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- What is consciousness? Is it in all living beings? What happens when we die? Why do we seem to be hardwired for mystical experience? In these times of existential crisis, there has been an explosion of research into consciousness. After four centuries of silence, scientists are confronting the "Big Questions", cutting a window into a realm previously held tight by philosophy and religion: AWARE follows six brilliant researchers, approaching the greatest of all mysteries from radically different perspectives, from within and without: through high-tech brain research and Eastern meditation, by scientifically exploring inner space through psychedelic substances and by investigating the consciousness of plants. Scientists are arriving at new insights - some have been integral to Indigenous knowledge for millenia. AWARE opens as a science film but emerges well beyond the explicable, ultimately leading one on a voyage upon the ocean of consciousness, a contemplative, sensual, cinematographic meditation. The networks of consciousness are reflected in 'grand' imagery revealing the vast interconnectedness of Nature - from the smallest organisms, to the world of plants and animals and on to the cosmos. It invites one to experience the awe and mystery of life as the researchers do, to dive in with them, returning to see the world anew, to review long-held beliefs and assumptions and initiate one's own oceanic journey. Ultimately, to be aware one is aware. With Richard Boothby, Monica Gagliano, Roland Griffiths, Josefa Kirvin Kulix, Christof Koch, Matthieu Ricard and Mingyur Rinpoche.
- When former pro swimmer Sara and her sister Yusra arrived in Germany from war-torn Syria they were Europe's most celebrated refugees. Now Sara is facing a 20-year prison sentence for volunteering with a Greek NGO, helping other refugees.
- Assange remains a remand prisoner at U.K.'s maximum security Belmarsh Prison as he appeals an extradition order to the U.S. where he could face 175 years in prison for his role in the release of classified U.S. diplomatic files.
- The film explores the only known case in the history of post-WWII era of concentration camp survivors helping the SS Commandant of the Auschwitz and Ravensbruck camps to escape prison and justice in Nazi trial.
- A star dancer at the Cambodian royal court lovingly raises her husband's little brother as her own son. Decades later, as a forced laborer under the oppressive rule of Khmer Rouge, she discovers that her foster son is none other than Pol Pot. The mass purges of the regime (spanning from 1975 to 1979 - Pol Pot annihilated 25% of Cambodia's population) are intertwined with painful memories of the relatives of the bloodthirsty dictator, who today stage an impressive dance performance depicting an encounter between the leader of the Khmer Rouge and his foster mother. In this stunning documentary, valuable archival material is seamlessly combined with the images of the dancers, the traditional costumes, and the descriptions of the deep significance behind this major cultural expression of the Cambodian people, offering a flawless outcome, one that is profoundly melancholic, beautiful, and yet at the same time tragic. Art serves as pain relief for the greatest open wounds of History.
- Since the uprising of a pro Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine in 2014, hundreds of woman joined the army. Only a few made it to the front line. Filmmaker Masha embeds herself in the war zone to follow the daily life of three of them. By sharing the intimacy of these fighters, Masha soon becomes a victim of this brotherhood conflict jeopardizing this film and her life.
- He was an icon, flamboyant pianist, egomaniac, showman par excellence: Liberace - the King of Bling, led his life in the fast lanes between Hollywood, Las Vegas and Palm Springs. In the middle of the Californian desert, where Hollywood stars celebrated wild parties around private pools, he lived a paradoxical life of spectacle and secrecy, illusion and reality. His success is closely linked to the growing popularity of television and the American TV era. Scores of American housewives adored the musician who could play everything from jazz to classic. His public life was as paradoxical as his performances were glamorous. No other artist cultivated such an openly camp persona on America's biggest stages while at the same time vehemently refusing to come out as gay, a facade Liberace kept up until his death. He was one of the first celebrities to die of complications from the AIDS virus, although his death was officially attributed to "heart failure" in order to preserve the memory of the one-man Disneyland. We examine his stellar career and its abrupt end in the context of America's social and media history. Liberace's story reflects the American dream - but also the country's bigotry and the divisions of a rapidly growing society.
- Exploration and documentation of the global effects of the male potency enhancer Viagra, 20 years after the launch of the substance.
