Swimmers in the Desert

The true life story and adventures of László Almásy, the 'English patient', who crossed Africa in 1929 with the father of filmmaker Kurt Mayer: These events provide the motivation and outline for a critical journey through 'men's domains' in Cairo, London and Vienna. Navigation in the expanses of the memory - the dream of flying, documents from the war and of an unrequited love...

Building Archaeology

The documentary Building Archeology (jiànzhú kǎo) (2011) considers the more recent past. It’s made up of three vignettes about different buildings in Beijing: a museum, an abandoned hospital, and a detention center. The latter two vignettes are especially interesting. In the second, a woman wanders around the ruins of a hospital built in a week to deal with the 2003 SARS outbreak. The third concerns a former prisoner, tracing out a map of the detention center where he was held in 2011.

China Gate

"China Gate" tells the story of young Chinese fight to change their fate through studying. Right before dawn, students in Huining have already started their self-studying session; hard working youngsters have filled up the space of school ground. This is one of the most poverty-stricken Counties in Western China; here people's only hope is in education, as the way to change their social status. Therefore all their effort point towards the College Entrance Examination, the process is like going through a gate, those who pass can study at urban Universities, and have the chance to build a better life. During the same winter season in Beijing, a graduate student faces a big decision. Should he keep trying to survive in the big city or get back to his countryside home? The exhausted faces at the Beijing underground seem to be revealing the truth about their distance in between. The student comes to see the flag ceremony at Tiananmen Square, where the pulsing symbol of the nation lies.

Existence

After reading I Am the Sultan of the Law of Existence by Youssef Idris, a five-day journey through Egypt’s Western Desert, traveling from north to south., covering 2,800 km and shooting for 35 hours, the expedition became both physical and existential. The desert’s vastness and silence echo the text’s meditation on the relationship between man, nature and the universe, transforming the landscape into an active force that reshapes perception and confronts the nature of existence.

生活在遠方

Element of Survival

Beyond the sprawl of the urban jungle, 150 race teams meet to do battle in the heart of the Mojave Desert in southern California. The format is "run what ya brung" Unlimited 4 Wheel Drive Racing, and the stakes are higher than ever. Only 20% of the teams that take the green flag will make it to the end, the remainder being left strewn across the desert floor in the wake of one of the hardest off road races on the planet, the King of the Hammers. Follow teams in 'Element of Survival' as they set out to conquer harsh desert at speeds in excess of 100mph, as well as some of the hardest rock crawling North America has to offer, all in an effort to be crowned "King" at the setting of the sun.

Trails Across the Steppe

A film about people who fight for their dream and about a country that is still far away from us and undergoing radical change. The Mongolian cross-country skiers train under the most difficult conditions: There is a lack of suitable training facilities, competition courses recognized by the FIS World Ski Federation and much more. Despite all the difficulties and obstacles, the young athletes train with great motivation, joy and fighting spirit. Their dream: to qualify for participation in the Olympic Games.

Desert View

The film Desert View is dedicated to the study of building and living in the semi - built satellite city Madinaty, located in the desert east of Cairo. The movie was made during a four-week residency experiment, to which the filmmakers had invited the three-generation Barakat family from ashweyat (informal residential district) Bashtil as a sort of cinematic diary. The temporary residents of Madinaty, filmmaker and Barakat family, captured their observations and experiences of architecture and their use from their respective perspectives and cameras. Two external perspectives on the desert dreams of the Egyptian middle and upper classes.

My Life Against Taiwan Sotokufu - 1891-1931

“My Life Against Taiwan Sotofuku – 1891~1931” is Taiwan’s first biographical animated documentary. The film combines animation, archival photos, footage, and sound theater to recreate the heroic epic of CHIANG Wei-shui, the “the Savior of Taiwanese People,” during Japan’s colonial rule of Taiwan. Through first-person flashback narrations, Taiwan’s pioneer revolutionary CHIANG Wei-shui tells the turbulent tale of the rise and fall of Taiwan’s non-violent anti-Japanese movements, as well as a lifetime of remarkable resistance against Taiwan Sotofuku (Japan’s colonial government). Cast

Cutting My Teeth

This film mainly records the story of two adolescent children receiving primary education of Peking Opera in Shanghai Opera School in a documentary form. As they are in their adolescence, they gradually form their own plans and ideals for the future. On this unusual learning path, they face the problem of choice between reality and ideals, and gradually learn to accept and grow up.

