A Journey to the Gulag

Gulag

February 2006 •French

This excellent and breathtaking documentary is the result of a long study on the Gulag to try to understand why more than 60 million Soviet citizens were sent to the camps from 1918 to 1956, how such a massive confinement could take place during two generations. From the Solovki in the north-west to the Kolima in Siberia, from Lenine to Kroutchev, a polar geography is erected into the Gulag system. One does not escape from camps. After ten years of imprisonment, one dies. Some survived, some left traces; they witness: organisation, work and discipline, but also resistance, repression and revolt.

Cannibal Island

June 2009 •French

A disturbing chapter in Russian history is explored in this documentary. In 1933, Joseph Stalin sent 6000 "unwanted" citizens of Moscow and Leningrad to a desolate Siberian island - with no food or clothes to speak of. Decades later this documentary returns to the island.

Gulag

July 1999 •English

Documentary examining Stalin's Gulag. Between the October Revolution and Stalin's death in 1953, millions of people died in the camps. The film explores the Gulag legacy, hearing from victims and perpetrators of the system.

Stalin: Man of Steel

January 2003 •English

Emmy Awards nominee for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Research: Multi-faceted portrait of the man who succeeded Lenin as the head of the Soviet Union. With a captivating blend of period documents, newly-released information, newsreel and archival footage and interviews with experts, the program examines his rise to power, deconstructs the cult of personality that helped him maintain an iron grip over his vast empire, and analyzes the policies he introduced, including the deadly expansion of the notorious gulags where he banished so many of his countrymen to certain death.

Women of the Gulag

November 2017 •Russian

Through unique and candid interviews the film tells the compelling and tragic stories of the six women – last survivors of the Gulag, the brutal system of repression and terror that devastated the Soviet population during the regime of Stalin.

The Gulag Archipelago: The Book That Changed Russian History

November 2023 •French

The story of Russian writer and Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) and his masterpiece, The Gulag Archipelago, published in Paris in 1973, which forever shook the very foundations of communist ideology.

East of Paradise

December 2005 •English

Filmmaker Lech Kowalski explores his belief that struggle is "the epitome of living" in this documentary which compares the wildly different life experiences of himself and his mother. Kowalski's mother came of age in Poland during the early stages of World War II, and after failed attempts to outrun both Nazi and Russian forces she and her family were sent to a Soviet concentration camp, where inmates were tortured, mistreated, and starved to the point where some ate their own lice in a desperate struggle to survive. Kowalski also depicts his own self-inflicted season in hell during his years on the New York City punk rock scene as he wallowed in the sordid underbelly of drug addiction, pornography, prostitution, and streetwise decadence. On both stories, Kowalski finds a message of hope and strength in the midst of almost certain peril.

Little Vilma: The Last Diary

February 2000 •Hungarian

The movie is inspired by writer-director Márta Mészáros' own childhood. The film is a grim reminder of horrible days under Stalinist period when several innocent people were persecuted for no fault. A good film which allow people to know how people in Europe were tortured before second world war by dictators and authoritarian regimes.

The Cold Summer of 1953

December 1988 •Russian

In 1953, the year Stalin died, many prisoners (some political, but mostly common criminals) were released from the Soviet Gulags. This is the story of a remote settlement which was under attack by a bunch of these recently-released blood-thirsty thugs in the summer of 1953, and the townspeople, along with a two political prisoners, who try to stop them.

The Way Back

November 2010 •English

At the dawn of WWII, several men escape from a Russian gulag—to take a perilous and uncertain journey to freedom as they cross deserts, mountains and several nations.

Where We Disappear

July 2019 •English

A story of survival about a woman's first night in a Soviet prison camp. After committing a crime to protect her son, Anastasia is sentenced to 12 years in a Soviet prison camp. Her arrival upsets the balance between the inmates. In a night of backstabbing and shifting alliances, she must find a way to escape and discover the hidden truth of her survival.

Muppets Most Wanted

March 2014 •English

While on a grand world tour, The Muppets find themselves wrapped into an European jewel-heist caper headed by a Kermit the Frog look-alike and his dastardly sidekick.

Embajadores en el infierno

September 1956 •Spanish

Four Spanish Blue Division soldiers captured after the German invasion of Soviet territory face a choice in forced labor camps: renounce their Spanish nationality for better conditions. While two accept, Captain Adrados leads a group resisting, labeling those who comply as traitors, showcasing a struggle for loyalty to Franco's values.

The Forgotten Shadows

Invalid date •French

A french fan-film setting after the events of the series "Stranger Things" Season 3. Early Winter, 1985. Presumed dead by the world, Jim Hopper finds himself trapped in a secret Russian gulag, the Pot’ma Camp. Haunted by visions of his past, Hopper struggles to survive days after days in the Pot’ma camp. Until Dmitri Antonov, a guard also tormented by his own demons, offers him a chance to escape.

Hold on Tight

July 2011 •English

A short documentary exploring the ways LGBT couples show affection, and how small interactions like holding hands in public can carry, not only huge personal significance, but also the power to create social change.

Un volto tra la folla

January 2008 •Italian

My Name's Ben Folds – I Play Piano

October 2023 •English

A symphonic concert spectacle featuring rock maestro Ben Folds with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, combining the power of orchestral grandeur with the intimacy of close contact with the musicians. Audience participation peaks as Folds achieves the extraordinary feat of inducing the crowd to sing a choral refrain in three-part harmony. Interwoven with Folds’ personal narratives of the inspirations for his songs, the film transforms enthralling live performance into a unique portal revealing the creativity of the song writing process.

Queen of New York

October 2023 •English

Welcome to a different kind of drag race! As NYC emerges from the chaos of 2020, Marti Cummings (they/them), an audacious and big-hearted drag queen, goes all out in a historic bid to become a City Councilperson. It’s one of the most hotly contested Council races in years, and Marti’s strongest competitor is Shaun Abreu, a tenants’ lawyer with deep roots in the district’s Latinx community. As these first-timers race to do the most good for their Upper Manhattan neighbors, they offer very different visions for Democratic politics – one in a suit and tie, the other in combat boots and floral print. As this immersive documentary reveals, Marti’s passion inspires queer activists and allies to change the political system. Their campaign becomes a community of its own, especially for Marti’s non-binary peers who have never before seen themselves represented.

Franz Jagerstätter: A Man of Conscience

April 2009 •English

Knowing that he faced execution, Franz Jagerstatter refused to fight in Hitler’s army, saying no to war and working for peace.

La combattante

September 2022 •French

Mary-Jo receives daily visitors in her living room. An ethnologist specialized in Darfur, her guests aren't coming to have tea only. They need crucial help that only this 90-year-old woman can give.