What would your family reminiscences about dad sound like if he had been an early supporter of Hitler’s, a leader of the notorious SA and the Third Reich’s minister in charge of Slovakia, including its Final Solution? Executed as a war criminal in 1947, Hanns Ludin left behind a grieving widow and six young children, the youngest of whom became a filmmaker. It's a fascinating, maddening, sometimes even humorous look at what the director calls "a typical German story." (Film Forum)
Air Jaws claims new turf in South Africa. Dr. Neil Hammershlag and Enrico Gennari follow with brand new technology: a "drone-towed" seal decoy to study and capture the harrowing and dramatic battles between shark and seal.
Shot in New York, Cape Town, St Helena and the Atlantic Ocean, Sathima's Windsong, is a lyrical portrait of South African jazz singer, Sathima Bea Benjamin. In her Chelsea Hotel apartment, home for over thirty years, she patches together her journeys, from apartheid's 'pattern of brokenness', to a chance meeting and recording with Duke Ellington in Paris, to making a life in New York. The narrative of her journeys are inter-woven with her music and the musings of folks who know her work. Like her haunting song, Windsong, the film is a meditation on displacement, exile and belonging.
Joanna Is Skywalking
Documentary following The British & Irish Lions on their 2009 tour to South Africa
The film documents the key political issues in recent years in South Africa that have marked the demise of the African National Congress (ANC). These include the Marikana massacre in August 2012, whereby 34 striking miners were gunned down by the ANC government's police force. Rehad Desai documented this historic event in his 2013 film MINERS SHOT DOWN. He refers to the incident once again in his latest film and shows how the ANC is undermining its close connections to the trade unions it set up as a freedom movement under Nelson Mandela, and how students have also turned on the party to protest against tuition fees under the motto #FeesMustFall. The film's compelling footage unmasks the cynical despotism of corrupt president Jacob Zuma, who is chiefly responsible for the ANC's demise and its catastrophic losses at the most recent elections. It also introduces opposition movements that are challenging his now-untenable position.
Two halves split by the perseverance of a scorpion. Come on, feet.
Contre vents et marées, l'épopée des Bleus avant l'Ecosse
The struggle to eradicate apartheid in South Africa has been chronicled over time, but no one has addressed the vital role music plays in this challenge. This documentary by Lee Hirsch recounts a fascinating and little-known part of South Africa's political history through archival footage, interviews and, of course, several mesmerizing musical performances.
The untold story of South Africa's blackfoot Penguins.
The African penguin is the only penguin that lives on the African continent. It was known as the jackass penguin because of its donkey-like call. This film covers the life cycle of this incredible bird, fom mating to laying of eggs to hunting and the moulting cycle. Sadly, it also shows the stark reality of a bird on the road to extinction.
A discovery of the pictorial art that Ndebele women traditionally practice in South Africa: painting the walls of their houses.
Fifteen years ago, a handful of African Penguins, normally found only on remote islands off the Southern African coast, stumbled across on of the Cape's most beautiful and popular tourist beaches. They swam, they saw, they conquered. And today, Boulders beach is home to more than 4,000 of these delightful, resourceful and entertaining seabirds who live side by side with their human neighbours -well, most of the time! These knee-high invaders not only share the beach, they dodge traffic, scale fences, and take over gardens, the golf course and even the occasional bedroom! For the two feathered stars, Henry and Margot, it's a tale of romance, the challenges of parenthood, separation and a penguin's worst nightmare, oil.
At a South African sanctuary, Luke Cornell provides a second chance for wildlife, confronting the harsh realities of poaching while revealing the deep emotional bond between the animals and those dedicated to their care.
Big Boys Don't Cry' follows Joe Marler as he discusses his own struggles and learns new methods of managing mental wellbeing. The England and Harlequins player has opened up about his battles with mental health during his private life and his time playing rugby on the international stage. The documentary follows Marler as he travels around the UK to open up the conversation around mental health challenges and to learn about how people manage with their mental wellbeing - from taking the plunge in cold water swimming and getting involved in singing in a choir along the way.
In the wake of one of the worst social experiments in the history of mankind, 'I'm not Black, I'm Coloured' is one of the first documentary films to look at the legacy of Apartheid from the viewpoint of the Cape Coloured. A people who in 1994, embraced the concept of Desmond Tutu's all encompassing 'rainbow nation', but soon thereafter realized that freedom, privilege, economic growth and equality would not include them. A people who for more than 350 years has been disregarded, ignored, belittled, and stripped of anything they can call their own enduring a complex psychological oppression and identity crisis unparalleled in South African history.
The story of Romain Ntamack, French rugby star, who practically grew up in the locker rooms of the French national team and Stade Toulousain. Following in the footsteps of his father Émile, a global legend in the sport. For two years, Charlène Ravin and Benoit Pensivy's cameras followed Romain and his family. An exceptional immersion with the Ntamack family, featuring exclusive interviews with Thierry Dusautoir, Antoine Dupont, Jonny Wilkinson, and Dan Carter.
Life in Progress
Why are illegal abortions more accessible in Poland than legal ones in South Africa? This documentary feature explores and contrasts changes in Poland and South Africa regarding abortion laws and their impact on the lives of women. In the 90's, Poland banned abortion due to the increasing influence of the Catholic Church after the fall of communism; around the same time South Africa legalized it, reforming the health system after the fall of apartheid. The film reveals how the legal status of women is a direct result of the silencing or empowering of women's voices. In the Polish society and media, women's perspectives were made invisible; in South Africa, on the other hand, they were invited to give public hearings in the parliament about problems in the realm of reproduction.
Following the England Women’s Rugby League squad as they build up to the biggest competition of their lives, a home World Cup in October 2022. This raw and honest journey takes a look at the women who are battling for a place in the squad, despite not being paid professionals and having to hold down full-time jobs alongside club rugby and England commitments.