Expedition Niger: Real Africa (2023)

Hampi

A ritual vase, the hampi, is placed in the center of the Musée de plein air de la République du Niger in Niamey, during a ritual ceremony featuring possession dances. With this film, Jean Rouch continues his ethnological and cinematographic study of Songhay ritual objects. He demonstrates that, in a particular context, the transfer of a hampi vase to a museum requires the organization of a ritual ceremony to obtain the gods' approval. At the time, however, reservations about filming a possession dance for the opening of a shrine in a museum made the move "questionable from a museological point of view".

Pam Kuso Kar (Breaking Pam's Vases)

In February 1974, Pam Sambo Zima, the oldest of the priests of possession in Niamey, Niger, died at the age of seventy-plus years. In his backyard, the followers from the possession cult symbolically break the dead priest's ritual vases and cry for the deceased while dividing up the clothes of the divinities.

L'Afrique et la recherche scientifique

This documentary offers an overview of French scientific research in Africa French scientific research in Africa: hydrology, botany, biology oil palm and coconut cultivation, industrial sea fishing and and urban planning. Film montage taking stock of scientific research research in Africa, mainly in the fields of hydrology hydrology, botany, biology and agriculture. The film is a compilation of extracts from several short films made by Jean Rouch in Mali, Niger and Côte d'Ivoire between 1962 and 1963: Abidjan, port de pêche, Le Mil, Le Cocotier and Le Palmier à l'huile. l'huile.

Horendi

The title of this film translates literally as 'to put on a hori,' a hori being the Songhay term for ceremony of festival. Here it is used to refer to a ganandi, literally 'to make dance' This film concerns two women whom the zima [priest] had diagnosed some months before as being ill through possession by spirits. In the meantime, their families have gathered together the resources to pay for the musicians, dancers, and the priest himself to put on an initiation dance lasting seven days This is a film of documentation, simply recording various moments in the progress of the ceremony, without any form of explanation, neither in intertitle cards nor in voice-over. (Paul Henley, The Adventure of the Real)

Zomo et ses frères

A portrait of Zomo, the second of Damouré Zika’s many children. Employed at the zoo of the National Museum of Niger in Niamey, he offers us a tour, showing us the animals he takes care of. Then, when the work is finished, he invites us to an impromptu concert by “Jeunesse Gawey,” the “popular music” orchestra he forms with his brothers and sisters, who sing and dance for us pretty songs about their lives, their family, and Nigerien youth.

Niger Festivals: December 1961 - Niger Independence Days

Commemorative celebrations of the independence of the Republic of Niger filmed in December 1961 and 1962.

Comment le chat a conquis le monde

The domestic cat has conquered almost the entire globe with around 400 million animals and is now also the star of social networks. It is not clear when and how they secured the favor of humans. Archaeologists, geneticists and behavioral biologists around the world have been researching these questions for years. Their latest findings make it possible to trace the path of the house cat.

Bohemian Rhapsody: Recreating Live Aid

This piece offers interviews with the real life May and Taylor, who reminisce about the concert, along with other interviews and behind the scenes footage.

Farewell Regent

What happens when the largest redevelopment in North America dismantles the place where social housing began? Will the community and its residents ever be the same? Farewell Regent is a 90-minute documentary that captures the Regent Park community of downtown Toronto (the place where social housing began in Canada) in the midst of the largest housing redevelopment project in North America. With this transition, it will go from a site of 100% social housing to a mixed-income community where condo units will outnumber the social housing units 4 to 1. The documentary profiles past and current tenants, city officials, developers and housing advocates to get an inside view of the complex issues, emotions and drama that are involved in such a massive redevelopment.

Six Days in Roswell

This award-winning documentary probes UFO fanatics, government cover-ups, and top alien experts Stanton T. Friedman, Robert O. Dean, Budd Hopkins, Peter Gersten, Don Schmidt, Whitley Strieber, Rich Kronfeld, and hundreds of alien enthusiasts, abductees, and the denizens of Roswell's odd, hilarious Americana.

After Winter Comes Spring

A locomotive journey traversing the North to the South of the German Democratic Republic on the eve of its dissolution. Labourers, punks, mothers, intellectuals, young and old are implored to reflect on their life choices, the sacrifices they've made, and their place in the world. Despite everything, hope persists.

Dugma: The Button

An intimate portrait of a group of very different suicide bombers working for Al Qaeda in Syria. From the Saudi who loves singing and fried chicken, to a 26-year-old white British convert who worries a lot about his new wife, this remarkable film embeds with an unlikely bunch of "martyrdom seekers", each waiting for their turn to go on a final mission, known by Jihadis as 'Dugma'.

Teofilo

A definitive documentary about Cuban heavy weight boxer Teofilo Stevenson, who many say was the greatest boxer ever.

Tramps!

