Pisnicht: The Movie (2019)

Faut qu'on parle

Three women, three men, all very high level athletes, Olympic medalists, world champions in basketball, judo, rugby, fencing, swimming and figure skating have agreed to testify in a documentary. For the first time, they publicly reveal their homosexuality.

Almodóvar, todo sobre ellas

When looking at Pedro Almodóvar’s filmography, it becomes evident that women are everywhere; in fact, his work revolves around them. His divas are the best to create a real portrait of Almodóvar and evoke the emotional power of his films. These women are the ideal observers of a cinematic career that, from La Mancha to Hollywood, has changed the image of Spain in the world.

Zembla - The Dubious Friends of Donald Trump Part 1: The Russians

For months, the FBI have been investigating Russian interference in the American presidential elections. ZEMBLA is investigating another explosive dossier concerning Trump’s involvement with the Russians: Trump’s business and personal ties to oligarchs from the former Soviet Union. Powerful billionaires suspected of money laundering and fraud, and of having contacts in Moscow and with the mafia. What do these relationships say about Trump and why does he deny them? How compromising are these dubious business relationships for the 45th president of the United States? And are there connections with the Netherlands? ZEMBLA meets with one of Trump’s controversial cronies and speaks with a former CIA agent, fraud investigators, attorneys, and an American senator among others.

Edward II of England: The Unhappy King

His opponents accused him of being homosexual. The male favorites he gathered around him during his short life gave those malevolent enemies solid arguments to do so. He would not have failed if he had proved himself to be an energetic king. But Edward II of England (1284-1327) never was a king like Edward I Longshanks, his father, or Edward III, his son, were. And his end is shrouded in myth and mystery.

Tinkebell - Who Killed the Blue Bird?

Artist Katinka Simonse, alias Tinkebell, is a controversial, very mediagenic phenomenon. In her universe there is no distinction between life, art and activism; Tinkebell is her own work of art. Everything she encounters on her life path can become part of her story. Filmmaker Judith de Leeuw was given access to all images about Tinkebell, including her entire private archive. She thus constructed an archive film about how as a human being, living on the ruins of the past, you can be a character in your own story. What is the price you can afford if you continue to believe at any cost?

Spiegelbeeld

Tilburg artist Tommy van der Loo searches for the influence of superiority thinking, racism and colour in his life. Van der Loo is an emerging artist and his work has been purchased by Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. He also had an exhibition at the Kunsthal. He also made the memorial for the abolition of slavery in Eindhoven. He has had multiple experiences with discrimination and incorporates that into his sculptures. Identity and image formation are important to him: How do you look at others, how do others look at you. The search is the inspiration for his new sculpture.

Los Exóticos

The documentary portrays the life and history of Mexican wrestlers who for various reasons have decided to participate in this contact sport characterizing exotic characters. The exotic refers to the strange, the mysterious, the weird, the unusual. Particularly in wrestling exotic style refers to refined athletes in their clothing, well groomed, with a very special walk, occasionally thin effeminate. Not rude, not technical, but not rare height or size, these mannered gladiators have represented a third option within the Mexican rings, some shamelessly displaying their sexual preference and thereby defying the homophobic, or secretly homophily, mood of the wrestling fans.

Do I Sound Gay?

What makes a voice “gay”? A breakup with his boyfriend sets journalist David Thorpe on a quest to unravel a linguistic mystery.

Sex, Drugs & Bicycles

The documentary that answers the question: is having month-long double paid vacations, no fear of homelessness, and universal health care the nightmare we've been warned about? The answer may surprise you.

Fernando

Fernando is an actor and theater teacher who, at the age of 74, is impelled to be the protagonist of himself in an experience that blurs the boundaries between the documentary and the fictional. Faced with a delicate problem in his heart, he follows a life full of love for art, where education emerges as a powerful transforming element of reality.

Punks

The parents are at their wits’ end, so a temporary supervision order is the last hope for a group of teenagers in Punks. Now, on a remote farm in France, they’re going to have to get their lives back on track, with the help of a counselor. If they want any chance of a happy life, they need to engage in some frank and painful conversations. Mitchel has to find a way to get along with his father, but maybe too much has already happened since his mother died. Jahlano is already at the next stage: he’s no longer allowed to live with his mother, and needs to get over the disappointment. Mike, meanwhile, is struggling with his image as a boy who’s “got a screw loose.” Filmed in constant close-up by director Maasja Ooms, the teenagers try to tame their demons with music and therapy, but problems from the past keep resurfacing. In this intimate and sincere portrait, these troubled kids show us their most vulnerable sides.

