Natural Selection

in retrospect

February 2025 •German

Immigrant workers build a shopping mall for the upcoming 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. In 2016, nine people with migrant backgrounds are killed in a racist attack at the same mall.

Last Day of Freedom

April 2015 •English

When Bill Babbitt realizes his brother Manny has committed a crime he agonizes over his decision to call the police.

Community Patrol

February 2018 •English

It’s been widely reported that Detroit is making a comeback, but long-term residents of Detroit’s mostly black neighborhoods aren’t seeing much benefit. Crime, lack of opportunity and infrastructure problems still persist. Community Patrol explores neighborhood self-policing through the eyes of Minister Malik Shabazz, a long-time Detroit activist and community organizer. Determined that more black men don’t end up in jail or killed, the minister confronts drug offenders directly rather than reporting them to the police.

Tan France: Beauty and the Bleach

April 2022 •English

When he was only 9-years-old Tan France tried to lighten his own skin with bleaching cream. He faces up to his own experiences in an attempt to explore perceptions of beauty, skin tone and colourism.

Black Eagles

April 2021 •German

The documentary Schwarze Adler (Black Eagles) lets black players of the German national football team tell their personal stories for the first time. What road did they take before they got to where we cheer for them? What hurdles did they have to overcome? What prejudices and racist hostility were they exposed to – and what was it like in the past, what is it like today?

Stamped from the Beginning

November 2023 •English

Using innovative animation and expert insights, this documentary based on Ibram X. Kendi's bestseller explores the history of racist ideas in America.

50 Years Legal

June 2017 •English

Leading activists and commentators explore the changes that have taken place since homosexuality was decriminalised in the UK in 1967 and the influence of gay culture on society.

Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas

May 2013 •English

The documentary tracks the diva's difficult progress as she emerges from the tough, testosterone-fuelled world of the big bands of the 30s and 40s, to fill nightclubs and saloons across the US in the 50s and early 60s as a force in her own right. Looking at the lives and careers of six individual singers (Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone and Annie Ross), the film not only talks to those who knew and worked with these queens of jazz, but also to contemporary singers who sit on the shoulders of these trailblazing talents without having to endure the pain and hardship it took for them to make their highly individual voices heard above the prejudice of mid-century America.

The Australian Dream

August 2019 •English

AFL legend Adam Goodes shares the story of his life and career to offer a deeper insight into race, identity, and belonging.

The Final Quarter

June 2019 •English

Australian documentary filmmaker Ian Darling re-examines the incidents that marked the final 3 years of Indigenous footballer Adam Goodes' playing career. Made entirely from archival footage, photos and interviews sourced from television, radio and newspapers, the film reviews the national conversation that took place over this period.

General Hercules

June 2022 •English

In June 1893, European prospectors unlawfully took claim to ‘The Golden Mile’ on Aboriginal land. In little over a hundred years the natural landscape has been transformed into the industrial hellscape of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. As incumbent Mayor John Bowler starts to campaign for a second term, independent prospector John ‘General Hercules’ Katahanas decides to run against him on an anti-corruption ticket. What starts out as a quirky David-vs-Goliath political battle, unravels into a portrait of a man, a town and a country sent mad by the timeless cycles of exploitation, racism and greed.

Wow

March 1970 •French

In this French Canadian film, the lives of teenagers are examined in fantasy sequences and through the use of documentary interviews. Prompted by the filmmaker, nine teenagers individually act out their secret dreams and, between times, talk about their world as they see it. The fantasy sequences make creative use of animation, unusual film-development techniques, and stills. Babette conceives of herself as an abbess defending her fortress, a convent; Michelle is transported in a dream of love where all time ceases; Philippe is the revolutionary, defeating all the institutions that plague him, and so on, through all their fantasies. All the actual preoccupations of youth are raised: authority, drugs, social conflict, sex. Jutra's style in "Wow" exhibits his innovative approach to storytelling and filmmaking, showcasing his talents as a director during that period. With English subtitles.

Wilmington on Fire

November 2015 •English

A historical and present day look at the Wilmington Massacre of 1898 and how the descendants of the victims of the event are asking for legal action in regards to compensation.

Green Lights, Blue Skies

January 2002 •English

'Green Lights, Blue Skies' features twenty tracks to make you want to head for the open road. Many of these videos, promotional clips and performances have never been included on a DVD. Bonus features include an introductory film by DJ and broadcaster Gary Crowley, exclusive band profiles and a new 5:1 mix.

Cabaret Girl

March 1956 •English

This ultra-kitsch documentary goes behind the scenes at Murray's Cabaret Club, where Christine Keeler was later a showgirl.

Love and Sex under Nazi Occupation

October 2011 •French

Love & Sex under Nazi Occupation questions the burning mystery of intimate heterosexual and homosexual relations in times of war... and shows how being close to death reinforces the yearning for passion, for pleasure, for transgression, for desire as a last burst of freedom, as an ultimate call to life. Nearly two hundred thousands children are thought to be born of the union of French women with German soldiers. Women weren't the Germans' only conquests; indeed, occupied Paris swarms with all kinds of homosexuals—from Genet to Cocteau—who treated with the occupier. The fate of those women who were shaved at the end of the war for fraternizing with Germans is the punishment of a France that lied down and slept with the enemy.

Podium

February 2007 •English

Nana

April 2018 •English

Maryla Michalowski-Dyamant, born in Poland, survived Ravensbruck, Malchow, and Auschwitz, where she was the forced translator of the “Angel of Death”, Dr. Mengele. She dedicated her post-war life to publicly speaking of her survival to the young generations, so that it would never be forgotten or repeated. Alice and Serena, her daughter and granddaughter, explore how Maryla’s fight against intolerance can continue today, in a world where survivors are disappearing, and intolerance, racism and antisemitism are on the rise.

Nin E Tepueian: My Cry

January 2020 •French

NIN E TEPUEIAN - MY CRY is a documentary tracks the journey of Innu poet, actress and activist, Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, at a pivotal time in her career as a committed artist. Santiago Bertolino's camera follows a young Innu poet over the course of a year. A voice rises, inspiration builds; another star finds its place amongst the constellation of contemporary Indigenous literature. A voice of prominent magnitude illuminates the road towards healing and renewal: Natasha Kanapé Fontaine.

Patriot for life

December 2010 •English

Documentary film about the nationalist movement in Sweden