A Long Way Around (2019)

Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue

A Japanese-American director digs deep into the controversial 'comfort women' issue to settle the debate on whether the women were paid prostitutes or sex slaves, and reveals the motivations and intentions of the main actors pushing to revise history in Japan.

My Own Breathing

"My Own Breathing" is the final documentary of the trilogy, The Murmuring about comfort women during the World War II directed by BYUN Young-joo. This is the completion of her seven years work. BYUN's first and second documentaries spoke of grandmothers' everyday life through the origin of their torment, while My Own Breathing goes back to their past from their everyday life. Deleting any device of narration or music, the camera lets grandmothers talk about themselves. Finally, the film revives their deep voices trampled by harsh history.

My name is KIM Bok-dong

In 1992, KIM Bok-dong, reported herself as a victim of the sexual slavery, "comfort women" during World War Ⅱ. She wanted to receive the proper apology from the Japan government but they denied its responsibility. In 2011, commemorating the 1000th Wednesday demonstration, Statue of Peace was installed in front of the Embassy of Japan. The fight over Japan confronts a new stage.

Twenty Two

Follow the lives of the elderly survivors who were forced into sex slavery as “Comfort Women” by the Japanese during World War II. At the time of filming, only 22 of these women were still alive to tell their story. Through their own personal histories and perspectives, they tell a tale that should never be forgotten to generations unaware of the brutalization that occurred.

The Murmuring

Every Wednesday at noon, women who were kidnapped for sexual purpose by the Japanese army during its imperialism and their supporters demonstrate against Japanese government to request official apology and indemnity for their crimes. This documentary portrays sexually abused old women's suppressed story of overcoming of their shame and forced silence.

Habitual Sadness

The story of the women at the "House of Sharing" continues. Old women who share a common bond lead a peaceful life in the countryside, raising vegetables, chickens and painting pictures. They are no different from the elderly women we see every day. But they are all scarred by pain and sorrow from their collective history of being comfort women during World War 2. They became subject to prejudice in their own homeland after their return to Korea. It is painful for them to watch other peoples' children and grandchildren, and they feel rage when the Japanese government tries to cover up the unspeakable crimes they committed against them. The film asks us to remember what these women sacrificed and the shame and misery they faced even as these individuals pass away often forgotten by their own people.

Comfort

KIM Soonak is a survivor of sex slavery by the Japanese military. The war may have ended, but her life was still at a war. She lived in the prostitute quarters to survive, did sex business in the US military camp town, and peddled goods from the US military. She raised two kids on her own as she worked as a maid. We’ll listen to her story in her absence. The film reconstructs the life story of the deceased KIM Soonak with interviews with activists, archive videos, animation, and read-aloud testimony.

The Apology

"The Apology" explores the lives of former "comfort women," the more than 200,000 girls forced into sexual slavery during World War II. Today, they fight for reconciliation and justice as they struggle to make peace with the past.

The Big Picture

Plot unavailable

The Silence

The Silence narrates the struggle of fifteen "comfort women"—former sex slaves by the Imperial Japanese Army during WWII—for recognition and reparation. The "comfort women" issue has previously been treated almost exclusively within the framework of Korean nationalism. The Silence will provide insight into the ways in which nationalism and the emergence of post-war Asian nation-states have hindered the understanding of "comfort women" narratives through Zainichi Korean documentary filmmaker Soo-nam Park's point of view.

Snowy Road

Jong-bun, in her eighties, is one of the last surviving 'Comfort Women' victims forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Army during World War II. Back in 1944, at the end of the Japanese occupation in Korea, Jong-bun was a poor but energetic girl while Young-ae was the smart rich clerk's daughter. One day, Jong-bun gets abducted and finds herself on a train for Manchuria. To her surprise, she also finds Young-ae on the train facing the same fate to become a comfort woman. Jong-bun and Young-ae help each other go through the living hell and as the war comes to an end, they finally escape from the comfort women camp, only to face two different paths of life. Decades later, Jong-bun helps out a teenaged girl who is disoriented in life, reminded of her own painful past.

Breaking the Silence

Francesca, tormented by her past, breaks the silence to talk about surviving the horrors of the comfort stations of Imperial Japan.

I Can Speak

A grumpy old woman befriends a young civil servant and learns English from him. She then reveals to him her shocking past.

Tuning Fork

From the Japanese Occupation a 'comfort woman' returns from China an old woman. At the end of the war she can't return home and spends the next 65 years living as an alien in a foreign country. Even to her own granddaughter she seems to be losing her mind. She only wants to go back to Korea.

Herstory

A true story of a six-year-long legal conflict of 10 comfort women and 13 attorneys against 200 Fukuoka supporters association.

Spirits' Homecoming

After the Japanese kidnap two Korean teenagers and take them to a comfort station to join other girls who are serving as sex slaves, only one of them survives. Decades later, the elderly woman tries to reunite with her friend's spirit.

The Last Comfort Women

This film tells the story of three young women from South Korea, Japan, and China who were ravaged after becoming comfort women in the Japanese army.

