By the River (2021)

Maximón: Devil or Saint

MAXIMÓN - Devil or Saint is a documentary about the controversial Maya deity, also known as San Simon or the drinking and smoking saint of Guatemala. He is a mixture of ancient Maya beliefs and Christianity. The movie concentrates on the people who surround Maximón with their strong personalities, opinions and faith. The documentary gives us a rare view into the rituals and fiestas honoring Maximón. The cult of Maximón is flourishing because he performs miracles. He is also feared and despised because he is used to cast curses that can result in death. Ultimately, Maximón transcends the duality of good and evil, reflecting the Maya cosmovision in which everything in the universe co-exists.

Land of Ahimsa

The Land of Ahimsa” is a feature length documentary that follows Dolly Vyas-Ahuja on her journey to veganism. Dolly narrates and produces the film, alongside Bollywood actor Aryeman, who directs. “The Land of Ahimsa” will strive to inspire and encourage the people of India to adopt a vegan way of life by showing them how easy it is. Indians are waking up to the truth that all animals are intelligent species and deserve a chance to live.

The Woman Pastor

In a community of a Muslim majority, the first woman pastor in the Middle East leads a parish in one of the poorest city of the Mediterranean, in the heart of Tripoli, North Lebanon.

Are You Awake?

After seeking transcendence through shamanic rituals, Ana’s life is transformed overnight by an unexpected turn toward faith.

I Wish

Hong Kong started and flourished as a fishing port in the past, and its people have long been committed to worshipping ancient deities for their blessings. With over a hundred Tin Hau temples (Goddess of Sea) in Hong Kong, there are three on Lamma Island alone, located respectively in Sok Kwu Wan, Luk Chau and Yung Shue Wan. The film documents the states of Tin Hau temples on the island and beyond, as an attempt to contextualise the everyday practice of the fishing community, islanders and city dwellers visiting the temples.

Fernanda

Fernanda Ocaña, a 60-year-old drag artist from Seville, left her hometown at 14 to build a life in Barcelona. Taken in by the iconic Spanish artist José Pérez Ocaña, she immersed herself in the world of show business. Today, she continues to shine as the host of the Bar Ocaña in Plaza Real, welcoming guests with her unmistakable charm.

A Native Street in India

Early film of a crowded street scene in an unidentified Indian city.

After the Death

After I died from suicide, I was punished for this deadly sin, to live alone in the spirit world deep in the sea, but He gave me a chance to redeem my sin by shooting a film of a philanthropist's afterlife to ask and get the merits, I've been waiting for overly time to see a philanthropist's spirit.

Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption

Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi is a play retelling the Jesus story, with Jesus as a gay man living in the 1950s in Corpus Christi, Texas. This documentary follows the troupe, playwright, and audience around the world on a five-year journey of Terrence McNally’s passion play, where voices of protest and support collide on one of the central issues facing the LGBT community: religion.

Dieu, Diable & Rock'n'Roll

"We're more popular than Jesus." John Lennon's statement caused a scandal. Yet it is just another chapter in the tumultuous history between rock music and religion. A history that began with Elvis's sinful hip-shaking and continues today with the revival of Christian rock. A 60-year story that brings together deified singers, gurus, hippies, metalheads, punks, fundamentalist priests, and stars who died too young...

Playing Hide and Seek

The documentary follows the story of two brothers who were sexually abused by the same priest of Polish Catholic Church.

Julia Sweeney - Letting Go of God

Julia Sweeney's third autobiographical monologue, Letting Go of God takes the audience through her Catholic upbringing and how personal events in her life and that of her family led her to a disbelief in a personal universal deity.

Herzschlag der Kontinente

Plot unavailable

Bhutan: Following in the Footsteps of Matthieu Ricard

Buddhist monk and photographer Matthieu Picard as he returns to the Asian country in the Himalayas where he spent a decade after seven years away, revisiting breathtaking landscapes and experiencing local traditions.

Picturesque India or, In and About Calcutta

Botanical gardens in Bombay plus the highly decorative Jain Temple in Calcutta.

ENCRUZILHADAS DO SOM

The documentary adresses the meaning of music and the musical diversity present in Umbanda (a Brazilian religion with afroindigenous roots). With interviews with four umbandistas from Fortaleza - Ceará, Crossroads of the Sound pays reverence to the enchanted dimension where the sounds cross each other to make the spirits dance.

The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?

The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened? feature film documents the process of development of the ill fated "Superman Lives" movie, that was to be directed by Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage as the man of steel himself, Superman. The project went through years of development before the plug was pulled, and this documentary interviews the major filmmakers: Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, Jon Peters, Dan Gilroy, Colleen Atwood, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and many many more.

Circling the House of God

Dr Martin Lings, a writer and scholar revered all over the world, performed the Hajj, or pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in 1948. Using unique archive material, he recollects his experiences along with his insight into its historical background. The original beauty and simplicity of the Hajj is brought to the viewer through the sheer presence and eloquence of Lings' narrative.

The Last Maneater: Killer Tigers of India

Sunderbans (Forest of Beauty) is in West Bengal, India, and is the only place on Earth that is the natural habitat of Royal Bengal Tigers that have never known to be fearful of humans. One tiger has been known to kill three fully grown men, leaving behind orphans and widows who belong to poor tribes, dependent on harvesting wild honey and fishing, in a swampy mangrove region. About 80 people are killed annually by these ferocious beasts with razor-sharp jaws, whose forepaws can shatter bones, and sharp teeth can pierce a skull in one bite. Amidst religious superstitions, the narrator attempts to explain the cause behind their taste for human meat in a region devoid of electricity, roadways, firearms and safe drinking water, and why the villagers continue to live there despite of being stalked and mauled on land and water alike.

The City Of Death

A travel film combining the sounds and essence of the city of death, Varanasi.

Concrete Pharaohs

Welcome to the picturesque world of the Kaldarash Roma – a closed community of no more than 1 million people all over the world. 'Concrete Pharaohs' take us on a journey into the lifestyle and traditions of the most hidden and intriguing Roma communities. A charismatic Gypsy baron will walk us through his stories and his new house. We will learn the hot trends in Roma tombstone design. We will go down into the underground homes of African granite, furnished with beds, wardrobes, stereos and a charged cell phone – a direct line to the other world. A celebration of life and afterlife in all of their manifestations.

For Better or For Worse?

The Philippines remains the only nation without legalized divorce. Through the perspectives of a controversial priest, a women's rights advocate, and a child of a separated couple, this documentary explores whether the legalization of divorce in the country would be for better or worse.

L'âme indienne Martiniquaise

Plot unavailable

Baby Bible Bashers

Follows the stories of three young children who preach the word of the Lord.

Secrets of the King Cobra

A new scientific expedition follows the King Cobra into the wild for the first time.

Deadly Obsession

They call it religion. It's been branded a cult. The lethal handling of serpents. In the name of God. Immolation, speaking in tongues, ecstasy, self injury and the dangerous snakes. The bible belt of the very South. Backyard churches. In West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Appalachia.

Baraka

A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.

Mrs. Fang

In a quiet village in southern China, Fang Xiuying is sixty-seven years old. Having suffered from Alzheimer's for several years, with advanced symptoms and ineffective treatment, she was sent back home. Now, bedridden, she is surrounded by her relatives and neighbors, as they witness and accompany her through her last days.

maɬni—towards the ocean, towards the shore

An experimental look at the origin of the death myth of the Chinookan people in the Pacific Northwest, following two people as they navigate their own relationships to the spirit world and a place in between life and death.