A Good Mind Grows in Thorny Places

"A young filmmaker studying at the Alexandria Higher Institute of Cinema (AHIC) struggles with an internal conflict; torn between his deep loyalty to his hometown of Alexandria and his burning desire to immerse himself in the vibrant film scene of Cairo, the bustling capital. He discusses the matter with a fellow AHIC student, where they share their thoughts and questions about the meaning of success and their personal aspirations. This shared exploration becomes a search for a guiding light, a clue that reveals whether their chosen paths will lead them to their desired futures.

Two instants separated by 99 days conflict with each other.

This documentary follows two long-lost Ukrainian friends, Arsalan and Nastya, as they reconnect in Germany after russia's full-scale invasion against Ukraine. Arsalan, an actor now in Frankfurt after time in a refugee camp, and Nastya, journalist and producer who stayed in Kyiv, reflect on the divergent paths their lives have taken due to the war. Through their conversations and therapy sessions, the film explores themes of displacement, identity, and the emotional impact of war on youth.

When Loo Lay Yen suffers a stroke, the lives of her husband and three boys are changed forever. Shot by her eldest son, Tai Binquan, the film features family albums alongside raw documentary footage. where are you now is both a loving tribute to Loo and a piercing inquiry into care, dignity and the ethics of representing end-of-life experiences.

Karel Vachek’s graduate film offers us a documentary essay which is both a light-hearted and aggressive little piece and also a parody of investigative film journalism. The Strážnice folk festival, backed by the cultural Party apparatus of the time, for years had little to commend itself to authentic folklore. In the film the event assumes the form of a bizarre stage spectacle with almost surrealistic elements that Vachek reinforces with unconventional approaches (commentary appearing as titles on screen, singing, declamations into the camera, feature etudes, the fusion of news coverage and fiction). The result is a stirring film collage depicting various characters, from crowd-pleasers, Easter egg decorators, kitsch artists and peddlers, to museologists and local residents, all of whom come up against the eccentric "identical” twin reporters Karel and Jan Saudek and a bored actress who appears as an extra. Using their special blend of irony and wit, they present us with the sad truth.

A brief portrait of famous and brave bullfighter Manuel Benítez el Corbobés; an account on still photos of his triumphs and failures.

The past drags itself into the present day, taking us back to the era of the Dominican Republic's greatest dictator, while we explore the traces of Nazism in the corners of the island. This short documentary borders on a dark and little-known aspect of Dominican history, taking the viewer on a subversive journey through time and memory.

Why wouldn't you? Is there any reason not to? We've got so much at our disposal, so, why don't you? Won't you tell me? Won't you please tell me? To have you down is simply unacceptable. Just look at this; or this; at all these hallmarks to guide you and convey to you the prime ways to feel lovely. Just follow them and you'll be set. So, I ask you again... Don't you feel lovely today?

The Faces of Parkinson shows the people who suffer from Parkinson's disease and the impact it made on their life and people around and close to them. As it also asks the question how one continues to stay positive with such a destructive disease.

Arturo Urbiola, independent singer/songwriter, talks about the influence music has had on his life, it's impact, and what's in store for his artistic career after becoming a father.

A report from a Svazarm summer training camp where trained instructors dedicate themselves to providing children and young people with defence education.

Human action is often influenced by the desire for knowledge. This desire is in itself a positive impulse and could be said to be the basis of all progress. Let's move this statement to the ground of scientific research at CERN, and see if it applies here - and then test the common experience that human stupidity permeates every social stratum and, in the case of the elites, is a potential threat.

With the good of the people in mind, Valery Legasov, a Soviet scientist called to the scene of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, stands up to censorship behind the iron curtain.

This film, which documents a controversy over plans to alter the original architectural design of the Whitney Museum of American Art, examines some of the problems raised by the decision, including Modernist and Post-Modernist styles, architecture as art, the responsibility of art museums to the public, and the role of the architect

Through interspersed conversation and prose, this experimental documentary follows a poet and a neuroscientist as they explore the definition of love, what it means, and why it matters.

A student work by Jiří Menzel, filmed during his second year at the FAMU film school. Views of old Prague and its tenement buildings, symbolizing the obsolete past, alternate with shots of construction sites for new prefabricated apartment buildings. In spite of certain unavoidable propagandistic overtones added by the director, it is notable as the beginning of his search for a “dramaturgy of colors.”

As a small liberal arts college on the North Shore, Gordon College has not been without its issues. Budget cuts in 2019 resulted in the downsizing of several departments which impacted students' college career. In 2020 during the heat of the pandemic, racial tensions rise after hate crimes are committed on campus. This is the story of the class of 2022.

A misunderstood and isolated transgender teenager takes revenge upon his unaccepting parents. A powerful supernatural entity known as the Bug God contacts him to help him do the deed. A mysterious organization produces a largely fictitious made-for-TV docudrama on the subject.

In a series of juxtaposed images and sounds, Jaromil Jireš comments on the tragic premature death of thousands as well as their posterity due to the atomic bomb.

Struggling with fear, tension, and anxiety amid the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a high school student reflects upon what really matters.