The lives of a human smuggler transporting refugees to the Darién Gap, an asylum seeker in New York City, and frontline humanitarian volunteers interweave in a harrowing examination of the global migration crisis.
Social & External
This winner of the 1993 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature details the case that the 1989 invasion of Panama by the US was motivated not by the need to protect American soldiers, restore democracy or even capture Noriega. It was to force Panama to submit the will of the United States after Noriega had exhausted his usefulness.
Two friends who worked in the vinyl record shop Panamá Radio remember the post-II World War days when they entered the working scene of the city, the music of the times and all the artists that visited the shop.
Music producer Professor Angel Dust and his wife Kene are arrested at Panama airport on their way back to Barcelona. Their daughter is taken into custody by the local social services. Angel's brother Mauricio is in shock. Forced to park his life in Spain, he flies to Panama to take custody of his niece, find a lawyer and seek protection for his brother in prison. After two months, he succeeds in bringing his niece back home, but has to fly back to Panama for the trial of his brother and sister-in-law... His journey will become a contemporary 'odyssey' full of overwhelming encounters with characters whose philosophy of life and daily routines illustrate some of the human paradoxes to their very limits.
Documentary about asylum seekers in the Netherlands.
A New Yorker journeys to the jungle in the Darien Gap of Panama to reconnect with an indigenous tribe he met and photographed 20 years ago. Their reunion highlights the profound power of photos and the human connection that transcends cultural barriers.
The Perfect Story offers a riveting, intimate look at the ethical and moral challenges sparked by the relationship between a foreign correspondent and a young Somali refugee. By revealing the boundaries of journalism and filmmaking, the film questions what stories are told, why, and who gets to tell them.
In Portobelo, two friends go to a Congo dance and witness an invasion of demons, while Panama is invaded by Americans troops in 1989: this turns into an account of what happened in the cities of Colón and Panamá.
INVASION is a documentary about the collective memory of a country. The invasion of Panama by the U.S in 1989 serves as an excuse to explore how a people remember, transform, and often forget their past in order to re-define their identity and become who they are today.
Panamanian women tell their struggle to overcome inequality and discrimination in the political and public sphere and for the right to universal suffrage which they obtained in 1946.
A close look at what really means to be part of Haus of Fraimpark, an alternative drag family in Panama City. Daughters and Nieces of Miss Veneno Fraimpark share their experience in belonging to one of Panama's most acclaimed drag houses.
Based on a poem and archive images, the military aggression of the US army stationed in the Canal Zone against the Panamanian people who demand to raise their flag in the territory occupied since the beginning of the 20th century is reconstructed and denounced. The aggression that occurred between January 9 and 11, 1964 left a balance of 21 patriots.
In March 1973, the United Nations Security Council met in Panama City to debate the Panamanian claim for a new treaty that would end the colonial presence of the United States in its territory. The majority of the participating states of the Council recognize the justice of Panama's cause and give it their support, but the United States vetoes the resolution.
An ironic portrayal of the days of the U.S. blockade of Panama, set during the dictatorship of Manuel Antonio Noriega, just months before the country was invaded by U.S. troops.
Afro-Antillean workers hired for the construction of the Panama Canal are brought from their homes to work in conditions that were not those promised. They, the descendants of African slaves and domesticated from England, manage to raise their voices against American injustices.
An urgent and powerful documentary, shot in a detention centre where asylum seekers trying to reach Australian shores are indefinitely detained. Secretly shot on a mobile phone by Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani while detained on Manus, in Papua New Guinea, the film is a collaboration with Dutch-Iranian filmmaker Arash Kamali Sarvestani. Boochani recounts, via the testimonies of fellow inmates, the abuse and violence inflicted and the precarious state of limbo they find themselves in. Chauka, the name of the dreaded solitary confinement unit within the detention centre, was originally the name of a beautiful bird and symbol of the Manus Island. By interweaving dialogue with two Manusian men and shots of daily life on the island, the film gives a much-needed voice to Manus inhabitants, understandably distressed by the current situation. With marked restraint, the film exposes lives broken by shocking immigration policies.
Documentary on the Panamanian struggle for the rescue of the lands of the so-called Canal Zone, militarily occupied by the forces of the American army.
Examines how the Immigration and Naturalization Service decides who will be granted asylum in the United States. The applicant must have a "well-founded fear" of persecution in his or her home country. Despite true and terrifying stories of torture and mistreatment, it's often up to how well the translator presents the case and how sensitive are the ears of the asylum officer to decide a person's fate.
The story of Ahmed Albarjo, a man living in Malta struggling to secure Refugee Status. Made in collaboration with Spark 15 and RAAH.
Four rejected asylum seekers relive the hearing on their reasons for fleeing their home countries, shedding light on the core of the asylum procedure. Will the interviewees be able to describe their traumatic experiences in a way that satisfies the official criteria?
What does it mean to belong to a place, a country? In a south Tel Aviv elementary school, that question is addressed head-on by a fourth-grade class and their teacher. The children are asylum seekers whose families mostly do not have a legal status in Israel, yet learn, sing and play in Hebrew all the while examining their identity and sense of belonging.
Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while adjusting to their new lives in the United States.
More than 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war, the greatest displacement since World War II. Filmmaker Ai Weiwei examines the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. Over the course of one year in 23 countries, Weiwei follows a chain of urgent human stories that stretch across the globe, including Afghanistan, France, Greece, Germany and Iraq.
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
This character-driven film considers the evolving sex trafficking landscape as seen by the main players: the exploited, the pimps, the johns that fuel the business, and the cops who fight to stop it.
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
A multi-part documentary about the making of the Jurassic Park trilogy. Each part walks through the making of part of one of the films, including the hurricane during the shooting of the first film, and how advances in CGI for Jurassic Park helped change the world of special effects forever. All interviews for these retrospective documentaries come with comments from Spielberg, Johnston, Neill, Dern, Goldblum, the effects crews, the child actors, and Peter Stormare. This documentary is broken into six parts: Dawn of a New Era (25 min), Making Prehistory (20 min), The Next Step in Evolution (15 min), Finding the Lost World (28 min), Something Survived (16 min), and The Third Adventure (25 min).
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.
An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
The Captains is a feature-length documentary film written and directed by William Shatner. The film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed starship captains in the Star Trek franchise.
An atmospheric essay, which is an alternative version of Count Dracula, a film directed by Jess Franco in 1970; a ghostly narration between fiction and reality.
Martin Scorsese’s portrait of writer and social commentator Fran Lebowitz, celebrated for her sharp wit and observations on modern life. Filmed at New York’s Waverly Inn and intercut with archival footage and interviews, the documentary captures Lebowitz’s distinctive worldview through her spontaneous monologues and public appearances.
A documentary focused on plastic pollution in the world's oceans.
The film goes behind the scenes of the 1999 sci-fi movie The Matrix.
After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs, the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time.
After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.