This series incorporates the latest animated 3D films to explore recent discoveries about human history, especially in Asia.
Social & External
The people behind it
Gong Meng Lin
Rong Rong De
Ram Raid Mums follows three desperate mothers, at their breaking point. With nowhere to turn, they discover Mana Inc, a lifeline that sparks hope.
Between one carriage and another, passengers tell their stories over a train journey.
A group of teenagers from Flint, Michigan filmed themselves kidnapping and terrorizing a new acquaintance, before taking her out to a woods and dumping her in a shallow grave. They then taunted their terrified and blindfolded victim asking if she had any last requests before they cut her throat. But was the kidnap real or just a game? Three days later the tape was in the hands of the police and the 5 teenager friends were in custody facing life imprisonment. This program talks to the people at the heart of this story - including two of the defendants - in an attempt to understand what really happened in the woods around Flint last year. It also screens the video of the 'abduction'. What is revealed is an extraordinary and disturbing record of a night when something went terribly, terribly wrong.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Russians have started having dreams about their president and sharing them on social media. More than a thousand dreams about Putin have now been recorded and posted on public platforms. In Dreams About Putin, a selection of these dreams have been brought to life using Unreal Engine, a 3D graphics program for creating scenes for computer games. In this exciting experiment with form, the animations are complemented by rare archival footage of the Russian president. The dreams are related by a narrator, and their “translation” into 3D scenes is not literal; likewise, the archival footage has been lightly edited. The result is sometimes dryly comic, sometimes absurdist, sometimes disturbing, and sometimes even hopeful. A series of bizarre but therefore oddly familiar nightmares as a vision of Putin’s Russia.
Billions of dollars are at stake as film returns. But greedy suits face a dilemma after releasing all of the film specialists. As their digital world comes crashing down, they must call the best in the world to save them one more time.
A music student talks about the struggles of being a young independent person in a big city, and how he uses music as a cope mechanism.
Almost two decades ago, the Itoiz dam flooded seven villages and three natural reserves on the Pyrenean hillside in Navarra. The ecologist group Solidari@s con Itoiz registered the fight against its construction. Today, those who were there dream of the land lying beneath the water on video. Their voices and gestures come together to tell the tale of an individual and collective mourning still suffered today.
Industry professionals speak on how theatre changed their lives until film was deemed obsolete. 10 years later, their friendships, the movie business and the entire world would be forever altered yet again but now by a deadly pandemic.
She's been around for so many decades but hasn't aged a day. She's had more than 180 different jobs; she's been president, she's been to the moon, and she's done all the things that women aspire to do. She has a massive closet, and thousands of different outfits. Barbie is way more than just a 12-inches long piece of plastic, she is way more than a toy. The legendary blond bombshell has grown into a phenomenon and a children's sensation. Wildly revolutionary, Barbie broke barriers, shattered glass ceilings, and has inspired countless dreams, wonder and imagination, with her signature color: Pink. The history of the doll is a testament to its enduring appeal and impact. Things have changed for her the same way things changed for women. Whatever we may think about Barbie - love or loathe her - it is impossible to ignore her worldwide impact. Let's step into the beautiful world of Barbie and take a look at her cultural revolution through the decades.
Travelling to Porthcawl in South Wales for its annual Elvis Festival, director Joseff Morgan meets an Elvis tribute artist overcoming questions about his identity by embodying his idol. A security guard by day, for US-born Jeff, the act has become entangled with his reality, and the presence he has established in his community.
No question seems more relevant in times like these than one: What is love? In the touching and captivating road trip documentary “What is Love?”, the film team embarks on a profound exploration, interviewing people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. They openly share their personal experiences, beliefs, and philosophies about love, revealing the extraordinary power and enigmatic nature of this universal human emotion. As the journey unfolds, viewers are taken on an introspective and unfiltered ride that ultimately challenges their own perceptions and understanding of what it truly means to love and to be loved.
The far-right political movement known as QAnon has taken off around the world, mobilising a committed band of believers dedicated to fighting what they claim is an 'online war' against corrupt, child abusing elites. In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has declared QAnon a potential domestic terrorism threat. For one family, QAnon has caused division so severe that they had to report their relative - Tim Stewart, a QAnon conspiracy theorist - to Australia's national security hotline. In a concerning twist, it emerged that Stewart has had a longstanding friendship with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison - leading to speculation about QAnon and Australia's highest ranks of political power. A look at the alarming movement which has caused ripples through the world, through the eyes of one family.
On 28 January 1901 the great musician Giuseppe Verdi died from the consequences of a stroke that had struck him six days earlier. These very rare images, captured in Milan on 27 February 1901 by the operator and pioneer of Milanese cinema Italo Pacchioni, document the transfer of the Maestro's body from the Monumental Cemetery of Milan to the famous retirement home for musicians which he himself founded.
