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The making of CHESS - from first reading to first night.

Documentary film that takes a visual and anthropological journey through man's spirit across the thin line dividing excessive faith in religious believes and the passion with which he devotes himself to worldly pleasures in a city that coexists in harmony with its double standards. Religion, faith, politics, violence and death are intimately bound in this social portrait.

A fascinating character. Exquisite sets. A wig for every era. The stars, creators and crew reveal how the hit series about a chess prodigy came to life.

Against the backdrop of Cold War, Glory to the Queen reveals stories of four legendary female chess players from Georgia who revolutionized women’s chess across the globe and became Soviet icons of female emancipation.

Traces the lives of the Hartings, a blind Montreal family of three who make their living singing in the city's subway stations. The Hartings lost their only sighted child Hassan in a tragic drowning accident, and have since turned to the teachings of Russian mystic Grigori Grabovoi, hoping to resurrect their son. Resurrecting Hassan is an exploration of this family's legacy of grief, tragedy and abuse; the film will follow them on their path to redemption.

A slice-of-life documentary following Ulla, a blind woman adjusting to life after eye removal surgery. With the help of her guide dog, Laina, she navigates Helsinki while pursuing a prosthetic eye and a deeper understanding of photography.

A brief glimpse through the life of Granny Lue. A woman of faith, fearlessness, and fierce energy, she never allowed her disability to determine her ability to live.

Interwoven portraits of Anatoli Karpov and Garry Kasparov, whose 25-year bitter rivalry accompanied the fall of the USSR. The story of a duel between two chess giants, fighting a personal war in a world gone to ruin. This battle of black and white was more than a face-off over a chessboard. Part psychological drama, part political thriller, the film brings to life their hostilities, nested like Russian dolls. Karpov vs. Kasparov represents the battle between the faltering empire and the young liberals several steps ahead of the game, checkmating the old guard. Or how two stories – the societal one and the personal one – started out separately and ended up superimposed, twining together into one tale.

The thrilling, inside story of the psychology of sporting winners. Filmed during the world's strongest open chess tournament ever, "King's Gambit" reveals the tension, jubilation and heartache of professional chess and top-level sports competitors.

The film builds up a portrait of a great Sudanese film-maker, Gadalla Gubara. At eighty-seven, he is one of the pioneers of cinema in Africa. He has recently lost his sight but still continues to film life in Sudan as no one before him. Through his oeuvre, Gadalla reveals to us a Sudan both mysterious and misunderstood. Despite censorship and lack of financial support over sixty years, he has produced cinema that is independent and unique in a country where freedom of expression is a rare luxury.

With capitalism and corruption becoming more entrenched in Russia, a father and his teenage son gear up for a yearlong political campaign to unseat President Putin in the 2008 elections and shift the country back toward socialism. Aliona Polunina's thoughtful documentary follows Anatoly and Andrei in their struggle to recreate a revolutionary fervor in a society that seems to be embracing the materialist values of the West.

The first documentary feature to explore the tragic and bizarre life of the late chess master Bobby Fischer.

The Way Bobby Sees It is a gripping documentary about Bobby McMullen, a competitive mountain biker on a mission to race the most demanding downhill course in the country. Adding to the difficulty: Bobby is legally blind. With the help of a guide and a rigorous training schedule, Bobby is determined to race his bike down a course riddled with obstacles and flanked by steep, life-threatening cliffs. But, the racecourse isn't the only challenge in Bobby's life. Between thrills, spills and jaw dropping helmet camera footage, we see how Bobby uses humor, determination, and unshakeable optimism to battle adversity - both on and off the bike.

In 2003, Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh became the first World Champion of Chessboxing. This brain-busting combination of alternating rounds of chess and boxing was in fact an art performance calling for more balance in a world of extremes, and the audience reaction was so electric that it inspired Rubingh to push it as a real sport. Rubingh’s methodical ability to achieve balance in the ring is put to the test outside of it when impulsive British TV Producer Tim Woolgar takes up the sport and his opposing vision for success creates a rift between them, endangering chessboxing’s future.

The film follows five people who lost their sight in armed conflicts, gathering fragments of their present-day lives. Through an enveloping sound composition, veiled archival material, footage shot by the protagonists themselves, and a sensitive visual approach, the film explores memory, perception, and our relationship to the visible. Steering away from spectacle, it invites us to hear what often goes unheard, and to feel differently. In an age saturated with images, this documentary offers a sensory experience where listening becomes a gesture of resistance and human reconnection.

Lotte (18) and Roos (16) are sisters and both have Usher syndrome. That means they will soon become deaf and blind. It is not known how fast that will go, but they already see and hear a lot worse than their peers. How do these two high-spirited girls deal with their development into adulthood, while the time bomb of deafness and blindness ticks inexorably? They are not deterred from getting the most out of life: Lotte is studying to become a photographer and Roos is passing her final exams. At the same time, they also want to do a few things before it is too late, such as seeing the Northern Lights with their own eyes. Director Kim Smeekes followed Lotte and Roos for the film for two years.

Through intimate stories and day-to-day routines we get a naturalistic glimpse into the lives of individuals with disabilities in the bustling urban landscape of São Paulo. The film captures personal moments and how modern societies confront (or fail to confront) ableism and inclusion.

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?

Musicians, producers, family, colleagues and the artist himself look back on the making of Stevie Wonders's classic album "Song In the Key of Life".

An inspiring creative documentary that follows the story of one of Uganda's unsung heroes - Robert Katende. Popularly known as 'Coach Robert', he was able to transform a little unknown slum in the outskirts of Kampala, into an internationally recognized army of Chess Champions.