Hitler's Religion

Punk rock, B-movies, and Jehovah’s Witnesses unite in this heartfelt documentary. As members of Jehovah’s Witness start to explore culture outside of their religion, they have to wrestle with the possibility of being excommunicated from friends and family. Featuring in-depth interviews and extensive home video footage, Witness Underground tells the story of punk rocker Witnesses pushing against the highly controlling Jehovah’s Witnesses religion as they build their own community through music and art. This prolific community of Witness musicians create their own record label, Nuclear Gopher, and become early adopters of promoting their music through the internet, including what may have been the first album to ever be livestreamed. This community’s history is well documented through archival footage of their home movies and self-produced music videos, all with a very charming energy.

Conversations with four people — an artist, a woman struggling with her identity as a high achiever, an actor, and a priest — exploring their inner worlds, their self-image and how they feel they fit into society.

In this short documentary we learn the back story of the Buddha – the religion he founded and how it is manifested today. Travel through Southeast Asia to India, Burma, Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), Thailand, Japan, China and many other countries to discover the history and ideas behind Buddhism.

Gojdič: Láska nadovšetko

We follow leading experts on a quest to unlock the mysteries surrounding the tomb of Christ, using the latest scientific techniques to restore the Aedicula housing the tomb.

Jerusalem can rightfully be called the hat capital of the world. Whereas the rest of the world has allowed its hats to gather dust in the closet since the 1950s, Jerusalem still teems with hats and caps. From soldier to monk, everyone is identifiable by his hat. Director Nati Adler, who is neither religious nor a hat-wearer, explored the how and the why of the hats of Jerusalem. His colourful and personal trip takes us along the diverse headdresses of the three religions populating the city. What begins as an innocent exercise by a curious documentary filmmaker develops as it were into a Pandora's box full of stories and history lessons. Every answer evokes new questions. Why do people in Jerusalem wear so many hats, what is a shtreimel, why don't Armenian Christians use their Turkish hats in their ceremonies, and why do women actually have to cover their heads?

In this film essay, critic Peter Buchka explores the German cinema of the 1920s, ranging from the disquieting images of Fritz Lang's Metropolis to the castrating sexuality of Marlene Dietrich in Die Blaue Engel. The program provides an introduction to Weimar cinema, with Buchka's essay narrated over the images from film clips of 1920s era German films.

Britain is one of the most secular nations in the world, a new poll in 10 countries finds. Levels of religious belief and activity in the UK are far lower than in almost all other countries surveyed across the globe in a special poll undertaken for the BBC. In January 2004 the independent opinion research company ICM conducted a survey of 10,000 people in 10 different nations for the BBC programme What the World Thinks of God. The countries surveyed were the USA, UK, Israel, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, Mexico and Lebanon.

A church-made amateur film which sees two Christian biker youths visit the legendary 59 club, where they meet its founder, Reverend Bill Shergold.

The story of Muhammad Iqbal, a turn of the century poet/philosopher from South Asia. Through Iqbal's work we open a dialog between the East and West, refute the notion of a class of civilizations and discover our shared humanity.

Kann man Gott beleidigen?

MAXIMÓN - Devil or Saint (66min.) is a documentary about the controversial Maya deity, also known as San Simon or the drinking and smoking saint of Guatemala. He is a mixture of ancient Maya beliefs and Christianity. The movie concentrates on the people who surround Maximón with their strong personalities, opinions and faith. The documentary gives us a rare view into the rituals and fiestas honoring Maximón. The cult of Maximón is flourishing because he performs miracles. He is also feared and despised because he is used to cast curses that can result in death. Ultimately, Maximón transcends the duality of good and evil, reflecting the Maya cosmovision in which everything in the universe co-exists.

Professor Robert Beckford looks at how immigration, radical social action, conservative morality and charismatic worship are all transforming the face of the faith, and asks what that might mean for the future in an increasingly secular society. Some academics are warning that popular churches who take a firm line on issues like gay marriage, abortion and euthanasia are pushing Christianity farther away from the attitudes of mainstream society. Others believe that the fervour of charismatic faith is attracting large numbers, but ignoring a quiet exodus out of the back door. Robert Beckford speaks to church leaders in the UK, including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, about how they see the future. This revealing film gets to the heart of what’s changing within Christianity in the UK. It will show how the faithful are kicking back against the steady decline in church attendance, and provide evidence of a more committed, but potentially divided, future.

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.

Au cœur de Notre-Dame

The unveiled treasures in the year of the Extraordinary Jubilee. The Papal Basilicas of Rome seen as never before: St. Peter's, St. John in the Lateran, St Mary Major, St Paul Outside the Walls and the works of art enshrined within them. A film tour shot from previously unseen points of view with the latest-generation 3D and 4K technology.

The documentary follows the story of two brothers who were sexually abused by the same priest of Polish Catholic Church.

A dense fog in the San Fernando Valley cancels a meeting of UFO hunters and causes an unexpected tragedy in the nearby mountains.

Shambhala: La Vita Segreta dell'Anima

The Obersalzberg retreat was the summer residence and retreat of Adolf Hitler, Eva Braun and his closest confidants in the Nazi regime. The public are mainly familiar with fi lm footage and photographs from the alleged Nazi idyll. For the first time, eye witnesses are willing to talk about their experiences in Obersalzberg.