A Story of the Forest: Mavka

Mavka, a water nymph, loves Lukash, a country youth. Their brief happiness ends when Lukash is forced to marry the shrewish Kilina. The Spirit of the Forest turns Lukash into a wolf as punishment for his infidelity. The strength of Mavka's love breaks the spell, but Kilina curses the nymph, transforming her into a weeping willow. This beautiful and tragic story is based on a play written in 1912 by Lesya Ukrainka, a Ukrainian poet, writer and political, civil and female activist, and includes mythological characters taken from Ukrainian folklore.

1980-07-23 | uk

Mamay

Mamay draws on traditional Ukranian and Tatar folktales for its Romeo and Juliet-like love story and parable about chivalry and the struggle for freedom. Hundreds of years ago, in the wild steppes of Crimea that form an uneasy border between East and West, Europe and Asia, nomad and farmer, the proud Cossack Mamay falls in love with the Tatar beauty Omai. The title, like the storyline, holds a variety of different meanings taken from different cultures. In Turkic languages, it means "no one," but it was also the name of a famous Mongol conqueror, the great grandson of Ghengis-Khan. In Persian legends, mamay literally means "the spirit of the steppes. "

2003-02-19 | uk

Beowulf & Grendel

The blood-soaked tale of a Norse warrior's battle against the great and murderous troll, Grendel. Heads will roll. Out of allegiance to the King Hrothgar, the much respected Lord of the Danes, Beowulf leads a troop of warriors across the sea to rid a village of the marauding monster.

2005-09-14 | en

Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy

A young hero defeats a dragon to find acceptance to the court of burgundy.

1966-12-13 | de

The Land of Our Fathers

An old man decides to find the body of his son, a Kazakh soldier who died fighting somewhere in Russia, to bury him in the land of his ancestors. Travelling across the land with his grandson, they discover the harsh reality of war. And when they finally find the coveted grave, they realise that many brothers-in-arms are buried with the soldier. Every inch of the great homeland becomes the land of our fathers, the land of the ancestors...

1966-03-01 | ru

Hinemoa

The film told the Māori legend of Hinemoa and Tutanekai. It is the first dramatic feature film produced in New Zealand.

1914-08-16 | mi

William Tell

A tale about the Swiss folk hero.

1914-04-23 | fr

Royal Opera House 2023/24: Das Rheingold

When a precious hoard of gold is stolen from the river Rhine, it unleashes a chain of destructive events, pitting gods and mortals against one another for generations. Wagner’s Ring cycle boasts some of the greatest music ever written for the opera stage. Join us as we embark on a spectacular journey into the world of myth, dream and memory, with the figure of Erda – Mother Earth herself – at its centre.

2023-09-24 | en

Príbeh o Fatime a Omarovi

1975-12-24 | sk

Sita Sings the Blues

Utilizing the 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, the epic Indian tale of exiled prince Ramayana and his bride Sita is mirrored by a spurned woman's contemporary personal life, and light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of Indian shadow puppets.

2008-02-11 | en

Kazakh Khanate: Diamond Sword

Set in the 15th century, the story follows the formation of the Kazakh state after the death of Genghis Khan and the usurpation of power by one of Khan's descendants, leading the sultans Kerei and Janibek to resort to some nomadic tribes to remove the usurper, hoping for a better life and freedom.

2017-01-05 | kk

Arsena

XIX century peasants' revolt and the life story of bandit Arsena Odzelashvili.

1937-05-19 | ka

National Theatre Live: Medea

Medea is a wife and a mother. For the sake of her husband, Jason, she’s left her home and borne two sons in exile. But when he abandons his family for a new life, Medea faces banishment and separation from her children. Cornered, she begs for one day’s grace. It’s time enough. She exacts an appalling revenge and destroys everything she holds dear.

2014-09-04 | en

Black Orpheus

Young lovers Orfeu and Eurydice run through the favelas of Rio during Carnaval, on the lam from a hitman dressed like Death and Orfeu's vengeful fiancée Mira and passing between moments of fantasy and stark reality. This impressionistic retelling of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice introduced bossa nova to the world with its soundtrack by young Brazilian composers Luiz Bonfá and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

1959-06-12 | pt

Queen of Serpents

Based on a Lithuanian folk tale.

2003-01-01 | lt

The Christmas Witch Trial of La Befana

A group of children kidnap the legendary Christmas Witch, and put her on trial as a means of banishing her annual judgments.

| en

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner

Based on a local legend and set in an unknown era, it deals with universal themes of love, possessiveness, family, jealousy and power. Beautifully shot, and acted by Inuit people, it portrays a time when people fought duels by taking turns to punch each other until one was unconscious, made love on the way to the caribou hunt, ate walrus meat and lit their igloos with seal-oil lamps.

2002-02-01 | iu

Oedipus Rex

The story of Oedipus' gradual discovery of his primal crime, killing his father and marrying his mother, filmed by the famed British theatrical director Sir Tyrone Guthrie. This elegant version of Sophocles' play adds a brilliant stroke: the actors wear masks just as the Greeks did in the playwright's day.

1957-01-06 | en

Nobleza baturra

Aragón, Spain, early 20th century. María del Pilar is a honest girl whose good name is dirtied when an old suitor seeking revenge accuses her of losing her virginity outside of marriage. The scandal soon spreads throughout the countryside.

1935-10-11 | es

Together

In the Kazakh village live Dzhumagali grandfather with his grandson Achan six years, still in its infancy have been orphaned. It is not easy they have, even though the boy had learned to fan the samovar, do the dishes and go after the cattle. But the old man for a long time and seriously ill, and he knows that he is not a long stretch. So I decided Dzhumagali part with her beloved grandson - sent him to the city to stay with relatives while he stayed to live out his life in the village.

1988-07-01 | ru