Bird of Passage (2024)

The Pitch

"The Pitch" takes a look at the world of international street performing buskers to find out why these men and women have chosen to "pass the hat" to make a living, along with the challenges they face.

Leon

A biographical documentary about performer Leon Dziemaszkiewicz, where artistic creation, the passing of time and coping of loss blend over the death of his loved one, the famous fashion designer Thierry Mugler.

Miss Rimbombanzia doing her makeup in Avenida de los Poblados, 173

Rimbombanzia performs her makeup mantra on the streets of Madrid for drivers and pedestrians.

Circus Krone - Manege mit Geschichte

It is considered the largest traveling circus in Europe and is one of the oldest in Germany: Circus Krone celebrated its 100th anniversary a few years ago. However, the history of the family business actually began back in 1870 - when the founding couple toured the fairgrounds. The small animal show became a dazzling entertainment giant.

Pit Dhuwur

In the heart of Yogyakarta, a tall bike enthusiast takes a stand against the city's lacklustre cycling infrastructure in the city with the "Bicycle Friendly City" label.

Robert Shields: My Life as a Robot

Award Winning Documentary on the Life of Artist Robert Shields. “Robert Shields: My Life as a Robot” is a documentary that will make you believe that your actions can have an inspirational effect on so many lives - and you may not even be aware of it. An icon of the 70’s, Robert began his career doing his robot in front of the Hollywood Wax Museum and a few short years later had his own top rated Prime Time CBS Variety show with his beautiful wife Lorene called: “The Shields & Yarnell Show”. And along the way, unbeknownst to him, he created ripples that define an art form to this day. This film may not save the environment, it won’t take on a corrupt corporation nor will it make you write your congress person. What it will do is make you laugh, bring you wonder and joy and introduce you to a man who makes you believe that anything is possible… including (and don’t try this at home!) Street Skiing in downtown San Francisco!

Yeh Ballet

Discovered by an eccentric ballet master, two gifted but underprivileged Mumbai teens face bigotry and disapproval as they pursue their dancing dreams.

The King of Masks

Wang Bianlian is an aging street performer known as the King of Mask for his mastery of Sichuan Change Art in a true story. His wife left him with and infant son over 30 years ago. The son died from illness at age 10. This left Wang a melancholy loner aching for a male descendent to learn his rare and dying art.

The Unknown

On the lam, criminal Alonzo hides in the circus as The Armless Wonder – a performer who uses his feet to hurl knives. Alonzo keeps the arms he really has concealed to hide his identity. Meanwhile, ringmaster's daughter Nanon has a phobia of being touched by men, but is romantically pursued by not only Alonzo but the strongman Malabar. Alonzo's desperation to remain with Nanon will only end in tragedy.

He Who Gets Slapped

After a baron steals his scientific discoveries, runs away with his wife, and slaps him in public, a man joins a Parisian circus sideshow as a clown whose act consists of being slapped repeatedly and becomes infatuated with a showgirl colleague whose father intends to marry her off to the baron.

The Last Circus

A trapeze artist must decide between her lust for Sergio, the Happy Clown, or her affection for Javier, the Sad Clown, both of whom are deeply disturbed.

One from the Heart

In a dazzling, dreamlike Las Vegas, longtime couple Hank and Frannie break up on their fifth anniversary and each pursue the fantasy of new love over one neon-soaked night—he with a free-spirited acrobat, she with a seductive musician. But as illusion and reality blur, both must decide whether passion or devotion truly defines the heart.

Sur un fil

Jo, a young woman and street circus artist, discovers the work of the professional clowns of “Nez pour Rire”. Quickly - perhaps too quickly - entering the association, she found herself at the hospital in contact with children, sick people, caregivers and families, to whom these clowns tirelessly try to bring joy and comfort. .

Meltdown

With the help of his friend, an autistic circus performer must overcome a meltdown when an unfamiliar location leaves him overwhelmed.

A Modern Hero

A 1920s circus performer uses every means at his disposal to achieve fame and fortune at the expense of others.

