The Legend of Lapot

The Matica slovenská (a mostly government-sponsored cultural, academic, and archival institution) employed Karol Plicka (1894-1987) as its ethnographer, who was able to make documentary shorts from about 1926. He obtained funding from the President’s Office in 1928 to produce an hour-long documentary about village life, Through Mountains and Valleys (Po horách, po dolách). It was awarded a Gold Medal at the International Exposition of Photographic Art in Florence and received an Honorable Mention at the International Venice Film Festival in 1932.

"Who plays me, hears my voices”, shows a recent moment in the life of Gaston Lafourcade, a classical pianist and harpsichordist who, at the age of 83, enters a recording studio for the first time in his life to record a solo album and to join his daughter, Natalia Lafourcade, who during a recess period in her career, decides to embark on this adventure as a love letter to her father and as a way to enjoy what brings them together, beyond blood ties: their deep love for music.

"Scottish Myths & Legends" explores the magic, mystery and sprinkling of mayhem that covers the dramatic landscape of Scotland. From the ancient tales of the Loch Ness Monster to the stories of shape shifting Kelpies, we go on a fascinating journey of discovery to uncover the stories behind the myths and the magnificent Scottish landscape that has inspired these truly legendary legends.

Documents the true story of the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young at Heart Chorus in Northampton, MA, and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music goes against the stereotype of their age group. Although they have toured Europe and sang for royalty, this account focuses on preparing new songs for a concert in their hometown.

The Unidentified is a feature-length documentary which reveals who were the commanders responsible for some of the most brutal attacks of the Kosovo war. The result of a two-year-long investigation, the documentary names the officers who ordered attacks on villages in the area around the town of Pec during the 1999 war and those who were involved in the removal of victims’ bodies to mass graves at the Batajnica police centre near Belgrade in Serbia. Sixteen years after they committed the crimes, they live peacefully in the Serbian capital, and despite the evidence that exists, they have not been prosecuted.

A bunch of British working class amateur filmmakers with nothing left to lose tackle one of Hollywood's greatest musicals in order to save their beloved Club. Britain’s oldest amateur filmmaking club struggles to survive, as its members grow old amid flickering memories and hardships. In the northern industrial town of Bradford, England, a handful of diehard amateur filmmakers desperately cling to their dreams, and to each other, in this warm and funny look at shared artistic folly that speaks to the delusional dreamer in us all.

The film 3211 is a true story about Stefan Đurić, a successful musician who one day loses everything and goes to prison, where only his songs remain from his former life.

Three juxtaposing stories taking place in Portugal, Austria and Cuba create an intimate and poetic portrait of the daily lives and struggles of the elderly in an unstable world, seen through the eyes of their grandchildren.

What is peace? What is coexistence? And what are the basis for them? PEACE is a visual-essay-like observational documentary, which contemplates these questions by observing the daily lives of people and cats in Okayama city, Japan, where life and death, acceptance and rejection are intermingled.

For the 'Are'are people of the Solomon Islands, the most valued music is that of the four types of panpipe ensembles. With the exception of slit drums, all musical instruments are made of bamboo; therefore the general word for instruments and the music performed with them is "bamboo" ('au). This film shows the making of panpipes, from the cutting the bamboo in the forest to the making of the final bindings. The most important part of the work consists in shaping each tube to its necessary length. Most 'Are'are panpipe makers measure the length of old instruments before they shape new tubes. Master musician 'Irisipau, surprisingly, takes the measure using his body, and adjusts the final tuning by ear. For the first time we can see here how the instruments and their artificial equiheptatonic scale-seven equidistant degrees in an octave-are practically tuned.

At the beginning of Sumadijska street in the vicinity of Slavija Square on the 11th August 1913, the Serbian victorious army from the Second Balkan War led by the Crown Prince Alexander Karadjordjevic was given a huge welcome by the highest military and political authorities of Serbia and Belgrade, representatives of civil organizations and national institutions, as well as several tens of thousands of people from Belgrade, Serbia and Vojvodina.

A documentary re-enactment of the last few hundred years in Serbian history.

“Those Who Come, Will Hear” proposes a unique meeting with the speakers of several indigenous and inuit languages of Quebec – all threatened with extinction. The film starts with the discovery of these unsung tongues through listening to the daily life of those who still speak them today. Buttressed by an exploration and creation of archives, the film allows us to better understand the musicality of these languages and reveals the cultural and human importance of these venerable oral traditions by nourishing a collective reflection on the consequences of their disappearance.

Every year in June, the small Bulgarian village of Balgari celebrates St Constantine with a special ritual. Initiated ‘nestinari’ go into a music-induced trance and dance on bonfires in a display of religious passion.

The film presents a parade of customs, music, songs and dances of the Slovak people in four seasons, based on a theatre play by I. Teren and K.L. Zachar from the first years after the liberation.

Hardly could anybody tell that 87 years old Lou has had Alzheimer’s disease. Over the years, Lou has forgotten almost everyone but firmly believes that 88 years old Feng is the one she is going to spend the rest of her life with.

In order to meet future care demands for elderly who are lonely and suffering from dementia, carebot Alice has been developed. Can a robot build a human relationship with someone and thus replace a person of flesh and blood? The three women, all getting on in years, who are visited by her in Alice Cares actually become pretty fond of the robot girl. Carebot Alice leaves the laboratory to visit Mrs. Remkes, Mrs. Schellekens-Blanke and Mrs. van Wittmarschen, each in their own house. The three women are getting on in age and are therefore exceptionally suited for the services of Alice, who has been developed by SELEMCA. This is a research group which tries to discover, with the help of community nurses and family, how 'sociobot' Alice should talk and react to stem the effects of loneliness on older women. The outcome of the experiment is surprising for all involved.

The film follows five senior athletes along their biggest challenge - maturity. As all of them are between 80 and 100 years old it is a race against time and personal degeneration. Nevertheless they are united in one common goal - to take part in the track and field World Masters Championships. Life will end soon - so what?

A documentary filmed in the mountainous region of Agrafa, Eurytania, in Greece.

Montenegro is the newest European country with a proud history, one that is being falsified for current political purposes, thus creating an alternative identity. In a nation where it possible for two brothers to claim different ethnic backgrounds despite having the same parents, everything is on the table: language, church, democracy. Can the truth set Montenegro free?