Behind the Mask - Stories of the COVID-19 pandemic (2021)

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In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 WNBA season pivoted into a bubble site in Bradenton, Florida – where 144 players across 12 teams convened to face the rigors of an unrelenting schedule and finish their battle for a championship; all while just as dedicated to amplify social activism in response to the injustices that gripped that same summer. A documentary from ESPN Films.

Blame

A reflection on the relationship between science, politics and the media. And on how we as humans tend to look for scapegoats and screaming narratives.

The Eternal Memory

Augusto and Paulina have been together for 25 years. Eight years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Both fear the day he no longer recognizes her.

The Year of the Everlasting Storm

Featuring seven stories from seven auteurs from around the world, the film chronicles this unprecedented moment in time, and is a true love letter to the power of cinema and its storytellers.

The first wave - Milan in the time of Covid-19

The choral work of 57 directors and filmmakers who tell stories of Milan at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Living Proof

Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, documentarian Matt Embry takes viewers on a transnational journey — from Italy to Canada, and from the lab to the home — in order to examine the politics of the condition.

My Dead Body

The extraordinary moving story of Toni Crews, a young mum with a rare terminal cancer who charted her illness online before donating her body for medical research and public dissection.

Isolation

A collective documentary film, from five european directors asked to witness the revolutions and dramas caused in their own countries by the pandemic. Among them, “Two Fathers”, directed by Julia von Heinz (20’). After the death of his father, Hans-Michael von Heinz, the director finds out the truth about her parent true sexual identity. In order to know more, she starts emailing persons who got to know him over the last years, among them his closest friend, director Rosa von Praunheim.

Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net

As Cirque du Soleil reboots its flagship production, O, more than a year after an abrupt shutdown, performers and crew members face uncertainty as they work to return to their world-class standards in time for the (re)opening night in Las Vegas. With unfettered access, filmmaker Dawn Porter captures the dramatic journey of the world's most famous circus act on its way back from the brink.

Happy Pills

A journey through six different countries and characters into a world where chemistry is the ultimate response to human pursuits of well-being.

Die rätselhafte Krankheit – Leben mit ME/CFS

ME/CFS is a devastating disease that affects around 300,000 people in Germany alone. There has been little help for sufferers to date. Many doctors are not familiar with the clinical picture and treat it incorrectly. However, something has been happening recently, partly due to the coronavirus pandemic: because the late effects of Covid-19 correspond to the typical symptoms of ME/CFS...

Guide to a Midwest Hometown

Coming back during Winter, Alex Powell explores both the places and personal connections found in his hometown and how they've changed. “Guide to a Midwest Hometown” explores what makes the barren places at home feel sentimental and special, and the good and bad feelings that come when being back home. Inspired by "How To With John Wilson".

The Walls of Bergamo

In the first few months of 2020, huge swathes of Northern Italy were hit by a new virus. The town of Bergamo and its province was to become the epicentre of this pandemic.

Chernobyl, Fukushima: Living with the Legacy

30 years after the Chernobyl catastrophe and 5 years after Fukushima it is time to see what has been happening in the “exclusion zones” where the radioactivity rate is far above normal.

Coronavirus

As the WHO warns the coronavirus is reaching a dangerous tipping point, watch the most up to date and comprehensive account of the extraordinary chain of events that have left the world on the edge of a pandemic.

An Obese World

As obesity progresses inexorably, Sylvie Gilman and Thierry de Lestrade investigate the causes of this planetary plague and reveal the fight waged in certain countries to stem it.

Gray's Anatomy

The film documents, in an often dramatic and humorous fashion, Gray's investigations into alternative medicine for an eye condition (Macular pucker) he had developed.

Crucifixion

On Easter Sunday 2012 the UK's Channel 4 showed a programme entitled Crucifixion in which Gunther von Hagens created his interpretation of the crucifixion of Jesus. The documentary examined the enduring iconic image of the Crucifix. A number of donors were used for the plastination of blood vessels to create the main structure of the body. At the end of the programme von Hagens announced that he did not expect to see the final work of art due to his ill health.

That Sugar Film

One man's journey to discover the bitter truth about sugar. Damon Gameau embarks on a unique experiment to document the effects of a high sugar diet on a healthy body, consuming only foods that are commonly perceived as 'healthy'. Through this entertaining and informative journey, Damon highlights some of the issues that plague the sugar industry, and where sugar lurks on supermarket shelves.

Untold: Breaking Point

Under pressure to continue a winning tradition in American tennis, Mardy Fish faced mental health challenges that changed his life on and off the court.

The Follow-Up

Lonely. Scared. Insecure. But how's it going with you? Is this the first film to be made completely in quarantine? Possibly. 'The Follow-Up' is Ben Berman's follow up film to 'The Amazing Johnathan Documentary (Hulu 2019).

The Lockdown: One Month in Wuhan

On January 23, 2020, the Chinese authority imposed a lockdown in Wuhan, as well as other cities in the Hubei province, in an attempt to prevent the Corona-virus from spreading further across the nation.

