The Unknown Famine

Leningrad Symphony

November 2017 •German

August 1942: Amidst the unimaginable suffering inflicted during the blockade of Leningrad by the German Wehrmacht, an orchestra director was given an almost impossible task: to stage the premiere of Dimitri Shostakovitch's "Leningrad Symphony". The performance became a symbol of the brief triumph of culture over the barbarism of war.

IT IS A SOUL: A Portrait of Hailu Mergia

September 2021 •English

A short film documenting Ethiopian musician Hailu Mergia's life as the leader of the Walias Band in the 1970, his immigration to the United States and his subsequent re-emergence as a performer in 2014.

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.

Saving South Sudan

May 2014 •English

The famous adventurer Robert Young Pelton travels with a former "Lost Boy" child soldier back to the violence of South Sudan to track down the recently deposed Vice President Riek Machar in his secret jungle camp and become the first to film the brutal White Army in combat.

Shepherds of the Earth

February 2022 •English

The region of Lake Turkana, located in Kenya and Ethiopia, is considered to be “the Cradle of Humankind”. Among other finds, primate fossils from millions of years ago have been discovered in the region. But what about the region’s modern inhabitants and their relationship to their environment? Iiris Härmä, whose previous work includes the award-winning Leaving Africa, had the chance of joining Helsinki University’s researchers, Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares and Mar Cabeza, on their pre-pandemic trip to study the Daasanach people’s relationship to their environment through traditional animal tales. The researchers hope that storytelling would help to bridge the gap between people’s everyday lives and conservation efforts.

Into the Inferno

September 2016 •English

With stunning views of eruptions and lava flows, Werner Herzog captures the raw power of volcanoes and their ties to indigenous spiritual practices.

Afrique-France : le divorce ?

June 2025 •French

Éthiopie, le mystère des mégalithes

February 2019 •French

Audrey

November 2020 •English

An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).

Adwa

November 1999 •Amharic

In 1896, Ethiopia, an African nation, largely armed with spears and knives, defeats a well-equipped and organized Italian military bent on colonization.

Imperfect Journey

December 1994 •English

Haile Gerima and Ryszard Kapuscinski travel around Ethiopia talking to people about their current situations and what needs to be done for a prosperous country.

The Imperial Lullaby

March 2020 •Italian

The armies of Fascist Italy conquered Addis Ababa, capital of Abyssinia, in May 1936, thus culminating the African colonial adventure of the ruthless dictator Benito Mussolini, by then lord of Libya, Eritrea and Somalia; a bloody and tragic story told through the naive drawings of Pietro Dall'Igna, an Italian schoolboy born in 1925.

Dukas Dilemma

July 2002 •German

'Do They Know It's Christmas?' - The Story Of The Official Band Aid Video

December 1984 •English

A 30-minute video featuring documentary footage shot at the November 1984 recording session of Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'. It includes interviews with the charity supergroup's recording artists and musicians, as well as the completed promotional video.

I Come From Away: An Immigrant in Maine

Invalid date •English

An intimate look inside the immigrant community in Portland, Maine, as told by Nyamuon Nguany Machar who arrived as refugee in 1995 and David Zwalita Mota who came as an asylum seeker in 2019.

The Great Famine

April 2011 •English

When a devastating famine descended on Soviet Russia in 1921, it was the worst natural disaster in Europe since the Black Plague in the Middle Ages. Examine Herbert Hoover’s American Relief Administration—an operation hailed for its efficiency, grit and generosity. By the summer of 1922, American kitchens were feeding nearly 11 million Soviet citizens a day.

Hoffnungsschimmer am Horn von Afrika

December 2019 •German

Zero Hunger: In a World of Plenty

August 2024 •English

Distressing accounts and images of historical warfare and the ongoing issues of a population suffering from hunger fill this short documentary about the North Ethiopian region of Tigray.

Der Sojakomplex oder Die phantastische Geschichte der eisernen Kuh

October 1988 •German

The film shows the connection between agricultural overproduction in Europe and hunger in Brazil.

Do You Remember Me?

October 2022 •English

Sara from Zurich was circumcised as a little girl in Ethiopia. This event severely traumatized her. To find her inner peace, Sara decides to look for her circumciser.