- What happens when eco-minded, city-dwelling Berliners move in with Polish farmers in the country? Is there something tangible and enlightening to the substantive changes healthy living can offer, and who decides what is a healthy life? Take a charming, extraordinarily funny look at how friendship and communication can overcome boundaries, and how nourishing the mind, body, and spirit begins with love and respect for Mother Earth.
- An inspiring portrait of Margaret Bourke-White, Martha Gellhorn and Lee Miller, three pioneering journalists who made history as the first female correspondents to report on the Second World War.
- Marimekko's philosophy of life emerged from the fabric designs of Maija Isola, reaching architectural heights together with Maija's large scale prints. Today, Maija Isola's fabric designs have conquered the whole world. But who was Maija Isola? What were the values at the centre of this vagabond's life, and what kind of a legacy did she leave us?
- 45 years ago, with the victory of the revolution in Nicaragua, an era of hope begins. A young generation takes over the government with the ambitious goal of building a fairer and more socially just society. In the 1980s, 15,000 "brigadists" from West Germany alone traveled to Nicaragua to help rebuild the exhausted country: liberals, Greens, trade unionists, social democrats, leftists and church representatives harvested coffee and cotton, built schools, kindergartens and health stations. No other movement has mobilized so many people. Director Petra Hoffmann is also involved. 45 years after the victory of the revolution, she asks what has become of the wishes and dreams of the revolutionaries and their supporters.
- Maximilian Grünfeld spoke Yiddish, lived in Czechoslovakia, lost his family to Nazi concentration camps, and had no business experience. Martin Greenfield lives in Brooklyn, speaks English, hand-tailors suits for U.S. presidents, and runs a bespoke clothing empire with high society clients and friends. This is one and the same man, who is now a 91-year-old fashion legend, tailor to U.S. presidents and stars, and bon vivant about town. Mr. Greenfield is a feature documentary telling the story of how one man became the other, against all odds, and how he now grapples with his own legacy.
- Countries - People - Adventure.
- British surrealist Leonora Carrington was a key part of the surrealist movement during its heyday in Paris and yet, until recently, remained a virtual unknown in the country of her birth.
- We tell the story of a man who dedicated his life to preserving the Church, but instead led it into its greatest crisis: Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. During his 30 years working within the Vatican he was the key figure in restoring fundamental Catholic doctrine after a brief period of modernization in the 1960s. Our interview partners, who have all worked within the clerical system, describe how Ratzinger's policies contributed to the dramatic loss of moral authority that the Church suffers from today. We deal with Ratzinger's past to understand his mind-set. We treat his key advisers - many of whom were involved in the cover-up of the global child sex abuse crisis and were implicated in corruption scandals. An epic story, with a tragic hero in the central role. Ratzinger, who believed that truth could exclusively be found in the teachings of the Church and that contemporary society was lost if it did not rediscover its Catholic values, was forced to acknowledge that his greatest enemies were inside the Church, even among his inner circle. By the time that he became aware of his errors, he found himself surrounded by chaos and enemies, his world crumbling around him.
- After sustaining serious injuries, MOSES (28) - a former premier league player from Nigeria - is forced to accept that his football career has come to an end. In order to stay in the game, he transforms himself into a talent scout and embarks on a mission to bring young and aspiring African players to Europe. Tempting them with big promises that seem impossible to keep, Moses soon finds himself entangled in football's infamous player trade, a system he once loathed himself. Because Moses once too was one of the thousands of African football play- ers that come to Europe to follow in the footsteps of their heroes Sadio Manee, Yaya Touree, Didier Drogba and many others. But only a happy few will succeed in building a professional career on a European football pitch. For every successful African football player, thousands remain in the shadows, not making it professionally, and not able to return to Africa, out of shame and fear of disappointing their families back home. They keep roaming around Europe, with no papers and no safety net. You can find these stranded players on fields in the suburbs of large European cities. There, they train to stay fit, hoping as yet for their breakthrough.
- Locals emerge from their shelters, corpses are lying in the streets of Bucha. The trauma is clear to see. But life needs to go on. At first, all is despair-But these Ukrainians reveal their resilience.
