If Mama Ain't Happy, Nobody's Happy

David Attenborough returns to the island of Madagascar on a very personal quest. In 1960 he visited the island to film one of his first ever wildlife series, Zoo Quest. Whilst he was there, he acquired a giant egg. It was the egg of an extinct bird known as the 'elephant bird' - the largest bird that ever lived. It has been one of his most treasured possessions ever since. Fifty years older, he now returns to the island to find out more about this amazing creature and to see how the island has changed. Could the elephant bird's fate provide lessons that may help protect Madagascar's remaining wildlife? Using Zoo Quest archive and specially shot location footage, this film follows David as he revisits scenes from his youth and meets people at the front line of wildlife protection. On his return, scientists at Oxford University are able to reveal for the first time how old David's egg actually is - and what that might tell us about the legendary elephant bird.

Privilege is an intelligently conceived, boldly anarchic, and wickedly insightful exposition on the culturally ingrained and socially divisive malaise of isms that artificially define and characterize empowerment in contemporary society: ageism, sexism, economic elitism, and racism. Yvonne Rainer conveys texture through the intercutting of archival footage, video, and film - as well as compositional layering through the film-within-a-film structure, elliptical (and self-referential) fusion of past and present, and the filmmaker's idiosyncratic penchant for superimposed typed text.

Through a series of twenty six short stories, a girl describes the childhood events that shaped her ideas about fatherhood, family relations, work and play. As the stories unfold, a dual portrait emerges: that of a father who cared more for his career than for his family, and of a daughter who was deeply affected by his behavior. Working in counterpoint to the forceful text are sensual black and white images that depict both the extraordinary and ordinary events of daily life. Together, they create a formally complex and emotionally intense film.

Coverup: Behind the Iran Contra Affair is the third feature-length documentary produced by the Empowerment Project. The shadow government of assassins, arms dealers, drug smugglers, former CIA operatives and top US military personnel who were running foreign policy unaccountable to the public, revealing the Reagan/Bush administration's plan to use FEMA to institute martial law and ultimately suspend the Constitution. Strikingly relevant to current events.

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.

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.

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 actor and musician turns 65 on March 26, 2025. Time for a portrait. Axel Prahl is known to a wide audience for his role as Chief Inspector Frank Thiel in the popular “Tatort” series from Münster, a character he has embodied with gruff charm since 2002.

A portrait of pianist Alfred Brendel performing and analysing Franz Schubert's final three sonatas.

Shot on location in Singapore, Japan, London, Paris, New York, Berlin and Amsterdam, artist and filmmaker Ang Sookoon takes us on an eye opening journey into the private lives of artists. Through candid conversations with fellow artists, these dialogues reveal the artists’ perspectives on the financial difficulties inherent in their unconventional career. In turn, together with Sookoon they question the current systems that govern an artist’s career and livelihood.

Follows filmmaker and actress, Maryam Zaree, on her quest to find out the violent circumstances surrounding her birth inside one of the most notorious political prisons in the world.

A look at the growing allure of Goth culture in England and the USA...on a boat.

This film tells the life story of Ziva Postec, emphasizing the period when she was editing Shoah from 350 hours of footage.

An independent documentary exploring the nature of identity, through the eyes of an adult trans-racial adoptee (Lucy Sheen). How being an adoptee affects and influences others like herself and what it means (if anything) to be both Chinese and British - if there is such a thing?

The film focuses on the light and shadow playing on the walls of the Castro Camera Store, a location in Gus Van Sant’s Milk. The soundtrack features Harvey Milk himself, shortly after his election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.

A magic realist fable about invisible elves, financial collapse and the surprising power of belief, told through the story of an Icelandic woman - a real life Lorax who speaks on behalf of nature under threat.

Bihttoš is an unconventional documentary that explores the complex relationship between a father and daughter. Through animation, re-enactments, and archival photos, writer/director Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers delves into the dissolution of her parents’ mythic love story and how it has colored her perception of love in her adult life.

Menhaden: The Most Important Fish in the Bay examines the role of a little-known, oily, little fish in the Chesapeake Bay. From its original concept as a classic man-versus-environment story, the film evolved to reflect the complexity of sustaining a menhaden fishery that many diverse interests depend on. The outcome: a story that seamlessly weaves together different perspectives on the menhaden fishing industry and its culture utilizing engaging personal vignettes, scientific data and creative visual storytelling techniques. Techniques include archival footage blended with cinematic live-action footage, musical performances and original, handmade animations.