The Seven Five

Paradoxocracy

June 2013 •Thai

Paradoxocracy, co-directed with Pen-ek's longtime friend and producer, Pasakorn Pramoolwong, begins with the 1932 Siamese Revolution - which transformed Thailand from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one - and works its way to the present day, chronicling the country's major political revolutions, movements and countless coups along the way. Using a combination of archival footage, voice-overs and interviews with 15 unnamed academics, activists and political leaders, the film presents the directors' personal journey to come to an understanding of how their country arrived at its current state of near-constant political division and dysfunction.

Malades sans ordonnances

November 2021 •French

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?

Pestilent City

March 1967 •English

Pestilent City covers Manhattan from South to North, from Times Square to Harlem, finding along the way ever more poverty, violence, rage and tragic drunkenness.

Wasted Talent

July 2018 •English

Spit Gold Under an Empire

Invalid date •English

Short documentary on underground rap culture in New York City.

Picture Proof

March 2023 •English

Examines the intergenerational impact of addiction by chronicling the love, labor, loss, and uncertainty of one woman’s struggle to live a life of sobriety. Weaving together moments of glee, fulfillment, acceptance, sorrow, and disappointment, this documentary takes an intimate look at the bonds that hold one family together and a disease that threatens to tear them apart.

Excellent Cadavers

August 2005 •English

In the late-80s and early-90s, two prosecutors went after the mob in Sicily. Archival footage, gruesome photographs and new interviews are shown.

Prime Evil

February 2000 •English

Eugene de Kock, nicknamed "Prime Evil," was South Africa's most notorious government assassin under the apartheid regime. A highly decorated and powerful man, he led police death squads against enemies of the state; his victims were mainly connected with the ANC. The film includes interviews with torture victims and with friends of de Kock.

Donald Trump: All-American Billionaire

January 2010 •English

Emily Maitlis tells the story of Donald Trump, the world's most famous developer, who changed the New York skyline with his glitzy towers and made himself a multi-billionaire.

Sicko

May 2007 •English

A documentary about the corrupt health care system in The United States who's main goal is to make profit even if it means losing people’s lives. "The more people you deny health insurance the more money we make" is the business model for health care providers in America.

A Boy Has Been Dead

September 2010 •English

An investigation on the death of a 18-year-old boy and its cover-up by the police.

Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa)

January 1972 •English

Leon Gast's musical documentary reveals New York City's Latin culture and features live performances of salsa greats The Fania All Stars and The Spanish Speaking People of New York. A document of urban American Hispanic culture, Gast's film captures the rhythms of New York's Spanish Harlem, from illegal cockfights and Santeria rituals to the rooftops and backstreets of El Barrio and the legendary musicians performing at the Cheetah club.

Black Gomorra

November 2018 •French

A look at the Nigerian mafia in the costal town of Castel Volturno in Italy.

Strange Days Diary NYC

March 2024 •English

One neighborhood in New York City, March 2020: the coronavirus is spreading rapidly, the federal government is clueless, and life seems increasingly surreal. A month later, the city has become an epicenter of the pandemic as the death rate spirals upwards. Then the racial justice protests erupt... Strange Days Diary NYC is an intimate account of living through a disruptive, frightening, yet inspiring time.

Scapegoat

October 2020 •Spanish

An aimless journey, where a trailer enters the bowels of a disappeared city, a black cat and 20 ° below zero.

America; I Too

March 2017 •English

Three arrested and detained undocumented immigrants must navigate the system to fight impending deportation.

42nd Street: River to River

November 2009 •English

An impressionistic, graphic history of one of the world's most infamous streets: Manhattan's 42nd Street. Likened to a DNA strip of New York City, the street has ranged from the glamorous to the derelict, housing everything from peep shows to such international institutions as the United Nations. The documentary is an exploration of the street's expansion from the farmland where Washington bivouacked his troops to the flashy, commercial center that it is today. With historical information, musical performances and personal narratives, the film traces the rise, subsequent dilapidation, and eventual resurgence of a street that has come to represent a place where, notoriously, anything may and has happened.

The Magnitsky Act. Behind the Scenes

June 2016 •English

What started as a drama about a Russian police plot to steal a billion dollars from a US financier and to murder his faithful tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, has become a real life investigation of contradicting versions of the crime.

How Safe Are My Drugs?

December 2014 •English

With more people taking a wider range of drugs than ever before, Radio 1 DJ B. Traits meets users and dealers to find out how much they really know about their drugs - and whether they're safe. After a decade working in some of the biggest clubs in the world, she worries that many people have no idea what they're taking, and are being sold drugs that aren't what they think.