Tarnation

Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more -- culled from 19 years of his life.

Before Stonewall

New York City's Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips and personal recollections to construct an audiovisual history of the gay community before the Stonewall riots.

Paris Is Burning

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

Homosexuals

With a focus on the everyday life of a gay couple, and featuring interviews with a number of gay people, the film gives an account of the difficulties faced by this minority.

Strijdmakker

VPRO icon Wim Brands died on April 4, 2016. He was known to the general public as a presenter of the VPRO Boeken program and also closer, with six collections of poetry to his name. This documentary about his life and work, built entirely from archive material, pays tribute to this television personality. A portrait in which attention is also paid to his complicated relationship with death. With a.o. Karl Ove Knausgård, David Sedaris, Ellen Deckwitz and Pieter Boskma. Brands' work merges with his rich inner life and that he chose death at the age of 56 casts a shadow over everything.

Paragraph 175

During the Nazi regime, there was widespread persecution of homosexual men, which started in 1871 with the Paragraph 175 of the German Penal Code. Thousands were murdered in concentration camps. This powerful and disturbing documentary, narrated by Rupert Everett, presents for the first time the largely untold testimonies of some of those who survived.

My Husband's Not Gay

In Salt Lake City, Utah, seven Mormons live their lives a little differently. The men (Jeff, Pret & Curtis) are attracted to their wives (Tanya, Megan & Tera), but they are also attracted to other men. They refer to it as Same Sex Attraction...not gay, SSA.

Chained Girls

This exploitation classic purports to expose the secrets of the 1960s lesbian underworld.

Mother's heart

“Job is 2 meters tall and has been my baby for 58 years. I will continue to care for him as long as I can,” says 91-year-old Tineke about her severely disabled adult son. But how long can she keep that up and who needs who: Job Tineke or Tineke Job? A documentary about the limits of motherhood.

Les Invisibles

Several elderly homosexual men and women speak frankly about their pioneering lives, their fearless decision to live openly in France at a time when society rejected them.

Daddy and the Muscle Academy

Tom of Finland is one of the gay world's few authentic icons. His drawings have had an enormous influence on gay identity. Tom's ultimate leather men are known and seen everywhere. They are symbols of gay pride and friendship. The documentary includes some titillating 'enactments' inspired by Tom's art work.

Queen: Days of Our Lives

In 1971, four college students got together to form a rock band. Since then, that certain band called Queen have released 26 albums and sold over 300 million records worldwide. The popularity of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon is stronger than ever 40 years on. But it was no bed of roses. No pleasure cruise. Queen had their share of kicks in the face, but they came through and this is how they did it, set against the backdrop of brilliant music and stunning live performances from every corner of the globe. In this film, for the first time, it is the band that tells their story. Featuring brand new interviews with the band and unseen archive footage (including their recently unearthed, first ever TV performance), it is a compelling story told with intelligence, wit, plenty of humor and painful honesty.

Duutsers

How was the Second World War experienced in Rouveen, Overijssel? This Orthodox Christian village near Staphorst was self-sufficient during the war. And largely isolated from the outside world. The last eyewitnesses of the war, the children of that time, are now all very old. In the Duutsers, residents of the Overijssel village of Rouveen talk movingly openly about their war memories to fellow villager and filmmaker Geertjan Lassche. Their stories are interspersed with historical video fragments and photos from the past. This is how an honest child's view of growing up in a rural village unfolds. How did the war come to the village? Who is that stranger in the village in front of them, that German? And in what those of other strangers? When does unrest arise, and unrest in fear of hatred? What about the Jewish labor camps in the village and how did they view the Canadian liberators?

Village without school

Griendtsveen, a picturesque village in the Peel on the border between Limburg and Brabant, is in danger of losing its primary school De Driehoek. The school, which has been the beating heart of the village for years, is about to close its doors. Documentary maker Ellis Smulders follows the teachers and parents who are determined to keep their school, if necessary by forming the school board themselves. Will they succeed in preserving the core of the close-knit village community, and thus the soul of the village?

