The Making of 'Band of Brothers'

Angela Su’s fictional artist Rosie Leavers is the last remaining person to upload her consciousness to a video game. Contemplating during a pandemic year which also saw people’s resistance movements in many parts of the world, the work pinpoints the uncanny affinities between gaming and warfare strategies. They have mutually informed the infrastructure of both worlds since time immemorial when diplomatic conflicts played out on the battlefield of the 64 squares of a chess board to flight simulation technologies which were adapted to shape gaming experiences as we know it now. When the conflict is between the state and its people, she speculates that gaming strategies empower civilians in resistance movements to counter imperialism through its own operative logic. But once we upload our consciousness, are we able to return to the sensibilities and political motivation that inspired the revolution to begin with?

Yousef Srouji’s childhood in Palestine wasn’t something that he and his parents spoke of as a family, so when he found a box of his mother’s home videos from the early 2000s, an especially perilous and tumultuous period in the West Bank, the tapes became a means for remembering and comprehending a painful past. The stories she captured illuminate the nature of life in a war zone, and familial bonds that cannot be broken. – Bedatri Choudhury (DocNYC)

When Russian armed forces invaded Ukraine, Moldovans raced to the borders to assist refugees, offering warm food, rides, and shelter. At the same time, a group of Moldovan filmmakers formed an ad-hoc film collective to document the unwavering efforts of volunteers and the fate of refugees through multifaceted lenses. Despite these acts of solidarity, a segment of the population's Soviet nostalgia fuels a growing fear that the country could be drawn into the war.

Train “Kyiv-War“ is a full-length documentary film directed by Korniy Gricyuk. The dramatic history of the Kyiv-Kostyantynivka train, with its passengers` unique fates, pain, memories, secrets, hopes, is a history of today Ukraine. Only 12.5 hours away from peaceful Kyiv is Kostyantynivka, a small industrial city in the eastern part of the country, immediately after which the front begins. This entire time people with different characters, social status, political views, and beliefs are traveling on the train side by side. They talk, debate, even quarrel, but speak to each other and go in a common direction. And what`s important, they all want to get to peace. This film is the voice of ordinary people, the search for dialogue and the path to a common future, where everyone’s voice will be heard.

Building on Forensic Architecture’s previous investigation into herbicidal warfare and its effects on Palestinian farmers along the eastern perimeter of the occupied Gaza Strip, this investigation marks Land Day in Palestine by examining the systematic targeting of orchards and greenhouses by Israeli forces since October 2023. Our analysis reveals that this destruction is a widespread and deliberate act of ecocide that has exacerbated the ongoing catastrophic famine in Gaza and is part of a wider pattern of deliberately depriving Palestinians of critical resources for survival.

During the Occupation, René Carmille, a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique, founded what was to become INSEE and created the future national insurance number. This military officer, who became a manager in the Vichy administration, developed his modernist vision of mechanography, the forerunner of computer science, and increased the number of statistical surveys on the French population, at the risk of seeing them serve the antisemitic policy led by Pétain. But Carmille was pursuing a secret goal...

On July 1st, 1916, the Newfoundland Regiment took part in a massive First World War offensive on the Somme, led by the British. At Beaumont Hamel the regiment was nearly wiped out, as only 110 of 780 soldiers survived the day. To commemorate its 100th anniversary, Brian McKenna’s documentary film tells the story of this epic tragedy. Using a technique that brings new meaning to reenactment, McKenna recruits descendants of soldiers who fought this battle, offering them a unique opportunity to relive the experience of their ancestors in trenches built specifically for the film.

This is a once in a generation event that needs to be examined without the usual spin that is delivered by the controlled media. While the video will be interpreted one way or the other, it is one that supports the voice of reason and of peace rather than jingoistic war drums and the cacophony of white noise.

A revealing and moving portrait of lives compromised by war, filmed exclusively by Ukrainian soldiers with extraordinary access to a tightly-controlled frontline.

