The Town That Was

Life in Four Elements

March 2017 •Finnish

A journey into four classical elements through the four main characters of the film. The main characters in the movie represent each of their own elements.

Chernobyl: The Last Battle of the USSR

April 2021 •French

Three decades after the nuclear explosion, almost everything has been said about this ecological and sanitary disaster that made Pripiat a part of History. How did the greatest industrial disaster change the course of History, disrupt global geopolitics and, directly or indirectly, redistribute the balances and power relations of the twentieth century? The world will never be the same again. By retracing the incredible battle waged by the Soviet Union against radiation, this film proposes to retrace and enlighten an extraordinary story, while exploring the historical stakes in the medium and long-term…

Bitva pod zemí

January 1949 •Czech

Aranzazú, a memory of ruins

April 2012 •Spanish

The celebration of a city is held every year and nostalgia is the main guest. Around the city there is nothing but ruins and in the distance, four men walk the streets of a city that was once great.

Thatcher vs The Miners: The Battle for Britain

May 2021 •English

On the 5th of March 1985, a crowd gathered in a South Yorkshire pit village to watch a sight none of them had seen in a year. The villagers, many of them in tears, cheered and clapped as the men of Grimethorpe Colliery marched back to work accompanied by the village’s world-famous brass band. The miners and their families had endured months of hardship. It had all been for nothing. The miners had lost the strike called on March 6th 1984. They would lose a lot more in the years to come. But was it a good thing for the country that the miners lost their last battle?

Fire in Paradise

September 2019 •English

In this documentary, survivors recall the catastrophic 2018 Camp Fire, which razed the town of Paradise and became California’s deadliest wildfire.

In Memory of the Land and People

January 1977 •English

“…It is a film that tells in hurried film sequences and a resonant musical score juxtaposing the sublime, funereal despair of Bartok agains tthe gut-bare tones of folk music. Gates has through his filming technique and meticulously selected mining sites, captured all the outrage and sorrow and indignity to the land and its people that strip mining represents. The film is one that all Americans should see, for it shows extremely well the price we have to pay for strip mined coal.” - Dale A. Burk, The Montana “Missoulian”

Broken Rainbow

May 1985 •English

Documentary chronicling the government relocation of 10,000 Navajo Indians in Arizona.

Burning

September 2021 •English

Follows the deadly Australian bushfires of 2019-2020, known as ‘Black Summer’. Burning is an exploration of what happened as told from the perspective of victims of the fires, activists and scientists.

La Buena Vida - The Good Life

January 2015 •German

The village of Tamaquito lies deep in the forests of Colombia. Here, nature provides the people with everything they need. But the Wayúu community's way of life is being destroyed by the vast and rapidly growing El Cerrejón coal mine. Determined to save his community from forced resettlement, the leader Jairo Fuentes negotiates with the mine's operators, which soon becomes a fight to survive.

These were the reasons

May 2011 •English

This film takes us into the harsh realm of BC's early coal mines, canneries, and lumber camps; where primitve conditions and speed-ups often cost lives. Then, the film moves through the unemployed' struggles of the '30s, post WWII equity campaigns, and into more recent public sector strikes over union rights.

So This Is God's Country?

January 1966 •Italian

A Mondo documentary focused on the 1960's American lifestyle, consumerism, religion, adversity, and oddity. An outsider's look at a country afflicted by episodes of racism and neo -Nazism. Scenes of a Ghost Town, LSD in NYC, Sunset Strip Los Angeles California, Amish, Klu Klux Klan, African-American Fashion Show, etc.

Living with Wildfire

September 2018 •English

For 100 years, we have waged war on wildfire in the United States, and ironically, have created a more volatile landscape than ever.

Charlie Sheen's Stunts Spectacular

June 1994 •English

The first behind the scenes look revealing the movie magic of the men and women of the stunt profession, Hollywood's unsung heroes. Charlie Sheen and Stuntman Hall of Famer BJ Davis host.

The Barn is Burning

April 2025 •English

After a devastating fire ravages a milking parlor, a family and its community rally together. This short documentary showcases a journey of resilience, as a family farm rises from the ashes into a new era of cutting-edge robotic technology. The film explores the innovation in modern agriculture, shedding light on the strength of farming communities and the power of perseverance in the face of adversity.

Justice in the Coalfields

January 1995 •English

This film demonstrates how labor law has crippled the collective bargaining power of unions and weighed the scales of justice against working people. The documentary follows the 1988 United Mine Workers strike against the Pittston Coal Company that followed the expiration of their contract and Pittston's termination of the medical benefits of 1,500 pensioners, widows, and disabled miners.

Smokescreen over Brussels

January 2002 •Dutch

Was the Brussels Innovation fire (1967) just a dramatic accident or was there more going on? Through exclusive interviews and edited archival material, a conspiracy theory is constructed in which the CIA and some property developers are assigned important roles. Despite the frivolous mysticism, there are many truths in this mockumentary!

Lessons of Darkness

February 1992 •German

Shortly after the Gulf War, oil fires were raging all through Kuwait. In the week before this sea of fire would be extinguished, Werner Herzog filmed this apocalyptic landscape with its murky skies, scorched earth and capricious flames.

Coal Face

June 1935 •English

1935 documentary about the hard working life of Welsh coal miners.

No Contract

June 2012 •English

No Contract is a visceral video that combines elements of performance, sculptural cinema and documentary to explore themes of urgency, isolation and escape, as well as the notions of torment and renewal, desire and destruction.