Handbag: The Untold Story of the F*g Hag (2021)

Cut: Exposing FGM Worldwide

Taking more than six years to complete, The Cut is a feature-length documentary that conclusively proves that female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM) can be found as a native practice on all inhabitable continents. From war zones in the Middle-East to bucolic Middle America, the film visits 14 countries and features key interviews with FGM survivors, activists, cutters, doctors and researchers to uncover an often secret practice shrouded in centuries of traditions, mysticisms and irrationalities.

Wojnarowicz: Fuck You Faggot Fucker

A collage-like, incisive look at the life of writer, painter and thinker David Wojnarowicz, whose powerful, unapologetic way of seeing the world gave voice to queer rights at a critical time in US history.

Hello! Project DVD Magazine Vol.54

Members play; host and guest-stars in "Hina-TV". Disc 1 (87mins), Disc 2 (74mins).

The Last Stop in Yuma County

While awaiting the next fuel truck at a middle-of-nowhere Arizona rest stop, a traveling young knife salesman is thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation by the arrival of two similarly stranded bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty—or cold, hard steel—to protect their bloodstained, ill-gotten fortune.

When Fall Is Coming

The film tells the story of Michelle, who is enjoying a peaceful retirement in a charming Burgundy village near her longtime friend Marie-Claude. She eagerly anticipates her grandson Lucas spending the school vacation with her, but things don’t go as planned. Feeling lonely, Michelle loses her sense of purpose, until Marie-Claude’s son gets out of prison.

Monster's Battlefield

The soldier king Qin Yang's fiancée Ye Qin met with an unknown beast and died tragically. Gu Ping invites him to participate in Ye Qin's scientific research before her death. But Gu Ping is using Ye Qin's research results to combine the genes of unknown beasts to create the "Zero" dragon creature. The intelligent dragon creature, coupled with the extra-terrestrial beast evolved by devouring, an imminent city war is coming...

Yolo

Le Ying has stayed at home for many years doing nothing. After graduating from college and working for a period of time, Le Ying chose to withdraw from society and not held contact with her social circle. This was the best way she believed to "reconcile" with herself. One day, due to several "tricks" of fate, she decided to change her life.She met boxing coach Hao Kun. Just when she thought her life was about to get on the right track, life tests her again.

The Coffee Table

Jesus and María are a couple going through a difficult time in their relationship. Nevertheless, they have just become parents. To shape their new life, they decide to buy a new coffee table. A decision that will change their existence.

Cash Out

Criminal mastermind Mason is about to execute the score of a lifetime when his lover and key member of his crew, Decker, takes the team down and reveals she’s an undercover Interpol agent. Heartbroken, Mason escapes and retires from the life of crime until his younger brother Shawn is out of his league taking on a big bank heist all on his own. Mason has no choice left but to come to the rescue, while Interpol brings Decker in hoping to unnerve him. Before the SWAT teams storm the bank, Mason must use every tool in his arsenal to not only escape with the prize, but also the love of his life.

Darkness of Man

Russell Hatch, an Interpol operative who takes on the role of father figure to Jayden, the son of an informant killed in a routine raid gone wrong. Years later, Hatch finds himself protecting Jayden and his grandfather from a group of merciless gangs in an all-out turf war, stopping at nothing to protect Jayden and fight anyone getting in his way.

Handling the Undead

On a hot summer day in Oslo, the dead mysteriously awaken, and three families are thrown into chaos when their deceased loved ones come back to them. Who are they, and what do they want?

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

Woman of the Hour

An aspiring actress crosses paths with a prolific serial killer in '70s LA when they're cast on an episode of "The Dating Game."

Amber Alert

An ordinary rideshare becomes a high-stakes game of cat and mouse when Jaq and Shane receive an alert of a child abduction on their phones. Quickly realizing they are behind a car that matches the description of the kidnapper’s, Jaq and Shane desperately race against time to save the child’s life.

Never Let Go

As an evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond.

