Leading Lincoln historian Harold Holzer masterfully recalls a dramatic Presidential Election that redefined racial politics and changed the course of history.
COVID-19 is far from the first pandemic to wreak havoc in the world. A long line of infectious diseases have devastated and in some cases destroyed entire societies. This documentary examines the causes of epidemics. It also sheds a light on the impact infectious diseases have had on politics and societal change. Today, the world is facing COVID-19. Measures such as quarantine and lockdowns are being rolled out in an effort to control the spread of the virus; and some are questioning how effective they are. Over the centuries, scientists managed to develop treatments and medicines to help control or even eradicate infectious diseases. Virologists are facing that task again with the coronavirus, as the world frantically searches for ways to overcome a pandemic which threatens our modern way of life.
When the Iron Curtain cuts his tiny German village in half, Peter the bull gets separated from his 36 cows. Based on a true story narrated by Christoph Waltz.
Broadcasters Lenny Henry and Suzy Klein celebrate black classical composers and musicians across the centuries whose stories and music have been forgotten in a 90-minute special.
Czech painter and illustrator Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) ranks among the pioneers of the Art Nouveau movement at the end of the 19th century. Virtually overnight, he becomes famous in Paris thanks to the posters that he designs to announce actress Sarah Bernhardt’s plays. But at the height of his fame, Mucha decides to leave Paris to realize his lifetime project.
When 22-year-old Rainer Werner Fassbinder storms the stage of a small, progressive theatre in Munich 1967, and seizes the production without further ado, nobody suspects this brazen young rebel to become one of the most important post-war German filmmakers. Despite early setbacks, many of his films breakout at the most renowned films festivals and polarise audience, critics and filmmakers alike. His radical views and self-exploitation, as well as his longing for love, have made him one of the most fascinating film directors of this time.
"1982" is a life-affirming coming-of-age tale set at an idyllic school in Lebanon’s mountains on the eve of a looming invasion. It unfolds over a single day and follows an 11-year-old boy’s relentless quest to profess his love to a girl in his class. As the invasion encroaches on Beirut, it upends the day, threatening the entire country and its cohesion. Within the microcosm of the school, the film draws a harrowing portrait of a society torn between its desire for love and peace and the ideological schisms unraveling its seams. In his debut feature, director Oualid Mouaness delivers an ode to innocence in which he revisits one of the most cataclysmic moments in Lebanon's history through the lens of a child and his vibrant imagination. The film demonstrates the complexities of love and war, and the resilience of the human spirit.
The epic story of Thomas Edward Lawrence the First World War military officer who united the tribes of Arabia against the Ottoman Turkish army. The film reveals that while being one of the most enigmatic figures of the 20th century, he was also a deeply troubled man, delving into his personal torment, the secret his family were hiding, and the punishment he endured.
When French writer Marguerite Duras (1914-96) published her novel The Sea Wall in 1950, she came very close to winning the prestigious Prix Goncourt. Meanwhile, in Indochina, France was suffering its first military defeats in its war against the Việt Minh, the rebel movement for independence.
In the 1970s, they were championing the fight against Brazil’s military dictatorship. Forty years later, what’s left of Libelu? What does adult life have in store for you after the revolutionary youth?
February 1939. Overwhelmed by the flood of Republicans fleeing Franco's dictatorship, the French government's solution consists in confining the Spanish refugees in concentration camps where they have no other choice than to build their own shelters, feed off the horses which have carried them out of their country, and die by the hundred for lack of hygiene and water... In one of these camps, two men, separated by barbwire, will become friends. One is a guard the other is Josep Bartoli (Barcelona 1910 - New York 1995), a cartoonist who fights against the Franco regime.
Farinata is tried in Florence and convicted of heresy 19 years after his death; his remains are missing, his sons barbarously killed. Solomon of Lucca is the inquisitor. A story too murky and dark not to bring it back to light.
Barcelona, Spain, 1912. The disappearance of a girl from a wealthy family triggers a series of events that will shake the weak foundations of a hypocritical society.
Just Like the Men is an original silent film written in 1914 by Ella Higginson, a novelist, poet laureate, and campaign manager for Frances Axtell. Their campaign was a success making Axtell one of the first women in Washington State to be sworn into legislative office. 100+ years later, this screwball-comedy offers a glimpse of women's first entrance into politics, just in time for the 2020 centennial of women's suffrage.
Ilze Burkovska, a little girl who is obsessed with stories of World War II and will be a filmmaker in a distant future, lives in Latvia under the totalitarian boot of the Soviets and the ominous shadow of the many menaces and horrors of the Cold War.
After 12 years, the Chinese women's volleyball team again reached the Olympic final. The ups and downs of the Chinese women's volleyball team for more than three decades have slowly spread away.
In 1914, Charles Daniels entered a Calgary theatre with a paid ticket. He was denied his seat because he was Black. In this little-known civil rights story, Daniels reminds us that history is full of forgotten heroes.