Volunteers Unleashed

Harrods: The Rise & Fall of a British Institution

February 2025 •English

The history of arguably the most famous shop in the world, which has been based on Brompton Road in London for more than 175 years, employs more than 6,000 people and still welcomes 15 million customers every year. This documentary tells the story of the people behind the department store, including Robin Harrod, the great-great-grandson of the store's founder, and culminates with the recent allegations against former chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed

Samoa i Sisipo

January 1972 •English

An overview of the people, lifestyle, and traditions of Samoa, as well tourism and other economic changes on the Samoan islands.

Lesvia

April 2025 •Greek

Since the 1970s, lesbians from around the world have been drawn to the island of Lesvos, the birthplace of the ancient Greek poet Sappho. When they find paradise in a local village and carve out their own queer lesbian community, tensions simmer with the local residents. With both groups claiming ownership of lesbian identity, filmmaker Tzeli Hadjidimitriou—a native and lesbian herself—is caught in the middle and chronicles 40+ years of love, community, conflict, and what it means to feel accepted.

Touristen in Italien - Beobachtungen mit der Filmkamera

January 1958 •German

A documentary about German tourists on vacation in Italy and various activities at their Italian vacation destination.

Skatteøens hemmelighed

January 1953 •Danish

Housing First: a new shelter

November 2016 •Catalan

Arrels Fundació's experience with housing first in the city of Barcelona, ​​a policy that offers permanent housing to homeless people. The documentary features both professionals and volunteers from Arrels, as well as people like Lluís, Pedro, or Manuel, who already have their own homes.

Three Is Company

January 1959 •English

An American couple tour Britain with a teenage girl, visiting London, Canterbury, Cambridge, the West Country, Caernarvon, etc.

Around the World in Eight Days

October 1949 •English

A documentary covering Charles de Jaeger and Wynford Vaughan-Thomas's eight-day journey around the world. Travelling solely by British airlines, Jaeger and Thomas visit Rome, Karachi, Singapore, Fiji and Vancouver, amongst other places.

Die Mechanik des Wunders

May 1992 •German

Altötting in Bavaria, around 120 km from Regensburg, is a much-visited pilgrimage site. Numerous Catholic pilgrims come here every year. The photographs show various groups of pilgrims in search of extraordinary and spiritual experiences, which are contrasted with the ordinariness of village life. The secular-commercial organization of the pilgrimage site and the marketing of the miracle do not always make it easy to distinguish between pilgrims and tourists, pilgrimage and spectacle, faith and madness.

TUNAHAKI

March 2010 •English

Tunahaki is the extraordinary story of nine gifted orphans who are acrobats. We follow their journey as an American volunteer takes them from Africa to study with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas. They end up touring the States and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, more than enough to build a permanent home. But how have the kids' experiences in America affected them? And how will it change things back home in Tanzania? Tunahaki's heartfelt journey gives us something new to ponder as we reach across the world to help those less fortunate—is it always the right thing to do?

Gringo on the Slum

July 2015 •Portuguese

Documentary about the foreign tourism in Rocinha, the biggest Latin America's favela, which receives about 3.000 foreign tourists per month. They come to Rocinha looking for the most varied aspects, from the poorness to the violence, from the geography to the architecture, from the viewing to the atmosphere, from the curiosity to the welfarism.

Alice's Naked Summer

January 2004 •English

In this film we join Alice as she meets committed naturists, newcomers to naturism, and discovers a kaleidoscope of naturist opportunities including Pevors Farm and the Merryhill Music Festival.

Terra Antarctica, Re-Discovering the Seventh Continent

March 2009 •English

For six weeks we explored the Antarctic Peninsula by sea kayak, sailboat, foot and small plane, observing the fast changing evolution of this most remote place. Impacted by climate change - temperatures have warmed along the Peninsula faster than anywhere on the planet during the past 50 years - this part of Antarctica is also experiencing a boom in tourism and nations fighting over who owns what as its ice slowly disappears. This National Geographic-sponsored exploration is a one-of-a-kind look at Antarctica from a unique perspective - sea level.

Heaven Earth

September 2008 •English

This documentary examines ayahuasca shamanism near Iquitos (a metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon), and the tourism it has attracted. The filmmakers talk with two ayahuasqueros, Percy Garcia and Ron Wheelock, as well as ayuahuasca tourists and local people connected with the ayahuasca industry.

Apples and Oranges

June 2021 •Hebrew

Kibbutz volunteering began in an eclipse. The idealistic and rebellious 1960s generation was charmed by the old communist ideology as it came to life in the Israeli Kibbutz. The 1967 Six-Day War attracted a wave of support for Israel that the Kibbutz Movement saw as a miracle. When travel agencies started selling “Kibbutz Volunteering” packages, it was clear that volunteering also became a profitable business. The Kibbutz found itself facing unfamiliar phenomenon – drugs, alcohol and marriage with non-Jewish volunteers.

Ishq e Qalandar - The Beautiful Sindh

March 2020 •English

Ishq e Qalandar - The Beautiful Sindh is a travel film that takes viewers through one of the most ancient civilizations on Earth called Sindh. Shezan Saleem Jo-G takes a journey of self-realization, the discovery of his roots, and building a connection with people and spirituality in Sindh.

Spare My Bones, Coyote!

January 2026 •English

For the last twelve years, Marisela and Ely, along with the volunteer group The Águilas del Desierto have roamed the US-Mexico desert. Their goal: to seek, find and return to their families the bodies of migrants who died while crossing on foot. This all-consuming calling takes a crushing toll on them, but how could they stop? Spare My Bones, Coyote! follows their work, dedication, and difficult lives they have chosen to live.

A Look At: Puerto Rico

July 2006 •English

Part of a series of films produced by Vme TV that features aerial videography shot from a helicopter of points of interest. This film in particular features points of interest in Puerto Rico.

Diese Bilder verfolgen mich - Dr. med. Alfred Jahn

September 2002 •German

Gringo Trails

January 2014 •English

Are tourists destroying the planet-or saving it? How do travelers change the remote places they visit, and how are they changed? From the Bolivian jungle to the party beaches of Thailand, and from the deserts of Timbuktu, Mali to the breathtaking beauty of Bhutan, GRINGO TRAILS traces stories over 30 years to show the dramatic long-term impact of tourism on cultures, economies, and the environment.