Putin's Patriots (2021)

Putin: The New Empire

Since Russia was brought to its knees in the 1990s by crippling debt and the grip of the oligarchs following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Putin has made it his mission to return superpower status to Russia. While not partisan to Putin's wrongs, this insightful doc examines the logic and motivations of Putin's vilified regime, and why he is so loved in his homeland.

Don't Call Him Dimon

A 2017 Russian documentary film about alleged corruption by Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev. The film claims that Dmitry Medvedev has embezzled an estimated $1.2 billion.

Pussy Riot: Rage Against Putin

Pussy Riot make a comeback after a long absence to stand with Ukraine. Their story and their struggle are told through archival footage and interviews with the group’s members.

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.

Kadyrov, The Dictator of Chechnya

The lifestyle, self-styling and political opinions of Chechen dictator Ramsan Kadyrov are examined in this documentary.

Becoming Navalny

A portrait of Alexei Navalny (1976), the staunchest opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, severely poisoned in 2020, arrested in 2021 and died on February 16, 2024 in a Siberian prison camp under unclear circumstances.

Putin's Witnesses

Russian Federation, December 31, 1999. After President Boris Yeltsin's unexpected resignation, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin becomes acting president of the country. From that day and for a year, Vitaly Mansky's camera documented Putin's rise to power. The story of a privileged witness. The harsh explanation of the reason why politics is the art of possibility of achieving the best with the support of many, but also of giving the worst in return.

Putin's Journey

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has established himself as the most impactful world leader of this millennium. To mark his 25th anniversary of being in power, this two-hour CBC News original documentary looks back at his life, from the Cold War to the ongoing war in Ukraine, and examines key turning points in his career to reveal his evolution from an unknown KGB agent to the all-powerful president of the Russian federation. The documentary features dozens of former insiders, political leaders, exiled activists and liberated prisoners - many who have personally met and negotiated with Putin, or been victims of Kremlin policies that have crushed dissent and led to the devastating war in Ukraine. Putin's Journey will take us up to the present day, as the Russian leader confronts a new American president, each bent on curbing the power of the other.

PBS NewsHour: Inside Putin's Russia

Correspondent Nick Schifrin and producer Zach Fannin take us inside Vladimir Putin's Russia, with an in-depth look at the resurgent national identity, the government's propaganda machine, the risk of being a Kremlin critic and much more.

Putin's Bears - The Most Dangerous Hackers in the World

They call themselves Fancy Bear, Cozy Bear or Voodoo Bear. Elite units of the Russian secret services are hidden behind these code names. They are among the most dangerous hackers in the world. The bears were already in the computer of then-Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2015, interfered in the US election campaign in 2016 and are currently influencing the war in Ukraine. The makers of the successful YouTube channel “Simplicissimus” in co-production with funk and SWR are back and show the destructive potential of state hacking with this documentary. With the help of leading German hackers, cyberspace experts and a lot of humor, they delicately demystify the Russian bears: Who are the people behind them? How do they operate? And what makes them so incredibly dangerous?

Who Is Mister Putin

Based on investigations by independent journalists, the film documents the origins of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s private wealth and subsequent rise to power, demonstrating his ascension to the Russian presidency after an alliance built in the early 1990s between himself, certain friends from Leningrad’s KGB, and mafia groups.

Putin: The New Tsar

This documentary will provide the first authoritative account of who Vladimir Putin actually is. What drives him, what does he fear, who does he love and hate?

20 Days in Mariupol

As the Russian invasion begins, a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting the war's atrocities.

Putin

A portrait of a formidable political figure, unraveling the contrasting facets of an iron-fisted tyrant and a man haunted by fear.

The Augmentation of Douglas Engelbart

A film on Douglas Engelbart, inventor of the computer mouse whose vision was to augment the collective IQ of humans using the computer as a tool to accomplish this.

Nasrdin Dchar: Adem

Moroccan-Dutch actor and stage performer Nasrdin Dchar attempts to make sense of the chaos that was the year 2020.

Luminous

“Luminous” tells the story of the first astronomer in history to publicly predict the near-future explosion of a star. But will he be right? Others in the astronomical community are skeptical, and professional reputations hang in the balance. In production since 2014, “Luminous” follows Calvin College astronomy professor Larry Molnar’s five-year journey to test his unprecedented prediction, knowing that its success or failure will unfold squarely in the international spotlight.

Nobodies! Heroes!

A refreshingly earnest and comedic documentary that tells the story of a family who have dedicated the last 20 years of their lives to sharing their vision of wild creativity through interactive film projects. Disheartened that the transformative power of the camera has been eclipsed by screen scrolling, they embark on a final journey to meet their heroes and bring their own creative visions to life.

Love Always, Carolyn

Documentary about Carolyn Cassady, her life and marriage to Neal Cassady, her relationship with Jack Kerouac and how she takes care of the literary legacy from both.

