Wojtek: The Bear That Went to War

Kelvin and His Friends

August 1988 •English

A closely observed portrait of a single man in his 40's who lives in St. Kilda. Although he has none of the trappings of conventional existence, Kelvin's obsessive interest in born again Christianity, physical culture and recent German/Jewish history has given him a way of making sense of the world and led him to a number of people, friends through whom we see something of his life and beliefs.

Veterans

Invalid date •Hebrew

'Veterans', focuses on WW2 veterans, once fighters in the Red Army and now uprooted immigrants, fighting for their place in society. These people, who experienced the twentieth century's bloodiest war as Soviet soldiers, immigrated to Israel after the collapse of the Soviet Union and found themselves in a society that is totally indifferent to their glorious past. The film offers a close and compassionate look at the veterans' lives, fueled by complexity, pain, and an almost silent insult, alongside joy and self-deprecating humor. The feeling of living on borrowed time drives the veterans to embark on what may be their last adventure.

Hitler's Secret Science

March 2010 •English

During the Second World War, to give himself every chance of winning the conflict, Adolf Hitler instructed the most brilliant German scientists to develop advanced technology weapons of mass destruction. Among them were the V1, the first cruise missile, and the V2, the first ballistic missile. The document looks back at the context in which their creators worked and succeeded in designing innovations that laid the foundations of modern aviation and aerospace.

Auschwitz Projekt

January 2018 •French

Pearl Harbor, le monde s'embrase

December 2021 •French

Hawaii, Pacific Ocean. In this heavenly place, one of the most memorable battles of the Second World War took place 80 years ago. On December 7, 1941, at 7:53 am, a Japanese air squadron struck the American fleet which anchored in the waters of Pearl Harbor. The United States were struck at the heart of their defensive system and entered the conflict the very next day. How Pearl Harbor changed the face of World War II and therefore the face of the world? What are the diplomatic undersides of Pearl Harbor? Was the attack really a surprise attack? Is it really a Japanese victory?

David Gan: the Front Lines

January 2012 •English

A young David Gan joins the WWII effort, eager to serve his country. Feelings of exclusion as a Chinese-American disappear in the Army. After experiencing the loss of so many fallen comrades, David dedicates his life to those who never came home.

Richard Hank Sciaroni: Shot Down

April 2015 •English

Through the perils of air combat, and an emergency landing behind enemy lines in Italy, Hank Sciaroni utilized his capability to speak Italian to help get him and his men to safety as the Germans closed in.

The Man Who Saved the World

October 2012 •English

During the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Soviet Navy officer Vasily Arkhipov refused to launch a nuclear strike and saved the world from nuclear war and total destruction.

Hitler's Death Squad

April 2015 •French

D-Day, June 6th, 1944. As the Allies storm the beaches of Normandy, Hitler orders the return of the Das Reich, the infamous Panzer elite division known for its mass murders in Ukraine and Belarus, based at that time in southwest of France. Its mission: to push the Allies back into the Atlantic and turn the tide of the conflict in favor of the Nazi Germany.

Nisei Soldiers: Japanese American G.I. Joes

April 2017 •English

Leaving internment camps to defend their country in Europe, Japanese-American Nisei soldiers of WWII became the most decorated unit in American history.

Aldo Giannini: Pacific Theatre

January 2014 •English

Like many other young men of his generation, after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Aldo Giannini joined the Marines with little idea of what lay ahead. After training, he was quickly deployed overseas and fought in the bloody Battle of Tarawa, surviving with a shrapnel injury and the haunting memory of witnessing the loss of 3,250 U.S. lives. He went on to fight in other battles and returned home after 3 intense years of service. Nearly eight decades later, he still questions if winning the island was worth the price.

Adele Shimanoff: U.S. Marine

January 2016 •English

In 1945, Adele Shimanoff joins the U.S. Marine Corps amid a larger plan to bring women into the military in order to “free a marine to fight.” Adele moves away from the traditional Women’s Reserves and into active duty for a year, where she forms lifelong friendships and meets her future husband. He remains in active duty for 28 years after she leaves, giving her a full experience of life with the Marines. More than 70 years later, Adele is forced to confront the idea that she is still needed, even when her friends have passed on before her.

The Silent Village

September 1943 •English

The true story of the massacre of a small Czech village by the Nazis is retold as if it happened in Wales.

Travelers

June 2023 •Tagalog

The diaspora of Filipinos around the globe is driven mostly by the economics of supply and demand. The yearning for something better, stability, and self-validation leads a handful of sojourners from the provinces of the Philippines into the arms of one of its former colonial masters — the USA. But what happens when they finally get what they want? And how? Filmmaker Dennis Empalmado explores the musings of Filipino expatriates and hopeful immigrants in "Naglalakbay" (Travelers).

Colette

February 2020 •French

World War II. Not all warriors wore uniforms. Not all warriors were men. Meet ninety-year-old Colette Catherine who, as a young girl, fought the Nazis as a member of the French Resistance. Now she’s about to re-open old wounds, re-visting the terrors of that time. Some nightmares are too terrible to remember. But also, too dangerous to forget.

Ritratti: Mario Rigoni Stern

September 1999 •Italian

Marco Paolini interviews Mario Rigoni Stern about—among other things—his well-known experience as a soldier on the Eastern front during WWII, culminating in the infamous retreat of the Italian troops, the difficult reintegration into civilian life after the war, his relationship with his literary work and with his ancestral land, the Asiago Plateau.

Trained Bears

May 1894 •English

Bears that are trained.

Your Day Is My Night

May 2014 •Chinese

Immigrant residents of a “shift-bed” apartment in the heart of New York City’s Chinatown share their stories of personal and political upheaval. As the bed transforms into a stage, the film reveals the collective history of the Chinese in the United States through conversations, autobiographical monologues, and theatrical movement pieces. Shot in the kitchens, bedrooms, wedding halls, cafés, and mahjong parlors of Chinatown, this provocative hybrid documentary addresses issues of privacy, intimacy, and urban life.

Debris Tunnelling

January 1943 •English

A British documentary on tunneling if a building falls in ruins.

People of Russia

December 1942 •English

This FitzPatrick Miniature visits the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the largest geographically unbroken political unit in the world, covering one-sixth of the world's land mass.