- The fruit of long reflection and a personal quest for understanding, this essential documentary aims to highlight the discrimination suffered by gay people in Cameroon, where same-gender sexual orientation is considered a crime and is punishable by law, with a maximum sentence of six years in prison. In 2013, the young journalist Eric Lembembe was murdered in Cameroon. He was tortured and beaten to death because he was gay and had fought for gay rights. Shocked by this gruesome murder in his home country, filmmaker Appolain Siewe sets off for Cameroon to find out more about the situation of LGBTQI+ people there. He soon realizes that Lembembe's murder is no isolated case. Same-gender sexual orientation is still a criminal offense in Cameroon, as it is in almost all African countries. Being gay is completely taboo and is considered an embarrassment for families. While making the film, Siewe examines his own homophobic upbringing and seeks contact with members of his family. Since living in Europe, his outlook has changed. For his father, on the other hand, making a film on the subject is enough for him to break off all contact. Why is homophobia so firmly anchored in Cameroon's society? What role does colonization have to play in this? Siewe's own experiences, moving encounters with activists who fight for tolerance in their country despite all the risks, and his conversations with Cameroonian scientists, sociologists, and human rights activists offer a comprehensive insight into society in Cameroon.
- The Putin era in Russian politics began on 31 December 1999, after Yeltsin's resignation and shortly before the millennium celebrations. In his first New Year's address, the new Head of State assured the Russian people that "freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of the press and property rights, all the fundamental elements of a civilized society will be consistently protected by the State". Today, these promises remain largely unfulfilled. The children born in this huge country on that day and at the turn of the millennium have now come of age. They have only ever known ex-KGB man Vladimir Putin at the pinnacle of power. What do the Putin generation think and feel? We meet Taya and Egor, Andrey, Kamilla and Polina. They could not have more opposing points of views - some are ardent Putin opponents, for others he is an idol. Some want to leave the country if nothing changes, others want to fight for change. From the perspective of these millennium children, torn between private dreams and political aspirations, a nuanced portrait of the 'Putin generation' emerges. This is a political film with spellbinding imagery.
- After a defining experience on the Lofoten islands, German filmmaker Steffen Krones starts building buoys to track the path of plastic waste from Dresden through german and international waters.
- Director Mina Keshavarz recently discovered a family secret about her grandmother's death. Her grandmother, forced to marry at a young age, gave birth to seven children and took her own life at the age of 35 during her eighth pregnancy. Domestic violence against women is an impractical concept under Iranian law that regards daughters and wives as the property of patriarchs. Mina sees her grandmother's suicide as "revenge for all injustice" and goes out onto the streets with five female lawyers who have raised their voices on gender equality and criminalization of domestic violence. The Art of Living in Danger retraces the past and present status of Iranian women with the director's intimate voice-over.
- When war came to their home, thousands of Ukrainian women took it upon themselves to become soldiers and lay their lives on the line for peace and freedom in their country. This feature documentary follows three of those women and the lives they never expected to lead.
- The adventurous saga of the Swiss bridge builder Othmar H. Ammann, who moved to America as a young engineer - and created modern icons in New York with his visionary suspension bridges.
- What do giant kiwis, suspended taps and luminous rolls of paper have in common? They're pieces of art on display in the center of traffic roundabouts, that are attracting visitor numbers museums can only dream of. Roundabouts are becoming increasingly popular because they are safer, cheaper and lower-maintenance than intersections with traffic lights. France is Europe's front-runner with around 60,000 roundabouts, and more planned. These traffic islands are creating a new, unused public space that is almost asking to be designed. We embark on a "round trip" of Europe and discover roundabouts in France, Switzerland, Lanzarote, and in Greece where we meet documenta artist Costas Varotsos with his huge glass sculptures. Leading French roundabout artist, Jean Luc Ple, shows us his folk art in the form of sailing boats, giant fruit and oversized insects. In the Swiss canton of Aargau, we meet art curator Friederike Schmid, who has created a roundabout typology. And in Lanzarote we take a look at the weighty wind chimes of painter, sculptor and architect Cesar Manrique. In an entertaining and humorous way, the film takes viewers to a world they encounter every day, yet one they barely know.
- How does dating and finding love work in an era where partnership has been radically redefined? All people share the yearning to connect and belong with others and the hope of experiencing genuine intimacy. Our three protagonists Sarah (Austria), Johanna (Germany) and Sampsa (Finland) search for love in very different ways and show that having faith in the most unusual of methods can open up undreamed of opportunities. MATCH ME! is a feature-length documentary, that follows the lives of the protagonists over a period of one year after their offline matching experiences. Interviews accompany the process of looking for and finding love throughout its various stages. In this way the film describes an experience that is simultaneously universal and uniquely personal.
