ECHO(E)S shines a light on the minimised experiences endured during gynaecological and obstetric care. The movie is built on the stories of eight people trough interviews and movement, both on the ground and underwater, to question and re question the practices of care through care.
Whether you’re on social media or surfing the web, you’re probably sharing more personal data than you realize. That can pose a risk to your privacy – even your safety. But at the same time, big datasets could lead to huge advances in fields like medicine. Host Alok Patel leads a quest to understand what happens to all the data we’re shedding and explores the latest efforts to maximize benefits – without compromising personal privacy.
In the midst of violence and war, Ukrainian citizens are coming together to rescue animals that have been left behind by those forced to flee. Witness a moving view into the effects of war on animals, and the humans who help them. Directed by travel YouTube vlogger turned war correspondent Anton Ptushkin, the documentary chronicles stories of survival, love and resilience from the heart of war-torn Ukraine. See those rescuing cats and dogs in abandoned buildings as well as lions and tigers in the nation’s zoos, and the extraordinary efforts to bring them to safety. Hear from volunteers of the nation’s animal shelters, who are risking their own lives to care for their charges during bombardment. Meet Patron, the bomb-detecting Jack Russell Terrier who has saved countless lives, as well as Shafa, a cat in Borodyanka who becomes a symbol of hope.
In Alberta, domestic abuse survivors consistently report that the legal system is one of the biggest barriers on their healing journeys. The legal system has not been designed for survivors, and survivors who access it must often navigate a minefield of judges and lawyers who do not understand the realities of domestic violence, and legal procedures that protect their abusers while exposing them to further harm. These experiences can be deeply traumatizing, and in some cases, can reinforce or replicate the abuse survivors have already experienced. In 2023, the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters partnered with survivors from across Alberta to better understand the experience of navigating the legal system in cases of domestic violence and abuse. In this documentary, seven survivors share their experiences of the legal system, and what they wish judges, lawyers, and public knew about domestic abuse.
Affecting at least 1 in 10 women, transgender, and gender diverse people, Endometriosis still requires an average of 6 to 10 years for proper diagnosis. In Lora’s case, obtaining a diagnosis was a 25-year journey that robbed her of her fertility and changed the course of her future. The Wounds Within is the story of Lora’s journey, from the first signs that something was wrong through to receiving proper surgical care. It explores the physical and emotional aftermath of a disease that ravages the body and alters life plans.
Director Judith Godrèche received 6000 testimonies from victims. In "Moi aussi", she invites a thousand of them to occupy an avenue in Paris, in full public view. A young woman brings together this human forest to help them speak out.
Edwy Plenel narrates, using archival footage, excerpts from the film, and present-day interviews with Costa-Gavras, how it was a political event: the first popular film to confront the issue of Stalinist trials and pave the way for the moral crisis of communism.
Through honest reflection, complemented by insight from colleagues and friends, Faye Dunaway contextualizes her life and filmography, laying bare her struggles with mental health while confronting the double standards she was subjected to as a woman in Hollywood.
Things Will Be Different documents two neighbours’ experiences of displacement as they are forced to relocate from the Walker Street public housing estate in Northcote, Melbourne when it is sold for private redevelopment. The film explores the impact of losing one’s home and the important role public housing plays in our communities.
THE CALLERS combines anonymous documentary testimony with imagined creative scenes to tell the story of those who have called the oldest queer support line in the UK, seeking guidance on everything from where to find the nearest leather club to how to come out, start a family or mend a broken heart. The film is a love letter to queer memory and possibility, LGBTQ+ community and care, and the power of collective imagination to create the lives we dream of.
Modern Ethiopian big band orchestra music finds its unlikely origins in the royal adoption of 40 Jerusalem orphans of the Armenian Genocide by Emperor Haile Selassie. Their presence as the first royal imperial band would make way for the composed music of Ethiopia's first national anthem, the popularization of brass instruments, and in later decades, a jazz revolution that sweeps the country before descending into the throes of the communist Derg regime. Told through first-hand accounts with Ethiopian jazz greats such as Alemayehu Eshete, Mulatu Astatke, Girum Mezmur, as well as Sammy Yirga and while following Vahé, the only performing Armenian singer / musician in Addis Ababa, TEZETA opens the musical door to a light of memories of a jazz club, a beloved teacher, and a golden musical era forgotten by many.
A prison cell is set up in an empty room on the edge of Paris. Three former political prisoners from Iran re-enact how they were once interrogated and tortured. With quiet scepticism, the film asks whether their experiences can be accessed in this way.