The Workshop of the World: Birmingham (1930)

A & E: When Patients Attack

Hospital staff are reporting more violence and anti-social behaviour than ever before. In 2015, 8 staff were assaulted every hour – a new record high. At The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham – one of the UK’s biggest hospitals – they think they have the answer. Here a private security force of 46 uniformed guards, and a sophisticated CCTV system, keep staff and patients safe. A colourful mixture of characters ranging from ex-soldiers, to bouncers, to former elite sportsmen, it’s the security team’s job to keep the hospital running smoothly. With more than 2 million visitors they have to deal with all aspects of crime and anti-social behaviour. All against a back drop of life changing and life saving procedures.

Handsworth Songs

The Black Audio Film Collective’s acclaimed essay film, 'Handsworth Songs', examines the 1985 race riots in Handsworth and London. Interweaving archival photographs, newsreel clips, and home movie footage, the film is both an exploration of documentary aesthetics and a broad meditation social and cultural oppression through Britain’s intertwined narratives of racism and economic decline.

Rolling at The Tower

Dating back to the 1800s, Birmingham’s roller skating scene is a flourishing, diverse community - but it lacks dedicated spaces. This community documentary explores the history of one roller venue, The Tower Ballroom, and considers what it tells us about the power of community action.

The Ballad Of Judas Priest

Witness the 50-year story of Judas Priest. From forging Heavy Metal in the British Steel industry to their rise to Metal Gods.

Reconstruction of Hill Street Birmingham

An engineering feat: Second city civil engineers complete a new bridge to carry traffic over New Street's tangled railway intersections.

Paradise Lost: History in the Un-Making

When filmmaker Andy Howlett set out with his camera to document the final days of Birmingham's Brutalist Central Library complex, little did he know the rabbit hole he was stumbling into. Decried by the Council as an eyesore, but hailed by Historic England as an exemplar of postwar design, the story of John Madin's concrete colossus and the fight to save it is a curious one. In this psychogeographic detective story, Howlett weaves together archive footage with on-the-ground explorations in an attempt to figure out why we lost Paradise and how it might be regained.

Bhaji on the Beach

A group of South Asian women try but cannot escape their problems on a day trip to a British beach resort.

Ray & Liz

On the outskirts of Birmingham and the margins of society the Billingham family perform extreme rituals and break social taboos as they muddle through a life decided by factors beyond their control. At times shocking and laced with an unsettling humor, three episodes unfold as a powerful evocation of the experience of growing up in a Black Country council flat.

Felicia's Journey

Seventeen and pregnant, Felicia travels to England in search of her lover and is found instead by Joseph Ambrose Hilditch, a helpful catering manager whose kindness masks unsettling secret.

I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle

When a motorbike gang kills an occultist, the evil spirit he was summoning inhabits a damaged bike. The bike is then bought and restored, but reveals its true nature when it tries to exact vengance on the gang, and anyone else who gets in its way.

Privilege

Britain's biggest pop singer, Steven Shorter, receives unwavering adulation and possesses total control over his rabid fans, which includes nearly the entire population. Yet Shorter is not an autonomous performer -- he is little more than a puppet for the government, promoting whatever agenda they see fit. When a beautiful artist, Vanessa Ritchie, is commissioned to paint his portrait, she pushes Shorter to question his obedience to his manipulative handlers.

Tolkien

England, early 20th century. The future writer and philologist John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) and three of his schoolmates create a strong bond between them as they share the same passion for literature and art, a true fellowship that strengthens as they grow up, but the outbreak of World War I threatens to shatter it.

The Suit

The events revolve around Akram, who receives an invitation to attend a masquerade party. He decides to wear police uniforms, which causes him to suffer a crisis as a police officer, while looking for a particular file.

The City Gone Wild

Hard-boiled underworld melodrama, with gang wars and gunfights, in which criminal lawyer turns prosecutor to avenge a friend's death.