- Venice embodies the original and ideal idea of a city: a place of meeting, social life and exchange. The city has remained a village, with its small stores, narrow streets and hidden courtyards, places where it is still possible to meet the few remaining inhabitants. A village that is now ruled by the tourism industry, which doesn't seem to have eyes for the city's hidden treasures. The documentary tells of Venice beyond tourism and cliches, seen through the eyes of those who have been called "the last Venetian", artisans and historical inhabitants of the lagoon who live the city with passion, culture and memory.
- The Russian revolutionary year narrated from the point of view of the involved artists.
- How the dramatic year 1979 marked the end of the WW2 era and the beginning of our present time.
- "The Virgin Obsession" - In traditional Islam, like in so many other religions, sex is something that is reserved for marriage. What does this mean for young Muslims living in western secularized societies? The film maker himself has had a free upbringing, as there are many who do not share. And the fixation of honor and virgin is far from just girls. We can meet some of the film makers' friends, but also a psychologist, a lawyer and women's rights activists.
- Handmade utopias - a filmic search for the worldwide phenomenon of the micronation movement. Do-it-yourself states that have distanced themselves from the economic and political mainstreaming of globalization. A road movie covering land, water and the wildest realms of the imagination. Simultaneously creative documentary and pulsating cultural portrait, the film traces a new "unplugged" generation - their motives, their anxieties and their dreams. A film that shows how this generation realizes its escapist fantasies in new economic and political forms and how they collide with oppressive everyday realities.
- "Strange Fish" echoes Billie Holiday's song "Strange Fruit" in which, to general indifference, violence against coloured people is taken as normal, with « black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees». In the South of the Mediterranean the feeling is the same. The fishermen in Zarzis, a Tunisian town on Libya's borders, set out each day wondering whether they will find a strange fish in their nets, the bloated corpse of a drowned migrant. But Strange Fish does not only show this drama, with its all-pervading indifference. It rather shows the deep and human response of the town's anonymous heroes. For 15 years, these fishermen have helped and saved thousands of people. "And if we find them already dead, we help them as well - we bury them", says Chamseddine Marzoug.
- Through the stories of three prominent Ukrainian politicians, from 2013 to the present day, we witness the country's struggle for democracy, autonomy and geopolitical stability. We follow our protagonists as they evolve from activists to politicians in a fragile democratic system, to defenders of their country against the Russian invasion.
- In 2013 an oil painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci appears in Lugano: the portrait of Isabella d'Este, Marchioness of Mantua. The owner of the painting, Emidia Cecchini, is about to sell it for 140 million euros when Italy accuses her of illegal export. The painting is confiscated, but Switzerland does not release it. For 500 years it was not known whether Leonardo completed the portrait of Isabella d'Este, whose sketch is hanging in the Louvre. Experts' examinations of the painting show similarities with Leonardo da Vinci's way of working and estimate it was created during the Renaissance. For the first time, the photographs of these examinations are published in this film. The Italian Emidia Cecchini, who inherited the painting from her father, is sentenced to 14 months imprisonment by an Italian court for illegally exporting a cultural asset. Italy does not believe her that the painting has always belonged to her family and has been in Switzerland for many years and asks Switzerland for legal assistance and restitution of the painting. Will Switzerland follow Italy's request or protect the owner's property? The film tells the story of the painting and accompanies Emidia Cecchini in the struggle for her painting.
- Freddy Lim is a founder and singer of the famous black metal band Chthonic from Taiwan. Apart from that, he has been a member of the Taiwanese parliament since 2016, sitting on the committees for National Defence and Foreign Affairs. He is a member of a coalition working closely with Taiwan's first-ever female president. The film accompanies the rock star politician for his first year in political office as he opposes China's policy towards Taiwan and Tibet. As an activist fighting for human rights, he meets with the Dalai Lama, but also takes part in Donald Trump's inauguration even though he has many reservations about him. Freddy Lim is on the front line. But he still occasionally puts on his face paint and sings in a diabolical voice at the front of his black metal band. Strangely, the two worlds are coming together.
- March 5, 1953. Stalin is dead. One day later, he is lying in state in an open coffin as more than 1.5 million mourners make their way through the streets of Moscow to pay their last respects.
