Black Summer

The story of the Australian bushfires that stopped a nation and stunned the world

Incredible footage from ordinary Australians captured the ferocity of the bushfires that raged across the country this summer. These videos have been viewed tens of millions of times across the world, but who filmed them and how did their stories end? A team of reporters and producers fanned out across the country to track down the people who found themselves in the centre of the firestorms. What emerges are incredible stories of survival, bravery and heartbreak.

Police Killing

A shocking investigation of police homicides in Rio de Janeiro

On the outskirts of the city, a car is riddled with bullet holes, some the size of a fist. You’d think it was a gangland shooting, but these bullets were fired by the police, and the passengers were unarmed teenagers. In Rio de Janeiro, more than 16, 000 civilians have been killed in police operations over the past twenty years, all in the name of self-defense. This powerful and disturbing film follows the mothers of these victims as they fight for justice against a corrupt and brutal system.

When Arabs Danced

A stirring testament to the power of art within the Muslim world

In a film that gives voice to Arabs worldwide who refuse to be defined by stereotypes of repression and fundamentalism, director Jawad Rhalib questions the many facets of his culture that have sadly been forgotten by western and middle eastern media alike — especially its love for dancing and music. An important and timely reminder that the creative arts have always been an integral part of the great texture of the Arab identity.

Red, White and Wasted

Follow a family of mudding enthusiasts at the last mudhole in Orlando

Mudding: it’s just something people do in Florida. You get your friends, your beer, and your truck, and you drive through the mud until you can’t see the paint. If you know where to look, you can find people mudding everywhere in Florida. Swamp Ghost is the last real mudhole in Orlando, and that’s where we meet “Video Pat.” Pat has devoted his life to filming trucks at the mudhole and practically raised his daughters out there. But when Swamp Ghost goes up in flames, Pat loses everything. The only alternative is Redneck Yacht Club, another mudding hub, which eventually reveals itself as a drunken dystopia of white male “freedom”, far from his old country community at Swamp Ghost.

The Interpreters

Will the U.S. protect the 50,000 Afghan and Iraqi interpreters that risked their lives aiding American troops… or doom them to a death sentence?

Afghan and Iraqi translators played a key role in enabling communication between locals and foreign forces. But as American involvement in the war-torn region winds down, these abandoned interpreters are faced with an impossible choice: wait for U.S. amnesty paperwork that may never materialise or attempt a hazardous exit route to Europe. With the increasing threat of violence from fundamentalist insurgents, hope is dwindling for these American allies who are seeking survival as a reward for their sacrifice. The Interpreters offers a tense yet poignant portrayal of the high-stakes of war's aftermath.

The Money Stone

Risking their lives underground in search of a golden ticket out of poverty

Hundreds of feet beneath the jungles of Ghana, thousands of sweat-soaked miners squeeze through tiny crevices to dig raw gold to feed an insatiable global industry. Considered outlaws by the government, these "galamsey" have two options - either get rich quick or die trying. As the surging gold rush draws both local prospectors and eager foreign corporations to the impoverished west-African nation, struggling families must decide whether to put their kids in school or take a gamble by sending them to the dangerous pits. The Money Stone takes an intimate look at the stark choices some children face in hopes of finding a better future.

Silent Forests

A rare glimpse inside the forest elephant poaching crisis

More than half of the Central-African forest elephant population has been decimated by poachers in the last decade. Following one of Cameroon’s first female eco-guards, a grassroots law enforcement group, a Congolese biologist, a reformed poacher and a Czech activist, this intimate, character-driven portrait gains remarkable access to an under-reported region, the Congo Basin, to understand the global poaching and ivory trade crises we face.

Sidik and the Panther

Will spotting an elusive Persian leopard be the key to peace in Kurdistan?

Sidik has spent the last twenty-five years searching for a Persian leopard in the genocide-scarred mountains of Kurdistan in northern Iraq. If he can capture one of these magical creatures on film, the rugged region will be declared a national park and the bombs will never fall again. Sidik still hasn’t found his leopard, but he refuses to give up. Acclaimed director Reber Dosky guides us through the Kurdish mountains alongside Sidik, in this beautiful and inspiring visual ode to perseverance and peaceful patriotism.

The Blessing

A Navajo coal miner struggles with his part in the irreversible destruction of their sacred mountain

Personal and crucial, The Blessing follows Lawrence, a Navajo coal miner raising his secretive daughter as a single father, as he contends with his role in the disturbing destruction of their sacred mountain at the hands of America’s largest coal producer. For over five years the filmmakers gain unprecedented access to a Navajo family in Arizona. Lawrence endures a life-threatening injury and confronts the deep spiritual sacrifice he makes to provide for the people he loves. His daughter, Caitlin, discovers her identity and grapples with the expectations of her traditional father, while playing on the men’s varsity football team and being crowned homecoming queen. With unparalleled intimacy, The Blessing bears witness to the unbridled will for survival on the reservation.