Renaud Lavillenie, all the way to the top

In 2014, in Donetsk, Renaud Lavillenie broke the pole vault world record held by the legendary Sergei Bubka. Since then, the French pole vaulter has become one of the world's greatest athletes. This summer, in Rio, he sets his sights on Olympic gold. His second, another record. Already present in Ukraine, Cédric Klapisch followed the champion in his preparation for over a year.

Flame and the Fire

Bounding from one continent to another, from desert to jungle, this early mondo documentary examines the habits and customs of people whose lives are unaffected by the modern world. In New Guinea, director Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau's crew spends time with jungle villagers who honor the deceased by preserving their corpses, and in Africa they film the resourceful people of the Kalahari. Other subjects include a Brazilian community whose male members wear lip-stretching jewelry.

The Trial of Richard III

A modern trial by jury at the Old Bailey of one of the most famous events in English history. Conducted on the afternoon and evening of 21st February, 1984, it was held almost 500 years after the death of the last of the Plantagenet Kings, King Richard III, on Bosworth Field, the last of the English monarchs to die in battle. The charges are that King Richard III did, in or about the month of August, 1483, in the Tower of London, murder Prince Edward, Prince of Wales, and Prince Richard, Duke of York. Presiding over the case is Lord Elwyn-Jones, the former Lord Chancellor, and he is ably supported by two of Britain’s leading criminal Queen’s Counsels. A fascinating trial which presents evidence which offers the viewer the opportunity to join the jury in weighing the evidence and reaching his or her own verdict before discovering that of the television jury.

1991: The Year Punk Broke

David Markey's documentary of life on the road with Sonic Youth and Nirvana during their tour of Europe in late 1991. Also featuring live performances by Dinosaur Jr, Babes in Toyland, The Ramones and Gumball.

Salesman

This documentary from Albert and David Maysles follows the bitter rivalry of four door-to-door salesmen working for the Mid-American Bible Company: Paul "The Badger" Brennan, Charles "The Gipper" McDevitt, James "The Rabbit" Baker and Raymond "The Bull" Martos. Times are tough for this hard-living quartet, who spend their days traveling through small-town America, trying their best to peddle gold-leaf Bibles to an apathetic crowd of lower-middle-class housewives and elderly couples.

Sketches of Frank Gehry

First and foremost, Frank Gehry is an artist. Described as a young child as having golden hands, Frank begins his creation through sketch. Forming thought into substantive sculpture, the marriage of art and architechure is brought to life. Join director Sydney Pollack on a journey into the world and work of the most important architect of our Age.

The Vocation

Sven Nykvist, best known as Ingmar Bergman cinematographer, made this film as a tribute to his father who was a missionary in Kongo in the early 20th century. The story of his father Gustav Natanael Nykvist is told through his own photos, letters, and films. Director & cinematographer: Sven Nykvist. Narrators in the English dubbed version: Liv Ullmann & Sean Connery. Produced by Ingmar Bergman (Cinematograph AB). Digitally restored in 2022.

Quarantine

A short film of the first weeks of strict national lockdown, filmed in Barcelona on a classic home video camera Hi8. Narrates the story of three women who share a flat and who create a microworld not only to survive the global pandemic but also to survive themselves.

Dreams and Memories of Where the Red Fern Grows

A retrospective look at the film Where the Red Fern Grows.

Inga and Sten Ask the Questions

Sex therapists Inge and Sten Hegel discuss some of the letters they have received from people around the world and features actors portraying a few of the acts described therein.

Diana: Life in Fashion

Lady Diana Spencer was one half of the highest-profile courtship the British royal family had seen in decades. The wonder of Diana, and her style, stemmed partially from how noticeable she was from the very beginning.

The Last Days of Winter

The Last Days of Winter is an Iranian television documentary series directed and written by Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian, which aired on IRIB TV1 from 28 September to 6 December 2012 for 10 episodes.

Hommage à Marcel Mauss. Germaine Dieterlen

Germaine Dierterlen talks about Dogon mythology at a conference on the Bandiagara cliffs. The Songo canopy is a sacred site in Bandiagara. Its walls are covered with paintings depicting the different phases of creation. A little further on, in a cave near the village of Bongo, symposium participants are discussing the Tellem, the people who lived in the houses built into the cliffs before the arrival of the Dogon. The archaeological remains and migratory movements of these two peoples are discussed.

Germaine et ses copains

In Sangha, through the window of her house, Germaine greets Djamgouno, her main informant. He then translates for her a conversation she has with a half-blind old man. She recounts her memories of a past party at which Amadigné worked with her as an informant. Later, in front of the cliff, Germaine, Djamgouno and Pangalé are sitting on rocks, and Germaine talks about the many caves that can be visited by climbing small spelunking ladders. Rouch intervenes during the interview, asking the protagonists about the settlement of the cliff by the Dogon, who learned from the Tellem how to climb the cliff. Rouch then asks about the Tellem's predecessors who lived there 2,400 years ago. Germaine admits the ignorance of researchers on the subject, and Rouch concludes by joking about the new task that now falls to Germaine Dieterlen.