China: A Class By Itself

Undercover in Tibet

March 2008 •English

Undercover in Tibet reveals the regime of terror which dominates daily life and makes freedom of expression an impossibility. Tash meets victims of arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and ‘disappearances’ and uncovers evidence of enforced sterilizations on ethnic Tibetan women. He sees for himself the impact of the enormous military and police presence in the region, the hunger and hardship being endured by many Tibetans and hears warnings of the uprising taking place across the provinces now.

Kampf um Tibet

September 2013 •German

Tibet Les nourritures spirituelles

January 2011 •French

Tibet - Les nourritures terrestres

October 2011 •French

A Day on the Grand Canal with the Emperor of China or: Surface Is Illusion But So Is Depth

March 1988 •English

Director Philip Haas and artist David Hockney invite you to join them on a magical journey through China via a marvelous 72-foot long 17th-century Chinese scroll entitled The Kangxi Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour (1691-1698), scroll seven . As Hockney unrolls the beautiful and minutely detailed work of art, he traces the Emperor Kangxi’s second tour of his southern empire in 1689.

10 Questions for the Dalai Lama

May 2006 •English

How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? Why do the poor often seem happier than the rich? Must a society lose its traditions in order to move into the future? These are some of the questions posed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by filmmaker and explorer Rick Ray. Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of an extraordinary spiritual leader. This is his story, as told and filmed by Rick Ray during a private visit to his monastery in Dharamsala, India over the course of several months. Also included is rare historical footage as well as footage supplied by individuals who at great personal risk, filmed with hidden cameras within Tibet.

I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story

May 2015 •English

A documentary about Caroll Spinney who has been Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since 1969. At 78-years-old, he has no intention of stopping.

Jackie Chan Edition: Seine spektakulärsten Kämpfe

July 2009 •German

Mr. Deng Goes to Washington

May 2015 •Chinese

Earth: Muted

September 2021 •Chinese

Three farming families in Hanyuan, China, strive to give their children a good life in the midst of an ecological crisis, as widespread use of pesticides leads to a dramatic decline in bees and other pollinating insects in the valley.

Mysteries of the Terracotta Warriors

June 2024 •English

Thousands of terracotta warriors guarded the first Chinese emperor's tomb. This is their story, told through archeological evidence and reenactments.

China's Secret Monkey Kingdom

October 2021 •English

Who's afraid of Huawei?

January 2020 •French

The Chinese company Huawei wants to expand 5G worldwide and is well advanced in the development of the technology. With the help of 5G, entire communities can function wirelessly, self-driving cars become possible and advanced medical care can be performed remotely in real time. However, many are worried that Huawei is incorporating backdoors that allow vast amounts of data to be collected and then used by China for espionage.

24 City

September 2008 •Chinese

As a decades-old state-run aeronautics munitions factory in downtown Chengdu, China is being torn down for the construction of the titular luxury apartment complex, director Jia Zhangke interviews various people affiliated with it about their experiences.

Starring Jerry as Himself

November 2024 •English

Jerry, an ordinary immigrant dad, retired in Orlando, is recruited to be an undercover agent for the Chinese police. Jerry’s family recreates the events on film and his three sons discover a darker truth. True crime meets spy thriller in this genre-bending docufiction hybrid about an immigrant’s search for the American dream. A Slamdance Film Festival Grand Jury and Audience Award winner.

Tea War: The Adventures of Robert Fortune

July 2016 •French

In the 19th century, China held the monopoly on tea, which was dear and fashionable in the West, and the British Empire exchanged poppies, produced in its Indian colonies and transformed into opium, for Chinese tea. Inundated by the drugs, China was forced to open up its market, and the British consolidated their commercial dominance. In 1839, the Middle Empire introduced prohibition. The Opium War was declared… Great Britain emerged as the winner, but the warning was heeded: it could no longer depend on Chinese tea. The only alternative possible was to produce its own tea. The East India Company therefore entrusted one man with finding the secrets of the precious beverage. His mission was to develop the first plantations in Britain’s Indian colonies. This latter-day James Bond was called Robert Fortune – a botanist. After overcoming innumerable ordeals in the heart of imperial China, he brought back the plants and techniques that gave rise to Darjeeling tea.

Wisdom of Changes - Richard Wilhelm and the I Ching

November 2011 •English

As a young missionary, Richard Wilhelm in 1899 to China, which was then exploited by the colonial powers. He lived there revolts against foreigners, the end of the imperial dynasties and the First World War. In these times of turbulent upheavals he was indefatigable in search of the deepest truth that helps people deal with change and able to shape their own lives. Richard Wilhelm baptized not only Chinese, but accomplished one of the largest translation services of the 20th century: Confucius, LAOTSE the most important texts of Daoism and especially the I CHING THE BOOK OF CHANGES. The book also served many readers in the West as inspiration. Wilhelm is still one of the most important mediators of Chinese culture in Europe.

Please Vote for Me

September 2007 •Chinese

At Evergreen Primary School in Wuhan, China, a Grade 3 class learns what democracy is when an election for class monitor is being held. Three children are chosen by the teacher as candidates and they have a few days to campaign and convince their classmates to vote for them. The little candidates are seen at school and at home, where their parents do their best to make sure their child will win the election.

Manufactured Landscapes

September 2006 •English

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES is the striking new documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of “manufactured landscapes”—quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams—Burtynsky creates stunningly beautiful art from civilization’s materials and debris.

Shanghai Ghetto

February 2002 •English

SHANGHAI GHETTO recalls the strange-but-true story of thousands of European Jews who were shut out of country after country while trying to escape Nazi persecution in the late 1930s. Left without options or entrance visas, a beacon of hope materialized for them on the other side of the world, and in the unlikeliest of places, Japanese-controlled Shanghai. Fleeing for their lives, these Jewish refugees journeyed to form a settlement in the exotic city, penniless and unprepared for their new life in the Far East. At the turn of the new millennium, filmmakers Dana Janklowicz-Mann and Amire Mann boldly snuck into China with two survivors and a digital camera to shoot at the site of the original Shanghai Ghetto, unchanged since WWII.