Burning Memories (2021)

7:11 Cuarzo

Suffering child abuse marks you, conditions you and limits you. But what's next? 7:11 Cuarzo is a documentary short film that delves into the consequences and shows us various ways of experiencing grief after suffering it: the aftermath, the path after breaking the silence and destroying the stigma. It talks about the treatment and care of wounds with testimonials from those who have suffered abuse and aggression. Learning to live again when the most precious thing, innocence, is taken from you.

Great Photo, Lovely Life

A photojournalist turns her lens on the decades of sexual abuse her family and community experienced at the hands of her grandfather in this unflinching portrait of intergenerational trauma, family secrets, and redemption.

Nothing Compares

Since the beginning of her career, Sinéad O’Connor has used her powerful voice to challenge the narratives she was surrounded by while growing up in predominantly Roman Catholic Ireland. Despite her agency, depth and perspective, O’Connor’s unflinching refusal to conform means that she has often been patronized and unfairly dismissed as an attention-seeking pop star.

Life Overtakes Me

Hundreds of refugee children in Sweden, who have fled with their families from extreme trauma, have become afflicted with 'uppgivenhetssyndrom,' or Resignation Syndrome. Facing deportation, they withdraw from the world into a coma-like state, as if frozen, for months, or even years.

Total Trust

By exploring the relationship between the watched and the watching, our film uncovers the trauma and hope engendered by the Chinese all-surveilling state and lends a voice to those that stand in resilient defiance of such blatant abuse of power.

I Was Only 14

Filmmaker Froukje van Wengerden’s 86-year-old grandmother shares a powerful memory from 1944, when she was just 14. As her story unfolds, we see a group of contemporary 14-year-old girls. Their procession of portraits permits the spectator to see simultaneously forward and back, into the future and towards the past. A miraculous testimonial that uses eye contact to focus the viewer inward and evoke unexpected emotions.

To a Safer Place

Sexually abused by her father from infancy to early adolescence, Shirley Turcotte is now in her thirties and has succeeded in building a rich and full life. To further reconcile her past and present, she is returning to the people and places of her childhood. Her mother, brothers and sister, all of whom were also caught up in the cycle of family violence, openly share their thoughts. Their frank disclosures will encourage survivors of incest to break through the silence and betrayal to recover and develop a sense of self-worth and dignity.

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

British documentarian Nick Broomfield creates a follow-up piece to his 1992 documentary of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was convicted of killing six men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Interviewing an increasingly mentally unstable Wuornos, Broomfield captures the distorted mind of a murderer whom the state of Florida deems of sound mind -- and therefore fit to execute. Throughout the film, Broomfield includes footage of his testimony at Wuornos' trial.

Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth

Taking an investigative look into the legal battles of the global superstar. Close friends, former staff and researchers paint an intimate portrait of Jackson's complicated world and put allegations of sexual abuse under the microscope. The film defends American singer Michael Jackson against allegations of child sexual abuse made in the documentary Leaving Neverland.

Relative

A filmmaker unearths a pervasive history of multigenerational trauma in her Italian-American family. As decades of secrets, home movies, and long-avoided conversations surface, a family once bound by tradition forges a new path forward.

Don Stanislao

Marcin Gutowski, the reporter of “Black and White” TVN24 showed in his report the unknown face of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz. He appears in it as a powerful hierarch, a gray eminence who can take care of the interests of the Church – understood in a specific way. Also when it comes to cases involving victims of pedophilia.

Rewind

Digging through the vast collection of his father's home videos, a young man reconstructs the unthinkable story of his boyhood and exposes vile abuse passed through generations.

Dosed

The documentary follows one woman's quest to overcome anxiety, depression, and opioid addiction through the use of psychedelic medicines.

The Sound of Identity

In the spotlight of global media coverage, the first transgender woman ever to perform as Don Giovanni in a professional opera, makes her historic debut in one of the reddest states in the U.S.