In the cobalt mining areas of Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), babies are being born with horrific birth defects. Scientists and doctors are finding increasing evidence of environmental pollution from industrial mining which, they believe, may be the cause of a range of malformations from cleft palate to some so serious the baby is stillborn. More than 60% of the world’s reserves of cobalt are in the DRC and this mineral is essential for the production of electric car batteries, which may be the key to reducing carbon emissions and to slowing climate change. In The Cost of Cobalt we meet the doctors treating the children affected and the scientists who are measuring the pollution. Cobalt may be part of the global solution to climate change, but is it right that Congo’s next generation pay the price with their health? Many are hoping that the more the world understands their plight, the more pressure will be put on the industry here to clean up its act.
Stream of consciousness awakened by the shots of an inauspicious summer.
The author of Cockfight: A Fable of Failure recounts her long history with Monte Hellman’s Cockfighter (1974), which is effectively illegal to screen in the UK due to staged scenes of the titular blood sport.
An intimate portrait of Salt Lake City and its surroundings. Shot on 16mm film.
A documentary featuring interviews with teachers and officials on the profession of teaching and what it means to them.
From dentures as wedding presents to veneers, Keith Duffy traces the story of the Irish nation’s fast changing relationship with our teeth.
Members of the voluntary Human Extinction Movement in Mexico try to convince people not to procreate to achieve gradual human extinction. Soon, an involuntary event will put their ideas into perspective: a pandemic.
Director Claude Lanzmann spent 11 years on this sprawling documentary about the Holocaust, conducting his own interviews and refusing to use a single frame of archival footage. Dividing Holocaust witnesses into three categories – survivors, bystanders, and perpetrators – Lanzmann presents testimonies from survivors of the Chelmno concentration camp, an Auschwitz escapee, and witnesses of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, as well as a chilling report of gas chambers from an SS officer at Treblinka.
Never-before-seen footage shows how our living in lockdown opened the door for nature to bounce back and thrive. Across the seas, skies, and lands, Earth found its rhythm when we came to a stop.
This documentary delves into the mysteries surrounding the Neanderthals and what their fossil record tells us about their lives and disappearance.
Climate is changing. Instead of showing all the worst that can happen, this documentary focuses on the people suggesting solutions and their actions.
Embark on a delightful journey into the world of dogs in this documentary that reveals scientific and emotional insights about our lovable BFFs.
Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.
A collection of stories about and images of our world, offering an immersion to the core of what it means to be human. Through these stories full of love and happiness, as well as hatred and violence, it brings us face to face with the Other, making us reflect on our lives. From stories of everyday experiences to accounts of the most unbelievable lives, these poignant encounters share a rare sincerity and underline who we are – our darker side, but also what is most noble in us, and what is universal. Our Earth is shown at its most sublime through never-before-seen aerial images accompanied by soaring music, resulting in an ode to the beauty of the world, providing a moment to draw breath and for introspection. This film is a politically engaged work which allows us to embrace the human condition and to reflect on the meaning of our existence.
The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
A film crew follows two leopard cubs as they make the fascinating journey from infancy into adulthood in this up-close-and-personal nature documentary.
A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.
Lupita Nyong'o narrates a documentary about Peanuts and its creator, Charles M. Schulz. Famous fans—including Drew Barrymore, Kevin Smith, and Al Roker—share its influence on them, and a new animated story finds Charlie Brown on a quest.
In the mountains of Sichuan, China, a researcher forms a bond with Qian Qian, a panda who is about to experience nature for the first time.
In the heart of the tranquil Vosges forests, where lynxes, bears and deer roam freely, Vincent Munier accompanies his father on his expeditions. He not only seeks to capture the visual wonders of this forest kingdom, but also aims to make its sounds audible. Every whisper of the forest is a reminder of the knowledge of nature that his father once imbued in him – knowledge that Vincent now passes on to his own son. Vincent Munier combines breathtaking footage of nature and its sounds to create a fairytale-like cinematic experience that slows time down.
In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
Egyptian archaeologists dig into history, discovering tombs and artifacts over 4,000 years old as they search for a buried pyramid in this documentary.
In Angola's mist-shrouded highlands, three KhoiSan master trackers embark on a spiritual quest to rediscover the legendary "ghost elephants" of Lisima, creatures presumed lost but remembered in ancestral trance, ritual, and memory.
With unprecedented access to the official archives and intimate recollections from the band, both current and past, Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition invites fans to experience one of the most iconic journeys in music history. Spanning five decades, this electrifying documentary charts the band’s rise from the pubs of East London to the world’s biggest stadiums. Featuring exclusive interviews with band members and contributors such as Javier Bardem, Lars Ulrich and Chuck D, as well as all-new animated sequences of the band's legendary mascot, Eddie, the film offers a rare and intimate look at Iron Maiden’s uncompromising vision and unwavering connection with their truly global army of fans.
Embark on an epic journey of family, courage, and coming home in this feature-length documentary. Join Athena, the majestic matriarch, as she leads her elephant herd across an unforgiving African landscape filled with vibrant wildlife.