Thirst: Mission Liberia

World War C

August 2021 •Dutch

It's war. War against an invisible enemy that is not as deadly as we are told. The world is changing rapidly. Disproportionate measures are taken worldwide that disrupt society as a whole. A dichotomy in society forced vaccinations and restrictions on freedom. Have we had the worst? Or is there something more disturbing to awaiting us.

Memory Books

May 2008 •English

In Uganda, AIDS-infected mothers have begun writing what they call Memory Books for their children. Aware of the illness, it is a way for the family to come to terms with the inevitable death that it faces. Hopelessness and desperation are confronted through the collaborative effort of remembering and recording, a process that inspires unexpected strength and even solace in the face of death.

The Great Green Wall

October 2020 •English

An epic journey along Africa's Great Green Wall — an ambitious vision to grow a wall of trees stretching across the entire continent to fight against increasing drought, desertification and climate change.

Ôrí

May 1989 •Portuguese

A look at the Brazilian black movement between 1977 and 1988, going by the relationship between Brazil and Africa.

Walter Mittelholzer - Eine Schweizer Pioniergeschichte

February 2015 •German

The Vocation

April 1974 •Swedish

Sven Nykvist, best known as Ingmar Bergman cinematographer, made this film as a tribute to his father who was a missionary in Kongo in the early 20th century. The story of his father Gustav Natanael Nykvist is told through his own photos, letters, and films. Director & cinematographer: Sven Nykvist. Narrators in the English dubbed version: Liv Ullmann & Sean Connery. Produced by Ingmar Bergman (Cinematograph AB). Digitally restored in 2022.

Si-Gueriki, Queen Mother

March 2002 •English

Si-Gueriki is the story of the confrontation of a young man with his history, his roots and culture.

The Panafrican Festival in Algiers

January 1969 •Arabic

Festival panafricain d'Alger is a documentary by William Klein of the music and dance festival held 40 years ago in the streets and in venues all across Algiers. Klein follows the preparations, the rehearsals, the concerts… He blends images of interviews made to writers and advocates of the freedom movements with stock images, thus allowing him to touch on such matters as colonialism, neocolonialism, colonial exploitation, the struggles and battles of the revolutionary movements for Independence.

Io sono nata viaggiando

November 2013 •Italian

A journey back through Dacia Maraini's and her trips around the world with her close friends cinema director Pier Paolo Pasolini and opera singer Maria Callas. An in-depth story of this fascinating woman's life. Maraini's memories come alive through personal photographs taken on the road as well as her own Super 8 films shot almost thirty years ago.

Marfil

January 2011 •Spanish

The first filmmaker arrived in Equatorial Guinea in 1904. The last movie theatre closed in Malabo in the 1990s. In 2011, during the II African Film Festival of Equatorial Guinea, the Marfil Movie Theatre reopened its doors. Florencio, Ángel and Estrada tells us how cinema has been, and is still, present in their lives.

Ouaga, the Capital of Cinema

April 2000 •French

Between 1983 and 1987, Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso and the home city of FESPACO, one of the most important Pan-African film festivals in the world, was the scene of an exciting cinema utopia. With the support of the young president Thomas Sankara, the festival became a symbol of the cultural renaissance of a whole continent. The assassination of Sankara stifled the hopes of millions of young Africans, but the dynamism of FESPACO and African cinema did not stop.

Hijos de África

October 2023 •Spanish

Circumcision

January 1949 •English

Rites and operation of the circumcision of thirty Songhai children on the Niger. Material of this film has been used to make "Les Fils de l'Eau".

Asientos

January 1996 •Spanish

Directed by François Woukoache.

God Grew Tired of Us

December 2006 •English

Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while adjusting to their new lives in the United States.

Mining for God

August 2015 •English

America has long been called a Christian nation. In fact, over 70% of adults in America identify themselves as Christian. Yet when filmmaker Brandon McGuire heads to the streets to ask a few clarifying questions about how Christianity is defined within our culture, he is shocked by the answers he finds. This provocative documentary takes us deep within the American mind and brings to the surface the big ideas that have influenced the way we think about ourselves and about God.

Statues Also Die

May 1953 •French

Short documentary commissioned by the magazine Présence Africaine. From the question "Why is the African in the anthropology museum while Greek or Egyptian art are in the Louvre?", the directors expose and criticize the lack of consideration for African art. The film was censored in France for eight years because of its anti-colonial perspective.

A Walk to Beautiful

May 2007 •English

"A Walk to Beautiful" tells the story of five women in Ethiopia suffering from devastating childbirth injuries. Rejected by their husbands and ostracized by their communities, these women are left to spend the rest of their lives in loneliness and shame. The trials they endure and their attempts to rebuild their lives tell a universal story of hope, courage, and transformation.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell

November 2008 •English

Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles the remarkable story of the Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country.

Cruel Famine Continent

June 1973 •Japanese

Cruel Famine Continent documents the Great Sahelian drought in West Africa and its effect on the people. The production was an attempt to pivot Toei's output from yakuza films and Toei Porn towards "global issues" and "whatever makes money", as stated by then-Toei president Shigeru Okada. Theatrical proceeds were to be shared as relief funds through the Japanese Red Cross, though the box office returns are unknown. Footage shot for the documentary by Yoshimitsu Banno would later be reused in the 1974 Toho production Prophecies of Nostradamus.