Goes deep into the heart of Britain’s New Romantics scene, tracing how a group of outsiders transformed London's underground art and music communities and its enduring influence and impact across the globe. A decade in the making, this groundbreaking film follows how the New Romantics – AKA the Blitz Kids – became one of the most iconic cultural movements.

Loslassen

Film about the alpinist Roger Schäli and the Arwa Spire summit.

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Eternals

Join director Chloe Zhao and the Cast of Eternals as they recount their experiences during the making of Marvel Studios’ most ambitious film to date. Discover how the ensemble cast felt stepping into their roles, filming in remote locations, and creating bonds that would help to create the on-screen relationships that span over 7,000 years.

The White Helmets

As daily airstrikes pound civilian targets in Syria, a group of indomitable first responders risk their lives to rescue victims from the rubble.

Box

“We’re not training people to be fighters, we train people to exert energy and to release”, says the trainer at the 'Calais Jungle' boxing club. A few days before the camp’s eviction, energy levels are sky-high. A throbbing documentary impression of a tenacious support group.

Audrey

An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).

The Mother of All Lies

On a handmade set re-creating her Casablanca neighborhood, a young Moroccan filmmaker enlists family and friends to help unearth the troubling lies built into her childhood.

Anselm

This unique cinematic experience dives deep into an artist’s work and reveals his life path, inspiration, and creative process. It explores his fascination with myth and history. Past and present are interwoven to diffuse the line between film and painting, allowing the audience to be completely immersed in the remarkable world of one of the greatest contemporary artists, Anselm Kiefer. Wim Wenders shot this unique portrait over the course of two years in stunning 3D.

Pictures of Ghosts

Downtown Recife’s classic movie palaces from the 20th century are mostly gone. That city area is now an archaeological site of sorts that reveals aspects of life in society which have been lost. And that’s just part of the story.

Black Wings

For early aviators, conquering the forces of gravity was a daunting challenge. But black aviators had an additional challenge - conquering the forces of racism. Meet the men and women who took to the skies throughout the 20th century, proving to a segregated nation that skin color doesn't determine skill level. From biplanes to commercial jets, and from barnstormers to war fighters, meet the path-breaking pilots who opened the skies for all -- and contributed in countless ways to the development of aviation.

An Accidental Studio

Charts the early years of HandMade Films seen through the eyes of the filmmakers, key personnel, and the man who started it all: former Beatle George Harrison.

Lynch: A History

LYNCH: A HISTORY deploys a trove of media footage to explore the legacy of nonconformist NFL star and Oakland Raiders running-back Marshawn Lynch. Culled from nearly a thousand video clips, placed in rapid dramatic juxtaposition, the film becomes a powerful political parable about our media system and its ties to the racial oppressions of our time.

The Story of the Weeping Camel

When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.

Dogtown and Z-Boys

This award-winning, thrilling story is about a group of discarded kids who revolutionized skateboarding and shaped the attitude and culture of modern day extreme sports. Featuring old skool skating footage, exclusive interviews and a blistering rock soundtrack, DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS captures the rise of the Zephyr skateboarding team from Venice's Dogtown, a tough "locals only" beach with a legacy of outlaw surfing.

A Brief History of Time

This shows physicist Stephen Hawking's life as he deals with the ALS that renders him immobile and unable to speak without the use of a computer. Hawking's friends, family, classmates, and peers are interviewed not only about his theories but the man himself.

Pablo Escobar: King of Cocaine

Incorporating never before-seen archival footage, home movies and interviews with family members, journalists and law enforcement officials, PABLO ESCOBAR: KING OF COCAINE tells the story of the twisted Robin Hood who founded the Medellin cartel cocaine smuggling organization and became the first billionaire criminal in South America. This piece is part of The Learning Channel series "Legends," hosted by Bryant Gumbel.

Rohmer in Paris

A film about Eric Rohmer, Paris, and the pleasures of cinephilia. Between the late 1950s and mid-2000s, legendary Nouvelle vague cinéaste Eric Rohmer made over twenty feature films, short films, and television documentaries on location in Paris. Rohmer in Paris explores his relationship with this most cinematic of cities. Combining elements of essay film, biographical documentary, speculative fiction, and mashup, Rohmer in Paris provides an unconventional tour of Rohmer's films, of modern Paris, and of how we engage with cinema.

Inside My Borders - Abruzzo e Basilicata Bike'n Trek

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Mocha

A collective work created by students of Bachillerato Popular Mocha Celis in Buenos Aires, the first of its kind in the world, the place offers transvestite and transgender adults the opportunity to complete their high-school studies. The films focuses on identity, inclusion, political activism and equal access to the right to education.

Michel Foucault: Knowledge and Power at SOAS and beyond

An insight into the life and works of Michel Foucault and how his work on Knowledge and Power still has an impact on daily life. This is applied practically to the real world of SOAS University and the online world of Social Media. Presented by Merle Tschirschnitz, Kiran Thomas and Adam Brocklesby