Fly Me to the Moon

Sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones, brought in to fix NASA's public image, wreaks havoc on Apollo 11 launch director Cole Davis' already difficult task of putting a man on the moon. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as backup, and the countdown truly begins.

Monsieur Aznavour

From his poor childhood to his rise to fame, from his triumphs to his failures, from Paris to New York, discover the exceptional journey of an artist. Intimate, intense, fragile and indestructible, devoted to his art until the very end, here is one of the most immortal singers of all time: MONSIEUR AZNAVOUR.

Alien: Romulus

While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.

Oddity

After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Darcy goes after those responsible by using haunted items as her tools for revenge.

Next Sohee

High school student Sohee starts job training at a call center, but she faces pressure of greedy company. Detective Oh Yu-jin, who has something in common with Sohee starts to follow traces to reveal the truth.

Nefarious

On the day of his scheduled execution, a convicted serial killer gets a psychiatric evaluation during which he claims he is a demon, and further claims that before their time is over, the psychiatrist will commit three murders of his own.

Sector 36

When several children disappear at the hands of a serial killer in Sector 36, a corrupt cop is forced to pursue the chilling case at all costs.

Muzzle

LAPD K-9 officer Jake Rosser has just witnessed the shocking murder of his dedicated partner by a mysterious assailant. As he investigates the shooter’s identity, he uncovers a vast conspiracy that has a choke-hold on the city in this thrilling journey through the tangled streets of Los Angeles and the corrupt bureaucracy of the LAPD.

Boneyard

After Police Chief Carter discovers the remains of eleven women, FBI Special Agent Petrovick is recruited to profile the serial killer responsible for the infamous "boneyard" killings. As the police force, narcotics agency, and FBI lock horns, a tangled web of intrigue turns everyone into a suspect.

Ape vs Mecha Ape

Recognizing the destructive power of its captive giant Ape, the military makes its own battle-ready A.I., Mecha Ape. But its first practical test goes horribly wrong, leaving the military no choice but to release the imprisoned giant ape to stop the colossal robot before it destroys downtown Chicago.

Fallen Leaves

In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles – from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.

Anora

Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

Monkey Man

Kid is an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

Problemista

Alejandro is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador, struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in New York City. As time on his work visa runs out, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast becomes his only hope to stay in the country and realize his dream.

Patriots Time

The brothers Sultan and Bekzat Ibrayev are serving faithfully in the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan, and at the same time they are in family disagreement. Sultan is a valiant intelligence officer and Bekzat is a talented fighter pilot. While an international terrorist organization prepares a carefully planned attack on the country's strategically important facilities, the brothers have to face not only a mortal threat, but also face a family confrontation related to their dead father. Circumstances force them to unite in order to save human lives, and the brothers eventually understand that their homeland and family are the most valuable thing they have.

SS Experiment Love Camp

Near the end of WW2, prisoners of war are used in experiments to perfect the Arian race.

Kill

When an army commando finds out his true love is engaged against her will, he boards a New Dehli-bound train in a daring quest to derail the arranged marriage. But when a gang of knife-wielding thieves begin to terrorize innocent passengers on his train, the commando takes them on himself in a death-defying kill-spree to save those around him — turning what should have been a typical commute into an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride.

The Adventures

Joy, a secretary at a large multinational company, has an online shopping problem, likes to read adventure novels and watch travel and adventure shows. She daydreams about living a life of adventure.

Kundun

The Tibetans refer to the Dalai Lama as 'Kundun', which means 'The Presence'. He was forced to escape from his native home, Tibet, when communist China invaded and enforced an oppressive regime upon the peaceful nation. The Dalai Lama escaped to India in 1959 and has been living in exile in Dharamsala ever since.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

An investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran grapples with mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears. Suspecting the involvement of his wife and their two daughters, he imposes drastic measures at home, causing tensions to rise. Step by step, social norms and the rules of family life are being suspended.