Nanook of the North

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

Olympia: Part One – Festival of the Nations

Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. This first half of her two-part film opens with a renowned introduction that compares modern Olympians to classical Greek heroes, then goes on to provide thrilling in-the-moment coverage of some of the games' most celebrated moments, including African-American athlete Jesse Owens winning a then-unprecedented four gold medals.

Olympia: Part Two – Festival of Beauty

Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. Where the two-part epic's first half, Festival of the Nations, focused on the international aspects of the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, part two, The Festival of Beauty, concentrates on individual athletes such as equestrians, gymnasts, and swimmers, climaxing with American Glenn Morris' performance in the decathalon and the games' majestic closing ceremonies.

Growing Pains

For a day we follow a group of children in a kindergarten through their eventful reality. Suddenly the children’s free play is obstructed by a series of tests, which become an encounter with the reality that soon awaits them.

Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano

On August 4th, 2020, the catastrophic explosion at the port of Beirut leaves a large part of the Lebanese capital in ruins. In the midst of the chaos, a troubled film crew face an overwhelming decision: to continue the production of their movie or abandon it? As they face the aftermath of the catastrophe, they are torn between their firm belief in the transformative power of cinema and a deep sense of cynicism about its ability to effect change in a nation plagued by economic turmoil and societal collapse. Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano chronicles their struggles and highlights the crew's resilience as they strive to find meaning and purpose in their work amidst the devastation.

Black Country, New Road - “Live at Bush Hall”

At the peak of their success, the lead singer of ‘Black Country, New Road’, Isaac Wood, left the band. This concert film documents the group’s triumphant return at three consecutive shows in Bush Hall, performing new music centered around recovering from loss and their continuing friendship.

Long Way to the Top

Long Way to the Top is a story about the trials and tribulations of working musicians and life on the road. From unexpected tour line-ups to the undying love of their fans. Featuring interviews with Grizfolk, Weezer, Def Leppard and more.

Amal

A sublime documentary on childhood and bereavement that’s one of several shorts the filmmaker completed while working in Algeria for Georges Derocles’s company Les Studios Africa, for whom he would shortly make his breakthrough feature The Olive Trees of Justice.

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Forgotten Scares: An In-depth Look at Flemish Horror Cinema

The feature-length documentary "Forgotten Scares" goes back to the birth of Flemish horror in the '70s and shines a bright light on the future of horror in Belgium. The viewer gets a chance to discover long forgotten - and even unfinished - genre gems and learn in-depth info about underrated 'splatter and gore'-fests, post-apocalyptic movies, slasher-films, nazisploitation, women-in-prison and other fantastical Flemish genre benders through the eyes of the directors, producers, composers, principal actors and genre experts. "Forgotten Scares" is illustrated by rare behind the scene footage, classic film scenes, production stills, promotional art and even never before seen videos out of the vaults of the filmmakers.

The Past Is a Grotesque Animal

A personal, accessible look at an artist - Kevin Barnes, frontman of the endlessly versatile indie pop band of Montreal - whose pursuit to make transcendent music at all costs drives him to value art over human relationships. As he struggles with all of those around him, family and bandmates alike, he's forced to reconsider the future of the band, begging the question - is this really worth it?

Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century

Acknowledged as one of the greatest singers of the twentieth century, Arena explores the rise of the legendary crooner Frank Sinatra from his early family background to overwhelming show business success. Interviews with friends, family and associates reveal a star-studded career in music and film alongside a fascinating private life of four marriages, liaison with the Kennedy family, Las Vegas business interests and an alleged association with the Mafia

Journey into Amazing Caves

Journey into Amazing Caves is an extraordinary IMAX adventure into the depths of the earth to uncover the secrets to life underground.

Endgame: Blueprint for Global Enslavement

For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology.

This Hits Home

This Hits Home is a feature length documentary that reveals the invisible and silent epidemic of permanent traumatic brain injury in women devastated by domestic violence. The intimate and compelling stories of courageous women, insights from lawmakers and domestic violence authorities, and the shocking revelations from world renowned experts combine to paint a chilling portrait of brain injury that forever changes the lives of one in every four women and their children.

Naturalesa morta: la història de Sexy Sadie

The surprising story of Sexy Sadie, a successful English-language Spanish pop-rock band formed in Mallorca in 1992 and disbanded in 2006.

Sugarcane

An investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school in Canada ignites a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve.

Chopin-Pletnev: Cello

This short film is made for the "Chopin-Pletnev" disc which marked Mikhail Pletnev's debut as a pianist on Deutsche Grammophon. In the film, we witness Mr. Pletnev's journey, starting from him on his way to studio, through his performance of Chopin's Etude Op. 25 No. 7 in C sharp minor "The Cello" and the process afterwards. One is struck repeatedly by Pletnev's crystalline arpeggiations, the velocity of his passage work, his singing tone, his rhythmic suppleness, and, above all, the grandeur of his sound.

