Sydney Castells: Spirit of Catalunya (2023)

The Cost of Cobalt

In the cobalt mining areas of Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), babies are being born with horrific birth defects. Scientists and doctors are finding increasing evidence of environmental pollution from industrial mining which, they believe, may be the cause of a range of malformations from cleft palate to some so serious the baby is stillborn. More than 60% of the world’s reserves of cobalt are in the DRC and this mineral is essential for the production of electric car batteries, which may be the key to reducing carbon emissions and to slowing climate change. In The Cost of Cobalt we meet the doctors treating the children affected and the scientists who are measuring the pollution. Cobalt may be part of the global solution to climate change, but is it right that Congo’s next generation pay the price with their health? Many are hoping that the more the world understands their plight, the more pressure will be put on the industry here to clean up its act.

Nostradamus Decoded

Debunking the mythology surrounding the 16th century French prophet, Nostradamus.

Born to Be

Soon after New York state passed a 2015 law that health insurance should cover transgender-related care and services, director Tania Cypriano and producer Michelle Hayashi began bringing their cameras behind the scenes at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital, where this remarkable documentary captures the emotional and physical journey of surgical transitioning. Lending equal narrative weight to the experiences of the center’s groundbreaking surgeon Dr. Jess Ting and those of his diverse group of patients, BORN TO BE perfectly balances compassionate personal storytelling and fly-on-the-wall vérité. It’s a film of astonishing access—most importantly into the lives, joys, and fears of the people at its center.

Frankly... Jacky Ickx

Frankly ... Jacky Ickx is a documentary that explores the life of Belgian racing legend Jacky Ickx, tracing his journey from motocross to his iconic status in Formula One and endurance racing. Known as “Monsieur Le Mans” for his six Le Mans wins, Ickx’s story is one of fearless racing, deep introspection, and resilience. Through interviews and archival footage, the film highlights his career milestones, thoughts on the dangers of motorsport, and his legacy, both on the track and in humanitarian efforts, offering an intimate portrait of a true motorsport icon.

Growing Up Wild

Life is an adventure - especially for a newborn animal who has so much to learn. "Growing Up Wild" takes audiences to the wildest corners of the planet to tell the tales of five courageous animals as they tackle the very first challenges of their young lives. With a little guidance from sage family members, each must figure out how and where to find food, while learning to recognize the very real threat of danger. From their first steps of exploring their world to their final steps into independence, "Growing Up Wild" reveals the triumphs and setbacks of five young lives in which instinct, parental lessons, and trial & error ultimately define their destinies. Featuring the stunning imagery and iconic storytelling that makes Disneynature's big-screen adventures an inspiring movie-going experience, "Growing Up Wild", brings home a special look at how similar and different these young lives can be. - Written by (C) 2016 Disney Enterprises

Franco on Trial: The Spanish Nuremberg?

Franco on Trial is the new film by Dietmar Post and Lucía Palacios. After the success of Franco's Settlers, their first encounter with Franco's dictatorship, they are now setting their sights on one of the darkest chapters of European history: the presumed organized extermination that took place during the coup, the war, and the subsequent dictatorship led by Franco, as well as Argentina's current effort, by invoking the principle of universal jurisdiction, to prosecute Francoists accused of committing crimes against humanity. The film is also a sore reminder of an issue that still stands today: the clear-cut accountability held by Germany, Italy, and Portugal. The film accomplishes to give both sides a voice - those against whom the killing has been directed; and the side of the perpetrators.

Kaffee - Geheimnisse eines Wundertranks

Coffee is the second most important commodity in the world after oil. The drink has a long history and what's more, its effect seems to be stimulating in two senses.

The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller

Samuel Fuller discusses his career as a filmmaker, illustrated by plenty of clips.

Unto Midnight

An anti-war exploration of the filmmaker's experience with recurring nightmares about a potential nuclear apocalypse, through the lens of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Inside Chernobyl's Mega Tomb

Documentary which follows the construction of a trailblazing 36,000-tonne steel structure to entomb the ruins of the nuclear power plant destroyed in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

The Lucy Mission: Origins of the Solar System

For two and a half years we followed the scientific team of the NASA Lucy Mission a mission that will unveil the origins of the Solar System and shared with them the many challenges they had to overcome such as a countdown to launch on time the building of the huge solar arrays or a pandemic.

