Kids

In Bettina Büttner’s exquisitely lucid documentary Kinder (Kids), childhood dysfunction, loneliness, and pent-up emotion run wild at an all-boys group home in southern Germany. The children interned here include ten-year-olds Marvin and Tommy. Marvin, fiddling with a mini plastic Lego sword, explains matter-of-factly to the camera, “This is a knife. You use it to cut stomachs open.” Dennis, who is even younger, is seen in a hysteric fit, mimicking some pornographic scene. Boys will be boys, but innocence is disproportionately spare here. Choosing not to dwell on the harsh specifics, Büttner reveals the disconcerting manner in which traumatic episodes can manifest themselves in the mundane — a game of Lego, Hide and Seek, or Truth or Dare. Filmed in lapidary black-and-white, Büttner’s fascinating film sheds light on childhood from the boys’ characteristically disadvantaged perspective — one not yet fully cognizant — leaving much ethically to ponder over.

2011-03-06 | de

Appalachian Journey

Appalachian Journey is one of five films made from footage that Alan Lomax shot between 1978 and 1985 for the PBS American Patchwork series (1991). It offers songs, dances, stories, and religious rituals of the Southern Appalachians. Preachers, singers, fiddlers, banjo pickers, moonshiners, cloggers, and square dancers recount the good times and the hard times of rural life there. Performers include Tommy Jarrell, Janette Carter, Ray and Stanley Hicks, Frank Proffitt Jr., Sheila Kay Adams, Nimrod Workman and Phyllis Boyens, Raymond Fairchild, and others, with a bonus of a few African-Americans from the North Carolina Piedmont.

1991-07-19 | en

It's A Mean Old World

By the time "It's A Mean Old World" was filmed, Reverend Pearly Brown had been struggling to survive singing gospel music for nearly 40 years. While the rough sound of his bottleneck playing has the feel of a life spent scuffling on the street, the poignancy of his voice is a better measure of the gentle spirit and inner strength of the man.

1977-01-01 | en

Frontline: The Tank Man

On June 5, 1989, one day after Chinese troops expelled thousands of demonstrators from Tiananmen Square in Beijing, a solitary, unarmed protester stood his ground before a column of tanks advancing down the Avenue of Eternal Peace. Captured by Western photographers watching nearby, this extraordinary confrontation became an icon of the fight for freedom around the world. FRONTLINE investigates the mystery of the tank man — his identity, his fate, and his significance for the Chinese leadership.

2006-04-11 | en

All in My Family

After starting a family of his very own in the United States, a gay filmmaker documents his loving, traditional Chinese family's process of acceptance.

2019-05-03 | en

One Ticket Please

A documentary about a 78-year-old Indian woman in New York who is the world's most passionate theatergoer. Nicki Cochrane has been seeing a play every day for more than 25 years, acquiring free tickets using a variety of ingenious means.

2017-03-13 | en

Psycho Path

Documentary on the making of Gus Van Sant's "Psycho."

2000-02-10 | en

You've Been Trumped Too

A timely film exploring the confrontation between a feisty 92-year-old Scottish widow and her family and a billionaire trying to become the most powerful man in the world.

2016-10-28 | en

Wanda Gosciminska – A Textile Worker

The life of a female weaver is thrown onto the socio-political canvas of pre-war and post-war communist Poland through the use of expressive allegorical and symbolic imagery in this imaginative take on the documentary form.

1975-06-16 | pl

In the Interstices of Reality or The Cinema of António de Macedo

He was the most prolific within the New Portuguese Cinema generation. He would try western spaghetti, esoteric allegory, supernatural, and science-fiction. Without state subsidies, he would quit filmmaking in the 1990s. Who remembers António de Macedo?

2016-10-29 | pt

Tiermythen - Im Auge des Löwen

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Wicker Kittens

Every January, the country's largest jigsaw puzzle contest is held in St. Paul, Minnesota. Choose your favorite team and watch them try to put the pieces back together.

2014-03-08 | en

Barbarossa: Hitler Turns East

Hitler's invasion of Russia was one of the landmark events of World War II. This documentary reveals the lead-up to the offensive, its impact on the war and the brinksmanship that resulted from the battle for Moscow. Rare footage from both German and Russian archives and detailed maps illustrate the conflict, while award-winning historian and author John Erickson provides insight into the pivotal maneuvers on the eastern front.

2007-08-06 | hu

Baobab Play

Children and teenagers throw sticks, berries, and leaves at each other from perches in a large baobab tree.

1974-01-01 | en

Dief!

This documentary short is a portrait of Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and 13th prime minister of Canada, John George Diefenbaker (1895-1979). Diefenbaker's political career spanned 6 decades. When he died in 1979, his state funeral and final train trip west became more a celebration of life than a victory for death.

1981-01-01 | en

Hidden Universe

An extraordinary journey deep into space offering fresh insight into the origins and evolution of the universe.

2013-06-29 | en

Guys 'N Divas: Battle of the High School Musicals

This fascinating documentary chronicles the intense rivalry between high schools in Southern Indiana to win a prestigious festival performance with lavish student musical productions that often cost in the tens of thousands of dollars to produce.

2009-01-01 | en

MxPx - Both Ends Burning

"Both Ends Burning" is a film that captures MxPx at a crossroads in their seasoned career. Directed by Bryan Buchelt, this documentary not only follows the band's struggles in the face of the new touring climate, it also looks at the legacy and impact that Mike, Tom, and Yuri have had on the music industry, fellow bands, and their fans. This is one of the first true looks into the life of the notoriously private working class band on the road and at home.

2011-12-08 | en

Immersion the Movie

"Immersion the movie" is a journey of what is surfing now. 7 years in the making, Immersion features some of surfing's greatest talents and personalities and takes you to some of the world's most isolated, notorious and picturesque surfing locations - Australia, Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti. This film captures mind-blowing swell events that made history and glue the viewer to its seat. You will travel following the footsteps of the film maker, Tim Bonython, and will embark on a memorable journey. Each sequence has a purpose and a story to tell. Immersion is an intense sight and sound experience for surfing enthusiasts and ocean lovers of all tastes, generation and walks of live.

2012-01-01 | en

USA: A West Coast Journey

Explore over 40 amazing destinations in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona & Colorado: From San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate Bridge to the pulsating night life of Las Vegas to the breath-taking natural wonders of the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. Filmed in Ultra HD resolution USA 4K – A WEST COAST JOURNEY features spectacular aerial images, time-lapse cinematography and elaborate camerawork.

2014-06-09 | de