Step By Step (2022)

Pelerinaxes

Luzía visits the eight stages of the 'pilgrimage' that the intellectuals Otero Pedrayo, Vicente Risco and Ben-Cho-Shey hiked from Ourense to San Andrés de Teixido in 1927; the story of the journey was published in the book ‘Pelerinaxes I’ (Pilgrimages I). She carries out this journey in order to finish up an audiovisual project about Otero Pedrayo’s book started at the University, together with a colleague who passed away in an accident.

Athos

The Athos peninsula in Greece is one of Europe's last secrets. Over 2000 monks live on Athos - cut off from the outside world. Access is denied to women, tourists are not welcome. Only workers and pilgrims can obtain a visa. The "Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain" attracts people who feel like they are missing something from their modern lives. With the help of three Athos monks, "Athos - A Taste of Heaven" tells the story of the island and its inhabitants in a unique filmed diary style. The film's guiding theme is the path we as people have to find and follow - each and everyone for themselves. "First we must heal our own souls, only then we can help others", is one of Father Galaktions core messages. He lives as a hermit on the holy mountain. Not all monks, however, live as secluded and demure as Father Galaktion. The film team is also received by Father Epiphanios - a gifted and poetic cook who certainly does not disdain the pleasures of life.

Chemins de vie

At nearly 30 years old, Pauline left her stressful life in Paris and started walking with nothing but her backpack, on the path to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Embarking on a four month long journey, she traveled over 2000 kilometers on foot from her native town of Strasbourg, France, meeting pilgrims from across the world along the road and asking them what made them go on this adventure. Whether it was a desire to reconnect with their inner selves, a desire to challenge themselves, or even as a spiritual quest : every path is unique. This documentary discusses a generation of pilgrims and their needs to review their everyday habits, to discover the unknown and experiencing the magic of life.

Nina Conti: Her Master's Voice

Internationally acclaimed ventriloquist Nina Conti takes the bereaved puppets of her mentor and erstwhile lover Ken Campbell on a pilgrimage to "Venthaven" the resting place for puppets of dead ventriloquists. She gets to know her latex and wooden travelling partners along the way, and with them deconstructs herself and her lost love in this ventriloquial docu-mockumentary requiem. Ken Campbell was a hugely respected maverick of the British theatre, an eccentric genius who would snort out forgotten artforms. Nina was his protégé in ventriloquism and has been said to have reinvented the artform. This film is truly unique in genre and style. No one has seen ventriloquism like this before.

Kumbh Mela - The Greatest Show On Earth

February 2013, Allahabad, India. Over the next 55 days, nearly a hundred million people will come here, to the Great Kumbh Mela. This incredible and awe-inspiring celebration of the world's oldest religion happens every 12 years at the place where Hindus believe two sacred rivers meet. For many Hindus this is their most important pilgrimage, and it happens at one of the most holy sites in India. Hindus come to cleanse themselves in the sacred waters of the river Ganges, to pray and emerge purified and renewed. This follows British pilgrims as they embark on a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey. A journey that will take them into the heart of Hinduism - its philosophy, its beliefs and its traditions. A journey that will culminate in the largest ever gathering of humans in one place.

World's Biggest Festival - Kumbh Mela

Welcome to the largest human gathering ever in this one-hour special, World’s Biggest Festival: Kumbh Mela. Imagine a crowd so massive, it is visible from space. A crowd, likely 100 million strong, intent on just one thing: bathing in a sacred river to wash away sins and gain a chance at a new beginning. In the World’s Biggest Festival: Kumbh Mela, experience the dazzling spectacle of spiritual fervour and collective diversity as Hindus from across the globe converge on the Maha Kumbh Mela. Not only is it the world’s largest religious festival, but it is also believed to be the largest gathering of humans in one place, at one time on Earth.

Paths of the Soul

Eleven Tibetans prostrate themselves every few steps during a 1,200-mile pilgrimage that lasts for seven months.

The Estrogen Gospel

A young transgender woman takes a hike through the English countryside in an attempt to resolve her spiritual crisis - but an ancient evil strives to ensure that she never completes her journey.

Fátima

The journey of 11 women while they go on a pilgrimage from Bragança to Fatima.

Die Pilgerin

In the 14th century, a young merchant's daughter from southern Germany sets off on the adventurous Way of St. James to faraway Santiago de Compostela to fulfill her father's last wishes and bring his heart there. Disguised as a man, the pilgrim is hunted by pursuers set on her by her conniving brother.

Kedarnath

Mansoor, a reserved and reticent Pithoo (porter), helps pilgrims make an arduous journey upwards to the temple town. His world turns around when he meets the beautiful and rebellious Mukku who draws him into a whirlwind of intense love.

The Way

When his son dies while hiking the famed Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in the Pyrenees, Tom flies to France to claim the remains. Looking for insights into his estranged child’s life, he decides to complete the 500-mile mountain trek to Spain. Tom soon joins up with other travelers and realizes they’re all searching for something.