A documentary, using dramatization of fact, that examines the Battle of Verrières Ridge, where on July 25, 1944 and not long after D-Day, an inexperienced battalion of the Canadian Black Watch Regiment launched a doomed attack and was defeated with heavy casualties by veteran German SS troops. Part of "The Valour and the Horror" mini series.

Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman’s documentary, shot just before and after Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022, and featuring several interviews with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

As the U.S. planned to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in September 2021, Canadian-Afghan filmmaker and journalist Brishkay Ahmed was filming IN THE RUMBLING BELLY OF MOTHERLAND. Revealing the ongoing dangers for women reporters, and the extraordinary risks they take, this brave film provides an in-depth look into Zan TV, Kabul’s female-led news agency. A professional journalist herself, Ahmed documents both the harrowing and inspiring work of young, female journalists over the course of the two-year lead up to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Following parallel news stories as they unfold – two sets of national elections as well as ongoing U.S.-Taliban peace talks – the film reveals the daily hurdles Afghan female reporters and media staff face, underscoring the existential current events that threaten both Zan TV as a media outlet and the livelihoods of the women at its heart.

In April 1918, a disease of unknown origin swept across the five continents. In 18 months, millions of lives that had not been taken by the war were swept away by a virus that would cause the worst pandemic in history: the Spanish flu.

Parents try to understand why their children traveled from Britain to join the Kurdish army in their fight against Isis, in Syria, where they died fighting fighting someone else's war.

From May 10, 1940, France is living one of the worst tragedies of it history. In a few weeks, the country folds, and then collapsed in facing the attack of the Nazi Germany. On June 1940, each day is a tragedy. For the first time, thanks to historic revelations, and to numerous never seen before images and documents and reenacted situations of the time, this film recounts the incredible stories of those men and women trapped in the torment of this great chaos.

Wali, an ex-sniper, leaves Canada to fight the Islamic state. He meets two Americans: Rebaz and Zyrian. One is a veteran of the war in Iraq. The other is a homosexual idealist. They meet the Kurds, a welcoming people. Together, they will confront the fanatical Islamic terrorists. Beside Heroes, an uncensored documentary that tells the tale of three volunteer fighters who realized that to change the world, you have to act.

Ukrainian musicians of all genres, from metal to opera, transform their passion for music into devotion to their country in this moving documentary. Beginning on the very first day of the Russian invasion, Soldiers of Song documents how the lives of its cast of Ukrainian musicians have irrevocably changed and how they use their musical talents to support themselves and their communities. Using shocking footage from the frontlines, this film reminds us not only of the ongoing tragedies that continue to happen during this war, but also of the resilience of Ukraine and its cultural forces. Here music functions not only to lift the spirits of the soldiers, but also as a cultural export to raise awareness of the war, a tool for raising humanitarian and military funds, and a valuable cultural artifact for everyday Ukrainians to rally around and protect. The musician’s commitment to their craft reminds us of the real power art has and the impact of beauty under catastrophic circumstances.

This is the true and astounding saga of the Spartans at Thermopylae. It is among the greatest tales of war ever recounted. All the glory and grit of these warriors' last stand is captured in this exceptional documentary. It is almost impossible to understand how 300 Spartans managed to hold off the million-man Persian army for even a moment, much less seven days. To a man they paid with their lives but their stunning Last Stand assured that their sacrifice would resonate throughout history. Transporting dramatizations and incisive graphics put you in the heat of the battle and show the lay of the land. The complications and strategies of the conflict are revealed through careful analysis, and critical moments are reconstructed to show exactly what happened. Discover what the Spartans were fighting for, what made them capable of such heroics and what drove them to such sacrifice.

A powerful depiction of war in infamous global conflict zones. Directed by Oscar/Emmy documentary makers Buddy Squires and Graeme Scott (know for Sam Smith), this film provides a rare and powerful insight into humanity and hope in the depth of war and the greatest global humanitarian crisis of the last several decades.

Gaza Fights for Freedom depicts the ongoing Great March of Return protests in the Gaza Strip, occupied Palestine, that began in 2018.