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.

The Last Common Hamsters

For almost three years, nature filmmaker and ecologist David Cebulla has been observing wild Common hamsters. He not only tries to learn more about the species, but also documents why hamsters are globally threatened with extinction. David travels from the western border of the distribution area in France via Germany, Poland, Austria and Hungary to the eastern border of the distribution area in the Kazakh steppe. In the process, he manages to capture some unique and fantastic images. But during the project, it becomes increasingly difficult to find animals living in the wild.

Le peuple de l'aigle et moi

Tien Shan Dream

A team of international skiers embark on a two-week glacier traverse connecting two remote research stations in Kazakhstan. The Tien Shan's 4000+ meter peaks host an active scientific community, leveraging the rare environmental conditions for groundbreaking research. Established during the Soviet Union's occupation, the high-altitude research stations here are home to some of the longest-standing glacier and cosmic radiation experiments in the world - and are surrounded by deadly alpine terrain.

Paradise

Sergey Dvortsevoy makes his international debut with this astonishingly intimate portrait of a nomadic family on the Kazakh plains. Several scenes in this slow, elegant film betray a certain dry humor -- a child devouring the last of a bowl of yogurt and then crying; a cow getting its head stuck in a pail; and a woman singing to herself, accompanied by her snoring husband. Other scenes capture the nomads' hardscrabble lives -- drunken herdsmen in the grips of existential despair, growling dogs, and a camel enduring a rather grim septum piercing. By the end of the film, the family pulls up stakes and herds its sundry four-legged beasts -- camels, cattle, goats, dogs, and horses -- to a more fertile plain. This film was screened at the 1999 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival.

On a Clear Day You Can See the Revolution From Here

From the lush and green grass of the Kazakh Steppe to the glorifying architecture of its capital, from its giant open-air mines to the traces of invisible nuclear power, Kazakhstan is here captured in fragments. A fake observational film, but a genuine geographical and historical journey, through the remnants of the Soviet past and the contemporary capitalist ambitions of the country.

J2-8243: Son Uçuş

The Making of “The Fall of Otrar”

featuring interviews with director Ardak Amirkulov, actor Tungyshbai Dzhamankulov, production designer Umirzak Shmanov, and film journalist Gulnara Abikeyeva

Thirteen Sector

The Islamic country of Kazakhstan is one of the most unlikely places for football hooliganism to take root. And yet, believe it or not, the scene there is growing rapidly. Born from Aktobe’s “13 Sector”, these crews mix British hooliganism, European ultras culture, and ancient Kazakh tradition to create a unique, fully-formed underground counterculture. Forest fights, street patrols, fanaticism—a new scene thriving 3000 miles away from where it all began. Away Days got unprecedented access to these hooligans, travelling all the way to Kazakhstan to meet them. We followed the region’s most notorious firm in the lead-up to the biggest derby of the year…

Feathered Cocaine

FEATHERED COCAINE is not a wildlife documentary. It is a documentary about the international trade of falcons. After the trade of drugs, people and weapons, smuggling falcons is ranked No 4 in the list of the most profitable illegal trades. Most people are not aware that the effects of the falcon trade has exerted huge influence over thousands of years on politics, economy and society all around the world. FEATHERED COCAINE reveals in an investigative way the contexts between the trade of falcons and historical events, where royal dynasties, institutions like the CIA and the KGB, the oil industry and Al Queda were involved. This documentary was filmed and released shortly before the 'supposed' execution of Osama bin Laden, who CIA Operative Alan Parrot & his Team had met with 6 times between 2004 & 2010. As of October 11th, 2020.

Silent Bombs: All for the Motherland

In the remote region of Semipalatinsk in North-Eastern Kazakhstan live the victims of hundreds of Soviet nuclear tests carried out from 1949 through 1989.

Air Force One

When Russian neo-nationalists hijack Air Force One, the world's most secure and extraordinary aircraft, the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision to give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country's dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter.

Arizona Seaside

Elena, a young factory worker from Kazakhstan with Nashville dreams, is duped by a wannabe pimp and oddball gangster. Through a comedy of errors she crosses paths with a sweet con man moonlighting as a Robin Hood for stray animals.

The Way

A story about self-taught street fighter who works in the Almaty flea market at day time and takes part in underground fights at night.

Welcome to the USA

Aliya, a 36 year old Kazakh lesbian, has, for the first time in her life, tried to play the Green Card Lottery and won. Now she cannot decide whether to leave Kazakhstan or stay. On one hand, Aliya is tired of the stagnation, corruption, and dictatorship of the Kazakh society, she wants changes in her life. But on the other, she is afraid of uncertainty and to start all over again in a foreign country.

Punishment After Death

A story about struggling writer who puts himself in a death row cell instead of the look alike criminal so he could finish his novel.

Kelinka Sabina 2

The beloved wife and daughter-in-law Sabina faces new challenges.

Taraz

Once upon in a time in Taraz, a bunch of friends goes to night club and find themselves in a tricky situation after conflict with son of local mobster.

Burst

A drama about messed up athlete who tries to regain his career.

The End of the Ataman

A Kazakh spy thriller: In 1921, at the height of the civil war, a Soviet officer is assigned to kill the ataman Dutov, a White collaborator. In order to get close to the ataman he infiltrates his gang.

My Mom Jayne

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

Naqoyqatsi

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

To Kill a Tiger

Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.

John Candy: I Like Me

Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.

I Am Heath Ledger

The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.

Return

RETURN tells the story of a retired Green Beret who embarks on a healing journey from Montana to Vietnam. There he retraces his steps, shares his wartime experiences with his son, treats his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and seeks out the mountain tribespeople he once lived with and fought alongside as a Special Forces officer.

Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20

An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.

The Mole: Undercover in North Korea

A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.

Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski

Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.

A Toxic Love Story

A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library

A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.

Elstree 1976

A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.

McQueen

Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.

Gilbert

The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.

Harmontown

A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.

S4: The Bob Lazar Story

Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity

Directed by John Ford

A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.

Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin

Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.

For the Love of Spock

The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.

Looking for Richard

Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."