Why is Cinema Important? (2024)

Forbidden City: The Great Within

Amidst the grand walls of the Forbidden City, the film takes us on a deep journey through the ceremonial life of the Chinese emperor, unveiling the secrets and intrigues of concubines, eunuchs, and palace maids. As the West begins to influence China in the late 19th century, the dynamics within the city shift dramatically. The film highlights the preservation and restoration of invaluable treasures and paintings, culminating in the creation of the Palace Museum. With insights from renowned China scholar, Jonathan Spence, this is an intimate exploration of the rich cultural and historical tapestry that makes up the heart of ancient China.

Armenia, My Home

Experience spectacular aerial and ground views and cultural revelations of a country like no other in a virtual tour of Mount Ararat, Khor Virap, Yerevan, the Genocide memorial, and more. Narrated by Andrea Martin, the documentary features prominent voices from the Armenian diaspora including Eric Bogosian, Chris Bohjalian, Peter Balakian, Michael Aram, and others.

Versprechen Kernfusion? - Der Wettlauf um die Energie der Zukunft

In October 2023, a European research team succeeded in generating an enormous amount of energy from very little fuel. A success that fusion research had been working towards for around 70 years. Now the competition for a fusion reactor has been reignited. What role can electricity from nuclear fusion play in the future?

Les secrets du mont Olympe

Plot unavailable

Nostradamus Decoded

Debunking the mythology surrounding the 16th century French prophet, Nostradamus.

Die Spezialeinheit - Im Einsatz mit der Bundespolizei

Plot unavailable

The Antisocial Network: Memes to Mayhem

From Rickrolling to viral conspiracy theories, explore how an anonymous website evolved into a hub for real-world chaos in this documentary.

Clemente

An immersive documentary about the remarkable life and legacy of MLB icon Roberto Clemente.

Fly

Over seven years, three couples involved in the extreme sport of BASE jumping test the limits of love and life itself. Risking everything for the thrill of the jump, their dedication is put to the ultimate test.

1h30 d'orgasme

Plot unavailable

American Psycho: From Book to Screen

A documentary charting the adaptation and filmmaking process behind Mary Harron’s American Psycho (2000)

VHS Revolution

Using testimonies by pioneers and witnesses of the times, delve into the feverish visual culture the media generated – with far-fetched examples of canine television games, seduction manuals, aerobics class while holding a baby, among others.

18 Years - Memories, Dreams and Violence

This documentary delves into the long history of unrest in Thailand's southernmost provinces, viewed through the lens of the youths who live there.

Vistas: Red Ochre

Combining archival photos with new and found footage, this short film presents a personal, impressionistic rendering of what it's like growing up Mi'kmaq in Newfoundland, while living in a culture of denial. Vistas is a series of 13 short films on nationhood from 13 Indigenous filmmakers from Halifax to Vancouver. It was a collaborative project between the NFB and APTN to bring Indigenous perspectives and stories to an international audience.

Outliving Shakespeare

In a decaying Soviet-era retirement home, a vibrant group of elders cling to life by staging Shakespeare. Yet loneliness lingers beyond the theater’s doors, until drama begins to blur with reality.

Nous, les Gitans

Alberto Spadolini, filmmaker and choreographer, dances to traditional Andalusian music. He pays tribute to the gypsy culture.

Impressions from the Shoot: Making Bad Education

A short featurette of behind the scenes footage from Almodóvar’s Bad Education (2004).

The Making of Volver

A short featurette about the emotions of the cast and crew while shooting Volver.

Quincy

An intimate look into the life of icon Quincy Jones. A unique force in music and popular culture for 70 years, Jones has transcended racial and cultural boundaries; his story is inextricably woven into the fabric of America. Jones came to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before working on pop music and film scores. He moved easily between musical genres, producing major pop hits of the early 1960s and serving as an arranger and conductor for several collaborations in the same time period.

Salvia Divinorum: A Western Approach

Salvia Divinorum is an often misunderstood and powerful psychedelic plant used by the Mazatec shamans in southern Mexico for centuries. This entheogen's mysteries are thoroughly explored, by Director Erin Wyche, from an American view point.

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.

Chine : Opérations secrètes

Plot unavailable

20 Days in Mariupol

As the Russian invasion begins, a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting the war's atrocities.

Going Varsity in Mariachi

A year in the life of an underdog competitive high school mariachi band in the Texas borderlands.

Canada Vertical

After years of preparation, a team of highly motivated Quebeckers set out on one of the longest wilderness expeditions ever documented. Stage one involves skiing in relentless polar conditions from Ellesmere Island to the Northwest Passage where the challenge was reaching the mainland. Cue canoes for a 2000km journey across Nunavut and NWT until they reach the first dirt road available where bikes are waiting to be pedalled 4000km to Point Pelee in Ontario.

Jackie Chan: Building an Icon

Jackie Chan is a true icon of Asian and Chinese culture. Over a 45-year-long career, he has carved a niche for himself as an actor, stuntman, director, and screenwriter, but also singer and formidable businessman. After starring in almost 200 films, Jackie Chan has reconciled fans of genre film and Hollywood blockbusters, whilst bridging the gap between Asian and Western cinema. Through film excerpts, archive footage and images, and an offbeat approach inspired by the visual codes of the golden age of kung fu films, this documentary will take a look back at the creation of a popular hero who has come to be an icon for China, and for the entire Asian continent.

Eden Alone Surpasses Thee

Jarred by the loss of his closest friend, a farmer on Tasmania’s remote West Coast, begins to mentor at-risk local youth. In an area renowned for its poverty, low literacy, and high suicide rates, Stafford Heres is determined to provide opportunities for kids who have few. Eden Alone Surpasses Thee explores his relationship with the land, loss, and the young men he takes under his wing.

So Help Me God

Some 20 years ago, two sex workers were murdered in an upper-class Brussels neighborhood. Celebrated Belgian magistrate Anne Gurwez decides to revisit this cold case, pouring over the evidence with the use of new technologies and tracking down then-suspects.

Sur les routes éternelles de Samarkand

During the exhibition Splendors of the Oases of Uzbekistan at the Louvre, a journey to the mythical city of Samarkand, a fabulous tapestry of civilizations.

Venus: Death of a Planet

Billions of years ago, Venus may have harbored life-giving habitats similar to those on the early Earth. Today, Earth's twin is a planet knocked upside down and turned inside out. Its burned-out surface is a global fossil of volcanic destruction, shrouded in a dense, toxic atmosphere. Scientists are now unveiling daring new strategies to search for clues from a time when the planet was alive.

My Dead Body

The extraordinary moving story of Toni Crews, a young mum with a rare terminal cancer who charted her illness online before donating her body for medical research and public dissection.

Ferrari: Race to Immortality

The late 1950s were known as golden years in the world of motor racing, champions were made and lost on a Sunday, and no losses were greater than those of Enzo Ferrari’s Scuderia. Based on Chris Nixon’s bestselling biography Mon Ami Mate, Ferrari: Race to Immortality tells the story of the loves and losses, triumphs and tragedy of a turbulent era that shook the motor racing world.

Amazones, femmes guerrières de l'Antiquité

Plot unavailable

À nos terres : Autonomia paisana

Plot unavailable

Die verschwundene Welt von Honduras

Plot unavailable

Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee

Filmed in part in front of a live audience at The New Amsterdam Theater in New York City, this Stan Lee tribute takes viewers on an action-packed journey throughout the life of Lee and across the Marvel Universe, sharing never-before-seen interviews and archive footage with Lee himself from deep within the Marvel and ABC News archives.