The Survivalists

Jesus Camp

September 2006 •English

Jesus Camp is a Christian summer camp where children hone their "prophetic gifts" and are schooled in how to "take back America for Christ". The film is a first-ever look into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America's political future.

Public Shelter Organization and Staff

February 1963 •English

Created in 1963 at the height of the Cold War, this Civil Defense training film uses a dramatic premise to show how emergency staff should manage and organize a large public fallout shelter during a crisis. A Shelter Manager is shown immediately taking control of the situation in the shelter, speaking calmly to those who have made it into the facility, closing the door promptly once the shelter is full, and sticking to the "shelter plan" as the situation unfolds. Some of the areas discussed in this nuclear war drama are the safety plan, regular inspections, supervised public entry into shelters, ventilation, first aid, sanitation, fire prevention, decontamination of personnel, and more. "Shelter living is different," the Manager states, "But we have a trained staff that will make your stay in this shelter livable for us all."

Operations in Public Shelters

July 1963 •English

A heavily dramatized Civil Defense film that demonstrates how a public fallout shelter is supposed to function after a nuclear attack. This scenario takes place in a fictional any town called "Middlebury". The film describes the situation in a public shelter in Middlebury following an attack on the United States.

Public Shelter Supplies: What Does The Government Supply

April 1963 •English

Training film for shelter managers. Food, water, sanitation, medical, and radiation detection systems are explained.

Information Program Within Public Shelters

May 1963 •English

This Cold War film "Information Within Public Shelters" (1953) takes place in a fallout shelter, showing how a well-trained staff that provides information to shelter occupants, can keep them busy and calm during nuclear armageddon. This film was produced as the U.S. Government began to shift from promoting privately-owned "family" fallout shelters to the concept of large, public shelters.

Polish Prayers

November 2022 •Polish

The tenth edition of Polish Pride parades a colorful trail of rainbow flags through the streets of Warsaw. Along the route, Antek and his friends line up to warn of the “pink threat” in prayer and edifying hymns. As traditional Catholics, he and his Brotherhood hold deeply conservative views: sex before marriage is out of the question, homosexuality can be cured, abortion is a great evil and Poland is for the Poles. His sister thinks his homophobic ranting is pointless, because in a few years the planet will be destroyed anyway as nobody is doing anything about climate change.

The Forbidden Reel

March 2020 •English

According to the official history of Afghanistan, ruthless destruction has always prevailed over art and creation; but there is another tale to be told, the forgotten account of a diverse and progressive country, seen through the lens of innovative filmmakers, a story that survives thanks to a few brave Afghans, a small but very passionate group that secretly fought to save a huge film archive that was constantly menaced by war and religious fanaticism.

Salman Rushdie: Death on a Trail

January 2019 •French

An intimate portrait, in his own words, of the Indian writer Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses (1988), thirty years after the fatwa uttered by the Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini: his youth in multicultural Bombay, his life in England, his many years of forced hiding, his thoughts on President Trump's United States of America.

Die kalten Ringe

July 2021 •German

19 years after the dropping of atomic bombs in Japan, the Olympic Games of 1964 took place in Tokyo. In the midst of the cold war, the games are supposed to become a symbol for a peaceful world. Especially the divided Germany is expected to prove this: By order of the IOC, both German states must participate in Tokyo with a joint team despite deep ideological rifts. The fact that athletes from both German states still had to compete against each other in order to form a joint team for the 1964 Olympic Games in Innsbruck and in Tokyo is all but forgotten. The film tells the story of the East-West German team of 1964 for the first time and is simultaneously a current document about the relation of sports and politics in international relations.

Nukes in Space

January 1999 •English

U.S. nuclear tests in space, and the development of the military intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Berlin Geheimoperation Tunnel

January 2011 •German

The Hole In The Ground

July 1962 •English

Made at the height of 'cold war' paranoia, this drama-documentary shows the work of the UK Warning and Monitoring Organisation, who's duties included the issuing of public warnings of any nuclear missile strike and the subsequent fallout.

