The Ghosts of Jeju (2013)

Breathing Underwater

In Jeju Province, located off the southern coast of Korea, are the women of the sea, those who hold breath for life. These women still exist and they still dive the old way, without tanks. They go into the waters of 10- to 20-meter depth to harvest seaweed and shellfish to make a living. They make a living in the same sea, but each haenyeo’s sea of life is different. The community is divided into three tiers- Group A, B and C, based on skills and capabilities. One’s rank is determined by sum or breath. Sum, is pre-determined at birth. Therefore, sum is desired. However, the ocean is harsh. May you desire! But seek what is not yours, the ocean will devour you. Life, for these women of the sea, is about holding one’s breath, and containing and controlling one’s desire. The film is a six year record of the lives of the haenyeos in Udo, an islet in the province of Jeju, known to be the birthplace of haenyeo. It is a close look into the lives that stand on the boundary of life and death.

My Father's Emails

The director's father, who did not know how to use a computer, left her an autobiography via email. It includes his whole life through many notable events such as the Korean War, the Vietnam War, 88's Seoul Olympic, New Town Development, etc.

Big Rig

Big Rig (2008) is a documentary film by Doug Pray about long-haul truck drivers. The film consists of a series of interviews with different drivers, focusing on both their personal life stories and also the life and culture of truck drivers in the United States.

Sassnitz vs. Trump: The Dispute Over Nord Stream 2

Sassnitz is a small coastal town at the Baltic Sea on the Island of Rügen. In its vicinity are the world-famous chalk cliffs, a tourist magnet. The Mukran Port is also part of the municipality. The overseas port is the starting point for the construction of Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline that connects Germany directly with Russia. In 2020, the port town hit the international headlines. Even the New York Times reported and cited Mayor Frank Kracht as a staunch opponent from the northeast German province against the rumbling America of Donald Trump. The reason is the undisguised threat from Washington to ruin the international port economically if the natural gas pipeline continues to be built from there. Many jobs and the region's economic stability are at risk. Reporter Klaus Scherer documents the case, questions experts as well as those affected and looks at the behavior of national politicians towards the USA and how they react to the interference in internal affairs.

John Stevens: Storming the Beach

Lieutenant Colonel John Stevens served in both World War II and the Korean War. During the Korean War, he received a Bronze Star for leading his company in one of that war's harshest battles.

Homes Apart: Korea

They speak the same language, share a similar culture and once belonged to a single nation. When the Korean War ended in 1953, ten million families were torn apart. By the early 90s, as the rest of the world celebrated the end of the Cold War, Koreans remain separated between North and South, fearing the threat of mutual destruction. Beginning with one man's journey to reunite with his sister in North Korea, filmmakers Takagi and Choy reveal the personal, social and political dimensions of one of the last divided nations on earth. The film was also the first US project to get permission to film in both South & North Korea.

Control Room

A chronicle which provides a rare window into the international perception of the Iraq War, courtesy of Al Jazeera, the Arab world's most popular news outlet. Roundly criticized by Cabinet members and Pentagon officials for reporting with a pro-Iraqi bias, and strongly condemned for frequently airing civilian causalities as well as footage of American POWs, the station has revealed (and continues to show the world) everything about the Iraq War that the Bush administration did not want it to see.

Korea: The Never-Ending War

Shedding new light on a geopolitical hot spot, the film — written and produced by John Maggio and narrated by Korean-American actor John Cho — confronts the myth of the “Forgotten War,” documenting the post-1953 conflict and global consequences.

Aliens at the Pentagon

For years, the US government denied investigating UFOs but when an ultra-secret Pentagon program to study the Alien threat was exposed in late 2017, the world was stunned by this revelation. Nick Pope aka "The Real Fox Mulder" investigated UFOs and other unexplained phenomena for the British government. Now Nick exposes the secretive workings of the Pentagon's real-life X-Files unit, using his knowledge and past experience to tell the incredible story as only a true government insider can.

The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

Co-directed by acclaimed cinematographer Ellen Kuras and subject Thavisouk Phrasavath, this haunting documentary chronicles a refugee family’s epic journey from Laos in the aftermath of the secret war waged by the United States there to New York, where they find themselves fighting a different kind of war on the streets of Brooklyn. Filmed over the course of 23 years, THE BETRAYAL is a visually and emotionally stunning look at the complex ways in which the political shapes the personal.

The Truth About Pula

Yugoslav Partisan propaganda film about the post-World War II events in Pula.

The Front Line of Ideology

One year after the Korean War, the conflict had reached a stalemate. The two opposing forces began to search for a way to end the grueling war of attrition, eventually settling on a modest village called ‘Pan Mun Jom’ near Gaeseong as the designated site for negotiations. Despite initial hopes for a quick resolution, the negotiating parties encountered obstacles that prevented an agreement. Disputes over the military demarcation line and the repatriation of prisoners of war thwarted their efforts. The film peels back the layers to reveal the untold story of Pan Mun Jom, shedding light on a history that has remained hidden until now.

