In its "velvet revolution" of 1989, the people of Czechoslovakia toppled its communist dictatorship and embraced democracy and capitalism. By January 1993, the country had peacefully split in two. In the early 1990s, thousands of American college graduates began flocking to Prague, where they could postpone entering the "real world," and live cheaply in a beautiful undiscovered European city. Throughout that decade more and more tourists crossed the statue-lined Charles Bridge in search of old world beauty previously hidden by communist isolation. But what of the people who cross the Charles Bridge on their way to work every morning? Who are the Czechs? What is their history? What is their future? My Prague Spring is an award-winning film that vividly humanizes a resilient people who have survived a tumultuous history. In the spring of 1990, a Czech-American filmmaker spent four months living with his Czech relatives, and opened an intimate window into an uncertain world.
During the so-called normalization period, Teplice, once a beautiful spa town nicknamed "Little Paris," is devastated, much like the entire northwestern industrial border region. It is often shrouded in dense smog, making visibility limited to just a few meters. Teplice is also a stronghold of a specific punk subculture and a city of exceptional alternative culture. The story of Pavel and Renata primarily unfolds in Teplice. They aspire to live freely, in accordance with their ideals. However, their lives are consistently disrupted by the repressive communist regime.
An original film testimony about the time 30 years ago. Peter Kořínek is 21 years old, hailing from Pardubice. He listens to underground bands, reads samizdat books, and faces school troubles due to his long hair. He dreams of emigration. It is the beginning of 1989, and there is no indication that he will experience freedom in communist Czechoslovakia.
Polojasno
Václav Neumann leads the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Prague Philharmonic Choir, with soloists Gabriela Be?a?ková, Anne Gjevang, Günther Neumann, and Arthur Korn. This historic concert of December 14, 1989, given in support of the “Velvet Revolution” in Czechoslovakia, was attended by many prominent personalities, including Václav Havel, just weeks before he became the President of Czechoslovakia (later, the Czech Republic).
The film recounts the life of the prisoners and the problems their families encounter in their struggle to survive. Here again filmmaker Kamran Shirdel employs the cinema verité style. The interviews with the prisoners, social workers and teachers serve as commentaries for "constructed" documentary images.
Tehran Is the Capital of Iran (1966-79) documents life in a deprived district in the south of Tehran. The images of destitution in Tehran's poor areas is accompanied by a variety of spoken accounts: the official viewpoint on the district's living conditions, what the inhabitants have to say, and occasional extracts read out of school manuals. The key element in Shirdel's film is the counterpoint effect he creates with image and sound. His impressively powerful portrayal of social unease helps reinforce the impact of his astonishing documentary images and social themes.
16th July 1969: America prepares to launch Apollo 11. Thousands of kilometers away, a ragtag group of Zambian exiles is trying to beat America to the Moon.
Contrasting ancient myth and modern reality, this short documentary examines the legendary relationship between West Coast Indigenous people and salmon, once their staple food. In the mythical realm, we learn how Raven finds riches in the harvest of the salmon, only to lose everything through a thoughtless act against the Spirit of the Salmon. So too does modern man jeopardize his living from the sea by heedless action. Images of ancient spear-fishing and smoke-houses contrast with images of today's Indigenous people operating a seiner and working in a cooperative cannery.
Short documentary filmed at the 1995 Burning Man festival
Tío Jess
Rubem Braga: Olho as Nuvens Vagabundas
In 1952, Marie-Louise Chapelle was the first French woman to reach an unclimbed peak in the Himalayas. Years later, filmmaker Ellen Vermeulen follows in her footsteps. An intimate journey through snow landscapes in which personal ambitions, social constraints, and the complexity of being a woman take center stage.
American Industrial Film covering the hazards of carpal tunnel syndrome.
An awkward wedding rehearsal at which the in-laws meet
Some of the most expensive and unusual items ever sold in Harrods are shared.
Film revealing what brings 300,000 people a day through Harrods' doors at Christmas.
Minutes of a rescue mission whose captain, Carola Rackete, becomes involuntarily famous when she rescues 53 people and questions the course of EU migration policy.
A look at the career, friendship and rivalry of legendary MMA fighters Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz.
Some people will move large valuable household goods, and the old people who barely have anything at all are forced to leave their safe existence for the new unknown.