WOMEN OF ISLAM
Can feminism be Islamic? The role of women in Islam is a constant subject of controversy. We introduce female scholars of Islam, artists and authors who have set themselves the goal of finding their own path to emancipation.
HUMAN INTEREST
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MUAY THAI – STRONG WOMEN, TOUGH FISTS
Muay Thai: the martial art of the kings. In Thailand this popular national sport is still a male preserve. However, more and more young girls and women aspire to a professional career in the ring and are questioning centuries-old traditions. They call for social change, insisting that Thai boxing is a sport for everyone.
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LOST IN FACE
Carlotta cannot see faces, not even her own. For her, human faces are no bastion of trust, but places of fear and confusion. Filmmaker and neuroscientist Valentin Riedl travels through Carlotta’s universe, full of anthropomorphic animals, lucid dreams and bumpy false paths. Her never-ending search for answers leads her to art—and thus an avenue to her own face and back to humanity.
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THE ART OF LIVING IN DANGER
This author-driven documentary starts with the personal story of Mina, the director of the film. She unveils a family secret by telling the story of her grandmother, a woman she never met who died under mysterious circumstances. Her personal story and other women who share their experiences shows how Iran’s patriarchal system instils fear in women in public spaces and in the home.
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SPIRITS I’VE CALLED – THE JOURNEY OF STEEL
Gigantic opencast mines in Brazil, Europe’s biggest steel mill in southern Italy and landscape parks in western Germany: exploitation and pollution on the one hand, slow recovery from decades of industrial use on the other. The film gives an idea of the massive impact of the global steel industry on people and the environment
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THE INVISIBLE GIRL
A 14-year old Moroccan girl, Fatima Osaadan, is tortured to death by the family she was working for as a housemaid. We enter the background of a cruel murder and give an insight into Moroccan society from two opposing perspectives: The archaic, penurious world from which the young servants come and the world of the urban social climbers.
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TRANSYLVANIA – THE CLOSED WORLD OF THE GABOR
The Romanian village of Karácsonyfalva in legendary Transylvania is the centre of the Gabor community. Largely shielded from the outside world, they have held on to their customs and rituals for 500 years. Considered the aristocrats among the Roma, most Gabor are Adventists. We provide a first glimpse of their closed world.
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NEPAL – SO CLOSE TO HEAVEN
A land where primeval forests meet mountain deserts, with both tropical regions and icy peaks. One of the poorest countries in the world and yet a magical, mystical place, realm of the gods and a spiritual paradise. A journey to discover Nepal’s natural beauty and the people who make their lives in this harsh and remote setting.
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THE SECOND LIFE
The distance between human and nature, which leads us to make catastrophic miscalculations in how we treat our environment, can be overcome with the help of preserved animal specimens. This is the conviction of the three taxidermists we accompany as they prepare for the European Taxidermy Championships.
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ART COMES FROM THE BEAK THE WAY IT HAS GROWN
At the Mosaik art studio in Berlin, artists with disabilities are absorbed in their work. Filmmaker Sabine Herpich observes the artists in the course of creation and directs her gaze at the institution itself: its processes, staff and spaces. The film succeeds in maintaining its focus on the art itself rather than the handicaps of its creators.
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A MOM FOR JULIA
Julia is born in a Russian prison. The film follows the girl’s development from the first year of her life until after she turns seven. Three women take it in turns to look after her. They all want the best for Julia, but they don’t always agree on what that actually means…
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NOT JUST YOUR PICTURE
Layla and Ramsis, German-Palestinian siblings living in Germany, face a family tragedy far away in the besieged Gaza Strip: their father, his new wife and his five children are killed by an Israeli missile. Trying to come to terms with their grief at the loss of their stepfamily, they are forced to redefine their personal and political identity.
