INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY
Metal may be dominated by male acts, but Slave To Sirens, the only all-female Middle Eastern thrash band, have more reason to scream truth to power than anyone in this Sundance smash hit. Director Rita Baghdadi gets backstage access, capturing what shifting the cultural pendulum really looks like – a poorly advertised Glastonbury gig, venues …
Ravensbrück concentration camp, Christmas Eve, 1944: A female inmate is ordered to sing Christmas carols, when a voice calls out “Sing something from Madame Butterfly!” Hauntingly, the singer chooses “Un bel di” — the ultimate expression of longing and hope. So begins the long-hidden, extraordinary love story of two prisoners from the Resistance: Nelly and …
It’s 1993, and 16-year-old Brandon is the new kid in school. Soon he’s top of the class, acing exams and even taking the lead in the school musical. He’s the model pupil, until he’s unmasked… Pressing into the “truth is stranger than fiction” genre, with the main subject refusing to be filmed, but still agreeing …
Guided by naturalist and environmentalist Zoe Lucas’, Geographies of Solitude is a poetic immersion into the rich ecosystem of Sable Island, a sliver of land off the Nova Scotia coast, measuring 30 by barely 2 kilometres. Originally visiting as a young artist, Lucas has lived 40 years making a daily pilgrimage across Sable, collecting marine …
Winner of over 25 awards, Sara Dosa’s illuminating Fire of Love is an explosive true tale of volcanic passions between French celebrity volcanologist couple Katia and Maurice Krafft. As a student, Katia fell deeply in love with Maurice, entranced by his burning passion to further the scientific understanding of why Earth’s mountains occasionally explode. The …
From Japan to Cavan, filmmaker Ahsen Nadeem is on the hunt for enlightenment. Crashing into monks and his own inner conflict, a story of love and contradictions unfolds. After decades of living a secret life, Nadeem travels to a strict Japanese monastery in search of guidance as he questions the traditions of his Muslim parents, …
In a village hidden in the mist-shrouded Northwest Vietnamese mountains resides an indigenous Hmong community, home to 12-year-old Di, part of the first generation of her people with access to formal education. A feisty, free-spirited teen, Di is indifferent about her community’s tradition of kidnapping into child marriage. But when Lunar New Year approaches, Di …
Just four months after giving birth, principal dancer Giulia Tonelli is returning to the prestigious stage of the Zurich Opera. But in an environment where commitment to art is apex of aspiration, is there a place for her? Filmed over 3 years between 2019 to 2021, Laura Kaehr’s elegant and empathetic documentary peeks into the …
Nan Goldin’s raw portraiture redefined contemporary photography in the 1970s, and in the early 1980s, she was among the first to document the rising AIDS crisis and raise funds for those suffering from the disease. Goldin next founded advocacy group P.A.I.N (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) to hold the pharmaceutical dynasty, the Sackler family, accountable for …
It’s early morning. Mrs Irina makes the rounds through the Eastern Ukraine’s Lysychansk Centre, gently waking the children, getting them ready for breakfast and morning exercise. She oozes warmth and understanding and love – but these aren’t her children. All have been surrendered or removed from their parents, staying at the Centre for up to …