Rock Bottom Riser

From the earliest voyagers who navigated by starlight to the discovery of habitable planets by astronomers, Rock Bottom Riser examines the all-encompassing encounters of an island world at sea. As lava continues to flow from the earth’s core on the island of Hawaii—posing an imminent danger—a crisis mounts. Astronomers plan to build the world’s largest telescope on Hawaii’s most sacred and revered mountain, Mauna Kea. Based on ancient Polynesian navigation, the arrival of Christian missionaries, and the observatory’s ability to capture the origins of the universe, Rock Bottom Riser surveys the influence of settler colonialism, the search for intelligent life, and the discovery of new worlds as we peer into our own planet’s existence.

Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts.

A contemporary portrait of America, observed within the walls of former Pizza Hut buildings across the country. These nostalgic spaces hold memories of a bygone era, but through the power of transformation, they provide something new and special for the communities that continue to flow through them. From an LGBTQ+ church in Florida, to a karaoke bar in Texas, to a cannabis dispensary in rural Colorado, these modern-day portraits are paralleled with the origin story of Pizza Hut - one of America's most iconic brands, and the two brothers who founded the company in Wichita, Kansas in 1958.

From Dreams – Making “The Last of Us: Left Behind”

Go behind-the-scenes to explore the themes of love and loss and how The Last of Us: Left Behind single player story chapter was created.

Making 'The Shining'

Directed and edited by Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick, this film offers a look behind the scenes during the making of The Shining.

Control Room

A chronicle which provides a rare window into the international perception of the Iraq War, courtesy of Al Jazeera, the Arab world's most popular news outlet. Roundly criticized by Cabinet members and Pentagon officials for reporting with a pro-Iraqi bias, and strongly condemned for frequently airing civilian causalities as well as footage of American POWs, the station has revealed (and continues to show the world) everything about the Iraq War that the Bush administration did not want it to see.

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten

As the front man of the Clash from 1977 onwards, Joe Strummer changed people's lives forever. Four years after his death, his influence reaches out around the world, more strongly now than ever before. In "The Future Is Unwritten", from British film director Julien Temple, Joe Strummer is revealed not just as a legend or musician, but as a true communicator of our times. Drawing on both a shared punk history and the close personal friendship which developed over the last years of Joe's life, Julien Temple's film is a celebration of Joe Strummer - before, during and after the Clash.

Sam & Mattie Make a Zombie Movie

Documentary about the making of ’Spring Break Zombie Massacre.’

Barely Legal

Stephen Dorff and director Casey Tebo take us on a journey into the vast and confusing world of legal cannabis and hemp in the United States where things are not exactly what they seem. A plant, a medicine, a drug? Illegal for decades for many confusing reasons, the most glaring being systematic racism, we're still stuck in that rut today in many states. It's almost as if everyone has a different take, which is why even in these forward thinking times, Cannabis and Hemp still remain - BARELY LEGAL.

Paris 2024 Olympic Closing Ceremony

Like an indelible memory, this Olympic closing ceremony will be marked by audacity, fraternity and emotion. In the heart of the Stade de France, athletes from all over the world will represent their countries one last time in an incredible moment of celebration and sharing. With their eyes riveted to the flame, the emotion will be immense as we close the great Olympic book of Paris 2024.

Memoria

A mother tries to leave her memory of being a victim during the war in Timor Leste. A daughter tries to secure herself under a marriage. They are trying to find the real meaning of freedom. Maria is one of the female victims of sexual violence in Timor Leste in their dark years of independence. She sees that such possibility can happen as well to Flora just because of a bride price.

Video Games: The Movie

From executive producer Zach Braff and director Jeremy Snead, "Video Games: The Movie" is an epic feature length documentary chronicling the meteoric rise of video games from nerd niche to multi-billion dollar industry. Narrated by Sean Astin and featuring in-depth interviews with the godfathers who started it all, the icons of game design, and the geek gurus who are leading us into the future, "Video Games: The Movie" is a celebration of gaming from Atari to Xbox and an eye-opening look at what lies ahead.

Family Fundamentals

With a rare gift for unflinching impartiality, director Arthur Dong delves into the lives and attitudes of fundamentalist families who actively oppose homosexuality, despite having gay offspring themselves.

Adrian Street: Imagine What I Could Do to You

British legend Adrian Street reflects on his life and career in and out of the ring.

The Balloonist

Meet Brian Boland—the beloved, eccentric hot air balloonist and artist from the rural Upper Valley of Vermont.

Monster Hammerheads: Killer Instinct

Tristan Guttridge wants to prove that hammerheads are eating other sharks.

The Frison-Roche Track

Roger Frison-Roche born in Paris in 1906 and moved to Chamonix at the age of 17. He was quickly adopted by local mountaineers and became the first guide in the Company not to have been born in the valley. He is also an insatiable explorer, in love with landscapes and peoples, having traveled from the Hoggar to the Sami camps in Lapland. And the author, among others, of the famous adventure novel Premier de Cordée! This documentary, made up of archive images and interviews, exposes the prolific life of a man who communicated his passion for the mountains by all possible means. A young journalist from Chamonix follows in the footsteps of Roger Frison-Roche. She meets people who knew him and others who followed in his footsteps: guides, filmmaker and author Philippe Claudel, a director, his family; on a trip to Lapland, Algeria, Chamonix.