The Nightcrawlers

The Nightcrawlers provides unprecedented access to the the Manila Nightcrawlers as they look to expose the true cost of Filipino President Duterte’s violent war on drugs.

I Shall Not Hate

From Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp, to the University of Toronto and the Supreme Court of Israel, I Shall Not Hate follows the uncharted path of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, The first Palestinian doctor that worked in an Israeli hospital delivering babies, whose ethos of forgiveness and reconciliation is put to the ultimate test when an Israeli tank bombs his house, killing his three daughters. Against all odds, he turns his tragedy into a global campaign to eradicate hate.

Fire Front

Leading Australian documentarian Eddie Martin puts viewers on the frontlines of the deadly 2019–2020 bushfires, capturing the catastrophe with a perspective and scale never before seen. 24 million hectares were burnt, 3000 homes were destroyed, 33 people died, and nearly three billion animals perished or were displaced. Fire Front is a powerful account of that calamitous antipodean summer, told from the ground where climate change took on the face of hell.

Led Zeppelin Played Here

1969. Man lands on the moon. Half a million strong at Woodstock....and Led Zeppelin perform in the gym of the Wheaton Youth Center in front of 50 confused teenagers. Or did they? Filmmaker Jeff Krulik chronicles an enduring Maryland legend, of the very night this concert was alleged to have taken place, January 20, 1969, during the first Presidential Inauguration of Richard Nixon. Led Zeppelin Played Here presents a mid-Atlantic version of what was happening nationwide as the rock concert industry took shape. Featuring interviews with rock writers, musicians, and fans, and several who claim they were witnessing history that night.

The Doors Are Open

Sex, death, reptiles, charisma and a unique variant of the electric blues gave the Doors an aura of profundity that has survived the band's demise. In September, 1968, The Doors gave a history making performance at The Roundhouse in London's Chalk Farm. They gave powerful renditions of their best songs. Part of the Pioneer Artist Concert Film Series.

The Beatles: A Celebration

Geoffrey Giuliano is a Beatleologist who has written lots of books about them ,notably an interesting Harrison biography (Harrison reportedly said: "this guy knows more about my life than I do").He appears in his movie,as some kind of tourist guide who takes the viewer to Abbey road,the roof-where-the-last-concert-took-place ,and the gates of Strawberry Fields. Most of the interviews come from the post-Beatles era: Pete Best (and Fred Seaman ) speaks of the savage days in Hamburg .There is a lot of unseen photographs although they are sometimes anachronistic : for instance,they are talking about the campaign for peace while showing pictures of Lennon with his second son Sean.

Ask the Sexpert

A sex columnist gains popularity even while a ban on comprehensive sex education in schools is adopted by approximately a third of India’s states.

Hondros

HONDROS follows the life and career of famous war photographer Chris Hondros by exploring the poignant and often surprising stories behind this award-winning photojournalist's best-known photos. Driven by a commitment to bear witness to the wars of our time after the events of 9/11, Chris was among the first in a new generation of war photographers since Vietnam. HONDROS explores the complexities inherent in covering more than a decade of conflict, while trying to maintain a normal life. It also examines the unknowable calculus involved in making split-second life and death decisions -- before, during and after his photos were made. Chris was killed in Libya in 2011, but he left a lasting impact on his profession that is still felt today.

Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie

"Trinity and Beyond" is an unsettling yet visually fascinating documentary presenting the history of nuclear weapons development and testing between 1945-1963. Narrated by William Shatner and featuring an original score performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, this award-winning documentary reveals previously unreleased and classified government footage from several countries.

Richard Pryor: Here and Now

One of comedian Richard Pryor's later stand-up performances. As foul-mouthed as ever, Pryor touches on most of the same topics as in his previous live shows.

Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip

Richard Pryor's stand-up act includes his frank discussion about his freebasing addiction, as well as the infamous night on June 9, 1980 that he caught on fire.

Naqoyqatsi

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

The Magic of Flight

Take a technological thrill ride The Magic of Flight takes you on a technological thrill ride faster, higher and wider than modern science or even your imagination! Relive the first flight of the Wright Brothers, then soar with the Blue Angels as they defy the laws of gravity. Narrated by Tom Selleck.

