Rather be Ashes Than Dust (2024)

Hong Kong Moments

As pro-democracy activists and armed police battle in the streets of Hong Kong, ordinary citizens are choosing sides. Historically an outlier of both western and Chinese power, Hong Kong wields its own economic force, affording the city and its people a spirit of independence that has now erupted into clouds of tear gas. Filmmaker Bing Zhou uses a nimble camera to follow a group of protagonists—two opposing political candidates, a tea shop owner, a cab driver, a police officer, a paramedic—on two separate days of conflict. On September 21, 2019, protestors from three districts join forces, resulting in unprecedented violence. Just 10 days later on October 1, the National Day of the People’s Republic of China, previously undecided onlookers show their stripes. Thoughts transform into action in this demonstration of how mercurial and personal Hong Kong’s politics have become.

Because I Choose Freedom

Matthew Leung Ming-hong had been working as a breaking-news reporter for six years in Hong Kong but recently emigrated to the United Kingdom because of concerns about growing restrictions on journalists working in the city. Three Hong Kong media outlets popular with the opposition have folded in just six months, following the introduction of a controversial national security law in Hong Kong on June 30, 2020, raising fears about the future of press freedom in the city. The 29-year-old is starting a new life in Britain’s northern city of Manchester and plans to eventually resume his journalism career in Europe.

Blue Island

Although the Chinese government promised that Hong Kong would retain separate status until 2047, in recent years the Chinese state has consolidated its power over the metropolis. Large-scale protests by the populace have been brutally suppressed. This mix of documentary, fiction, and visions of the future reveals the current state of desolate depression among the people of Hong Kong. “A desperate attempt to capture the final moments of a sinking island”, as maker Chan Tze-woon himself puts it.

Fear(less) and Dear

Hongkongers have been experiencing extremely difficult times due to the political movement caused by anti-Extradition Bill since the summer of 2019 followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This film explores Hongkongers’ fear in various dimensions, be it a concept or actual physical experience, personal or political, private or public, or the mixing of these pairs.

Inside the Red Brick Wall

In 2019, Hong Kong was swept by demonstrations against the controversial extradition bill. At the Polytechnic University, a group of students also takes a stand for freedom and democracy. Negotiations with the police are chaotic and aggressive, conducted via megaphones and politically charged music played over loudspeakers. The colorful umbrellas which the young people use to protect themselves against the brutal police actions emphasize the group’s bravado, which borders on recklessness. What begins as an energetic battle against the establishment turns into a lopsided game of cat and mouse when the police decide to surround the building. Within its red brick walls, the university building becomes a prison. Over the nearly two weeks that follow, as fear and exhaustion grow among the hundreds of students, so does the uncertainty. Should they hang on inside, or leave the building to face the armed police?

Hong Kong Mixtape

Political engagement spawned the wildest of wonderlands for Hong Kong’s creativity – but as a new law annihilates freedom of expression overnight, underground artists and creatives find themselves targets, and their works disappeared. Together we race to preserve the creative uprising amid China’s crackdown.

Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower

When the Chinese Communist Party backtracks on its promise of autonomy to Hong Kong, teenager Joshua Wong decides to save his city. Rallying thousands of kids to skip school and occupy the streets, Joshua becomes an unlikely leader in Hong Kong and one of China’s most notorious dissidents.

Comrades

Young people are protesting on the streets of Hong Kong in order to bring about change. Air soaked with tear gas, the dark uniforms and loud commands of the police officers in the colourful umbrella sea of the protesters. In the midst of the action, the film documents a brand new protest movement.

Do Not Split

The story of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, told through a series of demonstrations by local protestors that escalate into conflict when highly armed police appear on the scene.

Taking Back the Legislature

After a night of planning and mourning, a storm is brewing at early hours of 1 July, 2019. In face of the absurdity of the government's indoor flag ceremony, protesters question the usefulness of peaceful protest and hope to storm the Legislative Council Complex as a last-ditch effort to ignite change in the movement. As they confront pro-democracy councillors outside the complex, their pent-up anger and despair explode.

