Fram – Forward

Hard Border

January 2018 •English

Belfast-born actor Stephen Rea explores the impact of Brexit and the uncertainty of the future of the Irish border in a short film written by Clare Dwyer Hogg.

The Contact Enigma

November 2021 •English

Three people become connected through mysterious circumstances involving electronic devices which spontaneously appeared in their world.

Wish Us Luck

March 2013 •Thai

A one-month-journey of twin sisters from London back to their home, Bangkok, by train. They traveled via the famous trans-Siberian route through many countries such as Germany, Russia, Mongolia and China, with many stories to tell.

The Musicians' Green Book: An Enduring Legacy

November 2022 •English

Stories and music of Black artists who relied on an underground travel guide to navigate the injustices of racial segregation while on the road. The Negro Travelers’ Green Book was a directory of lodgings, restaurants, and entertainment venues where African Americans were welcomed. Features performances and interviews with vocalists, musicians, activists, historians, and others.

Im Reich Des Squatters

April 2020 •German

Ella

July 2016 •English

Ella Havelka made history in 2013 by becoming the first Indigenous dancer at the 50-year-old Australian Ballet. In this engaging, MIFF Premiere Fund-supported world premiere, Ella – a descendant of the Wiradjuri people – charts her inspiring journey from growing up in modest circumstances as the only child of a single mother in rural Australia to gaining entry to National Ballet School, then spending formative years with the acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre before accepting the invitation of The Australian Ballet's artistic director David McAllister to join one of the world's foremost ballet companies.

Snow Bears

December 2017 •English

The enchanting true-to-life tale of polar bear cubs and their mother on a 400-mile journey from their birth den in Svalbard to the pack ice surrounding the North Pole.

Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra

February 2021 •English

Taking us through Bangarra Dance Theatre’s spectacular growth, we follow the story of how three young Aboriginal brothers — Stephen, David and Russell Page — turned the newly born dance group into a First Nations cultural powerhouse.

Bitva o život

November 2000 •Czech

Flamenco at 5:15

January 1983 •English

In this Oscar Winning documentary short film, students in their final year at the National Ballet School of Canada are seen learning the flamenco from Susana and Antonio Robledo, who come to the school every winter to conduct classes which are held after the day's regular schedule has ended.

Searching for the Perfect Gentleman

August 2019 •German

"Searching for the Perfect Gentleman — an Investigative Journey" is a documentary about the search of an African barber shop poster. The virtual journey takes the viewer to various African, European and Asian countries, in order to find the place where it was originally created, produced and sold. What seems easy in the beginning turns out to be a demanding process, yet an interesting experience in accessing information, communicating with people from totally different backgrounds and indulging in uncertainty, to celebrate the search itself — wherever it may lead. The film shows how boundaries between originality and reproduction merge, in a world where everything can be remixed and reprinted easily. Searching for the Perfect Gentleman tells a multi-layered story about trust, persistence and interconnectedness in a globalized world.

Umnak - Aleutian Islands

October 2021 •English

Explorers and amateur directors Mariana Ianovska and Viktor Posnov embark on a 40 day long trip across Umnak Island.

Zaniklý svět Karla Pecky

March 2000 •Czech

Nathalie: The first and last prom

January 2024 •Spanish

Christine attends her first and last prom accompanied by Martin Fredericksen

Trip to Asia: The Quest for Harmony

February 2008 •German

Journey with the musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic and their conductor Sir Simon Rattle on a breakneck concert tour of six metropolises across Asia: Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo. Their artistic triumph onstage belies a dynamic and dramatic life backstage. The orchestra is a closed society that observes its own laws and traditions, and in the words of one of its musicians is, “an island, a democratic microcosm – almost without precedent in the music world - whose social structure and cohesion is not only founded on a common love for music but also informed by competition, compulsion and the pressure to perform to a high pitch of excellence... .” Never before has the Berlin Philharmonic allowed such intimate and exclusive access into its private world.

Dance of the Little Swans: Vaganova Academy Auditions Young Dancers

June 2016 •English

Many young girls dream of becoming ballerinas, but only very few are prepared to apply the all-out effort and make the sacrifices that this dream demands. The famous Vaganova Ballet Academy in St.Petersburg welcomes the most talented and determined young dancers, but it makes them no promises. RT Doc meets some of the young hopefuls storming the doors of the famous Academy to find out more about the dream they share, and to follow them on their first steps towards achieving it.

Dream Chasers

May 2003 •English

Whose Utopia

July 2006 •Chinese

A three-part film by Cao Fei. Part one, 'Imagination of Product', shows workers and machines at the OSRAM lightbulb factory in China's Pearl River Delta. In the second part, 'Factory Fairytale', dancers and musicians appear in the factory, as work continues around them. Finally, 'My Future is Not a Dream' consists of portraits of the factory workers facing Fei's camera.

On Memory

November 2021 •English

Musing on the nature of memory, Don Hertzfeldt recounts stories about a kiss from The King, a floating child in a backyard and a giant foot.

Rize

January 2005 •English

A documentary film that highlights two street derived dance styles, Clowning and Krumping, that came out of the low income neighborhoods of L.A.. Director David LaChapelle interviews each dance crew about how their unique dances evolved. A new and positive activity away from the drugs, guns, and gangs that ruled their neighborhood. A raw film about a growing sub-culture movements in America.