Hot Summer

In this East German teen musical, a group of girls are planning to take their summer vacation together on the Baltic coast. When a loud and obnoxious group of boys intrudes on their holiday, the girls are horrified to learn that the boys have the same vacations plans as them. The two groups quarrel with each other and compete over a number of things, but gradually an attraction starts to form.

1968-06-20 | de

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

Jazz Legends - Chet Baker Quintette

2022-03-31 | en

D-Day, 100 jours pour la liberté

Using restored, colorized archives and testimonies from all the players in this conflict, this documentary covers the hundred days of apocalyptic fighting that wrote History. June 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy. This odyssey was meticulously prepared for months. The construction of two artificial ports, the transport of Anglo-American troops, their training cost colossal efforts, and caused many cold sweats: the secret of D-Day almost came to light several times. The documentary reveals the inner workings of Operation Overlord, it also deciphers the military operations, and evokes the choices of the high command. Placed at human level, it retraces the fate of Norman civilians subjected to deadly bombings, the attitude of the Allied soldiers and their German adversaries, as well as the aspirations of the French population, torn between fear and hope.

2024-06-06 | fr

Hockshop Blues

Musical performers put on a show in a pawn shop to convince a man to give them the money they need to buy back their instruments.

1937-01-22 | en

East-West Passage

In the summer of 1989 tens of thousands of tourists from communist East Germany came to Hungary. They were deeply disillusioned because they felt they had no future in East Germany. There was no freedom, no choice in the shops, salaries were low and they could not travel except to Eastern Europe. They wanted to go to a prosperous and free West Germany but they could not get passports, so they hoped that by travelling through Hungary, the least suppressed country of the Soviet Block, they could cross the Iron Curtain into Austria and then travel on into West Germany. For them the Hungary of twenty years ago was the new east-west passage. Written by Czes

2010-02-02 | hu

Festung Bratislava

1976-01-01 | sk

Food from the Empire

Made in 1940 and sponsored by the Ministry of Information this film shows the food contributions supplied to Britain by various colonies and dominions. 'Food from the Empire highlights the severity of the food issue, by discussing food production as a battle (...) and offers insights into British attitudes towards its colonies and dominions. The commentary notes that the ‘free people’ of these countries are ‘anxious to send every ounce they can to the United Kingdom for they know that upon the ability of Great Britain to hold out depends their own freedom’. Britain is depicted as a dominant power, fighting to protect those within the Empire, while the colonies are loyal and ‘anxious’ to help.' - Tom Rice, on the film from colonialfilm.org.

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Jasper in a Jam

In this entertaining Puppetoon animated short film, a young boy, Jasper, gets trapped inside a pawnshop at midnight. All the musical instruments come to life and play jazz. A whooping wooden Indian chief self-animates as well, and goes on the warpath.

1946-10-18 | en

The True Story of the Bridge on the River Kwai

Made famous by the 1957 Hollywood movie, the bridges of the River Kwai emblematize one of the most misunderstood events in history. Contrary to the romanticized film version, the structures represent a period of terror, desperation, and death for over 16,000 POWs and 100,00 local slaves. The Thailand - Burma Railway was the vision of the Japanese Imperial Army: a 250-mile track cut through dense jungle that would connect Bangkok and Rangoon. To accomplish this nearly impossible feat, the fanatical and ruthless Japanese engineers used POWs and local slaves as manpower. Candid interviews with men who lived through the atrocity - including Dutch, Australian, British, and American POWs - illuminate the violence and horror of their three-and-a-half-year internment. From Britain's surrender of Singapore the enduring force of friendship, The True Story Of The Bridge On The River Kwai narrates a moving and unforgettable account of a period in history that must be remembered.

2000-09-26 | en

Oscar

Brilliantly mixing animated sequences and archival footage, Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre paints a touching portrait of virtuoso pianist Oscar Peterson.

2016-11-01 | en

Komeda, Komeda...

A feature- length documentary on the life and work of jazz musician and composer Krzysztof Komeda.

2012-09-28 | pl

The Natural History of Destruction

Is it morally acceptable to use the civilian population as yet another tool for waging war? Is it possible to justify death and destruction for the sake of supposedly lofty ideals? The question remains as pertinent today as it was at the beginning of World War II, and it is becoming increasingly urgent to answer, as countless tragedies have been caused by unethical political decisions.

2022-05-23 | de

Bernau liegt am Meer

Daniel lives in Bernau, a small town north of Berlin.This film tells this 21-year-old’s story and describes the radical right-wing milieu in which he grew up. In his candid portrait of how right-wing radicalism breeds, Daniel explains how difficult it is to break out of a vicious circle of violence, self-hatred and a right-wing extremist frame of mind.

2003-02-10 | de

The RAF at War: Part One

Three part documentary of the history of the Royal Air Force during World War Two. They combine actual Air Ministry films and period newsreel footage with interviews of surviving members of the air force. The first part covers the period from the 'phoney war', the invasion of Poland and the early bombing raids on enemy shipping, through to the attacks on France. Aircraft featured include the Blenheim and Wellington bombers, the Sunderland flying boat, Spitfires and Hurricanes and the opposing ME109.

2004-01-01 | en

The RAF at War: Part Two

Three part documentary of the history of the Royal Air Force during World War Two. They combine actual Air Ministry films and period newsreel footage with interviews of surviving members of the air force. The second part covers the early years of 1939-1940 from the threat of German invasion preceded by Oporation Eagle attacks on airfields and ports, through the Battle of Britain to the commencement of the British bombing of Berlin after attacks on London and wider civilian casualties such as Coventry.

2004-01-02 | en

The RAF at War: Part Three

Three part documentary of the history of the Royal Air Force during World War Two. They combine actual Air Ministry films and period newsreel footage with interviews of surviving members of the air force. This final part covers the the years 1941-1945 from the campaigns to attack German military targets to mass night bombing, primarily from the viewpont of Bomber Command, and associated Air-Sea rescue. It ends with the food aid flights to the Netherlands immediatly prior to Victory in Europe. Featured aircraft include the Bristol Blenheim, the Vickers Wellington, and the heavy bombers Short Stirling, Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster.

2004-01-03 | en

In memoriam Duke Ellington

1993-11-30 | de

Earl "Fatha" Hines - Blues Alley, Washington DC

A 1975 documentary on the great Blues pianist Earl Hines, one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano.

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People of Russia

This FitzPatrick Miniature visits the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the largest geographically unbroken political unit in the world, covering one-sixth of the world's land mass.

1942-12-26 | en