Ostrich Politic

A Doonesbury Special

November 1977 •English

Garry Trudeau's classic characters (Mike Doonesbury, Zonker, etc.) examine how their lifestyles, priorities, and concerns have changed since the end of their idealistic college days in the 1960s. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Countries

January 2021 •English

Deep in the frozen winters of Siberia, the world's greatest weapon is discovered -- a golden Sharpie which grants its country ultimate power. The only question: which country?

Democracy Is ...

January 2009 •English

The film is a controversy on democracy. Is our society really democratic? Can everyone be part of it? Or is the act of being part in democracy dependent to the access on technology, progression or any resources of information, as philosophers like Paul Virilio or Jean Baudrillard already claimed?

Information Violence

April 2002 •English

Like the Clouds, Like the Wind

March 1990 •Japanese

Ginga is a simple—yet energetic—country girl, living with her father far from the capital city of the empire in ancient China. When she learns of an opportunity to become a concubine of the young new Emperor, with the possibility of becoming his head wife in charge of all of the other wives, Ginga convinces her father to let her go. Once there, she meets all of the other potential head wives, each of whom have various reasons for being there. All of them must learn to read and write, learn the history of their country, and learn the proper mannerisms for being in the royal court. Ginga's enthusiasm tends to get her in trouble more often than not, but it works to her advantage when they learn that the former emperor's head wife, who is not the mother of the current emperor, is plotting treachery against the new emperor, and that a rebellion is headed toward the capital.

Balance

May 1989 •German

The setting is on a floating platform where a group of evenly and carefully placed men live. Each man is aware that the platform is not stable and in order not to fall to their deaths, they maintain a careful balance of weight to prevent the platform from tipping too far and cause them all to fall.

My Senator and Me: A Dog's-Eye View of Washington D.C.

January 2005 •English

Senator Ted Kennedy and his dog, Splash, invite children along on a typical whirlwind day on Capitol Hill.

Mouseland

Invalid date •French

The Story of Mouseland was a story first told by Clarence Gillis, and later and most famously by Tommy Douglas, leader of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation that became the New Democratic Party of Canada, both social democratic parties. It was a political fable expressing the CCF's view that the Canadian political system was flawed in offering voters a false dilemma: the choice of two parties, neither of which represented their interests.

Silver's Uprising

May 2023 •Hebrew

Raised in an orthodox home, Amos Dov Silver dreams of becoming Prime Minister. But when the State continues to shun him, he soon finds unexpected solace in the velvety smoke of Marijuana. Spreading his new Torah, he establishes an online community using a mobile app called "TeleGrass" that turns into the largest marketplace for drugs in Israel, raising Silver to Messiah status. Through exclusive footage of Silver, his family and his partners’ investigations, as well as secretly filmed footage of Silver in the Ukrainian prison, a polarizing portrayal of the man charged with heading a crime organization emerges. Champion of the people, or a lost soul corrupted by power?

Archipelago

December 2022 •French

A true animated film about invented islands. About an imaginary, linguistic, political territory. About a real or dreamed country, or something in between. Archipelago is a film of drawings and speeches, that tells and dreams a place and its inhabitants, to tell and dream a little of our world and times.

Propaganda Message

January 1974 •English

A cartoon film about the whole heterogeneous mixture of Canada and Canadians, and the way the invisible adhesive called federalism makes it all cling together. That the dissenting voices are many is made amply evident, in English and French. But this animated message also shows that Canadians can laugh at themselves and work out their problems objectively.

Hell-Bent for Election

July 1944 •English

A full-blown re-election piece for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the expense of Republican presidential candidate Thomas Dewey. Roosevelt is depicted as a streamlined diesel express train in a race against Dewey, a worn-out steam train. The public is admonished to "get behind the president and stay the course to victory."

A Political Cartoon

October 1974 •English

Two guys run a cartoon character for President.

Oishinbo: The Japan-America Rice War

December 1993 •Japanese

The Oishinbo gang takes time off from the normal culinary wars to get involved with a political dispute about American rice imports. The economic conflict between a pushy US Senator from California and a nationalistic Japanese politician is further complicated by concerns about the cumulative effect of pesticide use in both American and Japanese agriculture.

Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: The Sacred Star of Milos

July 2011 •Japanese

After a mysterious prisoner with only a few weeks left on his sentence breaks out of prison in Central City, the Elric brothers attempt to track him down. The search leads them to Table City in the southwestern country of Creta, where Alphonse rescues a young alchemist named Julia from the very man they are trying to capture. In the thick of the fight, they literally tumble into Julia's home turf, the slums of Milos Valley, and are embroiled in the grassroots rebellion of her people.

Ah Pook Is Here.

October 1994 •English

A disturbingly organic-looking figure speaks to us of life, politics and death as the symbol of the common man toils away. Written and narrated by William S. Burroughs.

Grey Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood

August 1990 •Russian

A Soviet claymation short film created by Garri Bardin in 1990 that retells the story of Red Riding Hood while incorporating political metaphors and themes about the USSR's demise; the wolf representing communism, devouring innocent creatures who have never known him.

The Legend of Koizumi

February 2010 •Japanese

Global political figures such as The Pope, Kim Jong Il, George W. Bush and recent Japanese Prime Ministers play riichi mahjong against each other.

Telltale Tellus

May 2024 •English

A glimpse of the ideas held by the inhabitants of a town is being recorded. The town is looking to expand its borders by clearing off the nearby forest. The witch of the woods responds to the threat and the town is changed forever.

Castling (An Aquarium Confession)

July 1979 •Ukrainian

One decent citizen was having lunch and indifferently looking at the fish in his aquarium. But suddenly a real monster emerged from the muddy water. However, unwillingness to strain even to save his own life led the hero to slavery. Or maybe nothing has really changed in his life?