Poking the Dragon

How Australia's trade with China became a political weapon

Over the last year, China has launched a wave of trade sanctions against Australia. Numerous industries have been hit with a range of punishing measures, from massive new taxes to import restrictions. Now, many Australian products have been all but banned from entering China, leaving the businesses that rely on this trade in peril. But just what instigated these sanctions?

Sheltered

Hope, despair and devoted care are all in a day's work at this animal shelter

In the busy world of the animal shelter, the loving bond between humans and animals is strained by the endless stream of abandoned dogs, cats and rabbits. Pets are life companions - but for some, they are also a dispensable status symbol. With attentive care and training by the passionate employees and dedicated volunteers, the hopeful animals are rehabilitated and prepared for the right match with a new owner. Not every story has a happy ending, but no matter how limited the resources are, the team fights on—even for the biggest misfits of them all.

Origin of the Species

Is a new era dawning for robotics?

Origin of the Species explores the contemporary world of android development with a focus on human/machine relations, gender and the ethical implications of this research. The film provides an insider look into cutting-edge laboratories in Japan and the USA where scientists attempt to make robots move, speak and look human. These scientists and their discoveries are contextualised with cinematic and pop culture references to underline the mythic, comic and uncanny aspects of our aspiration to create machines that are eerily similar to ourselves.

Paris: A Wild Story

A journey through Paris with its wild inhabitants

There exists an untamed and unsung side of Paris: 2,900 wild species of flora and fauna inhabit the city of light. While Parisians go about their daily lives, wildlife roams through the city in search of food, love, and adventure. Follow the astonishing stories of creatures who have adapted to an urban habitat.

Son of Fukushima

Rebuilding an ancestral home in the wake of nuclear disaster

Combining live-action and animation, Son of Fukushima tells the heart-rending story of a family profoundly impacted by not one but two nuclear tragedies: Hiroshima and Fukushima. Against the backdrop of the world’s largest radiological clean-up, the film follows the family for five years as they live through the unthinkable: a second nuclear disaster. This is a universal and deeply personal story about the inevitabilities of aging, the sacrifices made for those we love, and the relationship between man and nature.

Current Sea

An environmental thriller that probes the murky depths of the Southeast Asian fishing industry

A compelling testimony to the possibilities of local activism, Current Sea follows investigative journalist, Matt Blomberg, and ocean activist, Paul Ferber, in their dangerous efforts to create a marine conservation area and combat the relentless tide of illegal fishing. Along the way a new generation of Cambodian environmentalists are inspired to create a better life for their people.

Robin's Hood

We all fight for each other

The kind-hearted, big-mouthed, ex-convict Robin is president of his own amateur soccer club in Austria, which lurks around, with varying degrees of success, in the lower leagues. Director Jasmin Baumgartner accompanied Robin and his team of underdogs for over seven years, capturing their remarkable camaraderie. But Robin and his multicultural team also face abysmal racism, internal feuds, and unsettling coach changes. A story of football, excessive partying, and the power of teamwork.

La Causa

Run by the inmates themselves, this is one of the most dangerous prisons in Venezuela

Current and former prisoners give a staggering account of life in this parallel society, and of the search for liberation within it. Five years’ worth of film material (some of it shot with hidden cameras) and interviews show the internal workings of the prison, and the corrupt penitentiary system around it. Above all, La Causa tells the human story of current and former inmates searching for salvation through religion, music and even politics.

By Rook or Left Hook: The Story of Chessboxing

Rocky meets The Queen's Gambit as brain and brawn are put to the test

Follow a self-defeating promoter from London and a self-promoting artist from Berlin as they fight for control of professional chessboxing, a sport which taxes mind and body through alternating rounds of chess and boxing. While Londoner and chessboxing aficionado Tim Woolgar toiled away and carried the financial burden to get the sport into the spotlight, Iepe Rubingh, the sport's inventor, used his status to garner all of the media attention at his events. As relations turned sour, Tim cut ties with Iepe and the two squared-off in a behind-the-scenes battle to decide who would become the 'Don King of chessboxing.' Broadcast hour version coming soon