A Curing Ceremony

Beyond the Forest: Hungarian Music in Transylvania

January 1991 •English

The dance house movement, which (illegally) brought folk music from the minority Hungarian Gypsies and peasants of Transylvania - now part of Romania - to Budapest, and its effect on views of the value of traditional culture.

Atumpan: The Talking Drums of Ghana

January 1964 •English

This classic documentary features the story and sounds of the talking master drums of the Ashanti. Filmed in Ghana and narrated by Mantle Hood

Amir: An Afghan Refugee Musician's Life in Peshawar, Pakistan

January 1985 •English

Amir, shot during the height of the Afghan civil war in the 1980s, investigates and portrays the life of Afghan refugees living in and around the city of Peshawar in northern Pakistan through the experiences of the musician Amir. The aspirations of Afghan refugees are expressed through their political songs dealing with the civil war in Afghanistan, with exile, with Afghan nationalism and with the Islamic revolution. In highly charged and tragic circumstances, music can be used in very direct ways, both to promote solidarity and as an agent of catharsis.

Sufi, Saint & Swinger

September 2020 •English

The tragic story of an American music virtuoso who found in 1970s Iran the love and acceptance he never received back home, and who was punished by his country upon his return after the Iranian revolution.

'Are'are Music

January 1979 •English

A documentary about the traditional music of the 'Are'are people of the Solomon Islands.

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden: A Portrait of David Toop Through His Records Collection

January 2010 •English

British musician and writer David Toop leads viewers through a tour of his voluminous record collection, reflecting on perception, the limits of music and the connections between seemingly disparate performers. This unusual documentary from filmmakers Guy Marc Hinant and Dominique Lohlé also captures Toop's progression from engagement to near exhaustion as he methodically combs through tens of thousands of records.

Small Path Music

January 2013 •English

For most of the last decade Laurent Jeanneau has been on an urgent mission to record as much as he can of the surviving music of ethnic minorities in South East Asia. Small Path Music takes us traveling in the field with Laurent. What drives him to these remote places? What does he find there?

The Drunkmen’s Marseillaise

August 2024 •Spanish

In the summer of 1961, a group of young Italian anthropologists made a clandestine journey through Spain, in order to record popular songs that supported anti-Franco resistance. As a result of their work, they were prosecuted and their recordings were censored. Sixty years later, and guided by Emilio Jona, aged 92, the last living member of that group of travellers, we recover the unpublished recordings and reconstruct the journey, today, across an emotional and political landscape, regaining historical memories through these songs, as relevant today as they were then.

Heavy Heart

October 2017 •Slovak

Documentary film Heavy Heart arose as a part of ethnomusicological research Silalo panori / Cold water (2014 – 2017) of ancient Roma songs. These songs are usually connected with memories and experiences of their interprets. Documentary in a mosaic-like way traces the way of the original Roma music transport to the next generation or also how it ceases to exist under the influence of social changes.

House of Z

June 2016 •English

A feature documentary on the life and career of designer Zac Posen.

Niñato

April 2017 •Spanish

Jobless and with no prospects, Niñato (Brat) lives with his parents and does hip-hop music. He lives the life of the outskirts, it's the Madrid of the chronic crisis. But he is 34 years old and has three children to bring up. Time goes by, the kids are growing up and Niñato carries on, making music and looking after the children, without worrying too much about his future. Oro, the smallest one, not too motivated at school, will demand more attention and drive Niñato to face his own conflicts.

BE' JAM BE the Never Ending Song

April 2017 •English

“The Mutan tree, well we say tree, but originally it’s a liana that uses the tree to climb. And its grasp ends up killing the tree. That’s what is going to happen between us and the companies.” In Sarawak, one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo, the Penan — who not that long ago were still nomads — are the first to be affected by deforestation.

Long Echo

April 2020 •German

Dobropillia is a town located in Eastern Ukraine: 70 km from the border where conflicts with the breakaway republics are raging on and people feel always like being on the verge of total war. The sheer uncertainty about the future pushes folks to cling on to their daily habits while trying to get along with the ever-shifting political landscape. A wide array of wildly diversified characters try to cope as good as they can with the hardships in their town. A death metal band keeps rehearsing daily. A teacher guides visitors through the story of the city. The wonders of a vibrating armchair are tested as a tool against stress and anxiety. An elderly lady who has lost her son tries to talk some sense into her fellow citizens urging them to accept peace.

Cassini's Grand Finale

April 2017 •English

To help visualize the dramatic final chapter in Cassini's remarkable story, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory produced this short film that features beautiful computer-generated animation, thoughtful narration and a rousing score. Producers at JPL worked with filmmaker Erik Wernquist, known for his 2014 short film "Wanderers," to create a stirring finale video befitting one of NASA's most successful missions of exploration.

Encyclopedia

July 1998 •Spanish

Hollywood - The Second Step

June 1936 •English

This short follows the early career of actress Jane Barnes. She starts by doing extra work. After several months she is offered a studio contract (the "first step"). However, her work consists mostly of fashion shoots and bit parts that end up on the cutting room floor. She is even used as a stand-in for Maureen O'Sullivan on the set of a Tarzan movie when camera angles and lighting must be set up.

Wasted! The Story of Food Waste

July 2017 •English

See how the world’s most influential chefs battle food waste through the eyes of chef-heroes like Massimo Bottura, Dan Barber and Danny Bowien.

The Last Animals

May 2017 •English

The Last Animals is a story about an extraordinary group of people who go to incredible lengths to save the planet's last animals. The documentary follows the conservationists, scientists and activists battling poachers and transnational trafficking syndicates to protect elephants and rhinos from extinction. From Africa's front lines to behind the scenes of Asian markets, the film takes an intense look at the global response to this slaughter and the desperate measures to genetically rescue the Northern White rhinos who are on the edge of extinction.

A River Below

April 2017 •English

Deep in the Amazon, the population of the indigenous pink river dolphin is dwindling. Docile and easy to catch, this near-mythical animal is being hunted to extinction and used as bait for scavenger fish. But two activists are each working tirelessly to raise awareness and protect the species. On the one hand a marine biologist and on the other a famous TV star, each has their own very different approach to their one common goal.

Motherland

February 2010 •English

Fusing history, culture, politics, and contemporary issues, Motherland sweeps across Africa to tell a new story of a dynamic continent. From the glory and majesty of Africa's past through its complex history. Africa as you have never seen it.