Hong Kong: Retrocession Generation

In 2017, twenty years after the British handed over Hong Kong to China in 1997, young people, more politicized than any previous generation and proud of their land, do not feel Chinese and actively fight against the oligarchs who want to subdue them to China's authoritarian power.

If We Burn

Hundreds of thousands − perhaps even millions − of protestors have taken to the streets of Hong Kong since early June. Sparked initially by the government's plans for a controversial extradition bill, the movement has now transformed into a broader push for greater freedoms and democracy, with anger over police brutality fuelling a cycle of violence. The protests are Hong Kong's biggest challenge to Beijing since its return to China in 1997. If We Burn looks at the movement through the eyes of Hong Kongers whose fates, like their city's future, now hang in the balance.

Revolution of Our Times

Throughout Hong Kong’s history, Hongkongers have fought for freedom and democracy but have yet to succeed. In 2019, a controversial extradition bill was introduced that would allow Hongkongers to be tried in mainland China. This decision spurred massive protests, riots, and resistance against heavy-handed Chinese rule over the City-State. Award-winning director Kiwi Chow documents the events to tell the story of the movement, with both a macro view of its historical context and footage and interviews from protestors on the front lines.

Santiago's Theorem

In 1969 Argentine filmmaker Hugo Santiago directed Invasión, his opera prima, written by Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares, and later settled in France. This film documents his return to Buenos Aires in 2013 to shoot his latest film, Le ciel du centaure.


A Year in Space

Follow astronaut Scott Kelly's 12-month mission on the International Space Station, from launch to landing, as NASA charts the effects of long-duration spaceflight by comparing him to his identical twin on Earth, astronaut Mark Kelly.

Syd Barrett: Under Review

In this Under Review we look at the genius of Syd Barrett.

Acoustic Ocean

Acoustic Ocean is an artistic exploration of the sonic ecology of marine life in the North Atlantic. Located on the Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway, the video centers on the performance of a marine-biologist diver who is using a life-size model of a submersible equipped with all sorts of hydrophones and recording devices. In this science-fictional quest, her task is to sense the submarine space for acoustic and bioluminescent forms of expression.

Art Paul of Playboy: The Man Behind the Bunny

ART PAUL OF PLAYBOY: The Man Behind the Bunny, a documentary film on the innovation and impact of Art Paul, the creator of the iconic bunny logo, founding art director of Playboy, and the magazine's visual guru for its first 30 years. Paul is also an extraordinary artist, creating thousands of drawings and paintings of his own. The film combines interviews with historical footage and artworks--works that were art directed by Paul and/or created by him, to bring to life a legendary figure of our time. The film is a production of MoraQuest Media, a company based in Chicago.

Bayou Blue

From 1997 to 2006, serial killer Ronald Dominique raped and killed twenty-three men in poverty- stricken Southeastern Louisiana. Difficulties in apprehending Dominique ranged from the underfunding of law enforcement to a lack of family advocacy for the victims, to the general distraction by other catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina. Bayou Blue meditates on the decay of a community.

Het Hut Syndicaat

Filmmaker Diego Gutiérrez joins 'The Hut Syndicate', a mysterious group of hunters, during one hunting season and witnesses their longing to keep their vanishing world alive.

Het Voorval - Armando en de mythe

What happens in your childhood defines your life, according to artist Armando. His childhood was defined by one crucial incident; a boy kills a German soldier in the woods during the Second World War. The story recurs in Armando’s work in many forms.: an ill-fated event, a victim that becomes a perpetrator, a guilty forest that witnessed everything but remains silent. Was Armando involved in the fateful event or did he invent a tragedy of mythological proportions? Filmmakers Sjors Swierstra and Roelof Jan Minneboo go in search of answers.

India Speaks

A documentary of explorer Richard Halliburton's travels on the Indian sub-continent, featuring a mix of real and staged footage.

A Stranger in Her Own City

A documentary short that follows a 13-year-old girl named Nejmia, who lives in Sana’a and refuses to wear the veil.

Amicalement vôtre : Hollywood au service de sa Majesté

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Querdenker, Corona-Leugner, Wutbürger - Woher kommt der Frust im Südwesten?

