Miguel is a 17 year-old boy that sees the future as a distant horizon, immersed in his bubble of friends and a sketchbook full of sentimental poems. 'Saudade' is the portrait of a threshold: the end of high school, which we experience through Miguel. Set amidst the backdrop of the Ecuadorian economic crisis of 1999, 'Saudade' tackles notions of economic dislocation, friendship, family and young love while juxtaposing the crumbling of Miguel's life, against the crumbling of his country.
In 1901, a group of divers excavating an ancient Roman shipwreck near the island of Antikythera, off the southern coast of Greece, found a mysterious object - a lump of calcified stone that contained within it several gearwheels welded together after years under the sea. The 2,000-year-old object, no bigger than a modern laptop, is now regarded as the world's oldest computer, devised to predict solar eclipses and, according to recent findings, calculate the timing of the ancient Olympics. Following the efforts of an international team of scientists, the mysteries of the Antikythera Mechanism are uncovered, revealing surprising and awe-inspiring details of the object that continues to mystify.
When King Cheol-jang dies, the throne passes to his son King Ko-jang but, because he is considered to be too inexperienced, his ambitious uncle rules as regent. The rightful king's wife, the politically brilliant Queen Min, refuses to accept this situation and brings about the uncle's exile in order to secure the throne.
Doctors of the Dark Side is the first feature length documentary about the pivotal role of physicians and psychologists in detainee torture. The stories of four detainees and the doctors involved in their abuse demonstrate how US Army and CIA doctors implemented the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques and covered up signs of torture at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. Interviews with medical, legal and intelligence experts and evidence from declassified government memos document what has been called the greatest scandal in American medical ethics. Based on four years of research by Producer/Director Martha Davis, written by Oscar winning Mark Jonathan Harris, and filmed in HD by Emmy winning DP Lisa Rinzler, the film shows how the torture of detainees could not continue without the assistance of the doctors.
Engineer Dr Hugh Hunt revisits the little-known story of the First World War's Blitz, when the Zeppelin waged an 18-month terror campaign on the people of London.
This short film was inspired by the story told in the prose written by Jia Pingwa to memorize his father in 1989. Set on the North Shannxi Loess Plateau, the story tells about two boys trying to sell a pig, the only valuable property of the poor family, for food. However, things go wrong. The film was artistically designed to present the spectacular and broad scenery of the Loess Plateau as well as the simple life of the people. This is a black humor about the difficult years in the northwest of China in 1970s.
Cameroonian filmmaker Jean-Pierre Bekolo's newest work uses split-screens (at times, up to four images simultaneously) to present a fake documentary in which "the president" has disappeared; talk-show hosts, rivals, politicians and even rappers chime in on what may have occurred, and what their president for life has—or has not—done for Cameroon.
With a unique perspective of the accompanying cameraman of Premier Zhou Enlai, the film tactfully tells the story that Premier Zhou went to the old revolutionary base area of Hebei Province at the beginning of the 1960s when our country suffered from the Great Chinese Feminine. He made in-depth research in Boyan commune of Handan District, work closely with the masses, followed up a clue and seized the culprit in four days and nights.
The compelling story of an extraordinary woman's journey from her birth in a paper thin shack in the cotton fields of Georgia to her recognition as a key writer of the twentieth Century.Walker made history as the first black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for her groundbreaking novel, The Color Purple.
Late 1950s, the CIA Office in New York after viewing the footage shot by their agent, investigators are puzzled how Marcel Dassault, the French engineer, he managed to build better than their planes? Order of the White House, four officers flew to Paris. Their mission: to solve the mystery Dassault. This man has a unique course because besides being a genius of aviation, it is also patron of the press, arms dealer, MP ...
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.
Just off the southern coast of mainland Greece lies the oldest submerged city in the world. It thrived for 2,000 years during the time that saw the birth of western civilisation. An international team of experts is using cutting-edge technology to prise age-old secrets from the complex of streets and stone buildings that lie less than five metres below the surface of the ocean. State-of-the-art CGI helps to raise the city from the seabed, revealing for the first time in 3,500 years how Pavlopetri would once have looked and operated.
A video polemic, based on Heathcote Williams' investigative poem 'Royal Babylon: The Criminal Record of the British Monarchy' - every film a crime. The collective at Handsome Dog have used the best of new media to present a video polemic based on Heathcote William's investigative poem "Royal Babylon: The Criminal Record of the British Monarchy". Sixteen short films have been made the chronicle the crimes of the Royal Family and their ancestors: RB intro, Killing an Ibis, Mad Monarchs, Michael X, Harry Trouble, I Danced with a Man, Foot in Mouth, Folk on the Hill, Knight Hoods, Milton Gas, Swift Justice, Raj Doubt, Gaunt etc., Koh i Noor, Paine and Thoth, Blake Acres Zappa, Glitter Freeze. Written by Margaret Cox
The transformative journey of an American woman who finds deeper meaning in her life after traveling to a mystical island in India where the inhabitants use artistic expression as a means for communing with God.
Michael Jackson is a legend in the world of craft brewing. His 1977 book, The World Guide to Beer, was the first of its kind, and the first to categorize almost every major style of beer in the world. His 1993 television series, The Beer Hunter, became an instant classic, and helped launch the spectacular craft beer movement that we take for granted today. Michael's engaging writing literally saved many styles of beer from extinction, and his work inspired an entire generation of brewers to experiment with beer styles from around the world. Many in the beer world are unaware that Michael was also the leading author on the subject of whiskey, and his books on whiskey have sold more copies worldwide than his books on beer. His sudden death in 2007, at the age of 65, shocked the beer and whiskey worlds. His legacy and contributions were substantial, and should be recognized and remembered. As a person, Michael was one of the best, as those fortunate enough to know him can attest to.