- What does the simplest of phrases "going to school" mean for children in different places of the world? What do they see and what do they experience? The everyday "journeys" to school around the globe are fascinating and full of surprises. An international documentary series that follows children at the four corners of the planet on their way from home to school. Their personalities are as varied as the landscapes in which they live. These children guide us through the endless diversity of landscapes across various continents and share their dreams, as well as their fears - of child labor, war, and delinquency - while praising the beauty of nature and the importance of friendship. We see the world through their eyes.
- Terrible mountains is what Leonardo da Vinci called the peaks that surround the Valtellina. They take the leading role in this story, which is rendered with the help of spectacular film footage and the stories of local inhabitants. With its dry stone walls - a masterpiece that has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO - Valtellina is a land of traditions, contrasts and breathtaking landscapes.From the Stelvio National Park, with its imposing Forni glacier, to the peat bog of Pian Gembro, and from the mysterious crotti of Chiavenna to the terraced vineyards on the Rhaetian slope. In an attentive and intimate way, the film takes the audience on a journey along the river Adda that crosses the entire valley. It begins in winter until the following autumn according to the infinite cycle of nature, which is a stern but honest friend of the people living in this land located in the far north of Italy.
- The film follows the everyday life of five actresses in Los Angeles at the bottom of the career ladder.
- Paula and Xana love horses and help out as often as possible on Lois' farm. Lois looks after neglected animals, which makes her all the more endearing. A touching filmic novella about a childhood in Spain and the first encounter with death.
- In the early Renaissance Andrea Mantegna was the first to establish the cult of antiquity in Florentine art. His brother-in-law Giovanni Bellini is considered the inventor of Venetian painting. Both are among the most important artists of this epoch. They met in their studios in Venice and influenced each other in their work for many years, but remained rivals throughout their lives.
- In the beginning of the 1950's the Israeli society started to try and overcome the cruelty, loss and treason that European Jews had to endure. Even though the young country fought for its existence, they still decided they would not forget the people who stood by the European Jews in their darkest hours. In 1963 the Memorial started another worldwide program to find and honour those who had helped save Jews and calls them "The Righteous Among Nations". By telling the exceptional story of the Helmrich couple, Jaroslava Lewickiand and Esther Grinberg-Boissevains we want to show that it is possible, even under the worst of circumstances, to show compassion and care for those in need. With this we want to commemorate the "Silent Helpers". They are the proof that there was an alternative. The Yad Vashem has honoured 24.811 "Righteous" until today, and every year more join. Still the stories of these people are quite unknown. This documentary wants to tell these stories of courage and effort and want to remind us of "The Righteous Among the Nations"
- Since the failed military coup in 2016, Turkey has changed at an unprecedented pace. Just a few years before the centenary of the Turkish Republic, Erdogan's "new Turkey" could not be further removed from Ataturk's vision of a western-oriented, secular democracy. Under AKP rule with Erdogan at its helm, the country is heading towards one-man rule. But such a concentration of power has its price: the economy is showing increasing signs of an existential crisis that could bring the country to the brink of collapse. This would have serious implications for Turkey, but also for Europe and the Middle East. The documentary describes the AKP's rise to all-dominant political force and the radical transformation of Turkey, driven forward with even greater urgency since the attempted coup. The film concentrates in particular on the period after the coup and on the effects of the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2018, although Erdogan is expected to face his first "stress test" in the local government elections at the end of March 2019. Well-known protagonists and witnesses bring to life events and developments in the country.
- He was a patron of science, a reformer, and might even be called the first modern ruler. Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1212 to 1250, was an exceptional figure on the Roman-German imperial throne. Born and raised in the multi-ethnic state of Sicily, his reign was influenced by Byzantine and Norman traditions that allowed Jews and Muslims a large degree of freedom. All the royal houses in Europe are said to have looked up to him in awe. He saw himself as successor to the Roman emperors and ruler by the grace of God - a notion that was bound to collide with the Pope's claim to universal power. Frederick waged a bitter battle to maintain his power with five different popes. The Church excommunicated him several times and branded him a heretic and anti-Christ. Frederick responded with the sword, for the power-hungry emperor was prepared to resort to brutal violence to defend his supremacy. He even arrested his own son and left him to rot in the dungeon. A ruler rife with contradictions and a man who, 800 years after his death, has lost nothing of his fascination.