RefleXions (2025)

In the Interstices of Reality or The Cinema of António de Macedo

He was the most prolific within the New Portuguese Cinema generation. He would try western spaghetti, esoteric allegory, supernatural, and science-fiction. Without state subsidies, he would quit filmmaking in the 1990s. Who remembers António de Macedo?

Michelle Obama: Life After the White House

Former First Lady Michelle Obama's story has just begun. The Obamas have remained quite busy with their new life of activism which includes their issue-oriented production company, Higher Ground, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary in 2020. Mrs. Obama's autobiography, Becoming, has become the best-selling memoir of all time and even won a Grammy following the publication of her book. Get lost in the incredible journey of this modern-day First Lady's story in the making...

The New Deal: The Man Who Changed America

Elected in November 1932, as the economic crisis ravaged the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt immediately put all his campaign promises into action: it was time for the "New Deal". This bold plan, designed to turn around a nation on the brink of collapse, where unemployment was at an all-time high and the working poor were suffering from the precariousness of the job market, was intended to give hope to a country that had been battered before anything else. Once he came to power, the new president from the Democratic Party immediately passed some fifteen laws designed to revive the economy.

Johnny Hallyday, à nos promesses

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One Person, One Vote?

An in-depth look at the Electoral College, its slavery origins, and its impact on society today. The film features four dynamic electors from different parties offering insight into the inner workings of this often-misunderstood institution. A timely, nonpartisan film that will fill a stark information gap in American presidential elections.

Girl in the Picture

A young mother’s mysterious death and her son’s subsequent kidnapping blow open a decades-long mystery about the woman’s true identity, and the murderous federal fugitive at the center of it all.

O Regresso

"O Regresso" is a documentary featuring renowned Portuguese actor Ruy de Carvalho as he returns to Macau after a 10-year absence. Directed to mark the 10th anniversary of his visit, the film captures Ruy de Carvalho revisiting key locations across the city, reflecting on the cultural and social transformations that Macau underwent in the lead-up to its handover from Portuguese to Chinese administration in 1999. Blending personal memories with the evolving landscape, the documentary offers a nostalgic look at Macau's unique blend of Portuguese and Chinese heritage, seen through the eyes of one of Portugal’s most beloved actors.

The Obama Years: The Power of Words

Barack Obama launched into our national consciousness at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and ever since, he's delivered messages of patriotism, unity, and hope through the power of words. But of all the speeches he's given, six in particular may define his legacy as, in historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's words, "one of the best writers and orators in the presidency." Interviews with eminent historians and key figures in his writing process give rare insights into these iconic speeches, as well as the Obama presidency and the man himself.

How Lucky China

Follows Long Island’s Mary Lamont Band on their groundbreaking 23,000-mile tour in six cities and provinces across mainland China in 2002.

Under the Stars

Paying tribute to some of America's only surviving drive-ins – and those who keep them running – this heartfelt documentary captures efforts to preserve these nostalgic theaters in small-towns across the country.

Trump Card

Trump Card is an expose of the socialism, corruption and gangsterization that now define the Democratic Party. Whether it is the creeping socialism of Joe Biden or the overt socialism of Bernie Sanders, the film reveals what is unique about modern socialism, who is behind it, why it’s evil, and how we can work together with President Trump to stop it.

Etats-Unis : les armes de la colère

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Criaturas da Mente

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As Armas e o Povo

Film directors with hand-held cameras went to the streets of Lisbon from April 25 to May 1, 1974, registering interviews and political events of the Portuguese "Carnations Revolution", as that period would be later known.

Democracy at the limit? America's uncertain future

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Mário Eloy - A Runaway Painter

Documentary about the life and work of Mário Eloy, one of the greatest painters of the second generation of modernism in Portugal.

Where to Invade Next

To understand firsthand what the United States of America can learn from other nations, Michael Moore playfully “invades” some to see what they have to offer.

Cured

Mentally ill. Deviant. Diseased. And in need of a cure. These were among the terms psychiatrists used to describe gay women and men in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. And as long as they were “sick”, progress toward equality was impossible. This documentary chronicles the battle waged by a small group of activists who declared war against a formidable institution – and won a crucial victory in the modern movement for LGBTQIA+ equality.

Goldman Sachs: The Bank That Runs the World

This documentary is a case study of the multinational tentacles of the world's biggest bank, how it started and what its power means to everyone.

A Decent Home

Mobile homes have long been an affordable option for people who struggle with the cost of other housing in the United States. But now the economy of mobile home parks is under threat as private equity firms are buying up properties and looking to squeeze more money out of mobile home owners. Filmmaker Sara Terry uses this backdrop to explore urgent class issues that resonate across America, and especially in the high-priced rental market of New York City.

