The Blackprint explores what it means to be Black and British. will.i.am traveled the UK to meet civil rights heroes, schoolchildren and technology trailblazers while also exploring issues they face because of their race. A basic look at racial discrimination experienced by young Black men and women but also, where it began with the slave trade in the 1800s.
A disturbing chapter in Russian history is explored in this documentary. In 1933, Joseph Stalin sent 6000 "unwanted" citizens of Moscow and Leningrad to a desolate Siberian island - with no food or clothes to speak of. Decades later this documentary returns to the island.
Jan Smuts is a foremost political figure in South African 20th Century History, and is recognised today by two of the world's leading historians as being at the very centre of the vision for a new world order that emerges from the League of Nations and the United Nations.. Yet, he is virtually persona non grata in his own country.... and largely ignored in school history books. This one hour drama-documentary, with its dramatised cameo scenes in which his look-alike grandson takes on the role of Jan Smuts, battle re-enactments, historical archival footage, comments from historians, political analysts, and South African political struggle heroes, looks back on his life and the circumstances that shaped it in search of some answers.
Directed by Nino Ramos, & Produced by Screamin' Rachael. "The House That Trax Built" takes a look into the History of Trax Records, the iconic label that is the original home of House Music.
No profession, no say, no freedom of expression. Life as a prince consort is not exactly pleasure taxing. No constitution ascribes any function to the husband of a queen. Nowhere does it say what he must or must not do. A life in the shadow of the crown. Can that go well?
Amora
The Fascinating History of Rumney & Llanrumney. This video sets out to trace the story of Tredelerch (Rumney) and Llanrumney from around 60AD when the Romans arrived and set up camp, to the present day where it is a busy suburb of the capital city of Caerdydd (Cardiff).
For the first 18 years of her life, Mozart’s sister shared equal billing with her brother. Musical partners and collaborators, Wolfgang Mozart and Maria-Anna Mozart played together before Kings and Queens, and were the talk of Europe. What happened to her? Forced into retirement by age 16 because she was a woman, a stunning new investigation explores why she was retired against her will and the explosive theory: did Maria-Anna Mozart continue to compose in secret?
The Fall of the I-Hotel brings to life the battle for housing in San Francisco. The brutal eviction of the International Hotel's tenants culminated a decade of spirited resistance to the razing of Manilatown. The Fall of the I-Hotel works on several levels. It not only documents the struggle to save the I-Hotel, but also gives an overview of Filipino American history.
A Guatemalan woman, Ana Lucía Cuevas, returns home from exile to face the brutal history of Guatemala's armed conflict. In 1984, her brother Carlos was kidnapped by the state as one of thousands who were abducted and disappeared. Recounting the stories of brutal genocide, terror, state repression and violence, this film documents the memories of those victimised by the Guatemalan state.
A photographer explores the seldom noticed architecture in his home town.
Bas Jan Ader's first fall film shows him seated on a chair, tumbling from the roof of his two-storey house in the Inland Empire.
About 4 000 years ago, Assyrian merchants established a commercial settlement in the ancient city of Kaneš, within Central Anatolia. They came from Aššur, north of Mesopotamia. We have come to understand their history through their writings on clay tablets that have stood the test of time: more than 22 500 cuneiform tablets have been unearthed from the archaeological site of Kültepe. How did these Mesopotamian clay tablets arrived in Anatolia and what do they tell us? The voice of Tarām-Kūbi, an Assyrian woman who corresponded with her brother and her husband in Kaneš, takes us back in time.
A docu-film about the city Lucknow where the creators ask their family members important questions they have always wanted answers to, while indulging in tomfoolery around town. The film showcases the differences in the way three different generations perceive Lucknow. An ode to the city, and an attempt to provide solace to the social misfits of the creators' hometown.
The War on Disco explores the culture war that erupted over the spectacular rise of disco music. Originating in underground Black and gay clubs, disco had unseated rock as America’s most popular music by the late 1970s. But many diehard rock fans viewed disco, with its repetitive beat and culture that emphasized pleasure, as shallow and superficial. A story that’s about much more than music, The War on Disco explores how the powerful anti-disco backlash revealed a cultural divide that to some seemed to be driven by racism and homophobia. The hostility came to a head on July 12, 1979, when a riot broke out at “Disco Demolition Night” during a baseball game in Chicago.
A core group of architects embraced the West Coast from Vancouver to LA with its particular geography and values and left behind a legacy of inspired dwellings. Today, architects celebrate the influence established by their predecessors.
The Incas appear out of nowhere and within a few decades their empire develops into the largest empire in the world at that time. Until today the Inca are surrounded by an aura of mystery. How could their meteoric rise take place in such a short time? And how did a handful of Spaniards succeed in bringing down the empire?
The brilliant self-taught pianist Erroll Garner left his mark on jazz forever. His song Misty, which he allegedly composed between two concerts on an aeroplane, immediately became one of the great jazz standards and is still one of the most covered ballads in the world today. Who was the man behind the ever-friendly smile from the ghettos of Pittsburgh, whose talent brought him to the biggest international stages?
A documentary exploring Saudi Arabia's hidden film culture, following movie lovers who grew up without theaters in the 1980s and uncovering the nation's pre-1979 cinematic history through pioneers who kept their passion alive.
After All is said and done. A man clears out his childhood home, remembering past conversations.