Marked by Darkness

This episode from the Czech Journal series examines how a military spirit is slowly returning to our society. Attempts to renew military training or compulsory military service and in general to prepare the nation for the next big war go hand in hand with society’s fear of the Russians, the Muslims, or whatever other “enemies”. This observational flight over the machine gun nest of Czech militarism becomes a grotesque, unsettling military parade. It can be considered not only to be a message about how easily people allow themselves to be manipulated into a state of paranoia by the media, but also a warning against the possibility that extremism will become a part of the regular school curriculum.

From both ends of the Arctic, Nikita in Siberia and Martha in Alaska send a distress signal as the ground sinks beneath their feet and fossil fuel companies greedily expand into the far north.

What happens to a relationship if a partner suddenly becomes severely disabled after an accident? For Gosia it is clear that she will stand by her boyfriend Tomek no matter what in order to let him live as normal and fulfilled a live as possible. But time and again she becomes painfully aware of her own limits, as well as of those of a society that talks a lot about inclusion but often does not seem to be ready for it. GOSIA@TOMEK is based on more than 3000 emails that Gosia has been writing to Tomek daily since his accident.

The Heart of Man is a timeless tale of a father's relentless pursuit of his son -- interwoven with interviews of top thought-leaders on brokenness, identity, and shame.

L'initiation

Speaking Eyes

Vincenz Priessnitz

Pionnier

A serious Swiss melodrama/documentary about abortion, marketed as a sexy exploitation movie in the US. The film contains real medical footage.

Imagine one of the most remote wildernesses in the world. Granddaughter Masha and Vladimir, the protagonists of this story from Central Siberia try the impossible to keep their nomadic traditions alive.

Le Fils

À la hauteur

A picture of the ceremonial opening of the new school year.

One year in the life of a Turkish teacher, teaching the Turkish language to Kurdish children in a remote village in Turkey. The children can't speak Turkish, the teacher can't speak Kurdish and is forced to become an exile in his own country. On the Way to School is a film about a Turkish teacher who is alone in a village as an authority of the state, and about his interaction with the Kurdish children who have to learn Turkish. The film witnesses the communication problem emphasizing the loneliness of a teacher in a different community and culture; and the changes brought up by his presence into this different community during one year. The film chronicles one school year, starting from September 2007 until the departure of the teacher for summer holiday in June 2008. During this period, they begin to know and understand each other mutually and slowly.

La teoría del espiralismo

Visually impaired climber Koichiro Kobayashi, also known as Koba, relies on the voice of his site guide, Naoya Suzuki, as if it were his own eyes. In 2021, the pair travels to the United States with the aim of standing on the spire of the bright red sandstone Fisher Towers in Utah

The fascinating and little-known story of the secretarial profession, which tells the story of the evolution of women's work, between emancipation, invisibility and the glass ceiling.

A young woman researches the hidden story of Indian soldiers who came to fight in France and Belgium during the World War I. The presence of these 140,000 soldiers in Europe is a virtually unknown fact of history.

A portrait of the inventor of the letterpress, who was a key figure in the history of mankind, but also an enthusiastic inventor, a daring businessman, a tenacious troublemaker: the life of Johannes Gutenberg (circa 1400-68).

Documentary about punk band Heavy Load, subject to the combustible flux of ego, ambition, fantasy, expectation and desire that fuels any emerging band, but uniquely made up of musicians with and without learning disabilities. This makes the band's survival a precarious negotiation between two different worlds - on the one hand the institutional timetable of day centres, work placements and social workers and, on the other, the chaotic slacker life of rehearsal rooms, studios and gigs. (Storyville)