The Convert

Munro, a soldier turned lay preacher, comes to New Zealand to minister to the first British colonists, but he is converted by the powerful chief Maianui to serve a different purpose.

Stopmotion

Ella Blake, a stop-motion animator struggling to control her demons after the loss of her overbearing mother, embarks upon the creation of a film that becomes the battleground for her sanity. As Ella’s mind starts to fracture, the characters in her project take on a life of their own.

Oi! Warning

A young man gets caught up in a conflict between his friends, a skinhead and a gay anarchist.

Peter's Friends

After inheriting a large country estate from his late father, Peter invites his friends from college: married couple Roger and Mary, the lonely Maggie, fashionable Sarah, and writer Andrew, who brings his American TV star wife, Carol. Sarah's new boyfriend, Brian, also attends. It has been 10 years since college, and they find their lives are very different.

Naked in New York

Naked in New York begins in the car of grown up Jake, he is talking to us about his girlfriend, Joanne, and to whom you can turn to for help while facing life. From there it flashes back to his memories of his parents, college, house across from a squirrel infested peanut factory, best friend, writing career and Joanne.

Regular Guys

Christoph, cop and self-confident macho, has trouble with his fiance. After a long night he wakes up in the arms of Edgar, a good-looking, gay auto-mechanic. His live gets more and more troublesome after his girl friend throws him out of their apartment and as last resort he moves to Edgars place. Working together with a new, good-looking, very self-confident, female collegue, but living with a good-looking gay guy makes him pretty uncertain about his sexuality and his role as a cop. Written by Konstantin Articus

The 10 Year Plan

Myles and Brody are best friends with two very different ways of finding love. Displeased with their current love lives, they make a pact to be together if neither finds love in ten year’s time. Now two months shy of their deadline, both friends set off to do whatever it takes to avoid ending up as each other’s last resort.

The Revenge of the Shiny Shrimps

Two years after the death of Jean, Matthias, the coach, decides to take Selime, a young man from the suburbs he believes is gay, to accompany the Shiny Shrimps to the Gay Games in Tokyo, on a trip to pay tribute to their friend who left too early. But after they miss their connection, they find themselves stranded in Russia, in one of the not the most gay-friendly regions in the world. The start of a crazy adventure as incredible as it is perilous.

Another Gay Movie

In the dirtiest, funniest, most scandalous gay-teen-sex-comedy-parody ever, four young gay friends make a pact to lose their virginity by the end of the summer. The boys soon face giant sex toys, naked celebrities, masochistic teachers and an uncontrollable romance with a quiche.

Nico and Dani

While his parents are away for the summer, 16-year-old Dani invites his best friend, the irrepressible Nico, to stay for the holidays. Jealously rears its head when Nico appears more interested in the local girls than in Dani. Hot summer nights and too many joints lead to experimentation which neither boy can talk about, a situation complicated by the appearance of the older and openly gay Julián, a published writer and old friend of Dani’s father.

Boy Culture

A successful gay male escort describes in a series of confessions his tangled romantic relationships with his two roommates and an older, enigmatic male client.

Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild!

Four university students head to Florida for spring break and enroll in a contest to see who can get the most sexual partners.

Must Be the Music

Four gay men on a Friday night out in Los Angeles.

A Home at the End of the World

Three friends form a bond over the year, Johnathan is gay, Clare is straight and Bobby is neither, instead he loves the people he loves. As their lives go on there is tension and tears which culminate in a strong yet fragile friendship between the three.

I Think I Do

The marriage of mutual friends reunites former college roommates Bob and Brendan, who tried to ignore the sexual tension that always flowed between them. Brendan finally comes out to Bob at the reception, but is it a case of too little, too late?

Jeffrey

Jeffrey, a gay man living in New York City with an overwhelming fear of contracting AIDS, concludes that being celibate is the only option to protect himself. As fate would have it, shortly after his declaration of a sex-free existence, he meets the handsome Steve Howard, his dream man -- except for his HIV-positive status. Facing this dilemma, Jeffrey turns to his best friend and an outrageous priest for guidance.

