The Face Behind the Mask

This dramatized short film describes the historical mystery of France's "man in the iron mask". King Louis XIV imprisoned a man who was never identified, but who was forced to wear an iron mask for the length of his captivity, which ended only in his death. Several candidates for the identity of the man are investigated.

1938-03-19 | en

Liyana

A talented group of orphaned children in Swaziland create a fictional heroine and send her on a dangerous quest.

2017-07-15 | en

Les enfants de Vercheny

2021-09-01 | fr

Geographies of Kinship

In this powerful tale about the rise of Korea’s global adoption program, four adult adoptees return to their country of birth and reconnect with their roots, mapping the geographies of kinship that bind them to a homeland they never knew.

2019-11-10 | en

Waiting for the Sun

In China more people are on death row than the rest of the world combined. The children of the convicts are often left alone, stigmatized and living in the streets. Grandma Zhang, as the kids call her, is a former prison guard who has founded an orphanage in Nanzhao.

2017-03-19 | en

Memory Books

In Uganda, AIDS-infected mothers have begun writing what they call Memory Books for their children. Aware of the illness, it is a way for the family to come to terms with the inevitable death that it faces. Hopelessness and desperation are confronted through the collaborative effort of remembering and recording, a process that inspires unexpected strength and even solace in the face of death.

2008-05-01 | en

Every Day After

Growing up in Masbate Province in the Philippines, Jary is neglected and shunned since the moment of his birth for one reason-- his appearance. His older sister, Jessa protects Jary through his early years, then takes him in as a young teen, to raise him alongside her own two children in a fragile house on a hill. Jessa seeks out the medical care Jary has been denied since birth. And more, the support to begin his physical and emotional recovery. Every Day After is a 35-minute documentary film that provides a more nuanced look at the complexities of the healing process we don’t often see. And honors the invisible labor of a sister whose love and action make it possible for Jary to experience the everyday joys and struggles of growing up.

2023-08-13 | en

This Is the Bowery

In this somewhat whitewashed documentary on Manhattan's Bowery a newcomer to the area takes his first step toward redemption after a meal, bed, and inspiring talk.

1941-05-31 | en

Julieta

The life and times of the mexican pianist Julieta García Rello, as told by her granddaughter.

2006-05-11 | es

Realized Dreams

A film promoting orphan's cause.

1937-01-01 | ar

Gino: A Child of War

An account of a young Italian boy who was taken in by a Canadian military unit during World War II.

2023-10-15 | en

Chief Rabbi's Emergency Council

Poignant postwar appeal for Britain’s Jewry to support orphaned Jewish children rescued from Europe.

1947-10-10 | en

The Children of Leningradsky

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain an estimated four million children have found themselves living on the streets in the former countries of the Soviet Union. In the streets of Moscow alone there are over 30,000 surviving in this manner at the present time. The makers of the documentary film concentrated on a community of homeless children living hand to mouth in the Moscow train station Leningradsky. Eight-year-old Sasha, eleven-year-old Kristina, thirteen-year-old Misha and ten-year-old Andrej all dream of living in a communal home. They spend winter nights trying to stay warm by huddling together on hot water pipes and most of their days are spent begging. Andrej has found himself here because of disagreements with his family. Kristina was driven into this way of life by the hatred of her stepmother and twelve-year-old Roma by the regular beatings he received from his constantly drunk father. "When it is worst, we try to make money for food by prostitution," admits ...

2005-08-05 | pl

Forgotten Treasure

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short highlights the film preservation efforts of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Several scenes from early newsreels are shown.

1943-07-24 | en

A Lady Fights Back

The saga of the Normandie is recounted from her life as a luxury liner, the horrific fire that nearly destroyed her, and her resuscitation to join in the war effort. A John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short.

1944-11-11 | en

TUNAHAKI

Tunahaki is the extraordinary story of nine gifted orphans who are acrobats. We follow their journey as an American volunteer takes them from Africa to study with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas. They end up touring the States and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, more than enough to build a permanent home. But how have the kids' experiences in America affected them? And how will it change things back home in Tanzania? Tunahaki's heartfelt journey gives us something new to ponder as we reach across the world to help those less fortunate—is it always the right thing to do?

2010-03-09 | en

Hexenkinder

The movie recalls children who suffered mental and physical harm both during the last century, particularly in religious orphanages, and during the time of early modernperiod witch-hunts. It shows that the mindsets and behavioural patterns of both time periods are more alike than one might think.

2020-09-17 | de

6 Weeks to Mother's Day

150 underprivileged and orphaned students in the remote jungle of Thailand attending the country's first democratic school prepare a special celebration to honor their remarkable adoptive mother on Mother's Day.

2017-11-16 | th

The Film That Was Lost

In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short, a look is taken at the problems of film preservation efforts in the 1930s and early 1940s.

1942-10-31 | en

La Babel des enfants perdus

2020-01-21 | fr