Eindeloos Gepest - Het Verhaal van Nora, Tren en Anne-Ruth

Three young people look back on their plague past and the dark valley in which they ended up. They dare to talk openly about how they found the resilience to turn their lives around.

The Right to Love: An American Family

Chronicling one story of courage born out of the highly mediatized and controversial Prop 8 2008 election results in California. A Californian married gay couple and their two adopted children fight back against discrimination, ignorance and hate through home videos posted on their YouTube channel, Gay Family Values. As they pursue their American Dream, the opposing political, social and religious opinions that pervade society attempt to strip it from them.

Het Muziekmedicijn

The threat of dementia is affecting more and more people. As they slowly lose their memories and physical abilities, music proves to be a miraculous source of comfort, vitality, and hope. How is it, for example, that people with dementia often remember music longer than their own names?

Britain's Greatest Codebreaker

Alan Turing is the genius British mathematician who was instrumental in breaking the German naval Enigma Code during World War II, arguably saving millions of lives. Turing's achievements went unrecognised during his lifetime. Instead he ended up being treated as a common criminal, for being homosexual at a time when homosexual acts were a crime. In 1952, he was convicted of 'gross indecency' with another man and was forced to undergo so-called 'organo-therapy' - chemical castration. Two years later, he killed himself with cyanide, aged just 41. Alan Turing was driven to a terrible despair and early death by the nation he'd done so much to save.

De Chinese keizerin

Despite the warm images in the family archive, photographer and filmmaker Jonnah misses an intimate bond with her (adoptive) parents. Over the years, a wall has been built between them that Jonnah is now trying to break down with her parents.

Enkeltje Vrijheid

Before the eyes of the Sudanese Ahmed (25), the war broke out in full force. He decides to flee on foot to the Netherlands alone, to be able to live there in freedom. This documentary shows part of his arduous journey: from the Italian Alps to Ter Apel.

Stolen Kisses: Homosexual Love in Fascist Italy

Through letters, diaries and personal testimonies, an account of the complexity and variety of experiences of LGBT Italians during the Fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini (1922-43); intimate words that contrast with the lyrics of popular songs and the propaganda of the time, obsessed with extolling the myths of virility, femininity and motherhood and constrained by sexual repression.

Goeie mensen

Sjaak and Clara founded the very first food bank in the Netherlands in 2002. Since handing over their responsibilities at the food bank, they have continued their mission unabated. They still run a soup kitchen and the Social Café Onder de Oranjeboom (Under the Orange Tree), where vulnerable members of society can find a hot meal, support, and a good conversation. For many years, this dedicated couple has been committed to helping people in Rotterdam living in poverty.

André Téchiné: A Passion for Cinema

A walk through the career of French filmmaker André Téchiné, from his own point of view and that of those who worked with him: Catherine Deneuve, Daniel Auteuil, Emmanuelle Béart, Juliette Binoche and Sandrine Kiberlain, among others.

Cornelis - Dokumentären

A portrait of Swedish troubadour Cornelis Vreeswijk.

War Baby

Meet Duewand Collier Jr.-Male, 68 years old, American Citizen, a child conceived in the backdrop of the Philippines-American Mutual Defense Treaty, born and raised with Catholic guilt. He has made peace with his past and now tells his story-a story of love.

Mexican Men

Who’s up for a sensual, seductive trip with some of the hottest Latin men that have ever graced the Silver Screen? ‘Mexican Men’ collects five of the most accomplished gay shorts from one of the homes of groundbreaking queer cinema. From short encounters, emerging love stories and deeply touching connections, these short films are sure to stir the heart... and body. Includes: Atmosphere [Atmósfera] (2010); To Live [Vivir] (2003); Tremulous [Trémulo] (2015); Wandering Clouds [Nubes flotantes] (2014); Young Man on the Bar Masturbating with Rage and Nerve [Muchacho en la barra se masturba con rabia y osadía] (2015).

Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema

An exploration of Chinese cinema and its relationships with gender and sexuality, which the film argues has been more frankly and provocatively explored than in any other national cinema. Utilizing both film excerpts and interviews with many leading directors and academics, the film examines topics such as male bonding in kung fu movies, depictions of same-sex bonding and physical intimacy, the emphasis on women's grievances in melodramas, and the career of Yam Kim-Fai, a Hong Kong actress who spent her life portraying men on and off the screen.