The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy

A close-knit group of gay friends share the emotional roller coster of life, relationships, the death of friends, new beginnings, jealousy, fatherhood and professional success. At various stages of life's disarray, these young men share humorous and tragic relationships and always have each other to rely on.

Whisper

Anna, a 16 year-old girl from the sticks, trades her military education for life in the big city Running away to Prague opens a whole new world where she drinks her first cappuccino and meets the kind of people she has only seen in movies.

Inside Out

A film that shows how "hard" it is to be son of celebrities.

Easy A

Olive, an average high school student, sees her below-the-radar existence turn around overnight once she decides to use the school's gossip grapevine to advance her social standing. Now her classmates are turning against her and the school board is becoming concerned, including her favorite teacher and the distracted guidance counselor. With the support of her hilariously idiosyncratic parents and a little help from a long-time crush, Olive attempts to take on her notorious new identity and crush the rumor mill once and for all.

The Fruit Machine

Eddie and Michael are two 16-year-old gay friends from Liverpool. Berated by his father for his camp behavior, Eddie runs away from his Liverpool home and joins Michael, a streetwise hustler, who is also on the run.

Whirlwind

A hot, young and charming man with ulterior motives enters the lives of a tight-knit group of gay men in New York City and at first adds excitement and intrigue to their group, but events soon spiral out of control as he deliberately attempts to destroy their relationships.

The People I've Slept With

The People I've Slept With - a promiscuous woman who finds herself with an unplanned pregnancy and needs to figure out who the baby daddy is...NOW. Angela Yang loves sex. She loves it so much she needs to make baseball cards of her lovers to help her remember where she's been. She doesn't think twice about her lifestyle until she finds out that she's pregnant. Her gay best friend, Gabriel Lugo tells her to "take care of it," but her conservative sister, Juliet persuades Angela to get married to the baby's father and lead a "normal" life like her. Angela listens to her sister, chooses to keep the baby, and goes on a quest to find the identity of the father by any means necessary.

Bulgarian Lovers

Graying Spaniard Daniel has a healthy budget for indulging in the finer things in life. Daniel's favorite luxury is playing sponsor to younger men amid the lights and sights of Madrid's gay club scene. After Daniel shares a night with handsome Bulgarian emigre Kyril, he finds himself consumed with an insatiable lust for the charismatic foreigner. But, as their relationship takes shape, Daniel's latest conquest reveals his own manipulative tendencies.

Surrender, Dorothy

When her daughter Sara unexpectedly passes away, Natalie retreats to the summer home where she and Sara used to visit. Time with her best friends and some of Sara's friends help her deal with her loss.

The Burning Boy

A closeted teenage gay boy shares a swim and an afternoon together with his straight best friend. When his looks and longing let his secret out, his friend pleasantly surprises him but an accident occurs and tragedy ensues.

Deadma Walking

A Palanca-winning comedy about gay best friends for life John and Mark whose friendship is put to the test when one of them has a terminal illness and asks the other to help him stage his fake death, wake, and funeral as his dying wish. The result is a laughfest of "deadly" proportions.

The Deadbeat Club

The Deadbeat Club tells the uplifting, emotional story of Cynthia Shelly, a tortured high-school misfit, who is faced with overwhelming and extraordinary events that transform her life forever. Cynthia decided to throw a talent show at her school to raise money for a man whose family was killed in a house fire. When the town takes no interest in the show, Cynthia and her group of misfit friends refuse to give up and look past the odds to make a difference for one family. Set in a small West Texas town, this inspirational drama is about friendship, acceptance, courage and what it means to be a member of THE DEADBEAT CLUB.

The Retreat

Renee and Valerie, a couple at a cross roads in their relationship, leave the city to spend the week at a remote cabin with friends. But when they arrive, their friends are nowhere to be found. As they stumble through their relationship woes, they discover they are being hunted by a group of militant extremists who are determined to exterminate them.

