Therese lives in two worlds. As housemaid she has fallen in love with the sophisticated Countess Meta von W. As a young woman of poor/humble descent, she has to watch as her sister Magdalena is being hauled into the abyss by a devilish sectarian. Together with this notorious pastor, Thomas Pöschl, Magdalena conducts exorcisms at her community/in the village. Small children have to renounce Satan, a young woman is brutally exorcized and later proclaimed a saint by Pöschl.
A group of friends, sharing a passion for cinema, assemble in Corregidor, a small island in Manila Bay that has preserved relics from the Pacific War as its foremost attractions. There, they explore the island and retire in a rustic mansion used once to make silent films. Outside the city, the woods and sea become a meeting place for more movie personalities and it all becomes a celebration of what was left behind.
Documentary covering the end of an era as Polaroid stops producing its signature cameras and film as well as The Impossible Project to keep instant photography alive.
Gallipoli from Above: The Untold Story is the true story of how a team of Australian officers used aerial intelligence, emerging technology and innovative tactics to plan the landing at Anzac Cove. It is now nearly 100 years since the landing and hundreds of books, movies and documentaries have failed to grasp the significance of the ANZAC achievement. Instead, the mythology has clouded the real story of how these two influential Australian officers took control of the landing using every innovation they could muster to safely land their men on Z beach.
Liu Bocheng’s short but impactful time as the first mayor of Nanjing in 1949 where he showcases his dedication to the city's development and his strong bond with the people during a crucial period in history.
Abstract (2012) is a return to the contested narrative of Andrea Wolf’s death, with Steyerl traveling to Kurdistan in search of information about her friend's murder. The work links cinematic shooting and military warfare together, implicating Germany’s role in the operation. This has been screened in the past as a dual-channel work. But in this case it has been re-purposed by the artist as a split screen film. (KG) From e-flux:
Abstract presents a scenario in which the violence of warfare and the violence of aesthetics twist around each other. The two-channel video visits the site where Steyerl’s friend Andrea Wolf was killed in 1998, but through a prism that refracts cinematic language against the weapons that killed her friend. As the site and circumstances of her death fold into the act of witnessing it from a distance, the ethical burden of identifying those responsible also appears to live and die with the debris that still remains at the site of the helicopter attack.
A little known fact is that Chinggis Khaan, better known as Genghis Khan, would collect orphans from his bloody battlefields and have his own mother raise them. These adopted brothers grew up to become his most loyal officials and advisers. Khaan organised his Mongol soldiers into groups according to the decimal system. Soldiers were arranged in units of 10 ("aravt"), 100 ("zuut"), 1,000 ("minghan") and 10,000 ("tumen"). Each unit had an appointed leader reporting to a larger unit. A 10-person "aravt" unit is ordered by Khaan to locate a skilled doctor who lives in a forest. En route, they discover an abandoned baby. He is in fact the child of an enemy warrior who gives pursuit, even though they have saved the child's life. Whilst protecting the child from attacks from enemy soldiers, the members of the "aravt" must also complete their mission. Through their actions, they demonstrate the benevolence and bravery of Mongol warriors as the final battle closes in.
Movie is set during a period of time when Japanese invaded China. The story is told from Gao's perspective, a soldier seeking revenge from the Japanese in trying to assassinate the visiting Japanese chief in command. In the process of plotting such scheme, he had a chance encounter with a local Mafia, lead by its charismatic leader Fang. Fang had a bandit of followers, of which one is Fang's sister. Fang in the past have rescued many of these followers using his own blood and as a result all the members in the bandit formed a life long bond and friendship. When Gao realizes he could use the firearms and man power of Fang's bandit, he sets up a scheme to get captured by Fang on purpose. When Fang found out - he was extremely angry and upset and almost killed Gao, but Gao is saved by Fang's sister because she clearly developed feelings for Gao after seeing how he fared during the interrogation phases when he was in Fang's capture.
For the first time, the true story of the mastermind behind World War II's Great Escape is told by his niece, Lindy Wilson. Squadron Leader Roger Bushell was a young London barrister, an auxiliary pilot and a champion skier when he was shot down and captured early in the war. He escaped three times and, in spite of the Gestapo's threat to shoot him if he ever escaped again, Bushell accepted the role of 'Big X' on his return to the top-security PoW camp, Stalag Luft 111. After 18 months of preparation, one of the greatest escapes of the war took place. Their aim to distract the enemy succeeded, as it was estimated that five million Germans were deployed to recapture the 76 escapees. However, Hitler's rage was uncontainable and he personally ordered a terrible reckoning. (Storyville)
New husband Adam reluctantly takes a job with state security in a totalitarian country, thus becoming a secret police agent. This "contract with the devil" helps secure a flat for the happy couple, as well as a prosperous future. However, he soon finds out that he too is under surveillance.
This documentary is no mere retelling of the Titanic story. This is a unique story of hope and the loss suffered by the people of a tiny west of Ireland village whose sons and daughters went in search of a better life only to be subsumed by the tragic destiny of the world’s greatest ship.
‘The Bus’ playfully explores how a post-WWII German utility vehicle evolved into a cultural icon that represents freedom and the open road; defining and connecting generations of fun lovers everywhere. Beginning in Germany with the vehicle’s creation, into a wild ride that changes the world forever, ‘The Bus’ is an adventure from beginning to end. From Wolfsburg to Hollywood, Burning Man to Baja, people from all walks of life share their stories and passion in ‘The Bus’.
During a bizarre chapter of WWII, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels decided to make a movie based on the sinking of the Titanic. This epic film was so large in scale that the Nazis were forced to divert men, material and ships from the war effort in order to complete it. Titanic was filmed aboard cruise ship SS Cap Arcona in the Baltic Sea. The movie’s director Herbert Selpin was arrested by the Gestapo over comments he made about the ship’s crew and he was questioned by Goebbels. Selpin was found dead the next day in his cell. The Gestapo’s verdict was suicide. Titanic never received the impressive premiere that Goebbels intended, being first shown in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1943. We reveal this little known but fascinating story by looking at the making of the film, as well as the fate of the German ship Cap Arcona.