Since Russia was brought to its knees in the 1990s by crippling debt and the grip of the oligarchs following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Putin has made it his mission to return superpower status to Russia. While not partisan to Putin's wrongs, this insightful doc examines the logic and motivations of Putin's vilified regime, and why he is so loved in his homeland.
Jeremy Clarkson tells the dramatic story of the Arctic convoys of the Second World War, from Russia to the freezing Arctic Ocean.
The story of Dwight Core, Jr. and his family, following up the events of the home documentary "Think of Me First as a Person", shot decades ago by his father Dwight Core, Sr. and portraying the love a boy with Down syndrome shares with his four sisters, but also a heartache common to the era's disabled: leaving home for an institution. The little boy, Dwight Core, Jr., grew into a tall, 48-year-old man who enjoyed coloring and watching television in the living room of the Ocean View section of Norfolk, Virginia home he shared with one of his sisters, Cindy Klingler. In 2007, filmmaker Roger M. Richards brought the story of Dwight Core, Jr. to the present, documenting him as a grown man and the continuing love and devotion of his sisters to their brother.
The film is a story about the officers, soldiers and seamen who did not betray their oath of loyalty to the people of Ukraine and their first hand accounts about Russia's invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. They continue to fulfill their military obligations on land, on sea and in the air today.
Leningrad, 1970. A group of young Jewish dissidents plot to hijack an empty plane and escape the USSR. Caught by the KGB a few steps from boarding, they were sentenced to years in the gulag and two were sentenced to death; they never got on a plane. 45 years later, filmmaker Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov reveals the compelling story of her parents, leaders of the group, "heroes" in the West but "terrorists" in Russia, even today.
Moscow, January 1996. Boris Yeltsin gets ready to run for a second mandate of the presidency of the young Russian Federation. Polls are in the single digits. A painful economic transition, war in Chechnya, and the rise of criminal groups have left the majority of Russians dissatisfied with Yeltsin… and willing to vote for the communist leader Gennady Zyuganov. Yet six months later, Yeltsin won the election with nearly 54% of the vote. How did that happen?
Documentary — featuring both interviews and live footage — about underground rock music in Russia, during the last years of the Perestroika.
The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia will be the first ever to be held in a subtropical resort. The most expensive games ever break all records when it comes to corruption and megalomania. Putin's administration has everyone at its beck and call, from oligarchs down to the ordinary people who have to pay the Olympic bill. Both the powerful and the weak speak out in this investigative documentary, which unveils the hidden story behind Putin's games. Government critic Garry Kasparov says that Putin's Olympic propaganda is really all about speeding up the privatization of land in Sochi. Many inhabitants have had to make way for hotels, ski jumps and a large harbor, which were subsequently swept away by storms and landslides – the Olympic village was built on a swamp in the hottest region of Russia. To a large extent, the story of these environmentally unfriendly Olympic Games is one of threats and enormous misappropriations of money.
In 2012 two members of anarchistic female band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a Mordovian labor camp for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred". Russian film collective Gogol’s Wives follow each step of the feminist punk band’s battle against Putin including their first disruptive performances on a trolley bus, shooting a video about transparent elections, a controversial performance in a Red Square cathedral, and footage shot in a jail cell. Support comes from many corners including Madonna who painted the words "Pussy Riot" on her back and wore a balaclava during her Moscow show. The documentary portrays the grim state of present-day Russia, a country starkly divided between conservatism and anarchy. Pussy Riot believes that art has to be free and they're willing to take it to extremes. "Pussycat made a mess in the house," they say, and the house is Russia. The filmmakers do not seek to moralize, they simply edit events and leave viewers to draw their own conclusions.
This documentary on the "youth movement" of the late 1960s focuses on the hippie pot smoking/free love culture in the San Francisco Bay area.
The sort film “Baker Street Live” is being produced for December 2016 exhibition “The Masterpieces of Russian Cinematography”. The film is aiming to intrigue the viewer by the strength of British culture taking place within Russian cinematography influencing and shaping the soviet and modern Russian society. The story of two puppets – Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson - undertaking an investigation and finding the lost pages scattered around London by which they are mostly intrigued. As the puppets keep finding page by page, they unveil their own story as if one discovers himself from within. And as ever, the successful investigation by Serlock results in the re-union of the lost pages with their lawful owner.
“Earth Hum” is dedicated to Rachel Martin’s Family Tree, a drawing that combines art, earth, and love all into one. In a conversation with Martin, we learn a little bit more about her art told through her own voice and drawings as well as the ethereal presence of friends and old Super 8 footage. Like Martin says, in art, you see that there are magical things happening but it is really very human.
Christine attends her first and last prom accompanied by Martin Fredericksen
The love story of pop icon Jennifer Lopez and movie star Ben Affleck began with a movie set meeting in 2002, then weaved to a Las Vegas altar 20 years later.
A compelling and moving documentary that examines the scientific implications and values of forgiveness as well as the physical, mental, and spiritual health benefits for individuals, relationships, and societies as a whole.
As the band Placebo approach their 20th Anniversary they were given a unique opportunity to play ten cities throughout Russia. In a time when Russia was at the forefront of the world’s current affairs, little was actually reported outside Russia about the internal culture of the country. Fronted by Placebo’s Stefan Olsdal, the film explores the alternative cultures that are present within Russia’s major cities. As the tour travelled through the country the band went out and met various artists, architects, animators and musicians, finding out about the alternative creative culture and celebrating all they have to offer. From Krasnoyarsk in Siberia to St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea, Placebo: Alt.Russia takes you on the band’s journey through Russia, meeting great characters on the way, investigating the alternative culture in Russia, and taking in the raw emotions of Placebo’s powerful concerts.
In China, it is hard for a divorced or widowed woman to find a good new husband, especially for those who have kids. For thousands of years, this phenomenon has been rooted in the profound Chinese culture. Though losing something, if not all, those women are still longing for love, one of the only things that can provide warmth to them. They want to give their descendants a family with a father who can fill in the gap of fatherly love. Export My Love is a cross-continent love-seeking story between the East and West. Shot in both China and America, this documentary follows four Chinese women who try to pursue love by finding U.S. husbands. Although they've never been to the U.S. before and most of them cannot speak English, they try their best to overcome these barriers and start new lives.
This documentary retraces the life of Jacques Maritain (1882 - 1973), French Christian philosopher. In evoking his life, it paints a portrait of the 20th century: the scientism of the Sorbonne, the rise of Nazism, the Resistance, Free France, Christian Democracy in South America, but also art, freedom, peace and love for the human person. Jacques Maritain, in the torments of the 20th century, of it's murderous madness and it's hope for peace, holds a secret: his ineffable and faithful love for his wife Raïssa, the inspiration for his political commitments and his philosophical thought.
Atchinsk, 4000 km from Moscow. In a building in this Siberia town, the residents cross paths in the stairs, not prone to discuss the current campaign to elect the next president.. Outside, the city lives by the rhythm of the cold, only the sound of the radio echos the anti-governemant protests of the capital. Those images of a sleeping town blend with some of the salaried-militants of Poutine's party. Iouri, political mercenary for united Russia coldly explains to me the mechanic of the system. The mise en scène of democratic life becomes a theater…