Fascinating India

"Fascinating India" spreads an impressive panorama of India’s historical and contemporary world. The film presents the most important cities, royal residences and temple precincts. It follows the trail of different religious denominations, which have influenced India up to the present day. Simon Busch and Alexander Sass travelled for months through the north of the Indian subcontinent to discover what is hidden under India’s exotic and enigmatic surface, and to show what is rarely revealed to foreigners. The film deals with daily life in India. In Varanasi, people burn their dead to ashes. At the Kumbh Mela, the biggest religious gathering of the world, 35 million pilgrims bathe in holy River Ganges. This is the first time India is presented in such an alluring and engaging fashion on screen.

Secrets of the King Cobra

A new scientific expedition follows the King Cobra into the wild for the first time.

This Exists - A Film about Sri Prem Baba

The story of Sri Prem Baba, spiritual master and humanitarian leader with followers around the world, begins when a 14-year-old from Sao Paulo, Brazil, had a vision that said: 'go to Rishikeshi, India'. This story is delightfully told by himself leading us through the odyssey that would turn an ordinary boy into Prem Baba. Memories of friends, admirers and followers take us along the paths of the prosperous therapist who sank into a deep existential crisis and finally found India, where he would devote himself, after much debate, to his master and his destiny. A rich journey of enlightenment that brings us precious reflections on the meaning of life and the role of each one on this planet.

Buddha Wild: Monk in a Hut

Buddhist monks open up about the joys and challenges of living out the precepts of the Buddha as a full-time vocation. Controversies swirling within modern monastic Buddhism are examined, from celibacy and the role of women to racism and concerns about the environment.

Marching in the Dark

In a drought-struck region in India, suffering from climate change and a high suicide rate amongst farmers, a group of resilient women farmers, who recently lost their husbands, is coming together with a local psychologist to learn counselling and help others in grief.

Brilliant Moon: Glimpses of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Brilliant Moon chronicles the life of the writer, poet, and meditation master Khyentse Rinpoche, one of Tibet's most revered 20th-century Buddhist teachers. Spiritual guide to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Royal Family of Bhutan, his life and teachings were an inspiration to all who encountered him. Richard Gere and Lou Reed provide the narration for his dangerous journey out of China, the subsequent spread of his influence and the search for his reincarnation after his death.

Buzz

The anti-Slumdog Millionaire in documentary form, "Buzz" charts the tumultuous rise of India's most famous tattoo artist as he struggles to overcome the demons of his poverty-stricken childhood through art.

The Dalai Lama's Gift

In 1981, a Buddhist monk teaching at the University of Madison, Wisconsin, made the bold request of the Dalai Lama to come and perform a rare ritual, never before done outside of India or Tibet: the Kalachakra, among the highest of the Buddhist tantric teachings. In just a few months, with a team of dedicated students, and cameras rolling, they constructed a temple and organized an event for over a thousand spiritual seekers, in a cornfield outside Madison. The incredible footage was tucked away in the Smithsonian vaults, until now. What unfolds is the story of a powerful ritual, its impact on the people that made it happen, and the meaning behind this ancient initiation.

Tiger

Journey alongside a young tigress raising her cubs in the fabled forests of India.

The Arms Drop

One night in December 1995, 4 tons of weapons fall from the sky over India. A few days later a Danish man returns to Denmark with a grave secret. Only when an English arms dealer is arrested in India and faces death sentence, does the Dane appear in the large-scale international investigation of the case. With reconstructions and scenes resembling a feature film, the docu-thriller The Arms Drop tells the nerve-racking story of two men who gamble their lives on a joint mission with each their secret agenda, and the political, personal and diplomatic consequences 20 years later.

Herzschlag der Kontinente

Glow Worm in a Jungle

Glow Worm in a Jungle is about Hema Sane, a retired botany professor, who has never used electricity in her life. Living surrounded by nature, amidst a concrete jungle, she shares her philosophy of life with doses of humor and wisdom.

Millions Can Walk

Hundreds of thousands of Indian men and women – indigenous inhabitants and landless farmers – demand their right to existence by making a 400 kilometre protest march from Gwalior to Delhi. How can one fight for one’s rights without using violence? With such an important contemporary question, the film spreads far beyond the borders of India. It shows the multiple facets of this imposing protest march and focuses as well on the daily realities of these proud people.

Ruins of Delhi

Attractive travelogue filmed in and around Delhi's Qutb complex.

Mahatma Gandhi Noa Khali March

Remarkable amateur footage of Mahatma Gandhi shot by his great nephew in 1947.

India: Kingdom of the Tiger

Journey across India, a breath taking land shaped by a myriad of cultures, customs and traditions. Come face to face with the Bengal Tiger and explore the work of this majestic creature with stunning clarity. Soar over blue-hazed Himalayan peaks and sweep down towards the thundering Indian Ocean as we celebrate the power and beauty of India's greatest ambassador - the mighty Bengal Tiger.

A Rifle and a Bag

Somi is pregnant with her second child. A girl, she hopes. Together with her husband she prepares for this new phase of their parenthood. It means that their son has to go to school, but as an ex-Naxalite that is tough to achieve in contemporary India, where people like them are third-rate citizens. They lack the certificates and an opaque bureaucratic process doesn't help. Directors Isabella Rinaldi, Cristina Hanes and Arya Rothe of the NoCut Film Collective concentrate on Somi's close family ties, painting a portrait of ex-Naxalites in India. Once, Somi and her husband were communist rebels fighting for the rights of Indian tribes. However, to safeguard their family's welfare, they surrendered to the government in exchange for marginal compensation and simple accommodation.

An immersion into the Divine Feminine

By drawing a parallel between the Indian Durga Puja festival and other forms of celebrating the divine feminine, Santa Shakti reveals the Sacred Power beyond languages and religions.

Dwarka: The Atlantis of the East

Ancient Explorer, Amish Shah travels to the west coast of India in search of an ancient submerged city. With a passion for the truth, he stumbles into a cover up and in this film, he goes public with what he found.

Fried Shoes Cooked Diamonds

After World War II a group of young writers, outsiders and friends who were disillusioned by the pursuit of the American dream met in New York City. Associated through mutual friendships, these cultural dissidents looked for new ways and means to express themselves. Soon their writings found an audience and the American media took notice, dubbing them the Beat Generation. Members of this group included writers Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg. a trinity that would ultimately influence the works of others during that era, including the "hippie" movement of the '60s. In this 55-minute video narrated by Allen Ginsberg, members of the Beat Generation (including the aforementioned Burroughs, Anne Waldman, Peter Orlovsky, Amiri Baraka, Diane Di Prima, and Timothy Leary) are reunited at Naropa University in Boulder, CO during the late 1970's to share their works and influence a new generation of young American bohemians.