Microcosmos

“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.

The tobacco industry's conspiratorial efforts to market their products in the face of public health facts and public opposition.

This documentary combines archaeological and geological evidence with tales passed down through generations, uncovering a dramatic history of cannibals, vast stone cities, human sacrifice, and the epic voyagers who colonised the Pacific centuries before Columbus made it to America.

A train speeds through the country on its way to Berlin, then gradually slows down as it pulls into the station. It is very early in the morning, about 5:00 AM, and the great city is mostly quiet. But before long there are some signs of activity, and a few early risers are to be seen on the streets. Soon the new day is well underway. It's just a typical day in Berlin, but a day full of life and energy.

Documentary about the life of explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Elaine Shepherd’s classic BBC documentary, introduced and narrated by John Peel. Completely wonderful, a 50 minute joy: reviews, articles, blog posts, etc. relating to The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart.

The minutiae of daily life on Edinburgh's Rose Street in the fifties is presented in this impressionistic documentary piece.

In the clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the undulant beauty and violent potential of underwater life are carefully balanced within the reef community. The coral, the fish, the crabs all live within the balance of a delicate web of life connecting all creatures of the deep, from tiny microscopic plankton to the 2000-pound manta ray and the mighty sailfish. This web of life connects all sea creatures and man by his presence beneath the sea, threatens the very existence of life within the oceans.

Descend into the crater of the Nyiragongo Volcano (in Zaire, Africa) to witness the terrifying yet spellbinding explosion of molten lava at its very source. Set to the Toccata and Fugue of J.S. Bach, the film is at once stunningly beautiful, yet plunges us into the very depths of hell. The extreme beauty of the visuals, together with the power of the music, creates an unforgettable experience.

View up close some of the smaller inhabitants of the Red Sea off the coast of Sudan - a world filled with strange, fascinating, and often comic creatures.

The history of the roles of women in Quebec society, beginning with the women shipped from France to the New World by the King to populate the colony with the men already there, and ending with the modern career woman.

Deep in the forest of Overland Park, Kansas little gnomes made a home. But how did they get there? Experience the feel-good story of paying it forward, one tiny magical house at a time.

Documentary about the German painter Oda Jaune.

Le rhinocéros blanc

Last Harvest follows the journey of an elderly Chinese farming couple as they are being relocated by the government's mammoth and controversial South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

15 years after our award-winning documentary WARRIOR OF LIGHT, the portrait of internationally acclaimed human rights activist Yvonne Bezerra de Mello and her work with street kids in Rio, ZONA NORTE is investigating the development and sustainability of the project. Over the years Yvonne has developed a new pedagogy that helps children who are traumatized by violence to overcome their experiences and the resulting learning problems. The children we portrayed 15 years ago are now young adults. They report from their lives in the most dangerous favela in the north of the city. They are the living proof that an alternative pedagogy is capable to break the vicious circle of poverty and violence.

A documentary by Jackie Raynal about the artistic movement Zanzibar.

This landmark series explores a vast ocean that stretches nearly 10,000 miles, from Arctic to Antarctic and from sun-drenched tropical reefs to crushing abyssal depths. Over three programmes it reveals the amazing, surprising and resilient inhabitants of the Atlantic, both animals and people, as they pit themselves against the world’s wildest ocean.

The Truth Be Told is an epic-scale documentary that follows three and half years in the life of Supinya, a media activist who was sued by the Shin Corporation for stating that the company had benefited from the policies of the administration of Thaksin Shinawatra, whose family owned the company. The documentary is snapshot of a turbulent period in Thai politics, from the Thaksin years, the anti-Thaksin backlash that arose after Thaksin sold his share in Shin to Singapore's Temasek Holdings, and the military coup that ousted Thaksin.

50 years after launching our dreams into space, we’re left with a troubling legacy: a growing ring of orbiting debris that threatens the safety of earth’s orbits. SPACE JUNK is a visually explosive journey of discovery that weighs the solutions aimed at restoring our planet’s orbits. Experience mind-boggling collisions, both natural and man-made. Soar for the stunning depths of Meteor Crater to an unprecedented view of our increasingly crowded orbits – 22,000 miles above earth. Join us as foremost expert Don Kessler, the “Father of Space Junk,” guides us through the challenges we face in protecting them, forging a new age of space discovery.