HUMAN INTEREST

  • LONELY OAKS

    LONELY OAKS

    Hambach Forest in Germany was supposed to be cleared to expand an open-cast lignite mine. In 2018, during a large-scale police operation to evict activists occupying the forest, film student Steffen Meyn was killed in a tragic accident. Based on his film footage, we chronicle Steffen’s journey and follow him into the activists’ world.

  • NILA’S DREAM IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN

    NILA’S DREAM IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN

    Six-year-old Nila is the product of a temporary marriage, which allows a man in Iran to be married to a woman for a pre-determined time. Children born out of these relationships do not legally exist and cannot attend school. In a system that prioritises men’s rights over women’s, Nila’s mother Leyla fights relentlessly to win custody of her daughter and secure her future.

  • HANS HASS – PIONEER OF THE DEEP

    HANS HASS – PIONEER OF THE DEEP

    Marine biologist Hans Hass was one of the inventors of underwater photography in the 1940s. His spectacular photos introduced the underwater world to a wide audience for the first time. How did this young Austrian start a groundbreaking career as a diver, film-maker and zoologist – despite all the adversities of the World War II?

  • EUROPE’S UNIQUE WATER LANDSCAPES

    EUROPE’S UNIQUE WATER LANDSCAPES

    Breathtaking canyons, lakes, rivers and landforms with captivating fauna and flora: from the Tatra Mountains via the Dordogne to the Danube Delta, this series explores extraordinary, still unspoilt corners of Europe. Because of their biodiversity, many are already protected as national parks, UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites or biosphere reserves.

  • LONG DISTANCE SWIMMER – SARA MARDINI

    LONG DISTANCE SWIMMER – SARA MARDINI

    Sara Mardini, once a competitive swimmer in Syria, became Europe’s most celebrated refugee after saving 18 people’s lives. After working as a rescue volunteer in the Mediterranean, she is accused of people smuggling and faces a 25-year prison sentence. We follow her fight for justice and journey of self-discovery against the backdrop of Europe’s refugee ‘crisis’.

  • PERSIAN SILK – REDISCOVERING AN ANCIENT ART

    PERSIAN SILK – REDISCOVERING AN ANCIENT ART

    An artist couple from Tehran has made it their mission to revitalise the traditional Iranian art of weaving to save Persian patterns from being forgotten. A journey through the history and art of silk production in Iran, from silkworm cocoon to finished woven fabric – a living testimony to Iran’s cultural diversity.

  • SWITZERLAND AT NIGHT

    SWITZERLAND AT NIGHT

    Switzerland at night is fascinating and anything but dark. And lots of people are still awake. On our journey from dusk to dawn, we take viewers on helicopter and drone flights from the Engadin to Lake Geneva, and we visit people still out and about deep into the night.

  • HAO ARE YOU

    HAO ARE YOU

    His mother blames communism, his uncle an inheritance dispute, the others remain silent. Film director Dieu Hao Do examines his fragmented family, which has scattered across three continents since the Vietnam War. Is communism to blame for their estrangement?

  • RASTA GRACIE AND JAMAICA’S HEALERS

    RASTA GRACIE AND JAMAICA’S HEALERS

    Gracie and her Rasta friends, Quaco and Robert, live in eastern Jamaica, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Gracie sells bananas and coconuts and loves to rap. She wants to build a store next to her house to support herself and her daughters. Gracie’s friends are healers. When the moon is waxing, they search for a root that only grows in the dense forest undergrowth.

  • Ithaka premieres at Barcelona Human Rights Festival

    Ithaka premieres at Barcelona Human Rights Festival

    Tonight on December 1st Ben Lawrence’s Film “Ithaka – A Fight to Free Julian Assange” premieres at the 19th Barcelona Human Rights Festival in Spain.

  • ITHAKA – A FIGHT TO FREE JULIAN ASSANGE

    ITHAKA – A FIGHT TO FREE JULIAN ASSANGE

    Filmed over two years across the UK, Europe and the US, this documentary follows 76 year-old retired builder, John Shipton’s tireless campaign to save his son, Julian Assange. Weaving historic archives and intimate behind-the-scenes footage, this story tracks John’s journey alongside Julian’s fiancée, Stella Moris, as they join forces to advocate for Julian.

  • THE HAIDA IN CANADA

    THE HAIDA IN CANADA

    Everything is connected to everything – one of four basic beliefs held by the Haida, an indigenous group of people native to the west coast of Canada. This is how they live in harmony with their environment. Skil Jaadee and her family struggle to keep up their traditions and bring back their language. This film tells their story.