Bancoco

A New Yorker journeys to the jungle in the Darien Gap of Panama to reconnect with an indigenous tribe he met and photographed 20 years ago. Their reunion highlights the profound power of photos and the human connection that transcends cultural barriers.

The Water Map

The Water Map is an essayistic journey through the ethnography and landscapes of the Region of Murcia. These places are in the process of disappearing due to the increasing and abundant agricultural exploitation. Water has marked the territory and the culture of the area, and with its disappearance, the memories of four characters fade away.

Backlash: Misogyny in the Digital Age

This documentary by Léa Clermont-Dion and Guylaine Maroist plunges us into the vortex of online misogyny and documents hatred towards women. This bleak opus, reminiscent of a psychological thriller, follows four women across two continents: former President of the Italian parliament Laura Boldrini, former Democratic representative Kiah Morris, French actor and YouTuber Marion Séclin, and Donna Zuckerberg, a specialist in online violence against women and the sister of Facebook’s founder. This tour de force reveals the devastating effects such unapologetic hatred has on victims, and brings to light the singular objective of cyber-misogyny: to silence women who shine. Some targets of cyber-violence will crumble under the crystallizing force of the click. Others, proud warriors, will stand tall and refuse to be silenced.

King on Screen

1976, Brian de Palma directs Carrie, the first novel by Stephen King. Since, more than 50 directors adapted the master of horror's books, in more than 80 films and series, making him now, the most adapted author still alive in the world.

Trans & Pregnant

Two men undertake a thought-provoking journey to parenthood. Not by adoption or surrogacy, but by Frankie, a trans man, carrying their baby. Made with support from NZ on Air.

Senna: The Test

Senna: The Test (2017) explores a unique moment in Ayrton Senna's career when, on December 20, 1992, he tested a Penske IndyCar in Phoenix, Arizona. Amid frustrations with McLaren, Senna briefly considered switching to IndyCar, with this test marking his only serious exploration of American racing. The documentary, created by Marshall Pruett and Travis Long, features insights from figures like Emerson Fittipaldi and Rick Mears, capturing this rare event in Senna’s life and his motivations during a challenging period in his career.

War Baby

Meet Duewand Collier Jr.-Male, 68 years old, American Citizen, a child conceived in the backdrop of the Philippines-American Mutual Defense Treaty, born and raised with Catholic guilt. He has made peace with his past and now tells his story-a story of love.

A Family

Award-winning French writer Christine Angot goes on a business trip to Strasbourg where her father lived before dying several years ago. It is the city where she met him for the first time at the age of 13, and where he sexually abused her over the following years. His wife and children still live there. Angot takes a camera and knocks on the doors of her family to push them to clarify their attitudes to her father’s crime that stretched over so many years. A cinematographic journey that challenges social norms and family perspectives in dealing with incest.

The Executive Empress

The Executive Empress explores the entrepreneurial lives of several Florida women, who have turned their unique passions into successful businesses.

QT8: The First Eight

A detailed account of the life and artistic career of legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, from his early days as a video club manager to the scandalous fall in disgrace of producer Harvey Weinstein. A story about how to shoot eight great movies and become an icon of modern pop culture.

Modern Life

For ten years, Raymond Depardon has followed the lives of farmer living in the mountain ranges. He allows us to enter their farms with astounding naturalness. This moving film speaks, with great serenity, of our roots and of the future of the people who work on the land. This the last part of Depardon's triptych "Profils paysans" about what it is like to be a farmer today in an isolated highland area in France. "La vie moderne" examines what has become of the persons he has followed for ten years, while featuring younger people who try to farm or raise cattle or poultry, come hell or high water.

Bringing Godzilla Down to Size: The Art of Japanese Special Effects

A look at the unrecognized work of the talented artists and craftsmen who've maintained the tradition of Japanese special-effects. Highlighted is Yasuyuki Inoue along with various crew members who crafted meticulously detailed miniatures and risked life and limb as suit actors. All done to bring to life some of film's most iconic monsters through a distinct Japanese artform.

