Social & External
The people behind it
Sebastião Menezes da Silva
João Ramos da Costa
Raimundo da Costa Leite Filho
Francisco Silvano da Silva
Roberto Vanderley da Silva Pereira
Ana Valéria Ramos da Costa
Júlia Espírito Santo Dias
Moiséis Lucca Tavares dos Passos
Emanuele E. Leite Picanço
Antonir Andrey Leite da Paixão
October 1st, 1957. Dusk descends on Tiananmen Square, Peking. Fireworks crackle light across the night sky, above a city alive with National Day festivities and celebrations. Two intrepid New Zealand film-makers - Rudall and Ramai Te Miha Hayward - are there, documenting the life and times of communist China. The distinction of being the first English speaking foreigners to film unfettered in communist China was significant. The invitation to visit China was facilitated through the New Zealand China Friendship Society. They filmed in Canton, Shanghai, Peking (Beijing) and Wuhan. It was a small window of opportunity for Westerners to gaze on a country that was largely a mystery to the outside world since 1949. The unfortunate irony was that two of the documentaries; “Wonders of China”, and “Inside Red China”, were considered to be communist propaganda, and were not distributed outside of New Zealand.
Mike Porcel is the lost member of the Cuban Nueva Trova musical movement. His lack of “revolutionary spirit” condemned him to the scorn of his peers and made him a pariah for a decade, until he managed to go into exile. Without resentment, but without forgetting, the film reconstructs his story and revives a forgotten brilliance.
October 7, 2023: Hamas terrorists attack Israel, murder and take hostages. Israel reacts with severity. The goal: the destruction of Hamas. But with the war in Gaza, Israel is awakening the great trauma of the Palestinians: the expulsion of 1948. How can the lack of empathy on both sides be explained?
« Emmanuelle » was released 50 years ago. Its main character, played by the young Sylvia Kristel, delve freely into her sexuality, without taboo. This bold movie became one of the great success of french cinema in the 70s, and Emmanuelle became the face of sexual liberation. Through the gaze of a woman, the character is back on the screen in 2024. This new Emmanuelle, written by Audrey Diwan, go in quest of a lost pleasure.
The encounter with a growing, and mostly undocumented, brazilian community allows us to bear witness to its energy, its vivacity, and its diversity. This film attempts to work for a larger acceptance of foreigners in their land of exile.
An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.
Sake is a traditional alcoholic beverage from Japan and is otherwise known as rice wine. Women were prohibited from entering the many large and small sake breweries dotting Japan for centuries. However, times have changed and women are present on the sake scene today. In several cases, they are integral to the Japanese brewery business. The documentary depicts women who are not only enthusiasts, but also leaving their marks on the evolution of this Japanese mainstay.
Two unhoused men turned community leaders— John and LaMonté —organize their neighbors in the face of displacement, addiction, and a failing social system.
Over the weekend of October 11, 2002, my uncle along with two friends set out on a camping trip in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Upon returning home, they were changed men, and recounted tales of alien abduction. Today, only two of the three men are alive to tell the story of what unfolded before, during, and after that fateful outing, and they're convinced it was extraterrestrial. This film explores the haunting accounts of two friends who underwent an alien abduction experience while camping in the remote mountains. Featuring psychedelic visuals and an alien hand print, Ten Eleven O Two opens a plethora of questions and is a must-see for anyone interested in the paranormal. Based on the true life events of Ken Mathis and Adolph Santistevan.
A Calling to Care is the inspiring story of 55 year-old Grace Stanley, a Canadian nurse who left her home and prestigious career behind to answer a calling halfway around the world in Karachi, Pakistan. Teaching nursing to local women in a strict Muslim culture that forbids them to even to touch men is a formidable task. However, Grace challenges her own values and belief systems to find common ground with her students, helping them to excel and feel respect for themselves in a culture that doesn't respect them. Whether it is getting her hands painted with henna, swimming fully-clothed in the ocean, or marching bravely with them on International Women's Day, Grace bonds with her students in a very special way, and ultimately discovers how the West can learn a lot more from the Third World than she ever thought.
