Faces of Death II

Brief scenes of death related material: mortuaries, accidents and police work are filmed by TV crews and home video cameras. Some of it is most likely fake, some not as much.

The First Wave

When Covid-19 hit New York City in 2020, filmmaker Matthew Heineman gained unique access to one of New York’s hardest-hit hospital systems. The resulting film focuses on the doctors, nurses, and patients on the frontlines during the “first wave” from March to June 2020. Their distinct storylines each serve as a microcosm to understand how the city persevered through the worst pandemic in a century

24|7|365: The Evolution of Emergency Medicine

An accident occurs and we dial 911, an ambulance arrives and we are taken to a fully equipped Emergency Room staffed with specifically trained Emergency Room Doctors. Forty years ago, that was not the case. How did we get here? Our film explores the dramatic history of modern Emergency Medicine, told by its maverick founders, in their own words. The historic take on the specialty allows us to contrast where Emergency Medicine is today with where it began, not too long ago.

Burnout

The portrait of a paramedic and his relationship with death. A duel between the deep pleasure that gives him the adrenaline when he turns on the siren, and the emotional weariness from being the witness of countless tragedies.

93Queen

Set in the Hasidic enclave of Borough Park, Brooklyn, "93Queen" follows a group of tenacious Hasidic women who are smashing the patriarchy in their community by creating the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in New York City. With unprecedented-and insider-access, "93Queen" offers up a unique portrayal of a group of religious women who are taking matters into their own hands to change their own community from within.

Le Mans 55, une tragédie française

The Le Mans race in 1955 made history through tragedy when more than 80 spectators were killed. Uncover the story of the crash that took the lives of so many and, to this day, looms over the world of motorsports.

Hell's Highway: The True Story of Highway Safety Films

This film covers the early history of post World War II educational films, especially those involving traffic safety by the Highway Safety Foundation under direction of Richard Wayman. In the name of promoting safe driving in teenagers, these films became notorious for their gory depiction of accidents to shock their audiences to make their point. The film also covers the role of safety films of this era, their effect on North American teenage culture, the struggle between idealism and lurid exploitation and how they reflected the larger society concerns of the time that adults projected onto their youth.

Sofia's Last Ambulance

Bumpy are the pot-holed roads of Bulgaria’s capital Sofia. Doctor Krassi, nurse Mila and driver Plamen fly over them daily at break-neck speed. Together the three form one of 13 ambulance teams providing assistance to over two million people. They zoom around the city on double shifts from one emergency to the next. Ilian Metev’s camera is not aimed at those in need of help – their dignity remains preserved. He focuses instead upon the rescue team Krassi, Mila and Plamen and their wild rides across the city on a never-ending battle with time – a feat almost impossible without humour. The ambulance team fight against a ramshackle health system with passion, selflessness and sometimes near resignation. Ilian Metlev accompanied the trio for more than two years to find images that make poetry of the human figure and this depiction of reality.

The Stork Pin

When desperate times call for desperate measures, 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Officers are available to help with the complexities of childbirth and the delivery of babies.

Midnight Family

In Mexico City's wealthiest neighborhoods, the Ochoa family runs a for-profit ambulance, competing with other unlicensed EMTs for patients in need of urgent care. In this cutthroat industry, they struggle to keep their financial needs from compromising the people in their care.

Werner We Love You

When Werner Herzog was still a child, his father was beaten to death before his eyes. His mother was overwhelmed with his upbringing and thereupon shipped him off to one of the toughest youth welfare institutions in Freistatt. This was followed by a career as a bouncer in the city's most notorious music club and an attempt to start a family. Today, the 77-year-old from Bielefeld lives with his dog Lucky in a lonely house in the country. Despite adverse living conditions, he has survived in his own unique and inimitable way.

Collision Rescue

When two parties get in a head-on collision, it's up to emergency services to free them from the wreckage. What follows is a demonstration of what their job and duties entail.

