And The Brave Shall Rise

Drei Stunden Güstrow

January 1994 •German

December 1981: Helmut Schmidt, chancellor of the FRG, visits the chairman of the state council of the GDR, Erich Honecker. The experiences with the visit of Willy Brandt in Erfurt in 1970 have warned the state leadership: Euphoria for a federal chancellor is out of the question this time. For December 13th, the protocol plans a visit to Güstrow. The Christmas market, the Barlach memorial, and the cathedral of Güstrow are on the agenda. The enormous machinery of the ministry of state security is set into motion in order to ensure the “safety of the guest”. Erich Mielke: “Never before, such a high effort was necessary as here in Güstrow.” People are temporarily arrested, inhabitants placed under house arrest, Stasi employees dressed up as “visitors of the Christmas market”. And like that, the media was supposed to get presented with a favourable image of the GDR. A reconstruction of three hours of state visit to Güstrow.

Tread

February 2020 •English

Pushed to his breaking point, a master welder in a small town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains quietly fortifies a bulldozer with 30 tons of concrete and steel and seeks to destroy those he believes have wronged him.

Microchip Wars

March 2023 •French

When the pandemic hit it highlighted how much Western countries rely on the chip industry. Today Europe, America and China are involved in an intense commercial struggle to dominate this sector that is so strategic for the future. From Taiwan to Shanghai, via Brussels and San Francisco, investigative journalist Nicolas Vescovacci went to meet the most influential players in this microchip war, which is redefining world geopolitics.

Clarissa & the King's Cookbook

March 2008 •English

Clarissa Dickson Wright tracks down Britain's oldest known cookbook, The Forme of Cury. This 700-year-old scroll was written during the reign of King Richard II from recipes created by the king's master chefs. How did this ancient manuscript influence the way people eat today? On her culinary journey through medieval history she reawakens recipes that have lain dormant for centuries and discovers dishes that are still prepared now.

Soul Food Junkies

January 2012 •English

To many African Americans, soul food is sacrament, ritual, and a key expression of cultural identity. But does this traditional cuisine do more harm to health than it soothes the soul?

Stolen

November 2023 •English

Government inquiry revealed a pattern of neglect, high child mortality rates and lack of burial records among mother and baby homes once run by Ireland's religious orders. Mothers recount the shame and secrecy attached to pregnancy outside marriage and their long struggle to be reunited with the children that many claim were illegally adopted, while adoptees reveal how they were thwarted from accessing birth records.

American Journal

November 2023 •French

A cinematic essay interweaving private archive images and a mixture of reflective, speculative and poetic intertitles that, like “an old movie from the 20th century”, invites us to meditate on what Des Pallières once liked to call “our old homeland”.

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.

Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell

January 1995 •English

The life and career of legendary Hollywood glamour portrait photographer George Hurrell is profiled by his contemporaries including other photographers and actors he has shot.

Quand le vent tourne

March 2024 •French

The 11th Hour

August 2007 •English

A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse

War of the Worlds

October 2013 •English

An account of Orson Welles' 1938 radio drama broadcast that inadvertently started a mass panic.

Women, Maasai and rangers - The lionesses of Kenya

November 2022 •French

Leah and Purity are rangers in the Kenyan bushland. They roam around Amboseli National Park every day to track down wildlife. The Maasai shepherds also have their villages here. Conflicts can hardly be avoided. The young women are often called to missions to mediate or comfort. The two Maasai women themselves have to fight against discrimination

True Asian Horror

March 2007 •English

A new wave of Asian horror movie filmmakers is capturing the attention of film studios desperate for box office success. From Tokyo to Hong Kong and Bangkok to Seoul, this two-part documentary describes how Asian directors have successfully married the power of local myths and superstitions with cutting-edge filming techniques and innovative storytelling, producing some of the scariest moments in the history of cinema. True Asian Horror includes scenes from The Ring - the movie voted by cinemagoers around the world as the scariest movie ever - and modern horror classics such as The Eye and Phone. Sit back as the directors of these classic films reveal how they manage to frighten the life out of their audiences and hear film critics explain why Hollywood is terrified to turn its back on Asian moviemakers whose meteoric rise to the top has been just plain scary.

The Man Card

October 2020 •English

For years, right-wing politicians and pundits have repeatedly criticized the left for playing “the race card” and “the woman card.” This new film turns the tables and takes dead aim at the right’s own longstanding – but rarely discussed – deployment of white-male identity politics in American presidential elections. Ranging from Richard Nixon’s tough-talking, law-and-order campaign in 1968 to Donald Trump’s hyper-macho revival of the same fear-based appeals in 2020, "The Man Card" shows how the right has mobilized dominant ideas about manhood and enacted a deliberate strategy to frame Democrats and liberals as soft, brand the Republican Party as the party of “real men,” and position conservatives as defenders of white male power and authority in the face of transformative demographic change and ongoing struggles for racial, gender, and sexual equality.

Taiwan - Angst vor der Invasion

June 2022 •French

Chuck Leavell: The Tree Man

November 2020 •English

It took his whole life to live and three full years to film Chuck Leavell: The Tree Man. Filmed in four countries with more than 80 interviews from artists with a combined 58 Grammy Awards by the artist included, “Chuck Leavell: The Tree Man,” an Allen Farst film, is the cinematic documentary that shines a light on one of the greatest rock’n roll pianists and keyboardists over the last 40 years. Not just known for his musical influence, Leavell is also one of the biggest names in environmental forestry and was selected the National Tree Farmer of the Year in the United States. -His commitment to the planet and his strong family ties are refreshing reminders to be kind and treat your neighbor with respect. As Leavell puts it, “if you cut a tree down, plant two for the next guy.”

A Guide to Love and Fighting Capitalism

March 2022 •French

Monique and Michel Pinçon-Charlot are a couple of French sociologists, famous for their work on the uber-rich. They have been in love for more than fifty years, and they enjoy a comfortable retirement in their lovely home in the Paris suburbs. They could live a quiet life, but how do you get some rest when there is capitalism to fight against?

Countdown To 1990 : La Réunification de l'Allemagne

January 2020 •French

Jeunesse Rouge: The Story of Young Communist Revolutionaries in France

March 2023 •French

"Jeunesse Rouge" is a documentary exploring young French Communist revolutionaries fighting for a just and equal society. The film follows their organizing and mobilizing, while delving into the history of the Communist movement in France. Archival footage and interviews with activists show their passionate commitment, from protests and strikes to political education. It highlights the power of youth activism and their potential to bring about change in the face of systemic inequality.