Voices from the South

Africa Light / Gray Zone

January 2010 •English

"Africa Light" - as white local citizens call Namibia. The name suggests romance, the beauty of nature and promises a life without any problems in a country where the difference between rich and poor could hardly be greater. Namibia does not give that impression of it. If you look at its surface it seems like Africa in its most innocent and civilized form. It is a country that is so inviting to dream by its spectacular landscape, stunning scenery and fascinating wildlife. It has a very strong tourism structure and the government gets a lot of money with its magical attraction. But despite its grandiose splendor it is an endless gray zone as well. It oscillates between tradition and modernity, between the cattle in the country and the slums in the city. It shuttles from colonial times, land property reform to minimum wage for everyone. It fluctuates between socialism and cold calculated market economy.

How To Smell A Rose: A Visit with Ricky Leacock at his Farm in Normandy

August 2014 •English

In the year 2000, Les Blank, along with co-filmmaker Gina Leibrecht, visited Richard Leacock (1921-2011) at his farm in Normandy, France and recorded conversations with him about his life, his work, and his other passion: cooking! With the flair of a seasoned raconteur, Leacock recounts key moments in his seventy years as a filmmaker and the innovations that he, D.A. Pennebaker, Albert Maysles and others invented that revolutionized documentary filmmaking, and explores the mystery of creativity. With the passing of both Blank and Leacock, the documentary is a moving insight into the lives of two seminal figures in the history of film.

The Water Map

November 2024 •Spanish

The Water Map is an essayistic journey through the ethnography and landscapes of the Region of Murcia. These places are in the process of disappearing due to the increasing and abundant agricultural exploitation. Water has marked the territory and the culture of the area, and with its disappearance, the memories of four characters fade away.

I Was Only 14

November 2016 •Dutch

Filmmaker Froukje van Wengerden’s 86-year-old grandmother shares a powerful memory from 1944, when she was just 14. As her story unfolds, we see a group of contemporary 14-year-old girls. Their procession of portraits permits the spectator to see simultaneously forward and back, into the future and towards the past. A miraculous testimonial that uses eye contact to focus the viewer inward and evoke unexpected emotions.

Voyages au centre de la Terre : Dans les pas de Jules Verne

October 2023 •French

The Water Is Finally Blue: The Untold Story of Robert Altman's O.C. and Stiggs

July 2023 •English

An in-depth oral history of the production and development history of Robert Altman's "O.C. and Stiggs," featuring commentaries from the film's cast and crew.

Ithuteng (Never Stop Learning)

May 2005 •English

Tells the stories of four students who are turning their lives around at the Ithuteng Trust School.

Son Bir Numara

October 2023 •Turkish

Dawn of Humanity

September 2015 •English

Nova and National Geographic present exclusive access to an astounding discovery of ancient fossil human ancestors.

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain

July 2021 •English

An intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon. This unflinching look at Anthony Bourdain reverberates with his presence, in his own voice and in the way he indelibly impacted the world around him.

Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony

September 2002 •English

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.

How It Was Done in Odesa... or Odessans of All Countries, Unite!

January 1991 •Russian

A concert movie dedicated to the formation of the World Club of Odesa under the leadership of Mikhail Zhvanetsky. "Let many people be proud of the expanses and fields," says Mikhail Zhvanetsky himself about his favorite city, "someone falls to his favorite birch tree, thinking that it grows only here. We have the only homeland - Odesa, the only party of Odessites. Odesa is halfway around the world, from America to Australia. Odesa is a phenomenon, an Odessite is a character. Odesa was, is and will be one of the most famous cities on this temporal globe. And we, who stayed, and you, who left, will live and live with it.... Odesa is worth dedicating your youth and old age to it, and it will repay you like a native land".

Luto

October 2024 •Spanish

Damian, grieving his girlfriend's death, travels through Mexico seeking solace. Along the way, he connects with strangers and witnesses their coping rituals, finding a path through his own memories and regrets.

Za tučňáky, lvouny a velrybami

June 1953 •Czech

Ryhmäteatteri

February 2018 •Finnish

Documentary on the history of Ryhmäteatteri theatre company.

2 or 3 Things I Know About Him

April 2005 •German

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)

GINI VIDI VICI

March 2024 •French

Thanadoula

September 2020 •English

Layering real-life details with an otherworldly magic, Thanadoula recounts the story of an end-of-life doula brought to her calling through the loss of her beloved sister.

A Common Experience

June 2013 •English

A poetic exploration of the multi-generational affects of Canada's Indian Residential School system, based on the personal trials of Aboriginal playwright Yvette Nolan.

Grandmother Told Grandmother

October 2018 •English

The little-known story of Ukrainian children torn from their homes in the crush between the Nazi and Soviet fronts in World War II. Spending their childhood as refugees in Europe, these inspiring individuals later immigrated to the United States, creating new homes and communities through their grit, faith and deep belief in the importance of preserving culture.