Kukeri

This film documents the Kukeri rituals in Bulgaria, focusing on the mask makers and performers who keep this ancient tradition alive. Their dedication to this agrarian custom is a visual testament to the power of tradition to provide hope and community in a time of diaspora and urbanization.

Bulgaria: Fire Dance Ritual

Every year in June, the small Bulgarian village of Balgari celebrates St Constantine with a special ritual. Initiated ‘nestinari’ go into a music-induced trance and dance on bonfires in a display of religious passion.

Kukeri

The Balkans is home to an ancient pagan tradition where magic and mystery still have a sacred place in the cosmic order. The Kukeri festival has had a strong hold over Bulgarian cultural life since the fifth century, surviving the Ottomans, Christendom and communist rule. Every winter, hundreds of terrifying figures prowl snow-capped forests and village centers in search of evil spirits to dispel from their communities.

Bulgarian Lamentation Songs

A documentary about lamentation songs of Bulgarian funeral rites.

Bulgaria, This Eternal Heresy

Part fictional documentary, part musical anthropology, scientific magic, and eco-anarchic utopian journey in a landscape of eight parts. You're Kaloyan, the sax player. Or Diana, the Gypsy dancer. You journey together through Bulgaria in search of the utopian village Dolphinovo. It's not Sofia, Paris or New York. That's why this story is rural, rustic and polyphonic. It's like a string of painted walls of village houses, folk songs and allegories. However, who is Ivo? And why does he lead you through these winter landscapes a year later?

Bulgarian Lovers

Graying Spaniard Daniel has a healthy budget for indulging in the finer things in life. Daniel's favorite luxury is playing sponsor to younger men amid the lights and sights of Madrid's gay club scene. After Daniel shares a night with handsome Bulgarian emigre Kyril, he finds himself consumed with an insatiable lust for the charismatic foreigner. But, as their relationship takes shape, Daniel's latest conquest reveals his own manipulative tendencies.

La Grande Saga du Tour de France

DARK DAYS

When it comes to self-promotion, no one can beat Blackout Problems: On their website and social media clips, white roses, gas masks and burning shopping wagons. On YouTube, the well-designed studio documentary "Dark Days", thick with pathos, is a gripping introduction to the third long player by the Munich-based band.

An Other City

The turn of the twenty-first century was a golden age in Swedish urban planning. Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm became a model around the world for how to design an attractive and eco-friendly urban environment. At the forefront of the new planning stood the architect Jan Inghe. Now there's a new film that describes his work and considers how our cities have been developing since that time. The awarded film follows Jan Inghe's career, beginning with the development of the Minneberg district in Stockholm during the 1970s, continuing with Södra Station in the 80s, and culminating with Hammaby Sjöstad in the 90s.

The Endless Summer

Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.

Land Without Bread

An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.

Megacities

Megacities is a documentary about the slums of five different metropolitan cities.

Railway Station

Kieslowski’s later film Dworzec (Station, 1980) portrays the atmosphere at Central Station in Warsaw after the rush hour.

Gimme Shelter

A detailed chronicle of the famous 1969 tour of the United States by the British rock band The Rolling Stones, which culminated with the disastrous and tragic concert held on December 6 at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival, an event of historical significance, as it marked the end of an era: the generation of peace and love suddenly became the generation of disillusionment.

Primary

Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in 1960. Primary is the first documentary to use light equipment in order to follow their subjects in a more intimate filmmaking style. This unconventional way of filming created a new look for documentary films where the camera’s lens was right in the middle of what ever drama was occurring. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1998.

Dont Look Back

In this wildly entertaining vision of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Bob Dylan is surrounded by teen fans, gets into heated philosophical jousts with journalists, and kicks back with fellow musicians Joan Baez, Donovan, and Alan Price.

Adopce: Konkurz na rodiče

The Euphoria of Being

Alone, Eva Fahidi returned home to Hungary after WWII. At 20 years of age, she had survived Auschwitz Birkenau, while 49 members of her family were murdered, including her mother, father, and little sister. Today, at age 90, Eva is asked to participate in a dance theatre performance about her life's journey. This would be her first experience performing on a stage. Reka, the director, imagines a duet between Eva and a young, internationally acclaimed dancer, Emese. Reka wants to see these two women, young and old, interact on stage, to see how their bodies, and stories, can intertwine. Eva agrees immediately. Three women - three months - a story of crossing boundaries. Whilst the extraordinary moments of Eva's life are distilled into theater scenes, a truly wonderful and powerful relationship forms among the three women.

Arguments

People who hear voices talk about their daily inner and social struggles. The film deals with “madness” through an acute awareness of reality and echoes our secret suffering.

A Pleasure, Comrades!

1975, the year after the Carnation Revolution. Eduarda, João and Mick come from Northern Europe to work in the co-ops in the occupied farms of central Portugal. Like many others, they come to help with the land and the livestock, give medical appointments, family planning classes, show sexual education films and participate in the traditional dances. They bring a great deal of questions, but the “comrades from the South”, in turn, have more questions than answers.