Preschool to Prison

Preschool to Prison is a compelling examination of how the United States public school system is built and operated like prisons. Zero-tolerance policies are used to justify suspension and arrests that set up a pathway to send children of color and children with special needs from school to prison. Children are being suspended, restrained, dragged, physically manhandled, and subsequently arrested for minor offenses such as throwing candy on a school bus. These personal accounts from people affected by the school-to-prison pipeline give riveting tales about the generational impact on society.

Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes On a Scandal

With all the ingredients of a Hollywood movie, this sex scandal shocked, enthralled, and enraged 1990s America. An examination of the affair between Mary Kay Letourneau and her 12-year-old student, Vili Fualaau in 1997.

This Is Paris

Meet the real Paris Hilton for the very first time as she embarks on a journey of healing and reflection, reclaiming her true identity along the way.

Groomed

Gwen van de Pas returns to her hometown in search of answers about the man who sexually abused her as a child.

Scouts Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America

Survivors, whistleblowers and experts recount the Boy Scouts of America's decadeslong cover-up of sexual abuse cases and its heartbreaking impact.

The Darkness within La Luz del Mundo

For the first time, complainants against La Luz del Mundo megachurch leaders expose the abuses they suffered through exclusive interviews.

I'll be your mirror

The artist Johanna Faust is about to leave her children to finally devote herself to her art again. A vague memory comes to her mind: Didn't her grandmother do the same thing, with terrible consequences? The intimate road movie tells of lost mothers and abandoned children, of the temptations and the price of self-fulfilment, of the abysses of motherhood and of the deep longing for another life.

All inclusive love

What started for fifteen-year-old Manon as a secret holiday romance at an all-inclusive resort, slowly turned into a memory that she looks back on with less pleasure. She fell in love with Hugo, the big star of the animation team. He wrapped her up with beautiful words, that she was special to him. Although Hugo was much older than Manon, he still had sex with her. At first it felt good, but slowly it turned into a memory that she would rather not think about anymore. What happened during that holiday and how could it have happened? She goes looking for answers and comes face to face with Hugo.

Les Enfants de la Bonne Mère : Rue d'Aubagne

Plot unavailable

Broken Places

An exploration into why some children are severely damaged by early adversity while others are able to thrive. By revisiting childhood trauma victims profiled decades ago, we learn how their experiences shaped their lives as adults.

Procession

Six men who were sexually abused by Catholic clergy as boys find empowerment by creating short films inspired by their trauma.

Um Crime Entre Nós

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First Things and Last Things

Upon suddenly learning of her imminent death, Jacqueline von Kaenel begins to search for the key to her life. Unsparingly, she looks back and discovers how everything is connected; her youth in Franco’s Spain with her mother’s feudal past in eastern Prussia, her desire for music with the one for a dominant and powerful husband. In her ambition to be a perfect mother, she recognizes her fight for identity. But all of a sudden experiences from her childhood in a seemingly happy family crop up turning everything upside down.

Model Childhood

An autobiographical, partly animated, documentary about a filmmaker striving for a better future as a survivor of childhood sexual assault.

Silent Hill

Rose, a desperate mother takes her adopted daughter, Sharon, to the town of Silent Hill in an attempt to cure her of her ailment. After a violent car crash, Sharon disappears and Rose begins a desperate search to get her back. She descends into the center of the twisted reality of a town's terrible secret. Pursued by grotesquely deformed creatures and townspeople stuck in permanent purgatory, Rose begins to uncover the truth behind the apocalyptic disaster that burned the town 30 years earlier.

Eagle vs Shark

Love blossoms for Lily over double Meaty Boy burgers at mid-day when uber-computer nerd Jarrod comes in and leaves with free extra large fries. After gatecrashing Jarrod's party and proving her skills on the game console, Lily goes down to Jarrod's home town with him so he can settle an old score with a past school bully.

The Conformist

A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.

Eternally

A group of friends is confronted by their worst fears and trauma, as they're taunted by visions of parallel realities and a certain odd-eyed cat.

Bhakshak

A struggling local journalist begins a dogged investigation into harrowing cases of abuse being covered up at a shelter for young girls.