The Only

The Only explores the highest triumphs and darkest defeats throughout the extraordinary life of U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame goalkeeper Briana Scurry. The documentary explores the inspirational glory and deeply dark corners of a Hall of Fame goalkeeper who stood alone on the field as the only Black starter and the only openly gay player. While celebrating the historic legacy of Scurry's career, including two Olympic gold medals and a penalty save to help the U.S. win the 1999 Women's World Cup, the film also tells the story of how she overcame racism and homophobia at the time of her greatest triumphs before later finding herself on the edge of suicide following a career-ending concussion.

Fugue

In the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, Saor, a young androgynous Indian, carries a coffin. He is taking Valentina, his lover, back to her native village to bury her. When Valentina left this village years ago, before becoming a transgender singer in a faraway city, people here knew her as Pol. Valentina's past and death remain an enigma. Yet bit by bit, through his encounters with the people of the village, Saor begins to perceive what connected them to Pol. Sensitive to the world around him, Saor, like a Shaman, enters their memories. Saor starts to understand that, like all homosexuals persecuted by Shining Path terrorists, Pol lived in terror. In the village cemetery, between rage and bitterness, Saor attends the burial of Valentina's body. A ceremony that is both a burial and an exhumation.

Ricardo and Painting

Ricardo and Painting is Barbet Schroeder's portrait of his friend the painter Ricardo Cavallo, who devoted his life to painting. From Buenos Aires to Finistère, via Paris and Peru, this film is an invitation to dive into the history of painting, but also to discover the life of this exceptional man who, with simplicity and humility, always fully committed, to the point of transmitting his passion to the children of his village.

Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl

From Nashville newcomer to international icon, singer Shania Twain transcends genres across borders amid triumphs and setbacks in this documentary.

A Murder in Abidjan

1995. On the outskirts of Abidjan, the largest city in Ivory Coast, a policeman is murdered. Shot outside his vehicle, while his fiancée sits in the car, terrified. Superintendent Kouassi is the detective in charge of the investigation. Tall and lanky, he moves with the tired energy of a man who has seen it all. Drawing on a network of underworld characters with dubious information, Kouassi’s team begins bringing in potential suspects and subjecting them to horrific brutality: beating them with sticks, hanging them upside-down, threatening their lives. Some of the men are left so broken they have to literally drag themselves into Kouassi’s office later, to be interrogated while lying on the floor, their bodies a mess of bruises, broken bones, and lacerations.

Marquez Unlimited

After undergoing major surgery and rehabilitation between campaigns, Marc Márquez returned for the 2019 MotoGP™ season determined to claim back-to-back victories.

Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting

Examining the movement that is ending the use of Native American names, logos, and mascots in the world of sports and beyond.

The Best of Netflix Is a Joke: The Festival

Top stand-ups and rising stars sound off on sex, parenting, politics, pettiness and more in these highlights from the Netflix Is a Joke comedy festival.

Uncle Yanco

While in San Francisco for the promotion of her last film in October 1967, Agnès Varda, tipped by her friend Tom Luddy, gets to know a relative she had never heard of before, Jean Varda, nicknamed "Yanco". This hitherto unknown uncle lives on a boat in Sausalito, is a painter, has adopted a hippie lifestyle and loves life. The meeting is a very happy one.

Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey

Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain is an icon of American theater. Since first walking on stage in 1954, Holbrook has performed his one-man show Mark Twain Tonight! for millions on and off Broadway, in all fifty states, in twenty countries, before five U.S. presidents and behind the Iron Curtain. Countless actors and Twain scholars have been influenced by Holbrook's work and his Tony and Emmy Award-winning masterpiece.

Pat XO

This documentary profiles the life and career of Pat Summitt, the NCAA's winningest basketball coach, who resigned from her post at the University of Tennessee in 2012 due to early-onset Alzheimer's disease.