Tender Age

Sixteen-year-old Diane exists exclusively through her mother's gaze. But this intensely close bond between Diane and her mother, Sophie, is becoming increasingly problematic for the teenager. At high school, she would like to be loved like she is at home and expresses it in an awkward way like when she exchanges a favor for a look, in the toilets. A loudmouth, provocative, and seeking attention, Diane tries to stand apart from her mother and wishes, during a weekend, to live like an adult.

Nobody's Wife

It is the story of Eleanor, a good housewife who lives with her husband, Fernando, and their two children. Deeply loves her husband and does not question the reciprocity of love and fidelity. One day, circumstantially, discovers her husband is cheating. Leonor emotionally feels betrayed and realizes that his world, based on a lie, has collapsed like a house of cards. With more fear than conviction, leaving the house, leaving little signs with instructions for their march and trust their children to the care of her husband.

4th Man Out

After a night of drinking, Adam Hutcherson stumbles out of the closet to his three straight buddies. A disruption to their dynamic which they now must try and overcome through alcohol, Tinder dates and forgiveness.

Mascarpone

Antonio is a 30 year old family man, whose life finds an unexpected twist when he's suddenly dumped by his husband, whom he depends both psychologically and economically: he needs to find a new place to stay, a job and a new purpose in life. Antonio finds a room in an apartment owned by Denis and starts to work in a bakery owned by Luca, while attending pastry school. Through this process he discovers that it was wrong of him to give up his independence for the sake of his relationship in the past.

Cock & Bull Story

Two friends are torn apart by passion and ambition in the violent world of amateur boxing.

The Shiny Shrimps

Matthias Le Goff, an Olympic champion at the end of his career, makes a homophobic statement on TV. His punishment: coach the Shiny Shrimps, a flamboyant and amateur gay water-polo team. They have only one thing in mind: to qualify for the Gay Games in Croatia where the hottest international LGBT athletes compete. It's the start of a bumpy and joyful ride - Faster, Higher, Stronger.

Mascarpone: The Rainbow Cake

Three years have passed, Antonio and Luca are seeing each other for the first time since Denis's death. Luca, who has hit rock bottom after the death of his friend, was lucky enough to meet Tancredi, his current boyfriend, ...while Antonio has focused on his work, so much so that he is now a well-known chef in a pastry shop. It is clear that there is still a special relationship between the two, but Antonio mistakes Luca's affection for something more and does everything he can to ruin his relationship with Tancredi, even though Cristina does not approve of his behavior. Will Antonio learn to leave the past behind in order to fully experience what the future has to offer him?

Vampire Killer Barbys

While driving on tour late night through a lonely road in the countryside of Spain, the van of the punk band "Killer Barbys" has an accident and breaks down. A creepy old man invites the group to spend the night in the castle of Countess Von Fledermaus and presents himself as her secretary Arkan. Arkan explains that the mechanic is located 62 km far from the location and he tells that the Countess loves youths. Flavia, Rafa and Mario accept the invitation but Billy and Sharon stay shagging in the van. When the musicians meet the Countess, they find that she is the ancient artist Olga Luchan and they question how she could keep so young. But sooner they discover that the Countess needs blood of young people to keep her beauty.

Pooltime

A 40-something gay man has an intimate pool party for his three best middle-aged gay buddies, wondering privately if that special someone might be among them.

Unusual Attachment

When Hunter thinks he's found...and lost...the love of his life on a sketchy video chat site, he scours the net to reunite with his missed connection...only to find something far worse in the process.

Willy the 1st

Willy, a boorish 50 something, finally moves out of his parents’ to start a new life

Processo per stupro

The first rape trial aired on the italian television.

Tough Guy: The Bob Probert Story

Archival footage and personal testimonials present an intimate portrait of the life and career of legendary NHL tough guy Bob Probert.