A & E: When Patients Attack

Hospital staff are reporting more violence and anti-social behaviour than ever before. In 2015, 8 staff were assaulted every hour – a new record high. At The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham – one of the UK’s biggest hospitals – they think they have the answer. Here a private security force of 46 uniformed guards, and a sophisticated CCTV system, keep staff and patients safe. A colourful mixture of characters ranging from ex-soldiers, to bouncers, to former elite sportsmen, it’s the security team’s job to keep the hospital running smoothly. With more than 2 million visitors they have to deal with all aspects of crime and anti-social behaviour. All against a back drop of life changing and life saving procedures.

Decade of Death

This highway scare film produced by the Highway Safety Foundation in 1971, "Decade of Death", is a retrospective of the organization's 10 years of gory, shocking social guidance films which aimed to promote traffic safety and driver responsibility through the display of bloody and horrific footage of traffic crashes.The Highway Safety Foundation made driver scare films such as "Signal 30," "Mechanized Death," and "Highways of Agony" that intended to encourage drivers to drive responsibly and with consideration of the risks and consequences. It was the organization's belief that crash footage, while horrific, was the best way to convey the importance of driving safely.

Behind the Life of Chris Gaines

To promote the release of his album Garth Brooks in... The Life of Chris Gaines, Garth Brooks appeared as Chris Gaines in a television "mockumentary," a version of VH1's seminal cable classic Behind the Music, featuring a totally made-up tale that just may be the greatest rock n' roll documentary ever made. This piece of art has everything that makes the story of being a rockstar fucking cool. It has childhood trauma, record label trauma, death, disfigurement, a plane crash, a car crash, sex addiction, redemption, a house fire, random unexplained commentary from Billy Joel, and more sex addiction.

The Last Days of Left Eye

Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes was the hip-hop voice of TLC, the best selling female R&B group of all time. On March 30th, 2002, Lisa decided to document her life. She filmed at a mysterious spiritual retreat deep in the jungles of Honduras, but 26 days later, after a tragic accident, she was dead and her unedited tapes were left behind. Last Days of Left Eye is the re-imagining of the film Lisa never got to complete. Revealing private moments from Lisa's journals and home movies, along with highlights from her celebrated career, this film is an intimate journey into the soul of a talented and still provocative young artist. Directed by Lauren Lazin, Academy Award nominated director of Tupac: Resurrection (2005, Best Documentary Feature), Last Days of Left Eye has screened to sold-out audiences at film festivals around the world.

Mr. Death

An exclusive interview with Death as he goes about his everyday business.

Dear Brother

Markus Becker is hit by a car, dragged along, his head bashed on a curb and he falls into a coma. The doctors don’t believe that the 45-year-old will survive the next five to ten days. His father makes preparations for the funeral. Markus’ brother Michael refuses to accept this fate and begins an extraordinary battle. In his brother’s apartment he seals Markus’ clothes to preserve the smell. He records the neighbors’ voices. Every day, Michael exposes his brother to things that are familiar and films everything that is part of Markus’ life with a DV camera. He wants to keep him in his world and to bring this world to his bedside. He documents every step of Markus’ development, risking his own life in the process, wishing that his brother will one day regain the ability to lead a normal life. This full-length documentary accompanies Michael Becker for 10 years on his unwavering and creative mission to bring his brother Markus back to life.

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Paramedico

Paramedico is an observational documentary following emergency ambulance workers in four diverse locations Mexico, Pakistan, Venice and Hawaii. The camp, military style of Pakistans rescue teams, with their marching and theatrical disaster exercises are a world away from the relaxed beachside work of the Hawaiians who stop for ice-cream at every turn. On the other side of the globe, above the romantic canals of Venice, ambulance doctors and nurses watch a generation of old Venetians quietly die as tourists pass below. Meanwhile, Mexican paramedics put their mind off the terror of the countrys drug war with their on-station games and madcap antics.