Melodies of War (2024)

People's Child

After growing up in an orphanage, Abolfazl embarks on a journey to find his real mother. His path leads him through friendship, love, loss, and war—until he discovers where he truly belongs.

The Last Solution

Within the confines of a massive wall, a group of children plays as if there were no tomorrow

All That's Left of You

In the Occupied West Bank of the 1980s, a Palestinian teenager is swept into a protest that changes the course of his family's life. Reeling from its aftermath, his mother, Hanan, shares the story that led them to that fateful moment. Spanning seven decades, this epic drama traces the hopes and heartaches of one uprooted family, revealing not only the scars of displacement, but the unbreakable spirit of survival.

Nobody Can Stop the Revolution

Combining collage animation and live action, this short depicts the achievements of the Chilean people under the Allende government and the subsequent reversal of this progress following the military coup. The collages were created by East German media artist Lutz Dammbeck; the Chilean artists Juan Forch and Vivienne Barry did the animation.

People & Things

A mass grave was discovered in the small town in eastern Ukraine as consequence of the 2022 Russian invasion. Olena (34) arrives with her daughter Kira (8) and boyfriend Tymur (31) to collect the DNA test result of her missing husband Ilya. During two days, Olena will not only find out if her husband is alive, but in addition to confronting the past, she also will be faced with the most important one - the present.

Oh Brave New Home

A story about children and adults who migrated from eastern Ukraine because of the war and found themselves far from home in a hostel for displaced people. This is a film about the everyday life and pain of refugees, about the search for small details that give strength to live and about adults who are tired of war. It is a self-reflection of refugees who believe that they will soon return home, without a clear understanding of when this will be possible and what awaits them there.

Sisa

The Philippines, 1902. The land is raw, wounded, occupied. Smoke clings to the trees. Blood soaks the soil. The war is over – but the violence lingers. Widows fill the villages. Mothers vanish into silence. Among them walks Sisa (Hilda Koronel), barefoot and broken, dismissed as mad by those who fear what they don't understand. But madness is only the surface.

Hotel Sunja

In 1992, the Yugoslav army and Serbian paramilitary forces captured one-third of Croatia as the country was engulfed in a state of war. A squad of fighters is defending their position in the small but strategically significant village of Sunja, where the invaders have surrounded them on three sides. Ivan Salaj, a young and gifted director who was still enrolled in film school at the time, chooses to use their story as the subject of his student film. Considered one of the most important films from a period when Croatian independence was still at stake, it provides an accurate portrayal of life on the front lines. What makes Hotel Sunja even more special is that it was made by a group of students who risked their lives to make the movie.

The Mousetrap

Anton is alone in a bunker on the front line when the entrance is hit and the bunker collapses. The soldier is trapped. All the initial optimistic efforts to escape the situation are hopeless. Attempts to establish radio communication with the outside world do not succeed. Fortunately, there is water, food, batteries, but it is becoming increasingly clear that... Then a companion comes from somewhere, a rat. Is this little creature the last living soul to witness the end of Anton?

Atatürk II 1881 – 1919

Mustafa Kemal had just begun his journey after proving himself in 1915 at the Gallipoli front. He would go on to face major battles on the eastern front against the Russians and later against the British in Syria, ultimately becoming the only Ottoman officer not to lose a battle during WW1. However, despite all his success, he would encounter an unexpected challenge upon his return to Istanbul.

War for the Planet of the Apes

Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.

A Company of Heroes

Easy Company, the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, fought their way through Europe, liberated concentration camps, and drank a victory toast in April 1945 at Hitler's hideout. Veterans from Easy Company, along with the families of three deceased others, recount their horrors and victories, bonds they made and the friends they lost.

June 1940, the Great Chaos

From May 10, 1940, France is living one of the worst tragedies of it history. In a few weeks, the country folds, and then collapsed in facing the attack of the Nazi Germany. On June 1940, each day is a tragedy. For the first time, thanks to historic revelations, and to numerous never seen before images and documents and reenacted situations of the time, this film recounts the incredible stories of those men and women trapped in the torment of this great chaos.

Fear and Desire

After their airplane crashes behind enemy lines, four soldiers must survive and try to find a way back to their battalion. However, when they come across a local peasant girl the horrors of war quickly become apparent.

Paths of Glory

A commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.

David

A distinguished military leader whose reign was touched by great scandal, shocking betrayals and rousing victories. A simple shepherd boy chosen to be king, under the watchful eyes of prophet Samuel.

The Deluge

During the Swedish invasion of Poland, the brave warrior Andrzej Kmicic, considered a traitor to the nation, fights for a country, redemption and love across the 17th-century Polish territories.

Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed

Benedict Arnold is not the villain of American history most people were taught to believe. New facts and never before presented material illuminate his heroic contributions to the American Revolution and explains his later change of allegiance.

The Last Valley

People in a small German village in the last valley to remain untouched by the devastating Thirty Years' War try to exist in peace with a group of soldiers occupying the valley.

Amina

In 16th-century Zazzau, now Zaria, Nigeria, Amina must utilize her military skills and tactics to defend her family's kingdom. Based on a true story.

The War Game

A docudrama depicting a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain. After backing the film's development, the BBC refused to air it, publicly stating "the effect of the film has been judged by the BBC to be too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting." It debuted in theaters in 1966 and went on to great acclaim, but remained unseen on British television until 1985.

