Salaryman
55mins/79mins | Japan - 2022An unconventional film on Tokyo work culture's most compelling and complex protagonist
Tokyo work culture's most compelling and complex protagonist; the Salaryman. A nameless, voiceless, over-worked and under-valued cog in the labour pool, expected to compromise home and social lives. Late nights and intense drinking sessions leave many of them passed out in the city streets. This slick, incisive documentary raises questions around the ethics of our global working practices in a capitalist society.
War Games
44mins | Australia - 2023What would conflict with China mean for Australia?
Tensions between China and the United States over Taiwan are the highest since the 1970s. With President Xi Jinping publicly warning he will take Taiwan by force if necessary, military strategists are now war gaming just what such an act of aggression would mean for the Pacific and Australia.
Queer Egypt
50mins | Egypt - 2023LGBTQ people hunted by gangs and police in Egypt
Using innovative masking technology to hide the identities of the people he meets, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin navigates the complex online and real-life world of two people who identify as queer who have been repeatedly targeted by a gang with violent viral video humiliations and police arrests. Forced to choose between sex work and asylum, Jamal chooses to stay and Laila chooses to go.
Tantura
94mins/94mins/94mins | Israel/Palestine - 2022The untold story of Israel's foundation
Hundreds of Palestinian villages were depopulated in 1948. To Israelis, it was the War of Independence, to Palestinians it was 'Al Nakba' - the Catastrophe. Director Alon Schwarz revisits former Israeli soldiers as well as Palestinian residents in an effort to re-examine what happened in Tantura, the location of an alleged, Israeli-perpetrated massacre, and find out why 'Al Nakba' is still a taboo in Israeli society.
Making Time
52mins/76mins | United Kingdom - 2022The rebels of horology
Five extraordinary horologists, designers and watch makers creating exquisite watches by hand, crafting them as they were crafted 500 years ago. The work of independent watchmakers is always profoundly connected to their life experiences. Delve into each subject’s life story; their childhoods, their mistakes and their joys. Follow Aldis Hodge as he designs his next outstanding creation, the watch he will wear in the DC Comics feature, Black Adam.
Milked
52mins/90mins | New Zealand - 2022White Lies in Dairy Land
Young activist, Chris Huriwai, takes on the giants of New Zealand’s multi-billion-dollar dairy industry. His journey uncovers alarming information about the industry's impact on the environment and our health, showing that we're on the edge of the biggest global disruption of food and agriculture in history. An international story told with a local eye, the film also points to what we can all do to change our fate.
The Cathedral
85mins | Spain - 2022Does it take a madman or a genius to singlehandedly build a cathedral?
Expelled from his monastery after he fails to fit in, a Spanish monk returns home. Downtrodden but not defeated, he becomes determined to realise a monumental project. For 60 years, with little assistance and no architectural expertise, he builds a gigantic cathedral out of waste and recycled materials. His community labels him a madman. Others label him a genius.
Tukdam: Between Worlds
54mins/91mins | India - 2022A journey through life and death
This feature documentary explores a phenomenon that blurs life and death to an unprecedented degree. In what Tibetan Buddhists call ‘tukdam’, advanced meditators die in a consciously controlled manner. Though dead according to our biomedical standards, they often stay sitting upright in meditation. Remarkably, their bodies remain fresh and lifelike, without signs of decay for days, sometimes weeks after clinical death. Following ground-breaking scientific research into tukdam and taking us into intimate death stories of Tibetan meditators, the film juxtaposes scientific and Tibetan perspectives as it tries to unravel the mystery of ‘tukdam’.
The Fukushima Disaster
52mins | Japan - 2023The Hidden Side of the Story
There has been endless hand-wringing and finger-pointing following the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. But the full effects of the disaster are still shrouded in secrecy, and both TEPCO and the Japanese Government have limited any meaningful analysis of the disaster’s impact on health and the environment. Featuring interviews with scientists and whistle-blowers, this searing documentary reveals the political and financial interests at work behind the most severe nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
Off the Rails
58mins/91mins | United Kingdom - 2022Growing up isn't an easy journey...
Rikke Brewer and best friend Aiden Knox hone their spectacular UrbEx stunts and gravity-defying Parkour skills, hoping that millions of likes on social media will be their ticket out of boring Guildford. Their following soon takes off, but the trauma of a close friend's death triggers darker stories, of broken families and fragile mental health, threatening to send them both off the rails.
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Salaryman
Japan - 2022
An unconventional film on Tokyo work culture's most compelling and complex protagonist
Tokyo work culture's most compelling and complex protagonist; the Salaryman. A nameless, voiceless, over-worked and under-valued cog in the labour pool, expected to compromise home and social lives. Late nights and intense drinking sessions leave many of them passed out in the city streets. This sl…
-
War Games
Australia - 2023
What would conflict with China mean for Australia?
Tensions between China and the United States over Taiwan are the highest since the 1970s. With President Xi Jinping publicly warning he will take Taiwan by force if necessary, military strategists are now war gaming just what such an act of aggression would mean for the Pacific and Australia.
-
Queer Egypt
Egypt - 2023
LGBTQ people hunted by gangs and police in Egypt
Using innovative masking technology to hide the identities of the people he meets, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin navigates the complex online and real-life world of two people who identify as queer who have been repeatedly targeted by a gang with violent viral video humiliations and police arrests. Forced to …
-
Tantura
Israel/Palestine - 2022
The untold story of Israel's foundation
Hundreds of Palestinian villages were depopulated in 1948. To Israelis, it was the War of Independence, to Palestinians it was 'Al Nakba' - the Catastrophe. Director Alon Schwarz revisits former Israeli soldiers as well as Palestinian residents in an effort to re-examine what happened in Tantura, t…
-
Making Time
United Kingdom - 2022
The rebels of horology
Five extraordinary horologists, designers and watch makers creating exquisite watches by hand, crafting them as they were crafted 500 years ago. The work of independent watchmakers is always profoundly connected to their life experiences. Delve into each subject’s life story; their childhoods, thei…
-
Milked
New Zealand - 2022
White Lies in Dairy Land
Young activist, Chris Huriwai, takes on the giants of New Zealand’s multi-billion-dollar dairy industry. His journey uncovers alarming information about the industry's impact on the environment and our health, showing that we're on the edge of the biggest global disruption of food and agriculture i…
-
The Cathedral
Spain - 2022
Does it take a madman or a genius to singlehandedly build a cathedral?
Expelled from his monastery after he fails to fit in, a Spanish monk returns home. Downtrodden but not defeated, he becomes determined to realise a monumental project. For 60 years, with little assistance and no architectural expertise, he builds a gigantic cathedral out of waste and recycled mater…
-
Tukdam: Between Worlds
India - 2022
A journey through life and death
This feature documentary explores a phenomenon that blurs life and death to an unprecedented degree. In what Tibetan Buddhists call ‘tukdam’, advanced meditators die in a consciously controlled manner. Though dead according to our biomedical standards, they often stay sitting upright in meditation.…
-
The Fukushima Disaster
Japan - 2023
The Hidden Side of the Story
There has been endless hand-wringing and finger-pointing following the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. But the full effects of the disaster are still shrouded in secrecy, and both TEPCO and the Japanese Government have limited any meaningful analysis of the disaster’s impact on health and the envi…
-
Off the Rails
United Kingdom - 2022
Growing up isn't an easy journey...
Rikke Brewer and best friend Aiden Knox hone their spectacular UrbEx stunts and gravity-defying Parkour skills, hoping that millions of likes on social media will be their ticket out of boring Guildford. Their following soon takes off, but the trauma of a close friend's death triggers darker storie…