Lightning Before Thunder

Stay Close

January 2019 •English

The underdog story of a fencer from Brooklyn who overcomes a gauntlet of hardships on the road to the Olympics.

All for One

April 2002 •French

In a closed locker room, rugby players perform the last pre-match rituals. Warming up their souls and bodies, all tense in anticipation of the fight.

On Thin Ice

February 2021 •English

Athletes who have struggled for acceptance due to race, religion, sexual orientation, and other prejudices, endure conflict in their quest to level the playing field.

Wired to Win

December 2005 •English

Cyclists in the Tour de France demonstrate the ability of the human brain to overcome physical and mental adversity and achieve goals.

Sherwood Park

December 2024 •English

Reclaiming what was once stolen from him, a man journeys back to the place of his childhood nearly 80 years after his world came crashing down.

By the People, For the People

May 2019 •Portuguese

The soccer stadium Arena Corinthians was constructed in São Paulo’s Itaquera district, approximating the club structures to the biggest stronghold of its fans. Through filming the official tour at the arena and interviewing Corinthians soccer team supporters that live on its margins, the film shows the dubious relation that takes place between them.

Die Bewegungskrise - Wie wir vom Sofa runterkommen

July 2023 •German

Increased screen time, excessive robotisation, the reign of the car, home delivery... At a time when new technologies are making sedentary lifestyles more explosive than ever, here's a look at some initiatives designed to get us moving again.

Nothing Lasts Forever: Russian Punks in Georgia

May 2024 •English

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many in Russia's DIY punk scene fled to Tbilisi, Georgia. Mobilization only exacerbated that trend. This documentary follows the stories of some of those punks but also explores the complicated socio-economic effects they have on the city. The film is about the potential for punk and other similar subcultures to make connections even across otherwise tense political borders.

Kids in a Cage

July 2023 •English

Exposing the shocking world of youth MMA (kids cage fighting), the film follows 2 child fighters over several years on their quest to win the kids MMA national championship, as they wrestle demons at home and battle for glory in the cage.

Australia

January 2009 •Romanian

How do seven young people, former street children from Romania, get to see the Pacific Ocean? On 1 December 2008, a Romanian national team participates for the first time in the Homeless World Cup in Melbourne, Australia. The film follows the team from the formation of the squad to the end of the championship. The young people are from Timisoara and Arad, runaway children who now live in abandoned houses or who have managed to get a job and live in rented accommodation after going through orphanages or prisons. After taking a beating from many teams, the young Romanians manage to beat the USA. They are happy. They are all thinking of never going "home" again. It's warm and nice here, the people are nice. "In case I stay, I kissed you all!" says one of them cautiously. But after taking pictures of themselves on the beach with the ocean behind them and beautiful girls by their side, the seven return to Romania and get on with their lives.

Revolver

September 2010 •English

Revolver, the 2010 film from Poor Boyz Productions, presented by Salomon focuses on the progression and the factors that have coincided with many great advancements of the sport of skiing. (Over the last decade skiing has exploded into what we know it is today. But skiing has had many trying moments long before the end of the 20th century.) This season Poor Boyz Productions plans to showcase today’s raw talents of skiing in a high action, retrospective, yet progressive look at what things are pushing the sport today.

Shirine Boukli : Phénomène judo

July 2024 •French

Finding Home: Journey to MLB

August 2023 •English

Chronicling Latin baseball players in the minor leagues as they experience the ups and downs of pursuing the dream of playing in the Major Leagues.

Das Wunder von Bern - Die wahre Geschichte

April 2004 •English

Rebuilding Coraline

August 2024 •English

A behind-the-scenes featurette explaining the process to make new Coraline puppets fifteen years after the film's release.

Wir Weltmeister – ein Fußballmärchen

May 2006 •German

Football As Never Before

March 1971 •German

In this film, we follow footballer George Best over a 90-minute match against Coventry City, which took place on 12th September 1970. There is no soundtrack and no interview overlaid, just Best doing what he did best - playing football.

Gifted and Challenged: The Making of 'Shortbus'

March 2007 •English

A look at the unusual process used in the making of the film Shortbus (2006) featuring interviews, behind the scenes footage and clips from the feature film. Director John Cameron Mitchell starts with the concept of using real sex in a film with a positive message. The cast of unknowns is selected from homemade audition tapes and then a callback audition workshop. More acting workshops are used to develop the characters and script. The project overcomes a number of obstacles and the rest of the film's development is followed up until its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

When We Were Kings

October 1996 •English

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

Ilusión Nacional

April 2014 •Spanish

A sport like football is primarily a passionate celebration, but one that is so massive (economically, politically and socially) that it, of course, also brings many problems. Olallo Rubio's third documentary (and fourth film in total), Ilusión Nacional, is a take on how the world's most popular sport relates to Mexican society and politics.