In Spite of Ourselves

Flood in the Desert

May 2022 •English

Explore the 1928 collapse of the St. Francis Dam, the second deadliest disaster in California history. A colossal engineering and human failure, the dam was built by William Mulholland, a self-taught engineer who ensured the growth of Los Angeles by bringing the city water via aqueduct. The catastrophe killed more than 400 people and destroyed millions of dollars of property.

Land Without Bread

December 1933 •Spanish

An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.

Trump's Big FUSS: Fight for US Sovereignty

November 2024 •English

Trump's Big FUSS is a powerful acronym capturing Trump's vision for America and his fight for US sovereignty, standing firm against globalist elitists.

Police State

October 2023 •English

Dinesh D'Souza claims federal organizations like the FBI, CIA, and DOJ are corrupt and are unfairly and selectively targeting Christians and conservatives/Republicans.

The Making of a Japanese

April 2024 •Japanese

Intimately following 1st and 6th graders at a public elementary school in Tokyo, we observe kids learning the traits necessary to become part of Japanese society.

Der Taylor Swift Effekt, Pop-Ikone und politische Hoffnungsträgerin

October 2024 •English

Napoleon: Destiny and Death

April 2021 •French

May 5, 1821. Napoleon Bonaparte, deposed emperor exiled on the island of St. Helena, is about to take his last breath. The son of a Corsican family, he has been close to death on many occasions since, as a young captain in the revolutionary army, he seized Toulon from the royalists in 1793.

Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary

November 2019 •English

A feature-length documentary about the film Galaxy Quest and its legacy, celebrating its milestone 20th anniversary.

The Hugo's Brain

November 2012 •French

The Hugo's Brain is a French documentary-drama about autism. The documentary crosses authentic autistic stories with a fiction story about the life of an autistic (Hugo), from childhood to adulthood, portraying his difficulties and his handicap.

Solidarność: How Solidarity Changed Europe

October 2019 •German

Gdańsk, Poland, September 1980. Lech Wałęsa and other Lenin shipyard workers found Solidarność (Solidarity), the first independent trade union behind the Iron Curtain. The long and hard battle to bring down communist dictatorship has begun.

The Venerable W.

June 2017 •English

A view of the religious tensions between Muslims and Buddhist through the portrait of the Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu, leader of anti-Muslim movement in Myanmar.

Kinleith '80

January 1983 •English

Covers the 12-week-long strike at Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill, owned by New Zealand Forest Products in January 1980.

Irresistible: Why We Can't Stop Eating

November 2024 •English

Chris van Tulleken takes a personal view at why ultra-processed foods are so irresistible and how they have come to dominate food culture.

Handbags: The Window to a Woman's Soul

June 2012 •French

2012 French documentary where the interviewer gets 6 seemingly random women to empty their handbags and then asks probing questions to get to their "soul". Simone 33, a model. Ilhem 36, a sports coach. Caroline 33, a curator. Anne-Sophie 29, a press attache. Catherine 43, a teacher. Valentina 23, a student. French with English sub-titles.

The Grab

June 2024 •English

An investigative journalist uncovers the money, influence, and alarming rationale behind covert land grabs by some of the world’s most powerful countries.

The Police vs Grime Music - A Noisey Film

May 2014 •English

In February, Just Jam's event at The Barbican was cancelled at the last minute. It was an event that seemed to be yet another victim of the London authorities now notorious risk assessment procedure, Form 696.

The Concavenator Valley

September 2023 •Spanish

Three researchers work on a paleontological project focusing on two dinosaurs: one fictional, the one created by special effects genius Ray Harryhausen for the film The Valley of Gwangi (1969); the other real, the Concavenator corcovatus, whose remains were discovered in 2003 at the Las Hoyas site, in the province of Cuenca (Spain), very close to where the filming took place.

In Fact, There is not Future

January 1988 •Spanish

Documentary about young people who are dedicated to cleaning windshields in Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl to survive.

To You, Wherever You Are

May 2001 •Arabic

After “Letter From a Time of Exile”, the director is back in Lebanon where he discovers that his dreams about his country are an illusion and that the exile in your homeland is by far the worst exile. Programmer's Note: Borhane Alaouié returns to Beirut from his exile. His documentary film constitutes a new letter at the start of the 21st century in reply to the letters of the 1980s. The reconstruction process appears to affect stones more than people.

The Cholesterol Code

Invalid date •English

In a world where 92 million Americans rely on statins as their lifeline, one man's unexpected health journey uncovers a medical mystery that could upend everything we think we know about heart health, cholesterol, and the ketogenic diet.