Edge of the Valley

The tragedy of the Syrian people: War, conflict, loss, migration, exile, asylum, detention, drowning… A deserted place. Abandoned people. Abandoned country. The doors slammed shot; the doors are now locked - the keys thrown away...for what seems forever.

Six refugee stories experienced over several years in the Czech Republic. As a former member of the Soviet socialist bloc and now part of the European Union, the Czech Republic shows almost the greatest resistance to refugees from a pan-European perspective, without having any itself.

Through a series of vignettes from the ancient and war-torn Levant, WILD IS THE SPRING captures moments in the lives of diverse ethnic communities who struggle to survive when life descends into chaos.

"Dance or Die" is a moving documentary about a young Syrian dancer who escapes the war and finds a new life in Holland. But the ghosts of the past won't let him go. With the war and the advance of the Islamic State in Syria, the young classical dancer Ahmad Joudeh lost everything – part of his family, his home, but also the right to practice his art. However, he will use dance as a weapon against Daesh. Three words adorn the neck of Ahmad Joudeh: Dance or Die. The tattoo is a declaration of war against IS if it takes him over. (Text: arte)

Filmed over five years, we follow Lily Jones, 20, as she transitions from male to female, leaves her seaside home for the city, undergoes gender reassignment surgery and finds love.

Peter LeDonne and Steve Kalafer chronicle the extraordinary life of Immaculée Ilibagiza, a young African woman who escaped genocide in Rwanda and ultimately found refuge in the United States. Seeking shelter with an Episcopalian minister, Immaculée hid from her attackers inside a bathroom for three long months but stayed centered through prayer and faith.

An in-depth look at the race to develop, manufacture and distribute a vaccine for Covid-19 - which may be the most monumental scientific achievement in modern history. Interviews with some of the main players take you inside the real-life drama as it unfolded.

Exode

As politicians debate and argue, the men, women and children at the heart of the European immigration wave have found themselves caught in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. On the frontline is the Greek island of Lesvos – the first point of entry into Europe for over half of the refugees. One week at the end of August 2015 marked a tipping point in the crisis. More refugees arrived than ever before, volunteers were inundated and local infrastructure just couldn’t cope; trains were overflowing, refugees were dying in the back of lorries and on beaches, and politicians responded by closing borders and arguing about how to stem the tide of people. Filmed over just five days, this first-hand account of that dramatic week on Lesvos is seen through the eyes of the refugees and volunteers caught in the crisis.

The bride and groom kiss at the wedding hall. Not all the guests are wearing masks. A, who is in a field of film, reckons it strange, and then B, a friend of A, tells him the pandemic has been completely over and asks A how could not know it. At that moment, A wakes up from his dream. The situation never ends up, and the world heads toward an unpredictable future for a new life.

This documentary explores the history of Canada’s first major migration of non-European and non-white refugees who arrived in 1972 when Ugandan President Idi Amin expelled all South Asians from the country. Their story of struggle and hope became part of Canada’s conversations about refugees and cultural pluralism, and informed the Canadian response to future refugee movements.

Due to the measures taken by the government, students have fewer and fewer prospects for a meaningful future. Life is on pause and society is kept in fear. The confidence in a bright future is gone. Even after 18 months, there is still no light at the end of the tunnel. The many promises have not yet changed this situation. In this moving documentary, young people give an idea of the impact of the measures on their lives. Is there still hope or has the damage already been done?

This intimate documentary follows a group of Syrian children refugees who narrowly escape a life of torment and integrate into a foreign land.

A harrowing account of Europe's migrant crisis. A family of Syrian refugees separated by the borders of Europe, fight to be reunited as they migrant from Syria to Germany.

Before the eyes of the Sudanese Ahmed (25), the war broke out in full force. He decides to flee on foot to the Netherlands alone, to be able to live there in freedom. This documentary shows part of his arduous journey: from the Italian Alps to Ter Apel.

The story of the unprecedented sports shutdown in March of 2020 and the remarkable turn of events that followed. This sports documentary is a chronicle of the abrupt stoppage, athletes’ prominent role in the cultural reckoning on racial injustices that escalated during the pandemic, and the complex return to competition in the summer and fall.

One of the greatest pests on the planet, the evil ants destroy the forest to protect their family. Memories of the covid-19 pandemic, eroded by ignorance and negationism. What's left in this great country of worms and viruses?

A 6-year-old Tibetan boy leaves his family and flees to a refugee camp in northern India.

Using intimate footage recorded by passengers and crew, The Last Cruise is a first-person account of the nightmare that transpired aboard the ill-fated Diamond Princess cruise ship, which set sail from Japan on the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Have you ever wondered what it is like to live on a Nike sweatshop wage? Watch the award-winning short film, Behind the Swoosh, and see Jim Keady and Leslie Kretzu attempt to survive on a Nike worker’s wage in the industrial slums of Indonesia.