The Soviet Story

The Witches of Salem

April 1957 •French

Salem 1692. The young Abigail, seduced and abandoned by John Proctor, accuses John's wife of being a witch in revenge. A series of tragic trials soon befall Salem as fear and suspicion blur the lines of reality.

Freedom from Despair

October 2004 •English

True stories of the Croatian People's struggle to overcome oppression from communist Yugoslavia and the 1990's fight to save their war ravaged homeland.

Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist

October 1987 •English

This one-hour film, narrated by Actor BURT LANCASTER, explores the lingering effects of The Hollywood Blacklist, which occurred in the late forties and early fifties as part of the Anti-Communist witch-hunts that terrorized the nation. This film is seen through the eyes of the wives and children of the now deceased Hollywood figures whose careers were destroyed when studio bosses, along with guild and union officials capitulated to the demands of the House Un-American Activities Committee.

At the Last Hour

January 1929 •Georgian

1918 year. One of the southern cities is captured by the Whites. An underground Bolshevik committee is preparing an armed uprising in the city.

Red Dawn

August 1984 •English

It is the dawn of World War III. In mid-western America, a group of teenagers band together to defend their town—and their country—from invading Soviet forces.

Good Night, and Good Luck.

September 2005 •English

The story of journalist Edward R. Murrow's stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witch-hunts in the early 1950s.

The Liberal War

November 1974 •English

The Vietnam War during the JFK years and beyond. Made in 1972 in the filmmaker's apartment, without documentary footage of the war, metaphors are created through the animation of images and objects, and through guerrilla skits. By rejecting the authority of traditional documentary footage, the anarchist spirit of individual responsibility is established. This is history from one person's point of view, rather than a definitive proclamation.

The Trials of Alger Hiss

March 1980 •English

Documentary by lifelong friend that supports the innocence of Alger Hiss (convicted in January 1950 on two counts of espionage-related perjury)

The Gulag Archipelago: The Book That Changed Russian History

November 2023 •French

The story of Russian writer and Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) and his masterpiece, The Gulag Archipelago, published in Paris in 1973, which forever shook the very foundations of communist ideology.

Forman vs. Forman

July 2019 •Czech

A moving account, in his own words, of the personal life and work of the brilliant Czech filmmaker Miloš Forman (1932-2018): his tragic childhood, his major contribution to the cultural movement known as the Czech New Wave, his exile in Paris, his troubled days in New York, his rise to stardom in Hollywood; a complete existence in the service of cinema.

Why the Kremlin Hates Bananas

March 1953 •English

A propaganda short commissioned by the United Fruit Company on the benefits they bring to Central America, such as creating jobs and delivering educational opportunities, which is something the Soviet Union could never understand.

Po całym ciele

January 1999 •Polish

Bardzo krótki strajk. 14-15 grudnia 1981 roku

January 2007 •Polish

The Way Back

November 2010 •English

At the dawn of WWII, several men escape from a Russian gulag—to take a perilous and uncertain journey to freedom as they cross deserts, mountains and several nations.

The Beast Is Still Alive

November 2016 •Bulgarian

A young Bulgarian girl digs into her grandfather's turbulent life in an attempt to unravel the past and find answers and explanations for the catastrophic fall of communism.

School of Assassins

January 1967 •English

This anti-Communism film uses animation to tell the story of two brothers, one of whom receives training for hemispheric subversion in Cuba and returns to his own country to spread violence and terror. He realizes his mistake when, in the course of trying to destroy an experimental farm, his actions bring about the death of his brother Gustavo. Produced by Copri International Films, Inc. (Miami, FL) and directed by Jose D. de Villegas.

Disco and Atomic War

April 2009 •Estonian

A different history of the Cold War: how Estonians under Soviet tyranny began to feel the breeze of freedom when a group of anonymous dreamers successfully used improbable methods to capture the Finnish television signal, a window into Western popular culture, brave but harmless warriors who helped change the fate of an entire nation.

Names in Marble

November 2002 •Estonian

Despite peaceful speeches, the army of the Soviet Russian is attacking Estonia, and the country's government is declaring a mobilization for all. Henn Ahas, the son of a poor family, hesitates to go to war.

Bless You, Prison

November 2002 •Romanian

Based on Nicole Valery-Grossu's European best seller autobiographic novel "Bless you, prison", the film is a true story, with real events and characters. A young intellectual woman, Nicole is arrested. There follow three months of exhausting interrogation and isolation. Alone in a cell, she undergoes a spiritual experience similar to that of the great mystics.

This Man Escaped the Iron Curtain by Zip Line

June 2018 •English

In 1986, Daniel Pohl was stuck in communist Czechoslovakia, looking for a way to escape life under totalitarian rule. His exit strategy was unusual, to say the least. After realizing that he could not rely on traditional forms of transport, Daniel chose to zip line his way to freedom. After teaming up with a physicist, the two devised a plan using a series of DIY pulleys. Thankfully, his journey proved to be mission possible as he successfully crossed the Iron Curtain, making a safe escape into Austria.