Danube

The introvert Russian girl Nadia goes on holiday to Belgrade, inhabited by extrovert Serbians. She lives according to a plan, while the Belgraders live for joy. At first, Nadia is involved with the local guy Nesha, and then with his relaxed, semi-vagrant way of life. She takes the impulsive decision to give up her dull job and Moscow for the sake of love, freedom and Belgrade. Both this love, and this freedom must undergo the test of reality, which is always more difficult than our expectations.

Plastic Jesus

Tom is a young guy from Zagreb, completely without money, trying to make films in Belgrade. He somehow manages to survive with a help of women. He doesn't believe in anybody, respects no one and is in constant conflict with the ruling system and order. After being left by a silly American girl, Tom binds with a woman whose husband is abroad. When she kicks him out, he moves in with her husband's sister, who later kills him in the attack of jealousy. All this is shown in the context of major historical events prior to 1968. with lots of archive footage of world leaders.

Fainting Flicker

Two young strangers meet in Naples and begin to flirt and dance in the street.

L'Homme de Fer-Blanc

Etienne narrowly earns a living by being a street performer, namely a living statue. Moved to action by his landlord's ultimatum, he must do various jobs during the day to make the rent, but his efforts are unfruitful. Having met a dead end, Etienne has no choice but to accept his fate.

Amal

Amal is 14 years old when she ends up on Tahrir Square during the Egyptian revolution, after the death of her boyfriend in the Port Said Stadium riot. During the protests, she is beaten by police and dragged across the square by her hair. This coming-of-age film follows her over the years after the revolution. As the film cuts between the unfolding current events and Amal’s rapidly changing life and appearance, we see her searching for her own identity in a country in transition. Amal is fiery and fearless, sinking her teeth into the protests and constantly lecturing her mother, who works as a judge. A girl among men, she also has to fight for respect and the right to take part, both in the street and in the rest of her life. In Egypt, even for a young woman like Amal—her name means "hope"—the choices open to her for her future are limited.

Into the Light with Cité Mémoire

Joyful, magical, inspiring, Into the Light with Cité Mémoire soars above the city, revealing history through giant projections that compel us to slow down, look up and breathe as characters of the past emerge from the stone walls of Old Montreal, touching us deeply with their human stories.

Propagande, les nouveaux manipulateurs

Fifteen years ago, social networks were seen as a new democratic ferment that, by promoting the dissemination of information and horizontal communication between citizens, would help people break their chains, from Eastern Europe to the Arab world. The story is different: the assault on the Capitol by Donald Trump's supporters, the chaotic reign of his counterpart Jair Bolsonaro, the offensives targeting Muslims in Narendra Modi's India, or the dazzling success of the racist slogans of Italian League leader Matteo Salvini have highlighted the devastating power on a global scale of the calls to hatred and disinformation that circulate in real time on social media.

Cesar Millan: Doggie Nightmares

Cesar works with families rescuing difficult shelter dogs, whose pasts of abuse or neglect manifest in problematic behaviour.

Amazonia, an Encounter with the Guardians of the Rainforest

With a hybrid style blending political essay and road movie, this documentary by Santiago Bertolino takes us into the heart of the Amazonian reality. Following Marie-Josée Béliveau, an ecologist and ethnogeographer, they journey together along the 4000 km from the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil to one of its sources in Ecuador where they meet with the guardians of the forest. As a result, we witness powerful and spontaneous testimonies from local communities who are doing everything to preserve what remains of their lands, which are disappearing due to the inexorable advance of Western modernity.

Being Caribou

Wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer and his wife, environmentalist Leanne Allison follow a herd of 120,000 caribou on foot across 1500 km of Arctic tundra, hoping to raise awareness of the threats to the caribou's survival. Along this journey, they brave torrid conditions, dangerous wildlife and treacherous terrain all in the hopes of learning the truth about this epic migration.