Lusitanian Illusion

Images and sounds expose the duality of Portugal during the days of WW2: a peaceful, god-loving, rural country, providing an escape route for over one hundred thousand European refugees to the Americas; and a political and cultural elite that disguised their Nazi inclinations just enough to play its neutral role in international politics.

Cruel Architecture, a Tool of Gentrification

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Propaganda

An anti-western propaganda film about the influences of American visual and consumption culture on the rest of the world, as told from a North Korean perspective.

Wild Portugal

Picture a land of boulder-strewn shorelines, isolated mountaintops, and golden prairies. Here, packs of wolves stalk herds of ancient mustangs and tree-climbing carnivores keep entire forests on edge. Meanwhile, high above the crashing surf, a pair of storks attempts to raise a family on a narrow ledge atop a towering cliff. EUROPE'S WILD WEST is a place where survival is reserved for those with the keenest senses... and the quickest draw.

Hijacked: Flight 73

On 5 September 1986, Palestinian terrorists stormed Pan Am Flight 73 as it stalled on the Karachi Airport tarmac. Exploring what happened over the next 16 hours, including the death of 21 passengers, in a day that would change terrorist operations for ever.

Another Day of Life

In 1975, Ryszard Kapuściński, a veteran Polish journalist, embarked on a seemingly suicidal road trip into the heart of the Angola's civil war. There, he witnessed once again the dirty reality of war and discovered a sense of helplessness previously unknown to him. Angola changed him forever: it was a reporter who left Poland, but it was a writer who returned…

We The People 2.0

American citizens who are normally marginalized, forgotten and left to fend against toxic dumps and other violations, come to understand that the only way to survive and save their communities is to challenge the system head-on.

Praying for Armageddon

While much of the world struggles to keep the planet going, a frighteningly large group of American fundamentalist Christians are working to promote the apocalypse. The evangelical movement is convinced that they will be saved when Jesus appears in the state of Israel on horseback and, with a sword raised to heaven, kills the infidels so that the blood reaches the horses’ bridles. Natural fires, corona, wars and crises are evidence that the time is nigh. But for the prophecies to be realized, the state of Israel has to grow stronger, so they provide huge financial support and are so far inside the White House that they help influence US foreign policy.

Pérola do Atlântico

Short film narrating the luxuries of Madeira.

Retirement Home

A group of elders spends their weekdays in a retirement home in Sandim, in the north of Portugal, where they talk, do arts and crafts, practice yoga and pray. We follow them between October 2012 and March 2013, when an economic crisis overshadowed Portuguese society and unemployment rates reached record levels. Meanwhile, arrangements are made for the Carnival ball. Will they bring the first place home this time?

CARA-B

A desktop documentary that focuses on the Golden Record that NASA sent into space in the late 1970s. The piece reflects on issues such as the power of scientific discourse to produce revisions of the world, the evolution of the concept of the archive and the resignification of borders in the rhetoric of space colonialism.

I'm sorry, Mr. President - Der tiefe Fall des El Hotzo

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Alvaro Cunhal

A personal biography of the leader of the PCP (Portuguese Communist Party) seen through the eyes of those who were close to him and those who studied his trajectory and thought.

Dentro, fora do Brasil

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The Last Marranos

Despite being forcibly converted to Christianity in 1497 many of the Jews of Portugal continued to practice Judaism in secret. Today, residents of the village of Belmonte practice an amalgam of Christian and Jewish rituals.

Pelé - A Origem

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Basin of Souls

Rua de Santa Catarina, a street that was formerly home to dozens of local businesses and hundreds of Porto residents, now sees a crowd of tourists attracted by the cheap, disposable amenities that are popping up everywhere at once. Gentrification has decontextualized Portuguese culture, rendering the landscape uncanny. The Basin Woman, a symbol of the female workers of the historic Bolhão Market, is chased down by seagulls in the midst of this transcendent chaos.

America My Country

A family’s trip across the United States from San Francisco to New York depicts America as a big and beautiful land of varied climates with rugged mountains, green forests, vast plains, rivers and lakes, ocean expanses, spacious farmland and huge cities. Famous places visited include the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park, Washington, D.C., the Old North Church in Boston, and Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Portugal: Land of Discoveries

From the beautiful sandy shores of the Algarve and Cascais to the romantic, lush forests of Bucaco and Sintra, Portugal is full of treasures waiting to be discovered. Journey through one of the oldest countries in Europe and uncover the dramatic history of kings, religion and exploration. Cheer for the "cavaleiro" as he skillfully battles the mighty bull; savor the rich wines of The Douro; relish in the medieval architecture of Evora. Enjoy the charm, warmth and spirit of Portugal's people.