Le jour où Stockholm est devenu un syndrome

Plot unavailable

Sous le bio, la malbouffe

Sales of organic products have increased tenfold in 20 years. In 2020, the market will have exceeded 13 billion euros in sales. The heavyweights of the food industry are surfing on this consumer craze for healthy food by offering more and more "green" products. But organic does not necessarily mean nutritionally balanced.

Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal

The story behind one of the most revered and mysterious characters in WWE history and the man himself, Windham Rotunda, has never been documented, until now.

Plastic Heads

The analogy likens plastic pollution to a person wearing a plastic bag on their head, illustrating how our beautiful and clean surroundings are at risk due to plastic contamination. It suggests that every individual space is susceptible to this pollution. The central idea advocates acknowledging our current reality and taking initial steps to improve it, preventing the repetition of the same mistakes for future generations. The proposed solution focuses on starting with a basic action – reducing the use of plastic bags. The concept encourages individuals to recognize their role in the issue and emphasizes that by collectively making small changes, such as eliminating plastic bags, we can free ourselves from the metaphorical plastic mask covering our environment. This approach aims to create awareness and instigate a positive shift toward a cleaner and more sustainable future.

Gefangene des Meeres

Documentary film about the adventurous professional life of sponge divers on the Greek Aegean island of Kalymnos. Their existence has been called into question since the entire sponge population became unusable due to fungal infestation in the fall of 1986, for which the fishermen blame the Chernobyl disaster.

Mood Ring

Mood Ring is a feature film by performance artist Sereima Adimate/Stelly G, Kiki Oner and Garden Reflexxx. The group examines female friendships, the idea of love letters, the challenge of unpacking heritage and the meaning of going home. In the ineffable shadow of taboo, Mood Ring is a radical sign of deliverance. In 2021 the group started a writer's room brainstorming ideas of 'First Times'. It led them to Mood Ring, a community funded project based in/on Fiji. The footage features moments from the location reconnaissance Sereima went on in early 2022. In a tangled visual poem that blends journal entries with travelogue, Kiki Oner and best friend Stelly G return to their island home Viti Lev. During this - their first trip together as adults - they make contact with a past that is unfamiliar to them yet shrouded in memories. What follows is a deeply felt trip that forces them to confront lives almost lived. There will be scenes of confronting pasts, and catastrophic futures.

Daybreak Express

Set to a classic Duke Ellington recording "Daybreak Express", this is a five-minute short of the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated subway station in New York City.

2 or 3 Things I Know About Him

What would your family reminiscences about dad sound like if he had been an early supporter of Hitler’s, a leader of the notorious SA and the Third Reich’s minister in charge of Slovakia, including its Final Solution? Executed as a war criminal in 1947, Hanns Ludin left behind a grieving widow and six young children, the youngest of whom became a filmmaker. It's a fascinating, maddening, sometimes even humorous look at what the director calls "a typical German story." (Film Forum)

The Bridge

The Bridge is a controversial documentary that shows people jumping to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.

March of the Penguins

Every year, thousands of Antarctica's emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their young. They walk, marching day and night in single file 70 miles into the darkest, driest and coldest continent on Earth. This amazing, true-life tale is touched with humour and alive with thrills. Breathtaking photography captures the transcendent beauty and staggering drama of devoted parent penguins who, in the fierce polar winter, take turns guarding their egg and trekking to the ocean in search of food. Predators hunt them, storms lash them. But the safety of their adorable chicks makes it all worthwhile. So follow the leader... to adventure!!

Sergio Leone: The Way I See Things

Documentary about Sergio Leone

Livre Pensar

Conceição Tavares is one of the most forceful, critical and original voices of Brazilian economic thought. This documentary gives an account of her life and work, while taking stock of more than half a century of a country looking for a future.

Airbus vs Boeing: The Jumbo Jet Race

The story of the rivalry between Boeing and Airbus is no doubt one of the greatest human and technological adventures of the 20th century. A modern-day western, with the protagonists trying out every underhand trick and bluff possible to achieve their aims. But it is also a story of power and influence, driven by geopolitical ambitions and struggles, where deals and contracts define a country.