Located on the shores of the Baltic Sea, between Poland and Lithuania, Kaliningrad is a piece of Russia in the heart of Europe. A curious territory, isolated from Moscow after the fall of the USSR, today transformed into a military fortress facing NATO. In Kaliningrad, headquarters of the Russian Baltic fleet, there are 30,000 soldiers, hypersonic missiles and nuclear capability.
“There’s a bus stop I want to photograph.” This may sound like a parody of an esoteric festival film, but Canadian Christopher Herwig’s photography project is entirely in earnest, and likely you will be won over by his passion for this unusual subject within the first five minutes. Soviet architecture of the 1960s and 70s was by and large utilitarian, regimented, and mass-produced. Yet the bus stops Herwig discovers on his journeys criss-crossing the vast former Soviet Bloc are something else entirely: whimsical, eccentric, flamboyantly artistic, audacious, colourful. They speak of individualism and locality, concepts anathema to the Communist doctrine. Herwig wants to know how this came to pass and tracks down some of the original unsung designers, but above all he wants to capture these exceptional roadside way stations on film before they disappear.
Personal stories from civilians, children, soldiers, doctors, the country’s elderly, journalists, religious leaders, and international volunteers - a handful of the millions of people whose lives have been turned upside-down by nine years (and counting) of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
La vengeance de Poutine
A Russian-Australian cinematographer travels to Albany to find out about the time when a 19th Century town at the end of the world was put on high alert of a Russian invasion.
La mamie patineuse du lac Baïkal
September 2022 marked the 50th anniversary of the Summit Series, the iconic hockey tournament that pitted the best players from Canada against the best from the Soviet Union. This documentary enlarges the canvas to tell the story from the unique perspectives of a diverse group who are rarely, if ever, heard: diplomats, NHL hockey legends, Soviet players, journalists, fans, broadcasters, business leaders and Team Canada’s Chairman – all reveal untold stories about what happened before, during, and after September ‘72.
De Bariri Pra Rússia
Triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early spring of 2022, Ukrainian journalist and writer Ivan Avramov struggles to navigate his fluid identity and the shifting reality around him.
United by the same dream, Yves Fagniart and Olivier Larrey, watercolorist and wildlife photographer respectively, set up home in a shack just a few square meters square, in the middle of the no-man's-land between Finland and Russia. Their aim: to document the intimate life of a pack of wolves, presumed to frequent this frozen peat bog landscape.
As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war. Facing the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, a brave teacher goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school.
Filmmaker Steve York explores the controversial 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, during which candidate Viktor Yushchenko suffered a near-fatal poisoning and his unpopular opponent, Viktor Yanukovych, was declared the winner. In the aftermath, more than a million people -- including the ailing Yushchenko -- took to the streets of Kiev, protesting the results that contradicted exit polls showing Yushchenko with an impressive lead.
A look inside the Russian assault on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, told by displaced families, civilians caught in the fight and first responders.
Kirill can never see his hometown again: he fled Russia when Ukraine was attacked. His friend, Daniel, makes the journey and “cans Moscow” for him. Kirill discovers his “reconfigured” apartment; his bicycle hanging on the wall watches over his remaining comrades. In snowy Moscow, the lights are shining for the holidays. Kirill looks at the images: engulfed passers-by, war posters: “This is not my city”.
Oleh - Tåget från kriget
The nature of the Crimean peninsula is beautiful and diverse - here you can find numerous caves, grottoes, bays with cozy beaches, as well as unique salt lakes - azure blue and pink reservoirs with salt water. They are a source of cosmetic and food salt, as well as medicinal mud.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine created an avalanche of abandoned dogs and cats that are now multiplying causing unforeseen consequences.
A documentary feature film about the biggest global corruption scandal in history, and the hundreds of journalists who risked their lives to break the story.
A gripping journey through seven decades of sexual ignorance, oppression, and suffering, brought to life through the words and experiences of the first Soviet sexologist. Ukrainian survivors of the regime courageously recount the harsh realities they endured, from the pervasive suppression of sexual expression to the rampant exploitation and abuse that plagued Soviet society.
This is a once in a generation event that needs to be examined without the usual spin that is delivered by the controlled media. While the video will be interpreted one way or the other, it is one that supports the voice of reason and of peace rather than jingoistic war drums and the cacophony of white noise.