Iron Maiden: Rock In Rio

Rock In Rio Festival 2001 - Iron Maiden headlines one of the biggest shows on Earth to a massive sell-out 250,000 crowd and a global TV audience of millions. The explosive two hour set, shot using 18 cameras and edited by Steve Harris, is Maiden at its best, performing their biggest show ever on the final date of their Brave New World Tour.

Voodoo

In 1925, during the occupation of Haiti, a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant was stationed in charge of the small island of La Gonave. He befriended the natives and was so popular that they named him King Faustin I and installed him as their ruler. He ruled the island for three years, then left and returned to make this documentary.

Macron, Pécresse : Coulisses d'une campagne

A look behind the scenes of this 2022 presidential campaign. Between the secrets and all the information that escaped the general public, the behind-the-scenes campaign of Valérie Pécresse and Emmanuel Macron allow us to understand all the issues of this election and to discover these candidates.

EMIL – Every Mystery I’ve Lived

Having won the world title in his rookie season in 2017, Emil Johansson spent 2018 struggling with an autoimmune disease. Now, still coming to grips with the disease, he's ready to make his return.

Becoming

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Geheimnisvolle Parktiere - Wildes Leben in der Stadt

Parks are not only recreational areas for us humans, but also valuable habitats for animals and plants. These green oases make cities worth living in and provide a surprising wealth of species. Parks are often our quickest contact with nature and a great opportunity to get to know wild animals. This film shows typical and well-known park inhabitants from a new perspective. In interviews, experts introduce us to the unknown sides of crows, squirrels and the like and report on their research. This much in advance: just as city dwellers and country dwellers differ, city animals also have their very own way of life. The next time you go for a walk, you will see the animals in the park with completely new eyes!

The Gut: Our Second Brain

For a few years now, scientists have known about the existence of another brain within our bodies. This second brain, or "brain down below" is none other than our stomach. The stomach's intelligence is a new avenue of research that is fascinating research teams the world over.

Poly-Love

A documentary that approaches polyamory from the intimate point of view of an Afro-American family who decided to live an authentic life without denying the option of diversity in their love and family.

Klimatexperimentet

"The Climate Experiment" - About the Swedish artist duo Bigert and Bergström's climate-related art, which for three decades has been inspired by research on the effects of climate on humanity and vice versa. Tells the story of the growing realization of our own role in the changing climate. Our interference in the atmospheric cocktail could be described as the greatest experiment in human history. An experiment whose outcome is highly uncertain. The film presents the lurking awareness of our own role in the change of climate. The title refers to the kind of research that challenged the conception of nature as an inexhaustible resource, but also to the artists' own work with various geo-engineering projects, in which they try to deal with the effects of an increasingly heated atmosphere.

Alternativ Festival 1975

A protest against the Eurovision Song Contest, 1975Alternative Festivals were organized all around Sweden. This Alternative Festival was broadcasted from a circus tent in Stockholm, presenting a wide variety of folk culture and music.

Farewell, the spy who loved France

"The Farewell Affair" is one of the greatest espionage stories of the Cold War that will result in the accelerated fall of the USSR. It involves Vladimir Vetrov, a KGB agent put in the closet, who decides to contact the DST and deliver several lists of technological and scientific agents and secrets, which the KGB has been stealing from the countries of the Western Blocs for decades.

Les trésors cachés des variétés

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Alchemical Furnace

Jan Svankmajer, at 85 years of age, is one of the most prominent artists of European cinema. His work has inspired and guided generations of directors, and represents a sharp and merciless exploration of human nature which is entirely unique. When he decided to retire from filmmaking after "Insect" (2018), his producer suggested that the creative processes which ferment within their company Athanor should be preserved on film. Over three years, the directors of this documentary followed the life of Jan Svankmajer, elucidating his artistic principles, as well as his collaboration with old friend and producer Jaromír Kallista. The film is also haunted by the memory of Eva Svankmajerová, his wife and creative partner, muse and inseparable other half. Playful and poetic, candid and with a touch of Czech humour, it is an ode to creation and to companionship.