Triumph Over Prejudice: The Montford Point Marines

Against the backdrop of a world on the brink, the Montford Point Marines transcended enemy lines and formidable barriers of racial segregation. Beginning in rural Virginia, their journey to the front lines of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War is more than a testament to their bravery - it's a reflection of their indomitable spirit and unyielding resolve. Confronting racial prejudices, the heartbreaks of war, and the turbulent transition to civilian life, these men never wavered in their commitment. "Triumph Over Prejudice" dives deep into the uncharted terrains of the Black experience in the early 20th century Marine Corps, illuminating stories often shadowed in history's corners. With cinematic finesse fit for a global streaming audience, the film weaves personal narratives into a rich tapestry, culminating in an epic saga of heroism, perseverance, and the enduring legacy of the American veteran.

Legend of the Waterflowers

Hyun Soonjik is the oldest living resident in Jeju Island. A natural diver with good skills, she became a high rank Haenyeo at an early age and has led an astonishing career of diving for eighty-seven years. Though she looks more comfortable when she is under water than when she is at home, she quit diving in October, 2020, and goes to sea every day, missing her old life as a diver. When she does, Chae Jiae who has been disciplined by Hyun, accompanies her and looks after her. Together they head for Deulmoolyeo, a place that only Hyun can find, to see the water flowers that bloom under water.

TransMilitary

At a time when transgender people are banned from serving in the U.S. military, four of the thousands of transgender troops risking discharge fight to attain the freedom they so fiercely protect.

The Battle Of Chosin

An amazingly harrowing story of the 17 day engagement of bloody combat and heroic survival in subartic temperatures. UN forces largely outnumbered and surrounded, due to a surprise attack led by 120,000 Chinese troops.

Alene Duerk: First Woman to Make Admiral

Following the tradition of military service in her family, Alene Duerk enlisted as a Navy nurse in 1943. During her eventful 32 year career, she served in WWII on a hospital ship in the Sea of Japan, and trained others in the Korean War. She became the Director of the Navy Nursing Corps during the Vietnam War before finally attaining the rank of Admiral in the U.S. Navy. Despite having no other women as mentors (or peers), Admiral Duerk always looked for challenging opportunities that women had not previously held. Her consistently high level of performance led to her ultimate rise to become the first woman Admiral.

Jeju Prayer

Focusing on Mrs. Kang Sang-hee’s life, she lost her husband in the Jeju Uprising (March 3rd, 1948). The film views the dark-side of Jeju Island, a huge grave, which is completely opposite of the other side of the island, the famous tourist attraction. It says that the tragedy has been going on about the recent Gang-jeong village situation.

Seabrook 1977

In April 1977, the small coastal town of Seabrook, New Hampshire became an international symbol in the battle over atomic energy. Concerned about the dangers of potential radioactive accidents, over 2,000 members of the Clamshell Alliance, a coalition of environmental groups, attempted to block construction of a nuclear power plant. 1,414 people were arrested in that civil disobedience protest and jailed en masse in National Guard armories for two weeks.

Kapyong

On April 24, 1951, following a rout of the South Korean army, the Chinese People Volunteer Army pursued their enemy to the lines of Australian and Canadian troops still digging fall-back defences, 39 kilometres to the rear. Here, sometimes at the length of a bayonet, often in total darkness, individual was pitted against individual in a struggle between a superpower and a cluster of other nations from across the world. They fought for a valley, the ancient and traditional invasion route to Seoul. If it fell the southern capital and the war, was lost. The United Nations troops had the military advantage of the high ground and artillery support: the Chinese relied entirely on vastly superior numbers. As a result, young men from both sides found a battle which was very close and very personal. The Battle of Kapyong became the turning point of China's Fifth Offensive in that Korea spring... Written by John Lewis

Korea, A Hundred Years of War

A contemporary history of Korea(s) from a unique point of view that embraces the inner history of both South and North Korea in a single narrative.

Kim Il Sung's Children

From 1950 to 1953, one hundred thousand children were orphaned by the Korean War. With no resources to mend the wounds, the two sides, North and South, took different paths to find homes and families for the war orphans. While the children of South Korea were sent to Europe and the United States through ‘International Adoption’, the children of North Korea were distributed across Eastern Europe through a method called ‘Commissioned Education’. As a result, more than five thousand children from the North had to spend nearly a decade living in foreign lands across Eastern Europe. This story is a record of their lives, which used to be kept hidden from the rest of the world. There is a key to understanding how North Korea's closed political structure began and how the ‘Juche ideology’ was formed in this documentary movie. Understanding North Korea in the 1950s is an important way to understand North Korea at present.

Children Gone to Poland

Tracing the footsteps of North Korean orphans who went to Poland during the Korean War, two women, one from the North and the other from the South, bond through the solidarity of wound and forge together a path toward healing.