Mission to Mir

October 1997 •English

This film shows how far we have come since the cold-war days of the 50s and 60s. Back then the Russians were our "enemies". And to them the Americans were their "enemies" who couldn't be trusted. Somewhere in all this a young girl in Oklahoma named Shannon set her sights on becoming one of those space explorers, even though she was told "girls can't do that." But she did.

Land of White Alice

January 1960 •English

Film sponsored by Western Electric (AT&T's equipment manufacturing division), the builder of the United States Air Force's White Alice Communications System in Alaska. Introduces the people and geography of the new state as well as the Western Electric radio-relay system, which links far-flung military sites, alert stations, and missile-warning facilities. Ralph Caplan praised the film's "intrinsically dramatic and highly photogenic" portrayal of communications equipment.

Rich Hall's Red Menace

November 2019 •English

2019 marks the 30th year since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. Rich Hall examines the relationship between the West and the USSR in his inimitable fashion.

The Raccoon; The King of Survivalism

January 2021 •French

While, all over the world, multiple wild species are threatened, raccoons are displaying an unprecedented expansion. Beneath the innocent and graceful plush exterior hides an unparalleled "survivor" temperament. Omnivorous, curious, intelligent and extremely adaptable, raccoons prove to be very good at overcoming any challenge thrown by humans. But how do these clever creatures manage to survive both in the wild and in urban settings? Set in one summer in Georgia, USA, this film follows a litter of young raccoons from birth to adulthood on Jekyll Island.

Stronger Than a Bullet

November 2017 •English

Iran, January 16th, 1979. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees after being overthrown. Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Tehran and proclaims the Islamic Republic on April 1st, 1979. In the same year, Saddam Hussein seizes power in Iraq and, after several border skirmishes, attacks Iran on September 22nd, 1980, initiating a cruel war that will last eight years. Since its outbreak, correspondent Saeid Sadeghi documented it from its beginning to its bitter end.

Wir waren in der AfD - Aussteiger berichten

January 2024 •German

The AfD, founded in 2013, is a right-wing party that has become increasingly radicalized in recent years. To illustrate this, only those who enthusiastically joined the party in its early years are heard. They describe what they looked for and found in the party, but also how and why they left, disillusioned and frightened by the AfD's developments. How did they experience the party's radicalization process? How did friends and family react? When and why did they decide to turn their back on the party? How difficult was the exit process? The documentary provides an illuminating inside view of this party, which has been driving the established parties and the political establishment ahead of it for over ten years, gives viewers a unique look into the AfD's chronicle and world of thought and is at the same time a film about the mechanisms of political radicalization.

Tunnel to Freedom

July 2021 •German

13 August 1961: the GDR closes the sector borders in Berlin. The city is divided overnight. Escape to the West becomes more dangerous every day. But on September 14, 1962, exactly one year, one month and one day after the Wall was built, a group of 29 people from the GDR managed to escape spectacularly through a 135-meter tunnel to the West. For more than 4 months, students from West Berlin, including 2 Italians, dug this tunnel. When the tunnel builders ran out of money after only a few meters of digging, they came up with the idea of marketing the escape tunnel. They sell the film rights to the story exclusively to NBC, an American television station.

Nuclear Armageddon: How Close Are We?

January 2024 •English

With the Doomsday Clock the closest it's ever been to midnight, Jane Corbin investigates the proliferation of nuclear weapons across the globe. She visits Los Alamos, home to the United States’ nuclear weapons development facility and the historic home of Oppenheimer’s Manhattan Project. In Scotland, she reveals the strategy behind Britain’s nuclear deterrent, and speaks to campaigners in Suffolk fighting against US weapons they fear will be based on UK soil. Jane also discovers how many of the global agreements and safeguards that have constrained the spread of nuclear weapons since the 1970s are breaking down. This is a story told by the scientists, investigators and diplomats who set the clock and have fought to ensure that the ultimate deterrent has not been used in over 70 years.