese elections, two Congolese and two Belgian cineastes make a film about Kinshasa and its resistance against the legacies of colonialism. The four filmmakers want to tell a story together, but having grown up on other sides of history, they have different views on how to tell that story. What should it look like? Who should be in it? For whom is it made? Faire-part is the search of four filmmakers for a way to portray the city. Through filming artistic performances in public space, they paint a provocative picture of Kinshasa and its relations with the rest of the world.

Documentary about Givanchy and Audrey Hepburn.

A short documentary about pictures produced by Paramount in the 1950s, the directors who made them, and the stars in them.

"Beyond the Ararat" is the story of a woman of Turkish origin who embarks on a journey to better understand what makes up her identity. A road movie which brings her from her childhood neighborhood in Brussels to Turkey and Armenia. A quest where each woman she encounters could be the reflection of herself. Entering the land of her ancestors, Anatolia, she questions her cultural heritage. Stopping in her grandmother's village, she discovers the "Agit"; an antique oral tradition where women sing for their dead. The songs open a potential space for mourning, where Turkish, Kurdish but also Armenian women missing from that land, can sing "together". The confrontation with the "missing" from her memory, brings her farther eastward in Anatolia to the foot of the Ararat Mountain, and beyond.

A PBS documentary on the life and work of writer Raymond Carver. It features interviews with his family and friends, and provides an insightful look at his short stories and poems.

Naama lives on her own and is addicted to crystal meth. The story of an addicted but brave woman who has not lost faith in herself.

Documents the murder, in which Heather Barnett was found with two clumps of precisely trimmed hair in her hands, and which led detectives to Italy. It took eight years before the discovery of a second victim, Elisa Claps, finally led police to the killer.

Eager in spirit for a better world, an amateur rock band from bohemian Istanbul embarks on an impromptu tour to mainland Turkey, in hopes of sharing their music and love with fellow countrymen.

A documentary about Kay Thompson.

The auteur's birthplace as seen through his camera.

A parallel between the photographer in Funny Face and the real ones.

What began as a bet turned into the Battle of the Century! Witness the ultimate dance-off between two generations of dancers. The five best break-dancers, including Shaba Doo, star of Breakin' go head to head with the five original founders of Krumping.

For a civilization that has invested billions of dollars on space travel and astronomy, humanity still can't see the interstellar people living among them. Multidimensional is an offensive yet enlightening one man show, an impressive presentation by a teacher that has no equal on earth.

Malcolm Margolin , Writer, Publisher, and Founder of Heyday Books, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2008 Community Leadership Awards (the Helen Crocker Russell Award) - for promoting California's diverse cultures for more than 30 years, and for bringing voice, visibility, and value to multicultural, multilingual communities.

Elizabeth "Betita" Martinez, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2008 Community Leadership Awards (The San Francisco Foundation Award) - for building unity and alliances across traditional racial and gender lines, and for serving as a selfless and inspirational advocate for oppressed peoples around the world.