An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time. (Silent short, voiced in 1937 and 1996.)
St. Joseph's Oratory, a picturesque shrine silhouetted against Mount Royal, draws pilgrims by the thousands every year. They come from California by Greyhound bus, from Vancouver by plane, and on foot from many parishes surrounding Montréal. What is the fame of this shrine, that it attracts the devout and the curious alike? The story is told by Brother Placide Vermandère of the Order of the Holy Cross, who was personally acquainted with Brother André, after whom the shrine's famous temple is named. Cameras follow a procession of the League of the Sacred Heart through the streets of the city to the famous sanctuary and show many of the religious observances conducted in the church, including Mass attended by invalids who come in the hope of being healed of various afflictions.
For Muslims everywhere, the ultimate goal is to make the Hajj at least once during their lifetime. This spiritual journey is the basic premise of an entire religion and sees impoverished African Muslims mixing with their incredibly wealthy Western counterparts. This documentary follows some of the 20,000 Britons who make the journey to Mecca, unravelling the mysterious aura that surrounds this remarkable event. Combining the wondrous backdrop of Mecca with intriguing interviews that provide a previously undocumented view of Islam, Hajj will enchant both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
"Målle Lindberg - clown or prophet?" - About the evangelist and singer Målle Lindberg, a.k.a. the Gypsy Preacher. The film depicts parts of his life with archive footage from the 1950's and 1960's.
Released in 1796 posthumously, The Nun, a novel that Diderot did not dream of publishing during his lifetime, as he knew it to be revolutionary, caused the same explosion in the 19th century France as in that of the 1960s, when Jacques Rivette decided to adapt it, with Anna Karina in the title role. “This film is banned and it will remain so!” said the General de Gaulle. Exploration of an indictment of incredible modernity which, through the tragedy of the young Suzanne, locked up in the convent against her will, denounces the inequity of a society denying women all moral, political and sexual freedom.
The life of Paco Martínez Soria (1902-1982), one of the most famous and beloved Spanish actors, both on stage and screen; a comedian, a theatrical producer, an idol for the masses. A celebration of the uncommon gift of making people laugh.
From a small family from the outskirts of São Paulo to the National Congress, a documentary about how political discourse is born, grows and is founded among evangelicals.
Spanning over 2,000 years, this study looks at the complex relationship between Jewish and Catholic thought from a social and historical perspective. Examining different significant moments for both religions throughout the centuries, this commentary on the book analyzes and explains the conflicts that have arisen between the two religions since their beginnings.
In their journey to find the formula for a fragmented and dying Church the two filmmakers find themselves getting closer to a much bigger Answer.
At the beginning of winter, a filmmaker retires for six months to a hermit's cabin in the middle of the forest, cut off from the world and its means of communication. Through the words of four women she has filmed previously, all of whom have dedicated their lives to different forms of spirituality, she embarks on a mysterious inner adventure, on the edge of solitude and nature. A journey that invites us to connect with the world in a different way.
In a community of a Muslim majority, the first woman pastor in the Middle East leads a parish in one of the poorest city of the Mediterranean, in the heart of Tripoli, North Lebanon.
A documentary based on the book Umbanda no Brasil by the scholar Mata e Silva, who is interviewed by the director. The book studies the Brazilian religion known as spiritism, a syncretism of African beliefs and magical rites, Indian beliefs and images, and Catholic symbols.
An epic journey through Don Quixote's troubled mind, from which five paths to the unknown are opened: to reason, to freedom, to love, to friendship, to adventure; although only three destinations await at the end of an imaginary and audacious existence: the narrative of the adventurous life of Cervantes; the survival of a legendary novel in these heathen times, when the one-armed gentleman is nothing but dust and bones; the memory of the living, writers and scholars, where both the tormented captive and the insane hero, are immortals beings and will be forever.
Documentary on a politically active group of nuns of Montreal.
Art critic Waldemar Januszczak is on the quest to explain exactly what the Sistine Chapel's ceiling is actually trying to tell us.
From Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina to Christians in Lebanon, from the Bektashis of Macedonia to the Syriacs of Turkey, director Jacques Debs helps us discover two groups of people long forgotten or ignored - the Muslims in Europe and the Christians in the Middle East.
In Spanish, ladrillo means bricks. It used to mean boom, construction, production, speculation. Today, ladrillo means crisis: disused clay pits, factories that are closed half of the year, ghost-towns, subprime mortgagers facing eviction. Bricks shows how the life of a simple commodity can be the mirror of a global crisis, and tells the story of people who come up with individual and collective strategies to overcome a seemingly desperate situation.
An exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S. and how the religious right has used its interpretation of the Bible to stigmatize the gay community.
A look at the different masculinities portrayed in Spanish cinema through time. (A sequel to “Barefoot in the Kitchen,” 2013.)
A Life Apart: Hasidism in America, is the first in-depth documentary about a distinctive, traditional Eastern European religious community. In an historic migration after World War II, Hasidism found it's most vital center in America. Both challenging and embracing American values, Hasidim seek those things which many Americans find most precious: family, community, and a close relationship to God. Integrating critical and analytical scholarship with a portrait of the daily life, beliefs, and history of contemporary Hasidic Jews in New York City, the film focuses on the conflicts, burdens, and rewards of the Hasidic way of life.