Waiting for the Carnival

Carnival! - We Are Positively Wacky

November 2013 •German

When radio host Milla (Katrin Bauerfeind) tells Sharronda, a listener to her new Break-up Show, live that her boyfriend Mufti doesn't want anything more to do with her, Sharronda (Alina Levshin) runs amok, raids the flower shop she used to work in, takes her ex-boss hostage and threatens to kill herself. To calm the situation, psychologist Lisa (Barbara Auer) disguises herself as a chemist and goes to the flower shop with the ransom money, only to learn from Sharronda that her brothers are right-wing radicals. Might they have forced her boyfriend to split up with her? A brand-new episode of Lars Becker's hit series.

Building the American Dream

March 2019 •English

In Texas, construction workers face the deadliest conditions in the country. This documentary follows three immigrant families who are rising up to seek justice and equality in an industry rife with exploitation.

Working Dancers

December 2015 •English

In Buenos Aires a group of acclaimed dancers create the first Contemporary National Company of Dance under their collective leadership. This is the story of four talented dancers, Ernesto, Bettina, Victoria and Pablo, along six years of their journey. We follow their lives, we attend their rehearsals and performances in the emblematic building of the National Library, along with their premiere and backstage in the historical National Theatre of Cervantes. They expose their dreams as dancers, individuals and members of our society, as we observe the fulfilment of their biggest dream: the demand of a National Dance Law. Amazing choreographies, beautiful folklore songs and original Latin-American contemporary music reveal the beauty of dance becoming life.

The Other Side of Carnival

May 2010 •English

The Other Side of Carnival (2010) is a 45-minute award-winning documentary that explores Carnival's social and economic impact on Trinidad & Tobago. With more than 60 interviews from professors, medical staff, police officers, government officials, students, tourists, every day locals and more, The Other Side of Carnival is able to highlight that while Carnival is an exciting occasion, it is a festival that creates turmoil, which is not widely visible...or is it just simply ignored? Known as "The Greatest Show on Earth", this documentary captures the roots of Carnival and how far some go to keep the original idea alive, and how others attempt to integrate change. Consummating over two years of research and interviews and with the coordination of a multi-national crew (Trinidad & Tobago, US and UK), The Other Side of Carnival does not pass judgment on Carnival in Trinidad & Tobago, but aims to bring an awareness of the type of influence that Carnival has on the population.

Dust Devils

May 2003 •English

A beautifully done video of Burning Man 2001, 2002 & 2003. Lots of people interviews, Center Cafe activity and extensive coverage of artist David Best and the Temple construction and burn. This documentary captures the swirling columns of dust that were created during the intense heat of the 2002 Temple burn.

Ras-le-bol sous les ponts de Paris

January 1985 •French

Carna

May 1969 •Dutch

Although it was actually an impersonal commissioned film, the director's style is clearly recognizable. Once again he manages to make something that is normal very strange: the dancing people in costumes are filmed in such a way that they look bizarre and absurd. Jan de Bont's camerawork shows a series of color images of dancing people, edited to the rhythm of the music. Halfway through the film, a lonely clown can be seen among the dancing crowd, accompanied by sad music. This clown is played by Ditvoorst himself.

Radostná práce

January 1946 •Czech

Carnival: Looking for Paulo 'Miller'

January 2008 •Portuguese

A 2008 short made in accompaniment with Our Beloved Month of August, documenting Gomes's and his crew's hapless search, during 2007's carnival, for one of Arganil's most storied and elusive characters (who does, in fact, ultimately appear as an interviewee/player in the finished film). Paulo "Miller" is known for taking a dangerous jump into the Alva from a bridge each year during carnival, but what this film is about is, in keeping with the free-roving feature, much less the subject himself than Gomes and co.'s inability to pin him down; not only does he not do his famous jump during this year's carnival, but an ostensible technical/audio failure (as with the feature, it's very difficult to say how much of this film is "fact," how much invented) during Gomes's initial on-camera meeting with Paulo "Miller" leads to five minutes of lip-readers attempting to decipher their conversation.

Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story

June 2025 •English

The authorized documentary celebrating the film that redefined Hollywood, 50 years after its premiere. Featuring rare archival footage and interviews with acclaimed Hollywood directors alongside Steven Spielberg, top shark scientists, and conservationists, the film uncovers the behind-the-scenes chaos and how the film launched the summer blockbuster, inspired a new wave of filmmakers, and paved the way for shark conservation that continues today.

Súkeníctvo kedysi a dnes

January 1951 •Slovak

Pôle Emploi, Ne quittez pas !

November 2014 •French

This is the story of a team of 40 agents facing 4,000 job seekers at a job centre in the Parisian suburbs. Samia, Corinne, Thierry, Zuleika must support and monitor, bring in the numbers, obey policy guidelines and communication injunctions, and find job offers while none is to be found. Will their strong sense of humor save them from the Kafkaian world they work in?

Bertrand's Farm

January 2024 •French

1972 in Haute-Savoie (France) : the Bertrand's farm, with a hundred dairy cows owned by three bachelor brothers, is filmed for the first time. In 1997, they were the subject of Gilles Perret's first movie, as they let their farm to their nephew Patrick and his wife Hélène. Nowadays, 25 years later, Gilles Perret take another look at this farm, managed by Hélène who will step down. Through their words, an intimate, social and economic history of the rural world.

In Syrien auf Montage

October 1971 •German

The film is a reportage showing the help of workers from the GDR in the industrial reconstruction of Syria. We witness the friendly relationship between workers from both countries, who are jointly involved in the construction of the cotton spinning mill in Homs. In impressive pictures the exoticism of the environment and the mentality of the Syrian hosts is shown. At the same time it becomes clear that the workers from the GDR become 'ambassadors of the GDR' through their collegial behaviour and good work.

The Golden Thread

November 2022 •English

In the heyday of the jute industry, millions of people in Bengal made their living doing this laborious work, which has hardly changed since the industrial revolution. The 100-year-old machinery has been endlessly repaired. State aid kept this sustainable alternative to plastic going, but its future looks bleak.

Beyond Ratings

February 2024 •Hindi

Three women share their experience of navigating the app-world in the metro city. The sharings reveal gendered battles as platform workers and the tiresome reality of gig-workers' identities against the absent bosses, masked behind their apps. Filmed in the streets of New Delhi, the protagonists share about their door-to-door gigs, the surveillance at their workplaces and the absence of accountability in the urban landscape.

Misery Loves Comedy

January 2015 •English

Do you have to be miserable to be funny? More than sixty comedians—including stand-ups, writers, actors, and directors from the US, Canada, and abroad—take on this question, sharing anecdotes and insights with lively enthusiasm.

Salaryman

November 2021 •Japanese

Tokyo work culture's most compelling and complex protagonist; the Salaryman. A nameless, voiceless, over-worked and under-valued cog in the labour pool, expected to compromise home and social lives. Late nights and intense drinking sessions leave many of them passed out in the city streets. This slick, incisive documentary raises questions around the ethics of our global working practices in a capitalist society.

Moravský Manchester

November 2023 •Czech

What has shaped the appearance of Brno and the lives of its inhabitants over the last two centuries? What do architectural monuments and cultural and social traditions refer to?

Machines

November 2017 •Hindi

This portrayal of the rhythm of life and work in a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India, moves through the corridors and bowels of the enormously disorienting structure—taking the viewer on a journey of dehumanizing physical labor and intense hardship.