Through Conflict to Negotiation

At the consulting service for immigrants at the Avicenne Hospital in suburban Paris, we observe the sorrow and powerlessness of the immigrants who come here.

Christian Garcia, a fiercely dedicated Latino political organizer, leads a team of young people mobilizing their community for a soda tax. Tested during their fight for the right to vote, the young recruits dare to beat back the goliath soda industry and ignite a youth-powered movement for health equity and justice.

Using local media footage from the London Borough of Southwark spanning the past 20 years, this documentary discusses complex social issues including gang violence, knife crime, and mental and sexual health.

Since World War II North Americans have invested much of their newfound wealth in suburbia. It has promised a sense of space, affordability, family life and upward mobility. As the population of suburban sprawl has exploded in the past 50 years Suburbia, and all it promises, has become the American Dream. But as we enter the 21st century, serious questions are beginning to emerge...

The Living Room of the Nation is a documentary film that portrays a number of Finnish living rooms. The film is a story of changes, the inevitable passing of time, and the human desire to be needed, visible.

By observing the technological developments of artificial intelligence in several countries, this film sheds light on the advantages and limits of algorithms and their repercussions on the lives of citizens. Whether at the level of the State, the police, universities, or companies, artificial intelligences should be used as a tool, but very often become a substitute for the work of the individual. There are many abuses: manipulations, addictions, or centralization of power. What can governments and States do to best regulate these technological advances?

Shot over three years, Pariah Dog paints a kaleidoscopic picture of the city of Kolkata, seen through the prism of four outsiders and the dogs they love. These men and women have found meaning and purpose in their shared mission to care for neglected street dogs, who have existed in the towns and villages of India for thousands of years. For some this mission is enough, for others, dreams of a better life are always near.

Using original animation, archival footage and personal interviews, this full-length documentary portrays the multiple relationships Canadian Muslim women entertain with Islam’s place of worship, the mosque. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. In North America, a large number of converts are women. Many are drawn to the religion because of its emphasis on social justice and spiritual equality between the sexes. Yet, many mosques force women to pray behind barriers, separate from men, and some do not even permit women to enter the building. Exploring all sides of the issue, the film examines the space – both physical and social – granted to women in mosques across the country.

Portrait of Augustinas Baltrušaitis, film and theatre director, as well as actor, who fell into obscurity and has now been relegated to the margins of society, as a result of specific political circumstances. Countdown is a film about the limits of memory, the effects of the implacable passage of time, and a hope that surpasses time.

An inspiring documentary about overcoming homelessness and addiction in the City of Los Angeles.

Tjipto Setiyono, 85, is a rickshaw painter. Despite being past his prime, he lives alone in a 3-by-3 meter square boarding room, in which Tjipto’s brush strokes give birth to his paintings.

Irama Betawi is the name of an ondel-ondel group that still actively busks in Jakarta. Sometimes they busk on the streets. Other times, they are invited to play on special occasions. Through their journey taking public transportation to move from one corner of the city to another crowded corner, we get to know the day-to-day life of a dynamic group of people who are eager to make a living.

Author and cook David Groß travels through five European countries and cooks exclusively what others throw in the garbage bin. With great thirst for knowledge, he tracks food waste and presents unexpected solutions. In an unusual and humorous self-attempt David Groß questions our daily consumer lifestyle.

Des Rives

Fasli is a child born and raised in Kampung Kalo, Lengko Ajang, Manggarai Timur, East Nusa Tenggara. This film is about Fasli and his family; a conversation among the sounds of candlenuts.

Golek Garwo is a matchmaking forum, held monthly vis-a-vis in Yogyakarta. Basri (62), a worker who longed for love and one out of hundreds of participants of the event, falls for Musiyem (56), who is also a participant. They then decide to join a mass wedding, but Basri’s wish for a life together turns out differently in reality.

Is it anyone's business if consenting adults want to pay or accept money for sex? Sex worker and author Maggie McNeill tells her startling tale about the persecution of sex workers based on the false assumption that most of them are exploited victims of pimps and traffickers. Her movement is challenging these assumptions and the powerful political and cultural forces behind them.

After finding some videos she uploaded to YouTube when she was a child, Manuela attempts to follow the trail she herself has left on the Internet. A search that looks into all that things that won't never die and that, especially, thinks about the way we look at ourselves.

This feature-length documentary by Alanis Obomsawin examines the plight of Native people who come to Montreal searching for jobs and a better life. Often arriving without money, friends or jobs, a number of them quickly become part of the homeless population. Both dislocated from their traditional values and alienated from the rest of the population, they are torn between staying and returning home.

Community First! Village is designed to lift the chronically homeless off the streets of the Austin, TX, offering them a place to call home, helping them to heal from the ravages of life on the streets, and allowing them to rediscover a purpose in their lives. This documentary explores the events that cause homelessness and the heartwarming stories of being welcomed into a nurturing environment where dignity and self-worth are restored.