A Billion Lives

Move Fast & Vape Things

September 2021 •English

Two Stanford graduate students had an inspired idea and an idealistic mission: create an e-cigarette that would help millions of people stop smoking. How did the founders of Juul lose their way and end up accused of addicted a whole new generation?

You Don't Know Nicotine

November 2020 •English

Amidst radical changes in nicotine use globally, one filmmaker's journey through the confusion & fear leads to a startling discovery about Earth's most hated stimulant. Society may be changed forever.

Manufacturing Ignorance

November 2020 •French

Tobacco, climate change, pesticides,... Never has scientific knowledge seemed so vast, detailed and shared. And yet it appears to be increasingly challenged. It is no longer surprising to see private corporations put strategies in place to confuse the public debate and paralyze political decision-making. Overwhelmed by excess of information, how can we, as citizens, sort out fact from fiction? One by one, this film dismantles the workings of this clever manoeuvre that aims to turn science against itself. Thanks to declassified archives, graphic animations and testimonies from experts, lobbyists and politicians, this investigation plunges us into the science of doubt. Along with a team of experts (philosophers, economists, cognitive scientists, political men, or even agnotologists), we explore concrete examples of doubt making and try to understand the whole process and the issues behind it.

Cusp

November 2021 •English

In a Texas military town, three teenage girls confront the dark corners of adolescence at the end of a fever dream summer.

Nicotine - A Drug with a Future

September 2020 •German

The number of smokers in Europe is declining, yet the tobacco industry is still making considerable profits. Electronic innovations such as e-cigarettes and tobacco heaters play a significant role in this. Both are said to be far less harmful than conventional cigarettes. But is the aromatic steam really not a danger to our health?

Un écran de fumée

October 2024 •French

Thank You for Smoking

September 2005 •English

Nick Naylor is a charismatic spin-doctor for Big Tobacco who'll fight to protect America's right to smoke -- even if it kills him -- while still remaining a role model for his 12-year old son. When he incurs the wrath of a senator bent on snuffing out cigarettes, Nick's powers of "filtering the truth" will be put to the test.

Papers

September 2020 •English

Jim, a slacker college student, decides to procrastinate on an essay worth 25% of his grade. Will he finish in time, or suffer the consequences?

Cold Turkey

February 1971 •English

Reverend Brooks leads his small Iowa town in a contest to stop smoking for a month. But some tobacco executives don't want them to win, and try everything they can to make them smoke. If townspeople don't go nuts from wanting a cigarette, or kill each other from irritation and frustration, they will win a huge prize.

No Smoking

January 1960 •English

Made by Sid Davis, a prolific director of social guidance films, this anti-smoking film takes a blunt, no-nonsense approach to smoking cessation, arguing against the deceit of the tobacco industry with staged reenactments, stark narration, and bold title cards promising smokers a shorter life expectancy due to lung cancer.

Vape Warz: The Movie

August 2017 •English

After the Vape Juice factories are shut down in a post-apocalyptic ghost town known as Disco City, a DIY manufacturer named Athena is hired to create a custom secret elixir and deliver it to a dangerous cloud-chaser known as the Vape Cloud Queen. But things are not typical in this desert vortex, and staying alive soon becomes first priority.

Three Widows Against The World

May 2022 •Malay

Midah, Rohayu and Ani, 3 widows from a kampung deep in a plantation, are all diehard fans of Aiman Zalini. When the singer’s last concert is announced, the three ladies try and do everything they can to raise the money. But they fail. Never one to give up, they resort to trying their hand at the most outlandish thing possible (spurred on by the overnight financial success of one local loafer) – creating an additive-free/all natural/non-tobacco vape juice business! Their vape formula (concocted with the help of a simpleton lab assistant) is an accidental success and they make enough for the concert ticket prices! However, unbeknownst to them – their viral and all-natural vape juice has turned many a drug addicts sober and this is causing a demand issue for the drug cartel bosses. This in turn starts a zany and hilarious chain of events that will change their lives forever.

Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking

December 2006 •English

Just suppose there was a quit smoking method which could enable any smoker to quit – immediately, permanently, and without willpower, no torturous withdrawal or weight gain, no shock tactics, pills, patches or other gimmicks. Furthermore, not only could you find it easy to quit, but you can actually enjoy the process from the moment you extinguish the last cigarette and never again feel that you miss cigarettes or smoking. This stop smoking method exists and is called Allen Carr’s Easyway.

Run That Shit!

February 2021 •English

A Satanic cult lures a no-name rapper into stealing an enchanted chamber pot from his estranged friend and now superstar rapper, Big Tobacco.

Turn & Cough

February 2025 •English

Two high schoolers decide to make some quick cash by getting in on the new epidemic sweeping the nation: selling vapes to minors.

Perfgina

May 2023 •English

All Perfgina wants is to be on Jeopardy, but will her moms own plans stand in her way?

Kinokinokino

December 2023 •German

What was cinema in the past? What is cinema today? Hamburg filmmaker Dennis Albrecht asked himself these questions as he sifted through material he had been collecting since a project idea in 2008. Since then, he has repeatedly taken cameras into cinemas that no longer exist. He shot commercials, short films or events at the Grindel-Kino, Streit's, Rialto and Savoy and many other Hamburg movie theaters. In these personal perspectives, we see many cultural places that have disappeared.

Soldier’s Fortune

July 2002 •German

Documentary about the first German foreign deployment of German soldiers in Kosovo since the Second World War in 1995.

Mangas, une révolution française

December 2023 •French

2021 served as a revelation for the last holdouts: thanks to confinement and the “Culture Pass”, manga sales and streaming anime viewing hours have exploded. These are today the dominant cultural works among young people. In truth, the trend has already been present for at least ten years. However, not so long ago, criticisms were rife and politicians accused manga of all evils. For the first time, precursors and current generations, cartoonists and publishers, absolute fans and rappers speak about their passion for these comics from Japan.

Picturing Elizabeth: Her Life in Images

September 2022 •English

Sophie Raworth explores the stories behind some of the most famous and era-defining pictures of the Queen, and shows how they chart our changing relationship with the monarchy.