World War C

It's war. War against an invisible enemy that is not as deadly as we are told. The world is changing rapidly. Disproportionate measures are taken worldwide that disrupt society as a whole. A dichotomy in society forced vaccinations and restrictions on freedom. Have we had the worst? Or is there something more disturbing to awaiting us.

Prince Consorts: In the Shadow of the Crown

No profession, no say, no freedom of expression. Life as a prince consort is not exactly pleasure taxing. No constitution ascribes any function to the husband of a queen. Nowhere does it say what he must or must not do. A life in the shadow of the crown. Can that go well?

Invisible

From schools and offices to hospitals and streets, cleaners are working everywhere, tirelessly and modestly. They work hard and keep society running. Invisible confronts viewers with their own involvement and reveals the price paid for the appearances we cherish.

Mirror of Holland

In this short film Bert Haanstra gives his vision - from the water – of a tranquil Holland. During filming he held the camera upside down and afterwards put the images ‘up right’ again in the film. By doing this, we see the ‘usual’ waterfront, but transformed by the rippling of the water. In this way Mirror of Holland became a modern looking experimental film. However this did not devalue the Dutch sentiment regarding waterfronts that are so trusted to so many.

Have We Met Before?

Short docudrama exploring the history of sex in the homosexual community from the 1970s to the present day, and how the internet has changed the way gay men meet forever.

Dream Boat

A cruise ship and 3,000 men – it is a universe without heteros and women that usually remains a mystery to the outside world. Once a year the Dream Boat sets sail for a cruise exclusively for gay men where most passengers are united by the wish to live life authentically as themselves in a protected place.

Elton John: A Singular Man

An in-depth portrait of British composer, pianist and singer Elton John, pop star and myth of modern culture.

For the Bible Tells Me So

An exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S. and how the religious right has used its interpretation of the Bible to stigmatize the gay community.

Tom Daley: Illegal to Be Me

Tom Daley visits the most homophobic countries in the Commonwealth to explore how gay athletes are facing extreme persecution. What can the Commonwealth Games do to help?

Rietveld Houses: A piece of furniture to live in

In 2024, the iconic Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Gerrit Rietveld designed and built the house in close collaboration with his secret lover and creative partner Truus Schröder. Rietveld himself did not build his houses for eternity; he thought a life cycle of 50 years was sufficient. But the current owners of houses designed by Rietveld think differently about this. They pull out all the stops to renovate and preserve their Rietveld houses.

Swingtij (Blue Notes & Higher Grounds)

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Legal weed 2

Frans Bromet follows several cannabis growers who have been selected by lottery as the first suppliers of legal cannabis. Sequel to the 2021 documentary 'Legal Weed'. Ten growers have been selected by draw as the first legal cannabis growers for an experiment that would last four years. These are large companies where a lot of money is spent to enable large-scale production of cannabis. But the actual experiment still hasn't been fully rolled out. Only in a few cities is legal cannabis available in coffee shops. The biggest problems that growers and sellers face are supply stocks and the complexity of the track and trace system. Every movement of the weed must be registered. And that is almost impossible with a failing computer system. The future of the experiment remains highly unpredictable four years after its announcement.

Endless bullying - Daan's story

This moving documentary tells the story of Daan, a cheerful and talented boy who left life at the age of sixteen after a school career in which he was systematically excluded. Former classmates organize a reunion to investigate how things got to this point. They discover that many other students also felt unsafe in the classroom. Meanwhile, Daan's sister Julia, who, like Daan, loves theater, is working on her self-confidence. And Daan's group of friends, where he could finally be himself, looks back on the time they spent with him.

King of Comics

You may not recognize the name Ralf König, but you probably recognize his art. One of the most commercially successful German comic book creators, he is best known for books like “SchwulComix (GayComix)” that offer a twisted take on queer culture. Equal parts Tom of Finland and R. Crumb, König’s comics are sexually charged and often politically incorrect, portraying daily routines of gay life alongside serious subjects like AIDS. King of Comics is a touching portrait of a cutting-edge artist with a wicked sense of humor. All hail the king! —Jimmy Radosta