Way of Fortune

"Mazu" or "The Sea God" has been the most important religious belief of ordinary people in my hometown for four hundred years. Along the coast of China and even in the Nanyang region, there is at least one temple dedicated to Mazu in various seaside cities-this geographical and historical distribution coincides with the contemporary economic or industrial area of Chinese society. It is frustrating that rapid economic development has led to global warming. The factories located on the coast of southern China from all over the world will eventually cause flooding and inundate these temples dedicated to Mazu. This is indeed a very ironic discovery for our civilization, "We", not only Chinese or all human beings, now or in the past, how can we Chinese avoid this upcoming tragedy?

Trash Village

This is the fourth film in my Zoujiacun series within the Folk Memory Project. In 2013, I came back to my village and faced the trash all over the village. The children and I tried to improve the environment of our village. This was a tough fight against the trash and ideas of villagers. I felt like that the trash was in my heart. The 95-year-old grandma Sha and her 49-year-old son Xizhu, their lonely solitary life is also in this film. This film is about the progress that I fight with myself.

Foolish Village

This is my fifth time coming back to my own village, where I was born and brought up. After I graduated from college, when I was staying in my village, I was always suspected and judged by the village people. Xizhu grandpa was called ‘fool’ by other villagers, and Zengxiang aunty was looked down by others. They come into my life, and I stayed with them. Their naïve and strange thought made think about my village in a new way. In this quite ‘normal’ village, who are normal people? In those normal people’s eyes, am I another fool of this village?

Bridges Burned

In the autumn of 2010, the poet Xiaozhao set off from Beijing and took a national tour of his personal poem collection "My Hope is on the Road" printed at a print shop. All the way up and down, full of ambition. Photographer Zhuang Ruijie went to Guangdong halfway to shoot. He recorded a trip to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Shaanxi Shanyang, Huashan, Zhongnanshan, Xi'an and returned to Beijing for about 15 days.

WILD GRASS

WHO IS MY LORD

The story of a girl attempted suicide for love and finally returned to religion.

MAGUEY

This story is about the group's marvellous life without money.The film tell this story from six points of view: the screenwriter, the recording, the photography, the art, the performer and the director.

SCAR

Scars, which are unfortunate or unexpected results, are also signs of healing. This new connective tissue replaces the process of injured tissues, and at the same time it becomes a metaphor for the pain and frustration of life: the sadness of the body, the union of pain... In short, scars have become a proof, a proof of existence, a proof of alive, a proof of pain, and a proof of a certain age. Beginning in 1949, in this vast land, these various scars, these healing marks, patterns, sad shapes, bring personal memories, collective pains, the marks of history, and come together Gaze, the meaning of the record. This film is the first part of the "Scar" project, the story of 110 Chinese scars.

Baby

The baby is a temporary floating population. He works diligently, from a small restaurant owner to a tea shop manager to a bar manager. This film records the survival state of children centered and gay comrades: trivial, messy, boring, and entertaining themselves. The camera calmly captures every bit of their daily life for more than two years, and as time goes by, the changes the baby presents are more ordinary. The film calmly explains the relationship between "comrades" and "society", and the various small details interpenetrated in the film also metaphorically reflect the changes of today's society

CYPRIDINA

This film is about the story of the main character and his younger brother, the younger brother saw the comic book of the main character, in his brain, he had a fight of animal chess related to memory. The younger brother belongs to the green party, the elder brother belongs to the orange party, at last the elder brother lost and the younger brother won in his consciousness, the younger brother took the elder brother to see the future elder brother in the heart of the younger brother.

Return

RETURN tells the story of a retired Green Beret who embarks on a healing journey from Montana to Vietnam. There he retraces his steps, shares his wartime experiences with his son, treats his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and seeks out the mountain tribespeople he once lived with and fought alongside as a Special Forces officer.

Come See Me in the Good Light

In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story

Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.

A Toxic Love Story

A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.

Dawg Fight

In a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.

To Kill a Tiger

Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.

Grizzly Man

Follows the story of "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in his attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.

Naqoyqatsi

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

My Mom Jayne

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

McQueen

Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.

S4: The Bob Lazar Story

Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity

The Mole: Undercover in North Korea

A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.

Being James Bond

Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.

Koyaanisqatsi

Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.

Sidney

This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.

Fuck

A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

LA Originals

Photographer Estevan Oriol and artist Mister Cartoon turned their Chicano roots into gritty art, impacting street culture, hip hop and beyond.

14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible

In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.

Directed by John Ford

A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.

Cameraperson

As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.