Siberia, 1916-1917. Bolshevik Pyotr Sapozhkov is engaged in revolutionary propaganda and agitation in a small Siberian town after the end of his exile. He is assisted by his wife Varya. After the February Revolution, the Bolshevik party is still outlawed, Pyotr and Varya go into hiding and face arrest. The guards manage to capture their son Timu and the boy is taken to an orphanage.
Award-winning documentary, Sitting Bull: A Stone in My Heart, makes extensive use of Sitting Bull’s own words, giving the viewer an intimate portrait of one of America’s legendary figures in all his complexities as a leader of the great Sioux Nation: warrior, spiritual leader and skilled diplomat. Sitting Bull’s words, as portrayed by Adam Fortunate Eagle, dominate this story. Augmented by a narrator’s historical perspective, over six-hundred historical photographs and images, and a compelling original music score, the film brings to life the little-known human side of Sitting Bull as well as the story of a great man’s struggle to maintain his people’s way of life against an ever-expanding westward movement of white settlers. It is a powerful cinematic journey into the life and spirit of a legendary figure of whom people have often heard but don’t really know.
Interviews and archival footage profile the life of Dennis Banks, American Indian Movement leader who looks back at his early life and the rise of the Movement.
Ludwig II of Bavaria, more commonly known by his nicknames the Swan King or the Dream King, is a legendary figure - the handsome boy-king, loved by his people, betrayed by his cabinet and found dead in tragic and mysterious circumstances. He spent his life in pursuit of the ideal of beauty, an ideal that found expression in three of the most extraordinary, ornate architectural schemes imaginable - the castle of Neuschwanstein and the palaces of Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee. Today, these three buildings are among Germany's biggest tourist attractions. Dan Cruickshank explores the rich aesthetic of Ludwig II - from the mock-medievalism of Neuschwanstein, the iconic fairytale castle that became the inspiration for the one in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty, to the rich Baroque splendour of Herrenchiemsee, Ludwig's answer to Versailles. Dan argues that Ludwig's castles are more than flamboyant kitsch and are, in fact, the key to unravelling the eternal enigma of Ludwig II.
Documentary about the life of Sergei Parajanov, a prominent Soviet-era filmmaker who was active in Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia and was persecuted by the communist government for his views on the pretext of his homosexuality, which was a crime in the USSR. The centerpiece of this documentary is Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, a 1965 movie directed by Parajanov, that awakened the Ukrainian national consciousness which had been suppressed by decades of Soviet rule.
"Under Ten Flags" is a WWII movie loosely based on the true story of the German navy commerce raider Atlantis, a converted Auxilliary Cruiser, and her Captain Bernhard Rogge. Atlantis, camouflaged as a merchant ship, cruised the South Seas ( Atlantic, Indian & Pacific) and sank or captured 22 merchant ships from May 1940 through November 22, 1941 when she was sunk by the British Cruiser HMS Devonshire. Rogge was one of the few German officers of flag rank who were not arrested by the Allies after the war ended. This was due to the very proper and ethical way he exercised his command of Atlantis. After the war he advanced to Rear Admiral in the West German Navy and became a high-ranking NATO commander.
The film, dedicated to the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Great Mongol Empire, presents the history of the establishment of the Mongolian state in a documentary form.
A collaborative anime between Hi no Tori and the Dougo Onsen hot spring bath house. The anime is part of a revitalization project for the Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture bath house that began on January 15. The Dougo Onsen building is 125 years old and certain areas were due for a facelift.
Microphone Check stands as a groundbreaking documentary offering a compelling narrative that delves into the often-overlooked origins and evolution of hip hop culture. As the first film of its kind to center primarily on the original pioneers of the genre, it sheds light on their invaluable contributions and untold stories. Beyond this pioneering approach, Microphone Check also distinguishes itself by being the first to comprehensively explore the origins of all the elements of hip hop, from DJing and MCing to graffiti and breakdancing. Through a captivating blend of interviews, archival footage, and cultural analysis, the film not only celebrates the creative ingenuity, social impact, and enduring legacy of hip hop but also reaffirms its status as a global cultural force.
These are the years of the First World War and Dr. Stefano Zorzi spends his days in the Exemption Clinic in a large city of Northern Italy, where he not only takes care of soldiers who arrive from the massacre of the front, but also he fights simulation and self-harm of those who hope to be dispensed, by sending them before the Military Court. If Stefano, in fact, does his utmost to heal soldiers and send them back to fight, Dr. Giulio Farradio makes them ill, or helps them to self-injure seriously enough to be exonerated. The two doctors, who went to university together and were great friends, they not only (secretly) challenge each other on a professional level, but also on the sentimental one: they are both linked to Anna, a courageous nurse with a strong character. But when the great ‘Spanish’ fever epidemic arrived in 1918, the time for love, politics and science ends up getting confused dangerously...
A look at President Richard M. Nixon—a man carrying the fate of the world on his shoulders while battling the self-destructive demands from within—spanning his troubled boyhood in California to the shocking Watergate scandal that would end his Presidency.
A reconstruction of the shipwreck of Costa Concordia, occurred on the night of 13 January 2012 in front of the Island of Giglio. A tragic night, full of emotions, that changed the life of those who were on board and the history of tourist navigation.