Christmas In Florida

A canceled Thanksgiving parade and no options professionally or personally, Kimberly DiPersia and Alex R. Wagner decide it would be a perfect opportunity to travel to Florida.

Dis/Informed

Are conspiracy theorists just "dumb"? What links anti-vax sentiment and QAnon? Disinformation expert Dr. Charles Kriel and director Katharina Gellein Viken go on the road to find out why yoga moms have fallen for conspiracy theory during the pandemic. The answers are not what you might think.

Screen Generation: Sick Generation?

Smartphones, computers, gaming consoles or digital tablets are now givens in our daily lives. The electronic intrusion is causing controversy and collective hysteria. Are we damaging our brains with all these screens? How will unprecedented exposure to screens impact humanity? To find out, the filmmakers examine how science has been applied to distinguish between truth and falsehoods, and explore the suspected side-effects of screen exposure. The documentary travels through the US and Europe to meet and speak to researchers who are leaders in this field.

Madrid, int.

Madrid, Spain, March 2020. As the merciless disease that plagues the world spreads through the increasingly deserted streets of the city, people barricades themselves in their homes and move on with their lives…

Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut

Delve into the digestive system with this lighthearted and informative documentary that demystifies the role gut health plays in our overall well-being.

Two Pandemics

Seven Asian-Americans discuss their experiences with racism and the spike in Asian-directed hate crimes as a result of COVID-19.

The Unseen Crisis: Vaccine Stories You Were Never Told

In the climate of a global pandemic, COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out under emergency use authorization after a much shorter than normal testing period. Millions of people rolled up their sleeves because they were told they were doing their part to end the pandemic. But for some—it didn’t go as expected. The Unseen Crisis is a feature-length documentary that provides an intimate, uncensored look into the lives of those who live with the debilitating after-effects of the COVID-19 vaccines. It examines the issue of COVID-19 vaccine injury claims in a fresh, honest, and comprehensive manner with expert interviews, whistleblowers’ statements, and government health statistics.

Drugs that Heal: Could Psychedelics Treat Depression?

Could psychedelics treat depression? Banned substances such as LSD and psilocybin are now being tested for various afflictions. Several studies are ongoing with one of the largest being conducted by the Charité hospital in Berlin and the Central Institute for Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany. Since the risks and side effects of the substances have not yet been fully researched, their use for therapeutic purposes remains highly controversial.

Nurse Unseen

Explores the little-known history and humanity of the unsung Filipino nurses risking their lives on the front lines of a pandemic, thousands of miles from home.

Forks Over Knives

Examines the profound claim that most; if not all; of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled; or even reversed; by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods. The idea of food as medicine is put to the test. Cameras follow "reality patients" who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes. Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole-foods, plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments - while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed.

Sous le bio, la malbouffe

Sales of organic products have increased tenfold in 20 years. In 2020, the market will have exceeded 13 billion euros in sales. The heavyweights of the food industry are surfing on this consumer craze for healthy food by offering more and more "green" products. But organic does not necessarily mean nutritionally balanced.

Longest Third Date

When Khani and Matt met on a dating app, they had no idea COVID-19 would turn their spur-of-the-moment trip to Costa Rica into a months-long adventure.

Music's Superpowers

Why is music vital to our brain? Through an international scientific and neurological investigation, this film will unveil the mystery of music’s multiple powers in our lives. Learning, growing up, loving, overcoming amnesia, anxiety and pain, and much more…at every stage of our lives, how does music play a decisive role in our development?

July Talk: Love Lives Here

What is essential in a time of upheaval? Director Brittany Farhat documented the months of panic and epiphany in the leadup to July Talk’s lauded Drive-In Shows of 2020, and with the help of unreleased archival footage spanning a decade, follows the thoughtful group of artists to a crossroads of identity and circumstance.

What About ME?

Inside the dramatic search for a cure to ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). 17 million people around the world suffer from what ME/CFS has been known as a mystery illness, delegated to the psychological realm, until now. A scientist in the only neuro immune institute in the world may have come up with the answer. An important human drama, plays out on the quest for the truth.

Mountains and Heaven in Between

While the whole world has stopped during the coronavirus pandemic, the residents of the Kolochava Transcarpathian mountain village are living their normal lives. Only ambulance workers know what is really going on.

Connection | Isolation

Connection | Isolation presents eight intimate portraits of trans and post-gender individuals navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst moments of connection and isolation, these participants reveal a deepening awareness of gender, their bodies, and trans community. Created by an all trans and queer crew, this hybrid documentary film interlaces portraits with reenactments, integrating archival material documenting what so many experienced and many still do.

The Standstill

In an observation over four seasons THE STANDSTILL shows Vienna and its surroundings along with encounters with people during and after the Corona crisis. The film tells of the immediate and also the long-term effects, which can only be evaluated and classified in the future.

Fragments

Images, voices, and interrupted silences that evoke the intangible losses caused by COVID-19.

Anamnesis

An audiovisual representation of the degenerative dementia process based on real reports from people affected with this condition.