America at War

The United States of America has been at war for almost all of its 250 years of existence. From the wars of independence to current armed conflicts, its armed forces have not only shaped American identity, but also influenced the political decisions of its leaders. The documentary delves deep into this complex history and analyzes the hot and cold wars that shaped the development of the USA, along with lessons for the future. How have generations of Americans experienced these wars and how have their lives been changed by them? How has military engagement been used to shape the image and role of the USA on the world stage? Do military decisions today shape the world of tomorrow and what are the effects on democracy and society? And as the US president begins his new term in office, the question also arises: what role does the army play in Donald Trump's understanding of the world?

National Theatre Live: Good

As the world faces its Second World War, John Halder, a good, intelligent German professor, finds himself pulled into a movement with unthinkable consequences.

Bezuidenhout

As the resistance group takes more risks during its operations, Johan discovers there is a traitor among them. Meanwhile, the British are preparing a rescue operation that ultimately went horribly wrong on the morning of March 3, 1945.

The Six Triple Eight

During World War II, the US Army's only all-Black, all-women battalion takes on an impossible mission: sorting through a three-year backlog of 17 million pieces of mail that hadn't been delivered to American soldiers and finish within six months.

Where the Ravens Fly

Set in the dense forests of 1940s Eastern Europe, this story reveals the supernatural encounters that challenge three soldiers' understanding of life and death.

Open Wound

Jorge, a young Ecuadorian, is unexpectedly in the middle of the jungle as an inexperienced soldier. At first, Jorge is confident that military experience makes you a recognized and respected man. But he finds out that the reality is very different; as the private may face neglect, hunger, death and nature, especially human nature. Captive in an enemy camp, Jorge must discover who he has become as he recovers from his injuries and struggles to escape with his fellow prisoner Hugo or stay there under the care of the Peruvian nurse Dolores. Difficult decisions ... beyond the target and border that divides them are abound.

Missing in Action

American servicemen are still being held captive in Vietnam and it's up to one man to bring them home in this blistering, fast-paced action/adventure starring martial arts superstar Chuck Norris. Following a daring escape from a Vietnamese POW camp, Special Forces Colonel James Braddock (Norris) is on a mission to locate and save remaining MIAs.

Ike: Countdown to D-Day

The story of the senior-level preparations for the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 from the time of Dwight D. Eisenhower's appointment as the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, to the establishment of the beachhead in Normandy.

Middle Watch

As World War Two draws to a close, a sailor aboard ship in the Indian Ocean must do his duty. Watch must be kept, the horizon scanned for enemy craft and the bubble trails of deadly torpedoes fired from stealthy submarines. Haunted and scarred by conflict and the loss of fellow shipmates, our sailor's task is the Middle Watch, or the graveyard watch, as old mariners call it. But, as he goes about his duties, in the small hours of the morning, his routine is shattered by an encounter that could tip the balance of his delicate state of mind.

Secret Weapon

Based on a true story, the film tells about the famous Soviet rocket launcher nicknamed “Katyusha”, which was kept in great secrecy during World War 2. One of these unique killing machines has drowned during an unexpected retreat of the Russian troops. A special unit formed of ex-athletes is sent to rescue the secret weapon that the Germans can never find — no matter what it takes…

Last Stand of the 300

This is the true and astounding saga of the Spartans at Thermopylae. It is among the greatest tales of war ever recounted. All the glory and grit of these warriors' last stand is captured in this exceptional documentary. It is almost impossible to understand how 300 Spartans managed to hold off the million-man Persian army for even a moment, much less seven days. To a man they paid with their lives but their stunning Last Stand assured that their sacrifice would resonate throughout history. Transporting dramatizations and incisive graphics put you in the heat of the battle and show the lay of the land. The complications and strategies of the conflict are revealed through careful analysis, and critical moments are reconstructed to show exactly what happened. Discover what the Spartans were fighting for, what made them capable of such heroics and what drove them to such sacrifice.

Negativ

A photographer during the Soviet-Afghan war becomes obsessed with a mysterious figure that appears in his images every time the person photographed dies.

Guy Ritchie's The Covenant

During the war in Afghanistan, a local interpreter risks his own life to carry an injured sergeant across miles of grueling terrain.

Tibbits Hill

If the wind spoke the language of children, what would its voice be? The film tells the story of migrating children that have found refuge from war in an abandoned school, protected from the horrifying whistling of the wind. When one of them disappears, they decide to break the silence and reunite to commemorate the loss.

Spähtrupp Hallgarten

Two German soldiers in the Norwegian Campaign.

Beasts of War

The military history of animals is surprising and little-known. Starting from a strange London memorial dedicated to war animals, the evocative power of animation and the testimonies of those who are passionate about this long history, this documentary sets out to meet these anonymous heroes.

Primitive War

During the Vietnam War, a recon unit ventures to an isolated jungle valley to uncover the fate of a missing platoon. They soon find themselves in a fight for their lives against an unexpected enemy — prehistoric dinosaurs.

Life Is Beautiful

A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.

The Small Back Room

As the Germans drop explosive booby-traps on 1943 Britain, the embittered expert who'll have to disarm them fights a private battle with alcohol.

Lyubasha

Soon after the father leaves for the front, the mother dies - and the children are left alone. And then fourteen-year-old Lyubasha takes care of her younger brothers and sisters.

The Desert of the Tartars

Lieutenant Giovanni Drogo is assigned to the old Bastiani border fortress where he expects an imminent attack by nomadic fearsome Tartars.