Tannhäuser and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg Castle

TANNHÄUSER UND DER SÄNGERKRIEG AUF WARTBURG is a grand opera by Richard Wagner in three acts. After experiencing boundless sensuality and freedom with the fun-loving Venus (soprano), the singer Tannhäuser (Tenor) finds it impossible to conform to the cultured setting of his betrothed Elizabeth (soprano), who loves him. During a singing contest, Tannhäuser describes the affair with Venus as the ultimate love experience and because of that, he is cast out from the established society. Thanks to Elizabeth's intervention, he is allowed to undertake a pilgrimage to the Pope to ask for the Holy Father's pardon. If the Pope accepts to forgive him, he would be allowed to take back his place in society. Tannhäuser accepts. But fate will not allow him to meet with his beloved Elizabeth again in this life. This is a recording of the legendary staging by Götz Friedrich for the 1978 Bayreuth Festival conducted by Sir Colin Davis.

Abu, Son of Adam

Abu, a poor perfume seller, lives with his wife. The couple strives hard to make an honest attempt to go for the Hajj pilgrimage.

He Who Lives In Hidden Lakes

The fanatic beliefs of an internet mystic, a cult leader, and a rookie cop gone rogue are tested on the hunt for the "Hidden Man" -- an elusive forest-dwelling cryptid that terrorizes their idyllic suburb.

The Apparition

Jacques Mayano, a French journalist who has lived a traumatic experience, is recruited by the Vatican to be part of a task force that must investigate the veracity of a supernatural apparition allegedly happened in a small French village.

The Miracle Club

Three close friends who have never left the outskirts of Dublin (much less Ireland) get the journey of a lifetime — a visit to Lourdes, the picturesque French town and place of miracles.

Dinorah, or The Pardon of Ploërmel

Giacomo Meyerbeer's pastoral opera,based on a Breton tale, is the tale of DINORAH who has gone mad because her bridegroom Hoël has disappeared during their wedding. This production, performed as part of Théâtre Impérial de Compiegne's purpose of reviving obscure French opera, is the only version of 'Dinorah' available on DVD, but it is a great production! The painterly pastoral settings and décor and rustic costumes are very easy on the eye. Opera traditionalists who dislike modern stagings will be delighted to know that this is a traditional production. Pierre Jourdan's stage direction is charming and always involving, never once falling into static movements or gestures, gratuitous distaste and irrelevance. With Isabelle Philippe, Armand Arapian and Frédéric Mazzotta. Conducted by Olivier Opebeek.

Malcolm X

A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.

No Más

A look at the November 1980 re-match between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran and how two infamous words haunt both.

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.

The Magical World of Ella Enchanted

A limited edition behind the scenes special discussing Ella Enchanted with Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy.

Childbirth Banned in Paradise

Pregnant women from the paradise island of Fernando de Noronha, 360km off the Brazilian coast, are separated from their families and workplaces and sent to the mainland 12 weeks before giving birth. Pressure is brought upon those who resist. Their babies are not made welcome in their forebears’ lands. Without any reasonable explanation, the government has been denying the right of permanent residence to children of native people. Meanwhile, tourism is attracting more and more celebrities and outside investors to the island.

Coś sędzia długą przerwę zarządził

Amateur documentary film about Polish Cup 1997-98 Final.

Hitler's Mega Plane

In January 2012 Italian divers discovered the wreck of a massive plane off the coast of Sardinia. At a depth of 65 meters (213 feet) lies a Messerschmidt `Gigant', the biggest aircraft to fly in WWII.

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

A Busca do Eu e o Silêncio

Non-communication can emerge through different ways, whether by conflict, language, or culture. In Giuliano Robert's film it happens through the interference of speech: a hearing mother describes the beginning of a communication process with her deaf son. Based on the mother's experiences, Márcia, the documentary is conducted by her son, Giuliano, in search of a connection with a culture which, through lack of information and access, silences other modes of communication.

Amicalement vôtre : Hollywood au service de sa Majesté

Plot unavailable

Querdenker, Corona-Leugner, Wutbürger - Woher kommt der Frust im Südwesten?

Supposedly innocent citizens from the middle of society who march with right-wing extremists, esotericists and conspiracy theorists against the corona measures, including entrepreneurs, single mothers, teachers, normal families. Michael Ballweg's "Querdenker" demos mobilize thousands of lateral thinkers from all walks of life and milieus who would otherwise not meet. What they have in common: the frustration, the anger and the hatred of the corona measures and the "elites" who have decreed them. Where does this frustration and anger come from in the rich southwest of Germany of all places? Why does a minority withdraw into their filter bubbles and ignore scientific facts? And why do they play such a big role in traditional and social media? The documentary accompanies participants and organizers at various corona demos, but also those affected who have experienced COVID-19 up close and have no understanding for these misguided extremists.

Have You Seen The Mona Lisa...?

Arena looks behind the Gioconda smile. The Mona Lisa hangs in the Louvre behind plate glass - an unsigned, undated portrait of a smiling woman. She is the most idolised and abused woman in the history of art.

questioni di tempo (ovvero: una breve riflessione sull'insostenibilità del tempo diegetico)

Luisa and Paolo, friends who recently moved to Paris, question and discuss the social significance of time, and of delay as its reflection. A short film between documentary and philosophical dialogue, by Francesco M. P. Maccarone. With Livia Ghika and Giovanni Cassanelli. "Future" is a song by Garbo.