Driven to Help

Imagine a disease so rare there's no cure. Austin Crawford was diagnosed with MSA or Multiple System Atrophy. As his health fades we find Austin building a hot rod from his wheelchair and sharing his story to his followers on Tiktok.

Puenting (Leap of Faith)

A first feature based on sexual events. An actress undertakes her desire of directing her first movie, without a budget or any production company funding her project. She gathers a group of professional actors and actresses, and proposes a project based on a very particular experience: stepping on their fears through a metaphorical 'leap of faith'. As the project advances, individual conflicts will arise affecting the shoot, making the movie crew wonder whether or not they should go on. Will they take the leap of faith with all its consequences?

Microcosmos

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.

Den förbjudna gangsterrappen

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23 - Der mysteriöse Tod eines Hackers

documentary about the mysterious death of german hacker Karl Koch aka hagbard.

Alfonso Sánchez

Famous Spanish film critic Alfonso Sánchez talks about his personal life, his work and Anouk Aimée. A sentimental tribute to one of the most relevant figures on the Spanish film scene.

The Caravan

We accompanied an 8 months pregnant Yuri, who migrates with her partner Mike and her son Santi with one objective, to give birth in USA

Liyana

A talented group of orphaned children in Swaziland create a fictional heroine and send her on a dangerous quest.

Deep Inside Vinegar Syndrome

This documentary takes you on a brief walkthrough of the Vinegar Syndrome headquarters in Bridgeport, CT. Included with the "Lost Picture Show" box set.

Pino Daniele - Nero a metà

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The Jihadis Next Door

Over the course of two years, filmmaker Jamie Roberts meets those spreading extremist Islamic fundamentalism in Britain, including a bouncy castle salesman who is now one of the world's most wanted men.

Junk Story

A look back at the life and career of Japanese guitarist hide, who died under questionable circumstances in 1998.

Jisoe

A year in the life of troubled Australian graffiti artist Justin Hughes.

Young At Heart

Documents the true story of the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young at Heart Chorus in Northampton, MA, and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music goes against the stereotype of their age group. Although they have toured Europe and sang for royalty, this account focuses on preparing new songs for a concert in their hometown.

Play Dead!

If there is one person Matthew Lancit can’t get out of his mind, it is his uncle Harvey. Dark rings around his eyes, pale, blind, his legs amputated. Like Harvey, the filmmaker also suffers from diabetes. He has the disease under control, but one question is always nagging at him: How much longer? His long-term (self-)observation reliably revolves around fears of infirmity and mutilation. He translates the feared body horror into film, stages himself as a zombie, vampire, a desolate figure. Lancit playfully anticipates his potential decline, serving up a whole arsenal of effects which – as video recordings prove – go back to his youth. It is not for nothing that the “dead” in the title is also reminiscent of “dad.” Because “Play Dead!” also negotiates his own role as a father.

A Storm Foretold

With a colossal cigar dangling from the corner of his mouth, a libation in hand, and an unmistakable disdain for his political adversaries, Roger Stone emerges as the quintessential ally to Donald Trump. Revered as a right-wing powerbroker, Stone's influential journey traces back to the era of President Nixon, a legacy inked onto his own back. In a film marked by unparalleled access, Christoffer Guldbrandsen captures the tumultuous final months of the Trump administration, centering on the heart of power and climaxing with the unprecedented storming of Congress. Guldbrandsen finds himself amidst the chaos as Trump supporters converge on Washington, witnessing firsthand Roger Stone's strategic retreat from his hotel suite as the 'Stop the Steal' campaign spirals into a riot. A Storm Foretold – Roger Stone and Die unfolds the narrative of a once-established political party metamorphosing into an anti-democratic movement, where impassioned rhetoric evolves into tangible violence.

The Last Days of Princess Diana

By 1997 Diana, Princess of Wales had spent over a decade in the global spotlight. From a fairytale princess to a powerful independent mother - Diana had shown resilience and resolve. Free from the shackles of a royal marriage, she was just about to conquer the world all over again and this time on her own terms, but everything was about to come to a screeching halt.

Partition Libre - Sur Les Traces De Patrick Berhault

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Road

Brothers addicted to speed at any price. Documentary following the motorcycle road racing careers, and fate, of the Dunlop family.