Common Ground (2018)

Chavela

Inspired by an exclusive interview and performance footage of Chavela Vargas shot in 1991 and guided by her unique voice, the film weaves an arresting portrait of a woman who dared to dress, speak, sing, and dream her unique life into being.

Matria

My grandfather fought alongside Pancho Villa, became Master Mason, was an elected official who represented Oaxaca three times, and president of the national Association of Cattle Hands. In 1942, he formed the Legion of Mexican Fighters, a group of 100,000 cattle hands training to repel a possible Nazi invasion in Mexico. His story of success, however, held a secret that affected my family, and that I discovered while making this documentary.

Phantoms of the Sierra Madre

A Danish writer travels to Mexico with the purpose of locating a mysterious Apache tribe that fervently seeks to remain in obscurity.

Une identité dans la diversité

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Call it the burning

One night, nine children from the same Tunisian village attempt the deadly crossing. Like a poem or a prayer, this film welcomes the words of bereaved mothers and gives dignity to their grief.

From Abdul To Leila

After losing part of her memory in an accident, Leila, a young French woman of Iraqi origin, reconstructs her story by reconnecting with her family and exploring her roots. Through music and cinema, she brings her exiled father's poems to lite, dis-covers the reality of the Middle East, and embarks on a personal quest to understand her identity and find her voice.

A Place Called Chiapas

In 1994, the Zapatista National Liberation Army, made up of impoverished Mayan Indians from the state of Chiapas, took over five towns and 500 ranches in southern Mexico. The government deployed its troops and at least 145 people died in the ensuing battle. Filmmaker Nettie Wild travelled to the country's jungle canyons to film the elusive and fragile life of this uprising.

RapLine

Between 1990 and 1993, at a time when rap was not yet on the radio in France, Olivier Cachin hosted a musical TV show on M6 called "RapLine". The show exclusively devoted to rap and other alternative music. This cult show presented all the facets of these emerging movements through interviews, lives and clips made especially for the show, around fifty clips were produced by RapLine. Another sequence of the show consisted of broadcasting new US rap clips subtitled in French.

The Renaissance of Mata Ortiz

The Emmy-winning story of how an American treasure hunter and a Mexican artist transformed a dying desert village into a home for world-class art.

Astral

The story of Astral, champion show jumping and his path to national competitions.

Displaced Perssons

Per Persson left Sweden 40 years ago. In Pakistan he fell in love and became the father of two daughters. Trouble starts when the girls grow up and the family decides to emigrate to Sweden. When they end up living in a caravan outside Hässleholm, all their expectations are dashed.

Don Barry: A Quixotic Exploration

Amid Guanajuato's vibrant streets, an aging filmmaker becomes a modern Don Quixote, joined by a spirited young animator as his loyal Sanchia. Together, they navigate themes of mortality, unfulfilled dreams, and the fragile line between madness and clarity, uncovering the transformative power of light, art, and the landscapes that shape our souls.

The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

Co-directed by acclaimed cinematographer Ellen Kuras and subject Thavisouk Phrasavath, this haunting documentary chronicles a refugee family’s epic journey from Laos in the aftermath of the secret war waged by the United States there to New York, where they find themselves fighting a different kind of war on the streets of Brooklyn. Filmed over the course of 23 years, THE BETRAYAL is a visually and emotionally stunning look at the complex ways in which the political shapes the personal.

The Shelter

It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place, resulting in confrontations which can sometimes turn violent. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of “triaging the poor”: the women and children first, then the men. Although the total capacity at the shelter is 100, only 50 “chosen ones” will be admitted inside and granted a warm meal and a bed. The others know it will be a long night.

Mr. Trump, Pardon the Interruption

An analysis of the impact on the United States Latino community of immigration policies promoted by President Donald Trump.

Renaître

Canada as a refuge for LBGTQ+ immigrants: Yazan from Iraq, Nata from Central Africa, Aida from Iran and Eilyn from Colombia all had to flee their homelands, where violence, threats, hate and rejection prevented them from living their lives and expressing their sexual orientation openly. All they wanted was to be free. From Beirut to Montreal, Quebec City or Vancouver, this ensemble documentary follows the journeys of four people who are determined to change their future. From the terrifying realities they had to flee to the heartbreaking sacrifices they were forced to make, Renaître is a vibrant and luminous tribute to their quiet strength.

I Am Here

For Ababacar and Mbaye - two Senegalese immigrants who met and established a great friendship in Buenos Aires - the challenge goes beyond adapting to the customs and living conditions in Argentina, or dealing with the indifference and racism they suffer on a daily basis: both came to an instance of their lives in which they must define a course, and in turn accept that their identities and needs have become more complex. The decision to leave their country was driven by the urgent objective of financially supporting their families, but the stay in Buenos Aires crossed them with new people, new ways of seeing things, and even an economic situation different from that which they found at home. Their different ways of seeing things allow them to see in each other a different version of themselves.

Juste Charity

Six years ago, Charity Jimohe left Nigeria for France. After ten months of forced prostitution to pay off a debt of 35,000 euros contracted with the traffickers who had brought her here, she walked through the door of a police station in Nantes to denounce the members of her prostitution ring.

Saved From The Waters

A biographical documentary about Moisés Avendaño, artist, athlete, sportsman, adventurer, and doctor from Veracruz, Mexico. Seen from his golden years, until his imminent encounter with Parkinson's disease, in the present.

Continue Being: Café Tacvba

A rock band traveling many places of the world, and on planes, buses, in hotels and dressing rooms we discover the creative process that brings them together, their friendship, frustrations and the desire of still being a rock band, the most important rock band in Mexico, on the year that they celebrate 20 years of being Café Tacvba.

Cartel Land

In the Mexican state of Michoacán, Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as "El Doctor," shepherds a citizen uprising against the Knights Templar, the violent drug cartel that has wreaked havoc on the region for years. Meanwhile, in Arizona's Altar Valley—a narrow, 52-mile-long desert corridor known as Cocaine Alley—Tim "Nailer" Foley, an American veteran, heads a small paramilitary group called Arizona Border Recon, whose goal is to halt Mexico’s drug wars from seeping across our border.

The Right Girls

In this documentary about friendship and perseverance, three young transgender women from El Salvador and Honduras go on a 2,400-mile journey with the high-profile migrant caravan. These women, strangers at the outset and fleeing extortion, discrimination, and abusive relationships, endure hardship as they slowly make their way to the US, teaming up with other trans girls along the route and integrating with the caravan’s LGBTQ community.

Speaking of Buñuel

Surrealist master Luis Buñuel is a towering figure in the world of cinema history, directing such groundbreaking works as Un Chien Andalou, Exterminating Angels, and That Obscure Object of Desire, yet his personal life was clouded in myth and paradox. Though sexually diffident, he frequently worked in the erotic drama genre; though personally quite conservative, his films are florid, flamboyant, and utterly bizarre.