At a dusty crossroads in the desert city of Niamey, Niger, a crippled beggar is sitting in his wheelchair. He is Philippe Koudjina, who was once a successful photographer. In 1960s during the euphoria that followed independence, young people danced the twist and rock ‘n’ roll. Koudjina took snapshots and made a good living. Now, his negatives are decaying in a rusty cabinet. These snapshots now have artistic value. In Paris and New York, large sums are paid for photography like this. There is hope for Koudjina as two French connoisseurs are now trying to launch his work on the art circuit.
Girt By Sea is a cinematic love letter to the coastline of Australia - a poetic celebration of our connection to the sea as documented through archival footage over the past 100 years.
Drama documentary based on the latest discovery of a 16th Century sailing shipwreck found close to Malta by an underwater research team led by maritime archaeologist Timmy Gambin.
The story of the 2008/2009 Vendée Globe race. 30 skippers embark on a quest to be the fastest to sail 27000 miles around the world, non stop, without assistance and alone on 60 foot sailboats. This is one of the most extreme challenges a human being can face. The sailors are alone at sea for months and physical and emotional strength are essential. Growlers (Icebergs), sea mammals, and massive waves are a constant danger. On any day the forces of nature can bring an end to the best sailor's well made plans. They harness the wind, hope for safe passage over the sea and push hard to win. They are a testament to the audacity of the human spirit.
The life and times of sailor and adventurer Sir Peter Blake, one of New Zealand's favourite sons.
One year after the closing of Operation "Marseille, European Capital of Culture" in 2013, the director Nicolas Burlaud draws up a critical review of this year "exceptional" according to local decision-makers. According to him, the festivities were a Trojan horse. While the inhabitants looked elsewhere, too busy to "cultivate" during this event, the promoters seized the districts of the popular classes. An area that has metamorphosed but caused the poor to flee, unable to pay higher rents.
A travel documentary about the ship "Macedonia" which sets sail from the port of Rijeka, travels along the Mediterranean Sea stopping at Alexandria, Genova, Marseilles, Algiers and arrives at the final destination in New York.
This explores the mysterious and catastrophic collapse of ancient civilizations during the late Bronze Age, from the Hittites to the Mycenaeans and the Egyptians, revealing the tumultuous events that brought an end to a thriving era of human history, and warns we may be facing similar threats today.
Short documentary about—the now closed—Olympic Doughnuts in Footscray, Melbourne.
Director Guy Hamilton and several of the stars of Agatha Christie's "Evil Under The Sun" walk you through the making of the film.
American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawai’i shows the survival of the hula as a renaissance continues to grow beyond the islands. With the cost of living in Hawai'i estimated at 27 percent higher than the continental United States, large numbers of Hawaiians have left the islands to pursue professional and educational opportunities. Today, with more Native Hawaiians living on the mainland than in the state of Hawai'i, the hula has traveled with them. From the suburbs of Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area, the largest Hawaiian communities have settled in California, and the hula continues to connect communities to their heritage on distant shores.
This documentary on the "youth movement" of the late 1960s focuses on the hippie pot smoking/free love culture in the San Francisco Bay area.
Plena Rondo
Venerable storytellers recount for the camera and their listeners the founding myths of Malagasy culture.
A riveting expose about the personalities of murderers and their motives. This 72 minute film covers the McDonalds' restaurant massacre, President Reagan's assassination attempt, serial murderer Henry Lee Lucas and others.
Chez Schwartz takes us inside a year in the life of Schwartz's Deli - the unique 75-year-old landmark on Montreal's historic Main. Filmed through changing seasons, from the quiet of early morning preparation to the frenetic bustle of packed lunch times and never ending line-ups, to the more relaxed ambiance late at night - Chez Schwartz is an evocative, cinematic portrait of a small spunky deli known worldwide equally for its atmosphere and smoked meat.
Curral Central
Anton Habovštiak - Oravským chodníčkom...
A filmmaker embarks on a journey to his ancestral homeland, seeking to reconcile his present reality with the depths of his ancestral past.
A documentary following the attempt by three young people to be the first windsurfers to cross Cook Strait.