Balakrishna

Black Ice

July 2023 •English

This incisive, urgent documentary examines the history of anti-Black racism in hockey, from the segregated leagues of the 19th century to today’s NHL, where Black athletes continue to struggle against bigotry.

An American Tail

November 1986 •English

A young mouse named Fievel and his family decide to migrate to America, a "land without cats," at the turn of the 20th century. But somehow, Fievel ends up in the New World alone and must fend off not only the felines he never thought he'd have to deal with again but also the loneliness of being away from home.

Diary of an Elephant Orphan

May 2025 •English

Diary of an Elephant Orphan takes us through the struggles and turmoils of orphaned baby elephants and the people who have made it their life's mission to save them. Khanyisa is the newest addition to the elephant sanctuary.

Der grosse Kanton

May 2013 •German

Is the solution to Switzerland's future to integrate Germany into the confederation? After all, like Michael Ringier, CEO of the Ringier media group, says, blithely ignoring all minorities, we're very close in culture and language. Oskar Freysinger takes out his guitar and sings his answer. Politicians from French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino think expanding will help the country survive. The former German foreign minister thinks the two countries' traditions are too different. The banker Oswald Grübel is worried about Germany's debts, although he'd be prepared to take over its assets. With serious interviews interspersed with gags (boat people on Lake Constance, the last Habsburger as a peasant), Giaccobbo gathers off-the-cuff reactions which reveal a lot about the different mentalities. The movie laughs at preconceived notions, redefines neutrality and reflects on what designates a nation. Switzerland, which loves to teach the world a lesson, will soon helvetize the planet, oder?

Niok, The Orphan Elephant

August 1957 •English

Near the region of Angkor Watt, a group of children capture a baby elephant and are just growing attached to it when it is sold to a travelling safari. Pursuing the new owner, a boy manages to steal it back, and the children free it to return to its mother.

Bring Out a Briton

January 1957 •English

‘Bring Out a Briton’ was a short appeal for Australians to help the Immigration Department in its plan to form and assist a ‘Bring Out a Briton’ Committee in each district. It featured popular Australian actor Chips Rafferty as the spokesman for the campaign. Aimed at the Australian public rather than the prospective immigrants it was designed to allay a perceived anxiety amongst the public about non-British European migration.

Displaced Perssons

August 2013 •Swedish

Per Persson left Sweden 40 years ago. In Pakistan he fell in love and became the father of two daughters. Trouble starts when the girls grow up and the family decides to emigrate to Sweden. When they end up living in a caravan outside Hässleholm, all their expectations are dashed.

The Jungle Book

April 2016 •English

A man-cub named Mowgli fostered by wolves. After a threat from the tiger Shere Khan, Mowgli is forced to flee the jungle, by which he embarks on a journey of self discovery with the help of the panther, Bagheera and the free-spirited bear, Baloo.

Une identité dans la diversité

September 2016 •French

All of Me

November 2014 •Spanish

"Take my love" is a documentary film about "Las Patronas", a group of women who daily cook, pack and throw food to the migrants riding the "Beast" train.

Visions of Europe

May 2004 •English

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Children of Islam

August 2006 •English

Three boys and three girls. All born in the Middle East now living in Sweden. All with different views of Islam, integration, the World and Sweden. Some follow Sharia. Others fight Islamic roles. One is a hip hopper. The other thinks music is a sin. One thinks that the woman must obey her husband. One fights for women’s liberation. One girl is a boxer. The other is an ordinary worker. Some are closely followed by the Security Police. Children of Islam is a documentary about religion, culture, conflicts and looking for an identity in a changing Sweden.

Serengeti Shall Not Die

June 1959 •German

The film tells of the beginnings of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. At the end of the 1950s, the Tanzanian National Park Administration wanted to fence in the protected area around the Ngorongoro Crater. Bernhard and Michael Grzimek were invited by the national park administration in 1957 to get a precise picture of the animal migrations and to provide the national park administration with the values ​​they needed for their project. Using a new counting method with two airplanes, the Grzimeks found out that the migration of the herds was different than assumed.

Ashes and Snow

March 2005 •English

Ashes and Snow, a film by Gregory Colbert, uses both still and movie cameras to explore extraordinary interactions between humans and animals. The 60-minute feature is a poetic narrative rather than a documentary. It aims to lift the natural and artificial barriers between humans and other species, dissolving the distance that exists between them.

Renaître

May 2021 •French

Canada as a refuge for LBGTQ+ immigrants: Yazan from Iraq, Nata from Central Africa, Aida from Iran and Eilyn from Colombia all had to flee their homelands, where violence, threats, hate and rejection prevented them from living their lives and expressing their sexual orientation openly. All they wanted was to be free. From Beirut to Montreal, Quebec City or Vancouver, this ensemble documentary follows the journeys of four people who are determined to change their future. From the terrifying realities they had to flee to the heartbreaking sacrifices they were forced to make, Renaître is a vibrant and luminous tribute to their quiet strength.

The Fall of the I-Hotel

June 1983 •English

The Fall of the I-Hotel brings to life the battle for housing in San Francisco. The brutal eviction of the International Hotel's tenants culminated a decade of spirited resistance to the razing of Manilatown. The Fall of the I-Hotel works on several levels. It not only documents the struggle to save the I-Hotel, but also gives an overview of Filipino American history.

Voltige

November 2024 •Ukrainian

Anna, a twelve-year-old Ukrainian gymnast, has fled her war-torn country and recently settled in Montreal with her mother, younger brother, and grandmother. Confronted by the past, the challenges of exile, and a deep need for belonging, she seeks to rebuild her identity and regain her balance. Through her child’s perspective, the documentary explores the reality of life after war, questioning what endures and what is missing, even when one has found refuge.

Elis Island Tales

July 1980 •French

"Ellis Island Tales" - From 1892 to 1924, nearly 16 million emigrants from Europe passed through Ellis Island, a small block of land where a transit center was built, near the New York Statue of Liberty. "Ellis Island Tales, Stories of Wandering and Hope" - the book is composed of three major parts. Georges Perec and Robert Bober visited Ellis Island and with the help of texts and documents, restored what everyday life was about what some called "the island of tears".

The Flood

July 2021 •English

The decision to move to Holland doesn't sound like a wise idea. Why move to a country that could be flooded at any moment? For the last 25 years, the political climate has shifted. The public debate on migration has become harsher, more heated, and polarized. What would have been considered right-wing xenophobia back then, is now considered mainstream. Populists simplify complex realities into good and evil, victims and perpetrators: ‘us’ versus ‘them’. Their rhetoric often consists of dehumanizing words and metaphors. One of these is ‘water’. In reality, water is not an immediate threat to the average Dutch person; but it is a huge threat to the thousands trying to reach the Netherlands. People trying to survive the Mediterranean Sea in rubber boats. Trying to survive winter on the Aegean coast in primitive tents. To them, water really is deadly.

On the Bride’s Side

September 2014 •Italian

A Palestinian poet and an Italian journalist meet five Palestinians and Syrians in Milan who entered Europe via the Italian island of Lampedusa after fleeing the war in Syria. They decide to help them complete their journey to Sweden, and hopefully avoid getting themselves arrested as traffickers, by faking a wedding. With a Palestinian friend dressed up as the bride and a dozen or so Italian and Syrian friends as wedding guests, they cross halfway over Europe on a four-day journey of three thousand kilometres.