The Machine Gun and the Bass

Absent without Leave

July 2016 •Chinese

They sacrificed their lives fighting for the independence of their country, but their stories remain untold for 60 years. The story begins with a man’s portrait, which has been hanging for more than 30 years in an old wooden house where I was born and grew up in Perak, Malaysia. It’s long become a taboo that my families do not talk about this man, not even to bring up his name or his past. Eventually I found out he is my grandfather, who sacrificed his life fighting for Malaysia’s independence and decolonisation, but his and his comrades’ stories are excluded from history. This documentary set out to unveil the mysteries.

The Last Days of the USSR

December 2011 •French

From 1989 to 1991 a string of unpredictable events happened that brought to light the rivalry between two men: Gorbachev, hindered by the economic results of his perestroika, and Yeltsin, embodying the hopes of the Russian people. Illustrated with interviews of top protagonists such as Mikhail Gobachev himself, the documentary recounts the critical last two years of the former USSR.

Les vivants

December 2023 •French

Argentina Beat

May 2007 •Spanish

Through the second half of the 1960's the Beat movement and the first National Rock were the flagship of the youth, leaders as never before of a society in transformation. The formation of the first bands, the venues for concerts, the difficulties to sing rock in Spanish and interact with other artists create new ways to communicate previously unavailable. This documentary presents the story of these first pioneers of the Argentinean rock music.

Presencia lejana

January 1982 •Spanish

A documentary about Finnish twin sisters, one of whom disappeared in Argentina in 1977.

Good Light, Good Air

April 2021 •Korean

The title Good Light, Good Air is oddly paradoxical. Keenly working at the point where his artistic identity and persistent attention on modern Korean history meet, director Im in this film focused on where the history of oppression and struggle intersect between Gwangju and Buenos Aires. In both cities, a great number of people who fought against the dictatorship were slaughtered and disappeared. The people of both societies still live with that trauma. When the testimonies of the victims of the two cities cross over, the film gives us chills as the eerie history of the two is very similar. Through Good Light, Good Air, director Im asks us how we will remember the past from where we stand right now.

Myanmar Diaries

May 2022 •English

How does it feel to be forgotten by the world? A powerful collective cry denouncing the crimes of the military dictatorship installed in Myanmar after the coup perpetrated on February 1, 2021: cinema and imagination against horror and in defense of freedom.

O Cinema Segundo Vladimir Carvalho

January 2001 •Portuguese

The documentary presents an overview of Vladimir Carvalho's cinematographic career, from the very beginning, as a co-writer of “Aruanda” (1960), directed by Linduarte Noronha, to the present day. With Vladimir himself as the main narrator and illustrated by scenes from his films, the documentary also features interviews with Gilberto Gil, Orlando Senna, Arnaldo Carillo, Dácia Ibiapina, Fernando Duarte, Sérgio Moriconi, among others.

Buscando a Reynols

May 2005 •Spanish

Documentary about the enigmatic and experimental music group "Reynols", his lead singer and leader who was down syndrome and the peculiarity of having a discography published in the most dissimilar corners of the planet.

La Bréa

Invalid date •Portuguese

Documentary about Brazilian actress Sandra Bréa.

Etnografia não é método

October 2021 •Portuguese

Through cinema, it is possible to recognize situations and think about them theoretically from other perspectives. Inspired by the discussion of the classic text by Mariza Peirano. The film uses excerpts from Brazilian filmography to reflect anthropological concepts such as culture, politics, ethnographic field and identity.

A dama de todos

December 2022 •Portuguese

In honor of the 45th anniversary of the film A dama do lotação (1978) directed by Neville D'Almeida, based on the work of Nelson Rodrigues and starring Sonia Braga and a great cast. A dama do lotação (1978) continues to be one of the highest-grossing films in Brazilian cinema. In fragments, Sonia Braga tells what it was like to play the lady.

Atuel

July 2022 •English

ATUEL is the story of a community and its river; of a river and its community. Everyone in the province of Mendoza, Argentina, lives in one of three oases. The southern oasis, home to the cities of San Rafael and General Alvear, depends primarily on The Atuel River. Yet incredulously, the river remains under threat. People cannot care for what they don’t know and so we decided to ask the river what story it would like to tell about itself. To do so, we travelled its entire length from its source in the heart of The Andes to where it dries out prematurely in the sands of The Cuyo Desert. We’re told we are the first to do so since 1884 and the first ever to do so by boat. 43 days. 480 kilometres. 38 people interviewed about their relationship with the river.

The Night of the Long Knives

August 2020 •French

Seeing Through the Darkness

November 2024 •Ukrainian

Carried by an immersive sound environment that plunges us in the reality and the perceptions of these resilient and inspiring people, this film questions our own blindness face to violence and suffering of our time — despite the overabundance of images that reach us — and highlights the urgency of lending an ear to hear these stories.

Inverosímil Jardiel Poncela

December 2014 •Spanish

The Spanish author Enrique Jardiel Poncela (1901-1952) was one of the best comedy writers of all time, a novelist and newspaper columnist, misunderstood, even censored, both by the Second Republic government and Francoism, an outsider ahead of his time; also a filmmaker and screenwriter in Hollywood, architect of a revolutionary theatrical building and scenographer, cartoonist and illustrator. An implausible genius.

Dvě města

October 1964 •Czech

Ukraine on Fire

June 2016 •English

Ukraine in Flames is a documentary produced by Oliver Stone that reveals American and NATO participation in the 2014 coup d'état in Ukraine and its aftermath. The renowned American director, who in recent years has made several productions within the genre of political cinema, investigates the origins of the current conflict that currently keeps the entire European continent and the entire planet in suspense. In the film, Stone interviews, among others, the former president of Ukraine, Víktor Yanukovych; Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Ukrainian Interior Minister Vitali Zajarchenko.

Moscow 1996, Vote or Lose!

November 2021 •French

Moscow, January 1996. Boris Yeltsin gets ready to run for a second mandate of the presidency of the young Russian Federation. Polls are in the single digits. A painful economic transition, war in Chechnya, and the rise of criminal groups have left the majority of Russians dissatisfied with Yeltsin… and willing to vote for the communist leader Gennady Zyuganov. Yet six months later, Yeltsin won the election with nearly 54% of the vote. How did that happen?

La del Chango

Invalid date •Spanish

Documentary of music Chango Farias Gomez