Putin: The Return of the Bear in the Dance

The Savior for Sale

November 2021 •French

In November 15, 2017, the painting Salvator Mundi, attributed to Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), was sold for an unprecedented $450 million. An examination of the dirty secrets of the art world and the surprising story of how a work of art is capable of upsetting both personal and geopolitical interests.

Lenin and the Other Story of the Russian Revolution

June 2018 •French

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, is remembered as the instigator of the October Revolution of 1917 and, therefore, as one of the men who changed the shape of the world at that time and forever, but perhaps the actual events happened in a way different from that narrated in the history books…

The Flawed Genius of Jan Smuts

May 2016 •English

Jan Smuts is a foremost political figure in South African 20th Century History, and is recognised today by two of the world's leading historians as being at the very centre of the vision for a new world order that emerges from the League of Nations and the United Nations.. Yet, he is virtually persona non grata in his own country.... and largely ignored in school history books. This one hour drama-documentary, with its dramatised cameo scenes in which his look-alike grandson takes on the role of Jan Smuts, battle re-enactments, historical archival footage, comments from historians, political analysts, and South African political struggle heroes, looks back on his life and the circumstances that shaped it in search of some answers.

Leninland

November 2013 •Russian

At the peak of Perestroika, in 1987, in the village of Gorki, where Lenin spent his last years, after a long construction, the last and most grandiose museum of the Leader was opened. Soon after the opening, the ideology changed, and the flow of pilgrims gradually dried up. Despite this, the museum still works and the management is looking for ways to attract visitors. Faithful to the Lenin keepers of the museum as they can resist the onset of commercialization. The film tells about the modern life of this amazing museum-reserve and its employees.

Coup 53

September 2019 •English

Tehran, Iran, August 19, 1953. A group of Iranian conspirators who, with the approval of the deposed tyrant Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, have conspired with agents of the British MI6 and the US CIA, manage to put an end to the democratic government led by Mohammad Mosaddegh, a dramatic event that will begin the tragic era of coups d'état that, orchestrated by the CIA, will take place, over the following decades, in dozens of countries around the world.

Pussy Versus Putin

August 2013 •English

In 2012 two members of anarchistic female band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a Mordovian labor camp for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred". Russian film collective Gogol’s Wives follow each step of the feminist punk band’s battle against Putin including their first disruptive performances on a trolley bus, shooting a video about transparent elections, a controversial performance in a Red Square cathedral, and footage shot in a jail cell. Support comes from many corners including Madonna who painted the words "Pussy Riot" on her back and wore a balaclava during her Moscow show. The documentary portrays the grim state of present-day Russia, a country starkly divided between conservatism and anarchy. Pussy Riot believes that art has to be free and they're willing to take it to extremes. "Pussycat made a mess in the house," they say, and the house is Russia. The filmmakers do not seek to moralize, they simply edit events and leave viewers to draw their own conclusions.

From Atatürk to Erdoğan: Building a Nation

October 2019 •French

Turkey's history has been shaped by two major political figures: Mustafa Kemal (1881-1934), known as Atatürk, the Father of the Turks, founder of the modern state, and the current president Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan, who apparently wants Turkey to regain the political and military pre-eminence it had as an empire under the Ottoman dynasty.

Rich Hall's Red Menace

November 2019 •English

2019 marks the 30th year since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. Rich Hall examines the relationship between the West and the USSR in his inimitable fashion.

Village of Women

October 2019 •Armenian

Only women, children and old people live in this Armenian village, while the men work in Russia. A life with a rhythm of its own, an independent daily life marked nonetheless by exile.

Beyond Utopia

October 2023 •English

A courageous pastor uses his underground network to rescue and aid North Korean families as they risk their lives to embrace freedom.

Snowden's Great Escape

January 2015 •English

Tells the story of how Edward Snowden managed to evade capture by the US. For the first time Snowden tells the story of how he managed to escape so that not to have to spend the rest of his life in an American prison.

Poisoned

April 2005 •English

A documentary about the poisoning of political opponents by Russia. Focuses on specific cases of politically motivated assassinations by poisonings, including the attempted murder of Victor Yuschenko, the candidate and eventual President of Ukraine, using the deadly Dioxin. The film explains that Russia has not stopped this activity and its "Lab X" is still in operation. Originally created for the UK by FremantleMedia's production company talkbackTHAMES, "Poisoned" aired on Sky One in April 2005. (This documentary was made before the well-publicized poisoning by Russia of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.)

Horowitz in Moscow

April 1986 •English

A recording of Horowitz's historic 1986 recital in Moscow, the program also includes highlights of his return to his native Soviet Union--his first visit in 61 years.

Russia 1917: Countdown to Revolution

October 2017 •English

Russia, 1917. After the abdication of Czar Nicholas II Romanov, the struggle for power confronts allies, enemies, factions and ideas; a ruthless battle between democracy and authoritarianism that will end with the takeover of the government by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks.

Leon Trotsky: A Personality in the 20th Century

January 2013 •English

Leon Trotsky is considered one of the most controversial revolutionary figures of his time. Was he a practical revolutionary or a naive idealist? On the practical side, he was the mastermind behind the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917, and was totally ruthless during the ensuing Civil War. As an idealist, he was committed to the pursuit of international revolution, but created many political enemies. After Lenin's death, Trotsky lost in a power struggle with Stalin, and later was expelled from the Communist Party. Trotsky was exiled from the Soviet Union, eventually finding refuge in Mexico. In 1940, Stalin ordered his assassination, and Trotsky died after being struck in the head with an ice-pick. History records that Trotsky was a master theoretician, a skillful propagandist and a brilliant orator.

Michael Jackson: Moscow Case 1993

January 2011 •English

The Moscow Case is a 52 minute documentary with never-before-seen footage of Michael Jackson in Moscow during the "Dangerous" tour. This film tells the behind the scenes story of Jackson's ill fated concert in September 1993. It includes unique archival footage showing Michael close up and personal while meeting fans and playing with orphan children.

On Putin's Blacklist

October 2017 •English

Traces the new Cold War between Russia and the West from the ban on American citizens adopting Russian children to the Kremlin’s anti-LGBTQ campaign, which positions the international marriage equality movement as a national threat.

The Son

May 2019 •Russian

In 2013, Dima Ilukhin, the cousin of the film’s director and a soldier in the Russian army, died on duty in the Republic of Dagestan in the North Caucasus. He was 21 years old. This incident marks the starting point for Abaturov’s reflection on the military. He films the training of new recruits in Siberia, as they bid farewell to their mothers and girlfriends, learn the mechanics of a Kalashnikov, or how to throw a hand grenade and administer first aid. While his parents try to cope with their loss, Dima’s former fellow recruits have to return to battle.

Beyond the White

September 2021 •English

In Northern Russia, a few dozen people still live in their traditional houses surrounded by water, stone, and sand. Cut off from vital infrastructure, almost forgotten by regional governance, these people have to cope with their everyday struggles.

Hoffnungsschimmer am Horn von Afrika

December 2019 •German