Martian Child

A recently-widowed science fiction writer considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially-rejected boy who says he's really from Mars.

Boogeyman

Every culture has one – the horrible monster fueling young children's nightmares. But for Tim, the Boogeyman still lives in his memories as a creature that devoured his father 16 years ago. Is the Boogeyman real, or did Tim make it up to explain why his father abandoned his family?

The Great Silence

A mute gunslinger fights in the defense of a group of outlaws and a vengeful young widow, against a group of ruthless bounty hunters.

Black Christmas

As the residents of sorority house Pi Kappa Sigma prepare for the festive season, a stranger begins a series of obscene phone calls with dubious intentions...

Unfix

After a brief encounter with another boy at age 11, Ari Wallenmeier is forced to undergo Conversion Therapy. Now 35 years old and “fixed", Ari contemplates marriage with his long-time partner and fiancée Ava. But when the pandemic hits, isolation and stress rekindles old feelings and Ari is determined to face them.

Matilda

Matilda Wormwood is an exquisite and intelligent little girl. Unfortunately, her parents, Harry and Zinnia misunderstand her because they think she is so different. As time passes, she finally starts school and has a kind teacher, loyal friends, and a sadistic headmistress. As she gets fed up with the constant cruelty, she begins to realize that she has a gift of telekinetic powers. After some days of practice, she suddenly turns the tables to stand up to Harry and Zinnia and outwit the headmistress.

May

A socially awkward veterinary assistant with a lazy eye and obsession with perfection descends into depravity after developing a crush on a boy with perfect hands.

Clownhouse

Three teenage brothers are terrorized by a trio of escaped mental patients disguised as clowns.

The Doldrums or How to Cure Sadness

The tiricia is an illness of the soul when the heart is saddened. A story of three generations afflicted with being tiricientas: Ita, Justa and Alicia – grandmother, mother and daughter – who have at different times suffered, tolerated and allowed abuse, dragging on the disease. Alicia decides to break the cycle, eradicating it for future generations.

The Return of the Honey Buzzard

With his familial bookshop on the verge of bankruptcy, Simon finds himself retreating more and more to his cabin in the woods. After witnessing the suicide of a stranger, a childhood trauma involving his bullied best friend resurfaces and he withdraws even further into the past, estranging himself from his wife and his responsibilities. The only glimmer of hope is a young girl who needs help with her book review. But there is more to the girl than there seems to be.

Mysterious Skin

Two teenagers with similar childhood traumas cope differently: one becomes a gay hustler and the other obsessed with aliens.

Blanquita

Blanca, an 18-year-old foster home resident, is the key witness in a scandal involving kids, politicians and rich men taking part in sex parties. Yet, the more questions are asked, the less clear it becomes what Blanca’s role in the scandal exactly is.

Madea's Family Reunion

Southern matriarch Madea has a lot on her plate. Her nieces, Vanessa and Lisa, have relationship troubles - Vanessa moves into Madea's house with her 2 young children and Lisa is engaged to a controlling man that her mother set her up with. In addition, Madea has just been court-ordered to become the guardian of Nikki, a rebellious runaway teenager. Madea must keep the peace and her family together while simultaneously planning her clan's reunion.

In Darkness

A blind musician hears a murder committed in the apartment upstairs from hers that sends her down a dark path into London's gritty criminal underworld.

Throat Song

In a small town in the Canadian Arctic, Ippik, a young Inuit woman, suffers in an abusive relationship. She starts to heal when she connects with other victims of violence and finds her voice.

How to Be Alone

When her husband leaves for a night shift, a woman battles physical manifestations of her repressed fears and desires.

Dudu the Floatie

Papa has long promised his daughter Mika that he will take her to the beach during summer vacation, but as a golf caddy he keeps getting called into work when the weekend rolls around. This time, she even had a new inflatable toy she wanted to bring to share with her father and go swimming in the ocean together: A dugong she names Dudu. Unbeknownst to her, her father is very afraid of the water due to a childhood incident.