A short documentary about being trans in Ireland.
Cosme and Monica live with their children and grandchildren in Bahia de Kino, a fishing town in the northern State of Sonora, Mexico. They used to call themselves predators of the sea until one day they became unable to kill a sea turtle. Submerged in a crisis, they embark on a journey to try to save their way of life and of their fishing town through the creation of an environmental community group in charge of protecting sea turtles.
Behind the gas masks of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, the often very young activists are just as diverse as the youths of the rest of the world. But they share a demand for democracy and freedom. They have the will and the courage to fight – and they can see that things are going in the wrong direction in the small island city, which officially has autonomy under China but is now tightening its grip and demanding that ‘troublemakers’ be put away or silenced. Amid the violent protests, we meet a 21-year-old student, a teenage couple and a new father.
"O Mar de Antônio Peregrino" tells the fascinating story of the pilgrim Antonio Conselheiro and the village of Canudos. In a region feared by its long droughts, thousands of outcast peasants and Indians came together to build a country utopia. The city has been wiped off the map three times but refuses to die. The film is a journey in search of the people and dreams of Canudos. Guided by Antônio Conselheiro's famous phrase “The drought will turn into the sea, and the sea will turn into the drought”, the film goes through the drought and the flood to meet a warm and strong people who never surrendered, cherished with the music of hope and missing.
There, Robert Peary, an American explorer, thought more than 100 years ago, that the only way for a human being to reach the North Pole would be to have children with Inuits, "to create a super-race that would combine the Eskimo strength and the shrewdness of the Westerner." Following in the footsteps of this extravagant theory, this film essay marches in search of that super-race.
Let Me Run profiles six inspiring women, famous or anonymous, from yesterday or today, athletes or amateurs, who use sport to gain freedom, while tracing more than 150 years of women's struggle for access to sport.
Poets from all walks of life speak their truth through their poetry. A film about poetry by award-winning Gina Nemo, Poet, Writer, Filmmaker, Award-Winning Singer & Actress.
In Iraq 2003 Corporal Martin Webster filmed fellow soldiers beating Iraqi youths during rioting in Al Amara. Two years later, a British newspaper obtained his footage. The story that ran led to outrage across the world.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Join former first lady Michelle Obama in an intimate documentary looking at her life, hopes and connection with others.
Rising musician Jeff Buckley had only released one album when he died suddenly in 1997. Now, never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from those closest to him offer a portrait of the captivating singer.
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
A deep dive into the making of the Paranormal Activity films with first time ever interviews with cast and crew, never-before-seen footage from the movies, and a preview of the seventh installment in the franchise.
A feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.
This documentary focuses on the actors and their journey over two summers to create the remake to the original IT, by Stephen King. The documentary originally released as bonus material, bundled with IT: Chapter Two.
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.
The incomparable Bruce Springsteen performs his critically acclaimed latest album and muses on life, rock, and the American dream, in this intimate and personal concert film co-directed by Thom Zimny and Springsteen himself.
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
A feature length documentary about the all-women team at the helm of Pixar's original feature, Turning Red. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Director Domee Shi and her core leadership crew, this story shines a light on the powerful professional and personal journeys that brought this incredibly comical, utterly relatable, and deeply heartfelt story to the screen.
Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.
Giving fans unprecedented access to the real life of the music sensation, Katy Perry: Part of Me exposes the hard work, dedication and phenomenal talent of a girl who remained true to herself and her vision in order to achieve her dreams. Featuring rare behind-the-scenes interviews, personal moments between Katy and her friends, and all-access footage of rehearsals, choreography, Katy’s signature style and more, Katy Perry: Part of Me reveals the singer’s unwavering belief that if you can be yourself, then you can be anything.
Live Aid was held on 13 July 1985, simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, United States. It was one of the largest scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time: watched live by an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations. "It's twelve noon in London, seven AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for Live Aid...!"
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."
