“Nicky is seven. His parents are older and meaner.” A Place Called Lovely references the types of violence individuals find in life, from actual beatings, accidents and murders, to the more insidious violence of lies, social expectations, and betrayed faith. Benning collects images of this socially-pervasive violence from a variety of sources, tracing events from childhood: movies, tabloids, children's games (like mumbledy-peg), personal experiences, and those of others. Throughout, Benning uses small toys as props and examples—handling and controlling them the way we are, in turn, controlled by larger violent forces.
Like a road movie, the film accompanies a water delivery truck through the Brazilian landscapes of the Sertão region, plagued by drought. Between fiction and documentary, the driver’s trip bears witness to a determined population endeavouring to live out their daily lives, while the sterile words of politicians seem to soar over the arid lands. A collective portrait that respects the right distance.
A story of youth, dissent, love and betrayal in post 9/11 America woven exclusively with FBI surveillance, ERIC & “ANNA” tells the story of a teenage informant and the activist she helped to put in prison for nearly 20 years.
Through the stories of Assaad Shaftari, a former high-ranking militia officer, and Maryam Saiidi, the mother of a missing communist fighter, the film digs into war wounds and poses the question of whether or not redemption and forgiveness are possible.
"Dificult People" - About the production process when Suzanne Osten directs the theater play ”Difficult people”, written by Nils Gredeby. It is a play about people who fail in their professional careers by ”being difficult”. It all starts with the author attending a course about how to spot the difficult people and how to fire people who sabotage or create problems at the working place. In the process the ensemble has to face questions about how we view our fellow human beings and who is considered expendable.
The economists behind the implementation of the most extreme capitalist system in the world observe with surprise the discontent of its countrymen. For the first time, they tell the story of how they became Milton Friedman's students in Chicago in the 1950s and what were they willing to do to pursue their extreme economic ideas, aided by Pinochet's dictatorship in the 70s. Unseen images and testimonies that allow us to understand the historic process that transformed the Chilean people and Chile in the country that it is today, an image of success and discontent.
In 1979 José Efraín Ríos Montt became a reborn Christian. He was offering a sermon when a group of soldiers burst into his Christian school, and asked him to lead a military coup in 1982. Francisco Chavez Raymundo and his sister were small children when Rios' political actions annihilated their community. In March, 2013 the lives of Francisco Chavez and Rios Montt converge in the same space. Rios is called upon to testify before Guatemalan justice and is confronted by a group of Mayan Ixiles, orphans and widows of the war, Francisco is one of them.
Whether a veil of the soul, the mind or the body; the layers of the veil in history and the many meanings behind it will be revealed. 'Women are either judged for wearing the hijab or not wearing it' (the hijab refers to the head covering). In 'The Tainted Veil,' the challenges surrounding these ideas are exposed in a debate by diverse guests and extraordinary stories.
The portrait of a community as they face their country's economic recession.
As described by Oliver Sykes, "The most offensive, vulgar, awkward, retarded band DVD of all time. But also the funniest and the best."
To celebrate Arena's 40th anniversary, a new film made entirely from its own archive, evoking the one experience common to all - the 24-hour cycle from dawn to dusk to dawn again.
This is a newly restored version of documentation of the 1967 group performance Snows, which was built out of Schneemann's outrage and sorrows over the atrocities of the Vietnam War. An ethereal stage environment combining colored light panels, film projection, torn collage, hanging sacks of colored water, "snow," crusted branches, rope, foil and foam was the set and setting in which an audience-activated electronic switching system controlled elements of the performance/installation. Images from film, slide and live action propel silent, ghostly performers to become aggressor and victim, torturer and tortured, lover and beloved, as well as simply themselves in this breakthrough mixed-media film performance. (The film Viet-Flakes is a central element).
Experimental exploration of The Ivy House pub in Peckham, which was sold to developers as part of the gentrification of South London.
Admiration for her sister Rowan's self-confidence prompts filmmaker Ester Gould to explore our narcissistic society, with disconcerting results.
Donde aprendiste a vivir
Chronicles the adventurous life of Hungarian-born Jewish lawyer Benjamin Ferencz, who fled to the USA as a child and later became chief war crime prosecutor in the Nuremberg Trials of 1945-1949 and one of the founding members of the International Criminal Court, which entered into force in 2002.
The diary of Takuya Ogushi, a 18 years old Japanese, who begins his new life as a sumo wrestler.
We are always told that love lasts forever like in children's fairy tales, but the reality is that people change and relationships expire.
Bayou Maharajah explores the life and music of New Orleans piano legend James Booker, the man Dr. John described as "the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced." A brilliant pianist, his eccentricities and showmanship belied a life of struggle, prejudice, and isolation. Illustrated with never-before-seen concert footage, rare personal photos and exclusive interviews, the film paints a portrait of this overlooked genius.
What is home? And how do we find it? TINY follows one couple's attempt to build a Tiny House from scratch with no building experience, and profiles other families who have downsized their lives into houses smaller than the average parking space. Through homes stripped down to their essentials, the film raises questions about sustainability, good design, and the changing American Dream.