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?
Africa’s fashion avant-garde is diverse and thriving. In the continent’s major cities as well as in the African diaspora, creatives are setting trends with provocative, visionary designs and transforming the world’s often clichéd perception of Africa. Eight exciting designers offer us a glimpse of the creations of tomorrow!
Dyslexia is a complex condition whose causes are still not fully understood. At least 5% of all children and adolescents worldwide have difficulty reading and spelling. This film looks at the psychologically stressful situation these children face. It showcases success stories and finds out how researchers are searching for causes and treatments.
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.
Taranto in southern Italy is home to Europe’s largest steelworks. Studies show that emissions of toxic substances such as dioxin and benzopyrene are the cause of disproportionately high rates of cancer in the region. The government in Rome has known about this for years, yet steel production continues. How is this possible?
Chea Samy, a celebrated dancer at the Cambodian Royal Palace, raises a boy as her own at her home on the palace grounds. Years later, as a forced labourer under the Khmer Rouge, she realises her foster son is Pol Pot. The film tells the almost unknown story of the history and reign of Pol Pot and its connection to classical Cambodian dance.
Civil society and the law system in Russia are under severe pressure from the state. Human rights lawyers have become the last frontier between state violence and society. Mikhail Benyash and a network of like-minded lawyers defend those who dare to speak up. They fight for justice in an increasingly suffocating dictatorship.
An investigative journey to the American west, which is increasingly threatened by water scarcity. Scientific data shows that this region is drying out, with devastating consequences for communities and the environment. Conflicts of biblical proportions are already emerging – defined by the struggle for our most precious resource.
A story about a man who dedicated his life to preserving the Church but instead led it into its greatest crisis: Pope Benedict XVI. After the worldwide sexual abuse scandal became public, Benedict resigned in 2013. An analysis of the failings of an institution that believes in absolute truth as it struggles to come to terms with modern democratic society.
In 1944, for the first time in history, the Americans give female journalists press credentials to cover the Normandy invasion. On their way along the frontlines of WWII, Martha Gellhorn, Margret Bourke-White and Lee Miller add a female subtext to war reporting which forever changes our perception of war as the “father of all things”.
After Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv region, the small town of Bucha became a symbol of Russian war crimes. How do people live there now – after experiencing such trauma and while the war rages on? This film tells stories about destroyed lives, about atrocities and abysses, but also about humanity and hope.
In 2013, the young journalist Eric Lembembe was tortured and beaten to death in Cameroon. He fought for the recognition of the rights of homosexuals. Shocked by the brutal murder, the film-maker returns to his home country. While he examines his own homophobic upbringing, the film reveals that Lembembe’s murder as no isolated case.