Supposedly innocent citizens from the middle of society who march with right-wing extremists, esotericists and conspiracy theorists against the corona measures, including entrepreneurs, single mothers, teachers, normal families. Michael Ballweg's "Querdenker" demos mobilize thousands of lateral thinkers from all walks of life and milieus who would otherwise not meet. What they have in common: the frustration, the anger and the hatred of the corona measures and the "elites" who have decreed them. Where does this frustration and anger come from in the rich southwest of Germany of all places? Why does a minority withdraw into their filter bubbles and ignore scientific facts? And why do they play such a big role in traditional and social media? The documentary accompanies participants and organizers at various corona demos, but also those affected who have experienced COVID-19 up close and have no understanding for these misguided extremists.

I Look Forward To Our Independence

May 2019: Two Brazilian women traveled to Algiers during the demonstrations of Hirak, a popular movement for democracy. In the middle of the crowd, they met a young girl. The sea that separates them is the same one that can join them together.

Neurons to Nirvana

Through interviews with leading psychologists and scientists, Neurons to Nirvana explores the history of four powerful psychedelic substances (LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA and Ayahuasca) and their previously established medicinal potential. Strictly focusing on the science and medicinal properties of these drugs, Neurons to Nirvana looks into why our society has created such a social and political bias against even allowing research to continue the exploration of any possible positive effects they can present in treating some of today's most challenging afflictions.

JAUME

A portrait of Jaume, the fishmonger of Esplugues de Llobregat.

The Machine Gun and the Bass

Documentary short film covering two survivors of the argentinian military dictatorship.

GHOST: Rite Here Rite Now

Whether you’re a devoted disciple looking to relive treasured memories of the GHOST live spectacle or among the curious uninitiated, RITE HERE RITE NOW will put you right there: putting your phones down and living in the moment—as a shadow of uncertainty looms—completely spellbound and in the thrall of this bombastic yet intimate cinematic portrait of GHOST.

Eles Não Usam Black-Tie - Conversando com o Elenco

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Trials & Tribulations at the Bishfo: The Most Important Thing I Learned During My Time at Bishop Foley Catholic High School

High School. Commonly referred to as the best years of one's life. In their latest "mockumentary", Green Fez takes you up close and personal with the high school students of today, guaranteeing a display of friendship, hardship, and a story worth exploring.

Island in Between

The rural Taiwanese outer islands of Kinmen sit merely 2 miles off the coast of China. Kinmen attracts tourists for its remains from the 1949 Chinese Civil War. It also marks the frontline for Taiwan in its escalating tension with China.

Serving in Secret: Love, Country, and Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Tracing the U.S. military's long history of discrimination against the gay community and one couple's personal journey for acceptance.

The Tragedy of an Artist

The Tragedy of an Artist, is an experimental short shot over the course of a week. This film is meant to illustrate who Hero Foltz is as a person and his struggles with self identity

Elodie Show 2023

Elodie Show 2023 is an exclusive story of one of the most revolutionary artists of recent years and her sold out live show at the Mediolanum Forum in Assago. A long special that shows behind the scenes and beyond of the show staged at the Mediolanum Forum in Assago last May, a live show of international caliber and with great success among the public and critics which crowned her in the Olympus of Italian pop . In addition to the backstage, you will be able to see some of Elodie's performances most applauded and danced to by the public present that evening, all interspersed with an exclusive chat to tell firsthand how this event, which required long and intense preparation, was the realization of one of his dreams.

The Music of Lennon & McCartney

A 1965 British television special honouring the songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It was produced by Granada Television and aired on that network on 16 December 1965 before receiving a national broadcast the following evening. The programme mainly consisted of other artists miming to their recordings of the songs. The Beatles performed Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out, and Peter Sellers delivered a comedic interpretation of A Hard Day's Night, in the style of stage actor Laurence Olivier's portrayal of Richard III.

Blériot, l'impossible traversée

A look back at an incredible challenge that combines human adventure and historic exploit. In 1909, Louis Blériot made the first flight across the English Channel, propelling aviation into the modern era. 110 years on, a team of enthusiasts attempt a mad-cap gamble, to fly a replica Blériot XI.