Demokratie unter Druck – Europa vor der Wahl

When the Chinese Communist Party backtracks on its promise of autonomy to Hong Kong, teenager Joshua Wong decides to save his city. Rallying thousands of kids to skip school and occupy the streets, Joshua becomes an unlikely leader in Hong Kong and one of China’s most notorious dissidents.

Industrial food production has provided the public with an abundance of food at very low prices. But with obesity and diabetes at record levels in Europe, there is clearly a problem with the food we eat. This documentary puts the spotlight on the agri-food industry and reveals how low-cost ultra-processed foods are really made.

It’s the last dictatorship of Europe, caught in a Soviet time-warp, where the secret police is still called the KGB and the president rules by fear. Disappearances, political assassinations, waves of repression and mass arrests are all regular occurances. But while half of Belarus moves closer to Russia, the other half is trying to resist…

A fan of Hot Tub Time Machine, Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger invites the left-wing Hollywood director Steve Pink to follow his efforts to hold Donald Trump accountable for the January 6 insurrection.

What would American democracy look like in the hands of teenage girls? In this documentary, young female leaders from wildly different backgrounds in Missouri navigate an immersive experiment to build a government from the ground up.

Dramatization of the time around the first Danish Social Democrats and the Battle of Fælleden. A social blockbuster produced for AOF.

The film is a controversy on democracy. Is our society really democratic? Can everyone be part of it? Or is the act of being part in democracy dependent to the access on technology, progression or any resources of information, as philosophers like Paul Virilio or Jean Baudrillard already claimed?

Let's look back at the 18th presidential vote. The 13,500 ballot boxes were taken to 251 ballot count locations and were sorted by 1,300 automatic ballot openers. The chairman announced the sorted data and soon it was announced to the public. But something strange happened. The 251 ballot count locations found 'a number' that have the same pattern. Scientists, mathematicians, statistician and hackers from all over the country start looking into the secret of 'this number'. The result is tremendously shocking...

Behind the gas masks of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, the often very young activists are just as diverse as the youths of the rest of the world. But they share a demand for democracy and freedom. They have the will and the courage to fight – and they can see that things are going in the wrong direction in the small island city, which officially has autonomy under China but is now tightening its grip and demanding that ‘troublemakers’ be put away or silenced. Amid the violent protests, we meet a 21-year-old student, a teenage couple and a new father.

On June 9, 2024, during the European elections, over half a million young voters backed Jordan Bardella, while others turned to Marion Maréchal. A new generation of leaders is emerging, reshaping old ideological foundations. From the youth wing of the Rassemblement National to student unions and Reconquête’s activists, we followed these key figures as they campaigned their way to the gates of power.

Dogs of Democracy is an essay-style documentary about the stray dogs of Athens and the people who take care of them. Author and first-time filmmaker Mary Zournazi explores life on the streets through the eyes of the dogs and peoples' experience. Shot in location in Athens, the birthplace of democracy, the documentary is about how Greece has become the 'stray dogs of Europe', and how the dogs have become a symbol of hope for the people and for the anti- austerity movement. A universal story about love and loyalty and what we might learn from animals and peoples' timeless quest for democracy.

"What Donald Trump’s win means for abortion, immigration, foreign policy, and more. "Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, will also be its 47th president. After voting him out of office in 2020, American voters changed their minds, opting for a return to his policies and his politics. "But the second Trump presidency will look very little like the first. His policies have evolved, his circumstances have changed, and he will be returning to office with a much more focused plan than the one he entered with eight years ago. "In this video, we ask six Vox reporters what we should expect from Trump’s second term, on topics from foreign policy to abortion" (Vox).

THE MAZE dissects the terror-attacks since Paris Bataclan in November 2015 and looks for common patterns. Why was intelligence failing? And why keep our governments pushing for more of the same? A road movie into surveillance reforms, power, money and cover-ups. A search for a way out of this maze - with a glimpse of hope on the horizon.

Through the testimonies of some Italian women, the documentary evokes the day of 2 June 1946, when they were called upon to cast their vote for the first time. The battles conducted by Italian women in the years leading up to 1946 to demand recognition of the right to vote. The approval of the right to vote for women by the Italian Parliament on 1 February 1945, at the proposal of the Italian Communist Party Secretary Palmiro Togliatti and statesman and founder of the Christian Democratic Party De Gasperi. The role of the first 21 women elected to the Constituent Assembly on 2 June 1946, and their contribution to the writing of the Italian Constitution.

A documentary that chronicles the life of South African leader Nelson Mandela. Mandela is probably best known for his 27 years of imprisonment, and for bringing an end to apartheid. But this film also sheds light on the little-known early period of Mandela's life.

At the heart of European diplomacy

Following a national crisis, the citizens of Iceland rallied together to collectively write the first ever crowdsourced constitution. A deeply touching account of an eclectic group of individuals reinventing democracy through the rewriting of the nation's constitution, proving that Iceland is not a broken country but instead an intricate web of concerns, ideas, and ultimately creative solutions.

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

In suburban Buenos Aires, thirty unemployed ceramics workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines. But this simple act - the take - has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head. Armed only with slingshots and an abiding faith in shop-floor democracy, the workers face off against the bosses, bankers and a whole system that sees their beloved factories as nothing more than scrap metal for sale.

In many Western countries, trust between the people and conventional political parties is at a low point while populist movements are on the rise. In Italy, protest party Movimento 5 Stelle, founded by popular comedian Beppe Grillo, vows to send all politicians home and bring power to the people. They win a stunning 25% votes, becoming the most-voted single party in Italy, but what happens when ideals meet parliamentary reality? Can one be uncompromising and effective at the same time? Are internet referendums direct democracy or faceless mob rule?