Taxi to the Dark Side

New York cab and black car drivers are facing economic and emotional hardship in a city dominated by ride-share apps. As these long standing industries are decimated by economic and political forces, drivers are forced to cope or fight back.

According to the official history of Afghanistan, ruthless destruction has always prevailed over art and creation; but there is another tale to be told, the forgotten account of a diverse and progressive country, seen through the lens of innovative filmmakers, a story that survives thanks to a few brave Afghans, a small but very passionate group that secretly fought to save a huge film archive that was constantly menaced by war and religious fanaticism.

Amir, shot during the height of the Afghan civil war in the 1980s, investigates and portrays the life of Afghan refugees living in and around the city of Peshawar in northern Pakistan through the experiences of the musician Amir. The aspirations of Afghan refugees are expressed through their political songs dealing with the civil war in Afghanistan, with exile, with Afghan nationalism and with the Islamic revolution. In highly charged and tragic circumstances, music can be used in very direct ways, both to promote solidarity and as an agent of catharsis.

A documentary about the corrupt health care system in The United States who's main goal is to make profit even if it means losing people’s lives. "The more people you deny health insurance the more money we make" is the business model for health care providers in America.

Fidel Castro, the former President of Cuba and one of the most controversial figures of the 20th century, passed away in November. He famously claimed that "history will absolve me", but will it? This special film considers Castro and his legacy.

This film is a glimpse of the traditional life of the Afghan people, their culture and their music, just before the Russian intervention in 1979.

"Inside the Talibans" - What will happen if the Talibans return to power? Swedish journalist Magda Gad travels the Herat and Wardak provinces of Afghanistan to meet with the Taliban fighters.

This documentary on the effect the talent competition "Afghan Star" has on the incredibly diverse inhabitants of Afghanistan affords a glimpse into a country rarely seen. Contestants risk their lives to appear on the television show that is a raging success with the public and also monitored closely by the government.

The mission: Capture US and NATO forces on camera giving food, water, clothing, blankets, and medical supplies to widows and orphans in refugee camps and villages of Afghanistan.

Recounted mostly through animation to protect his identity, Amin looks back over his past as a child refugee from Afghanistan as he grapples with a secret he’s kept hidden for 20 years.

Documentary that follows the men and women whose job it was to pack up Britain's Camp Bastion base in Afghanistan.

Afri, a three-time World Surfing Games participant, has spent a lifetime searching for the world's best coastlines for surf, but never in his home country of Afghanistan. Filmed in three continents, this documentary follows Afridun's journey back to his home country with the help of some river surfers to find surfable waves and bring a drop of joy to the people there. The group battles with continual challenges on their 10-day journey from raging whitewater to culture clash. Their inspiring mission uncovers a long lost mystical side of a country battling with conflict through breathtaking landscapes and the desire to discover something new.

An insight into a girls' school in Afghanistan which imposes an even stricter interpretation of Islam than the Taliban.

Fidelis Cloer is a self-confessed war profiteer who found The Perfect War when the US invaded Iraq. It wasn't about selling a dozen cars, or even a hundred, it was a thousand-car war where security would become the ultimate product.

"What happens after detainees are released from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility? The answer to that question has, for the most part, been shrouded in secrecy."

The dramatic story of a Gitmo detainee released from the controversial U.S. prison after 14 years. With NPR, a report on the struggle over freeing prisoners once deemed international terrorists. Also, the untold history of the Guantanamo Bay prison.

The friendship between Christophe de Ponfilly and Commander Massoud, a legendary figure of the Afghan resistance against the Soviet invader, goes back to the filmmaker's first film, "A Valley Against an Empire", made in 1981. Fifteen years later, weakened, isolated, betrayed by many of his own, the "Lion of Panshir" has not surrendered to his new and implacable enemies, the Taliban. While preparing his next offensive, he evokes his commitment and his fights, and bears witness to a history in which he has been one of the main actors for twenty years. At the same time, the director questions the role and power of the media, as well as his own approach as a filmmaker. Commander Massoud was killed in an attack in September 2001.

On September 9, 2001, Commander Massoud, a hero of the Afghan resistance, was assassinated by two members of al-Qaeda posing as journalists. Two days later, the terrorist organization struck the United States. However, a few months earlier, during a visit to France, Commander Massoud had come to warn the West about the disastrous plans of al-Qaeda and the rise of the Taliban. He asked the West to exert pressure on Pakistan, a country that supplied arms, supported and sheltered the Taliban, but which was also a major buyer of French arms. He was not listened to.

The four Afghan refugees who have applied for asylum in Austria strike up the song, “The caravan moves on” again and again. Encouraged by the journalist Lucy Ashton to record their lives on their smartphone cameras as a video diary, the friends film their precarious daily routine between visits to authorities, small jobs, and changing accommodations. Yet even when hope is lost, one certainty remains: the power of friendship.

This Russian documentary offered tantalizing glimpses of Afghanistan, which in 1929 was still one of the few heavily-populated areas in the world where the residents continued to live as they did in the Middle Ages. A progressive new leader named Amnullah tries to "Westernize" the country, meeting plenty of resistance from native reactionaries.