The Spider's Web: Britain's Second Empire

Chronicles of Hope

June 1993 •French

In july 1936, the civil war began in Spain, and it would last three years. Since then, it has constantly been a subject for fascination and controversy. What could have pushed leftists from all over the world to fight for a cause that their governments rejected? Why did young men leave their work, their family and their country, so they could join a fight that was somehow a rehearsal for World War II? Nearly 40.000 people enlisted to defend their ideals on a foreign territory. Chronicles Of Hope doesn't intend to describe the events of the civil war in a one-tracked political mould; the human dimension is here the center of interest.

Charles R: The Making of a Monarch

April 2023 •English

This is the story of how a prince became a king, a revealing portrait of our new monarch across the seven decades he spent as heir to the throne. It’s a journey from cradle to crown told almost solely in his own words, from film and television recordings to private home movies and featuring a wealth of material, some of which has never been seen before. As well as drawing on home movies from the Royal Collection, the film-makers were given exclusive access to sequences featuring the prince, shot for the landmark 1969 film Royal Family, including private unseen moments.

Against All Enemies

June 2023 •English

Over one thousand people have been charged with storming the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, as part of a widely televised insurrection attempt. Approximately 15% of them worked as police or military personnel. This staggering statistic begs an important question: how can a service member who took an oath to protect the country’s democracy do something that puts that very democracy in jeopardy?

Tchernobyl : Le Mensonge français

April 2016 •French

Fahrenheit 9/11

June 2004 •English

Michael Moore's view on how the Bush administration allegedly used the tragic events on 9/11 to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

An Inconvenient Truth

May 2006 •English

A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.

If It Ain't Stiff: The Stiff Records Story

December 2007 •English

Adrian Edmondson narrates a documentary chronicling the story of Stiff Records, a tiny independent that took music out of the boardroom and gave it back to the fans. Stiff's successes included Nick Lowe, the Damned, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Madness, Tracey Ullman and the Pogues. Contributors include Captain Sensible, Jonathan Ross, Suggs, Shane MacGowan and label founders Jake Riviera and Dave Robinson.

Is Trump for Real?

October 2018 •English

With the help of Steve Bannon and Cambridge Analytica, Trump was groomed to appeal to those who have lost faith in media and politics. Bannon has admitted that he modeled his campaign on the one crafted for Hitler, who was a puppet of dark forces. Through meticulous investigation, John Hankey explores this, and how the media circus following Trump is a strategy for dividing a "United" States.

The Canal Map of Britain

March 2024 •English

A look at Britain's beloved canal network via a fact-filled cruise along the first superhighways of the Industrial Revolution. In the age before mechanisation, a frenzy of canal-building saw a new army of workers carve out the British landscape, digging out hundreds of miles of waterways using picks, shovels and muscle.

Dark Water: The Murder of Shani Warren

February 2023 •English

Twenty-six-year-old Shani Warren was found drowned in Taplow Lake, Buckinghamshire, with her hands tied and feet bound together in 1987. Revealing how it took a forensic breakthrough to solve the 35-year mystery of the death of The Lady in the Lake.

Der Orient - Wiege des Christentums

June 2022 •German

German Souls

July 2010 •German

Rüdiger was a child, Aki two months old and Kurt, the deputy of the pedophile leader of the sect. In 1961 they came to Chile together with 500 other German sect members and for over 40 years they lived secluded from the rest of the world. The film tells about the attempt to survive as a collective after decades of crimes such as torture and murder and shows different ways in which the individual copes with the history of the community.

The Spy Who Went Into the Cold

January 2013 •English

A documentary about Kim Philby, a British member of MI6 who was in reality a spy and defected to the U.S.S.R.

The Society of the Spectacle

May 1974 •French

Guy Debord's analysis of a consumer society.

It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks

September 2008 •French

The murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic extremist in 2004, followed by the publishing of twelve satirical cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed that was commissioned for the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, provides the incendiary framework for Daniel Leconte's provocative documentary, It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks.

Evidence

September 1975 •Greek

A documentary presenting people and events connected with the most important political developments from the student uprising at the Athens Polytechnic in 1973 until the first year of democratic rule after the dictatorship collapsed in 1974.

Gewalt no Mori - Kare ha Waseda de shinda

May 2024 •Japanese

A documentary about the end of the student movement in 1972 and the lynching of Daizaburo Kawaguchi, a student at Waseda University. The documentary interweaves testimonies from japanese intellectuals and a short play, written and directed by Shôji Kôkami, about the murder.

When a City Rises

April 2021 •

Behind the gas masks of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, the often very young activists are just as diverse as the youths of the rest of the world. But they share a demand for democracy and freedom. They have the will and the courage to fight – and they can see that things are going in the wrong direction in the small island city, which officially has autonomy under China but is now tightening its grip and demanding that ‘troublemakers’ be put away or silenced. Amid the violent protests, we meet a 21-year-old student, a teenage couple and a new father.

El Equipo del Pueblo

April 2024 •Spanish

Documentary tells the story of the Chilean football club Colo-Colo, exploring its profound impact on popular culture and the everyday lives of its fans. Throughout the film, it shows how the club has transcended sport to become a symbol of resistance, pride, and class struggle in Chile.

Quebec: Duplessis and After...

June 1972 •French

This film establishes a parallel between the 1970 electoral campaign in Québec and the 1936 campaign dominated by Maurice Duplessis. It shows the hope but also the uncertainty that existed in 1970. Had the Quiet Revolution really changed things in Québec? Was it possible that a new leader would emerge on the political scene? (NFB.ca)