"A place where solitude meets community."
In a secluded valley, a solitary farming community yearns for human contact and shared belonging.
Social & External
The people behind it
Graeme Cochrane
Self
Kristen McLennan
Nicole Schwegler
Mike Hayes
Monique Maul
Katrina Thomas
Jo; or The Act of Riding a Bike is Zefier's third film.
After a spell cast by Grandma Faraway, the oldest son of a small family encounters the ghost of his late Grandma Maria still living in her old house, and they chat as they used to.
SINOPSIS / SYNOPSIS Every year in Spain, some 16,000 Fiestas are organized, during which animals are used. Honoring the Holy Virgin and the Patron Saints, and with the blessing of religious and political authorities, entire towns -including children- are involved in celebrations of unbelievable cruelty. 60,000 animals are hence abused each year during these “Fiestas of Blood”.
In this story, we follow María Inés, an elderly woman, on an intimate and revealing journey as she seeks to understand the cost of life. Divided into four chapters, the narrative immerses us in the everyday life of her home, a space filled with memories and remnants that reflect what once was and what remains. Among antique furniture and objects steeped in history, we witness the protagonist navigating her present while confronting the inevitable decline of her body and mind. This journey portrays, in a raw yet poetic way, the duality of existence: the beauty and the hardship of growing old.
A meditation on an Alaskan autumn.
The story of Nisar Ahmed Khan, told through his children and the people he served, a spiritual guide whose followers still visit his tomb on his birth and death anniversaries. And alongside how his family spends a few days at the village keeping his traditions alive.
High above the Yesa reservoir lies what was once a village, now nothing more than memories: Tiermas. There, where families and dreams once thrived, wild vegetation now reigns, along with a silence that embraces the passage of time. Yet, if we look closely at what were once streets, houses, and churches, we can sense the whispers of the lives and memories of a community forced to flee its very essence. Tiermas is a limbo between oblivion and nostalgia, where the water has advanced and the trees have grown, but the stories refuse to fade away.
In the village of Sabucedo, Spain, the Rapa das Bestas unfolds: a raw ritual where villagers and wild horses collide in a test of strength and memory. Seven years in the making, Fillos do Vento: A RAPA places viewers inside the curro, where dust, breath and tension blur the line between tradition and extinction. A modern-day Quixote story, as wind-farms creep over the surrounding hills, the work challenges audiences to feel the fight for cultural survival in an age of rapid change. This documentary is not meant to be watched but inhabited, a sensorial call to witness what is at stake when culture, nature and modernity collide.
Amateur shots of pilgrims and temples at Haridwar, followed by rural scenes and the Gorrie family at home.
‘Under the Weight of a Waking Dream’ is Zefier's debut swan song to the ending year. Comprised of poetry and endless enumerations is a diaristic film chronicling the lessons and contradictions found throughout the human experience.
The story of a six year old boy from Phoenix, Arizona whose dreams of becoming a Kungfu master lead him to the birthplace of martial arts - the legendary Shaolin Temple in China. His father must now face a heartbreaking decision and follow his son to China leaving the mother behind in America... a choice few parents could ever imagine.
Filmed in Victoriaville, the film uses images from various sources to paint a cynical portrait of the violent boredom that reigns in rural areas. Quiet sequences of people sharing joints by the river are followed by a lone car speeding along wooded roads, as if seeking speed on the brink of accident. Thuya abandons technical mastery in favor of intimate and spontaneous filming, composing a raw self-documentation of daily stagnation. Filmed mainly in a single day of improvisation, based on chance encounters and found footage.
Milana, Sephora, and Mario are between seventeen and twenty-six years old. They grew up in modest, stigmatized rural Manouche families. Unlike their parents, they have degrees and work as employees. They have dreams to fulfill.
During the 2012 season, two Montana High School teams compete in 6-man football, a smaller version of American football with increasing popularity in rural communities. It's pure football, for the sake of football, played by boys of all sizes and abilities, for themselves and for the communities who know them oh so well. No television timeouts. No place to sit. Six Man Football.
A short film following Anthony, a young child from the small, rural town of San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba. We see him in different moments of his daily life as he interacts with different forms of environmental, familial, and social influences. While Anthony displays contradictory traits of creativity, destruction, rigidity, and tenderness as he interacts with his external and internal worlds, we see a story built from the the multidimensionality of Anthony's layered personality as a young man.
Outtakes, commentary from Zefier's third film: Jo; or The Act of Riding a Bike.
A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.
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.
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
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.
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.
A glimpse into the raw and simple power of nature through encounters with farm animals: the eponymous Gunda, a mother pig; two cows, and a one-legged chicken.
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.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
An inside look at the years of effort and craft that went into the final installment of the Duffer Brothers' generation-defining series.
In a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Sheds light on an alternative approach to farming called “regenerative agriculture” that could balance our climate, replenish our vast water supplies, and feed the world.
As England reach the final of the Euros at last, 6,000 ticketless football fans storm Wembley stadium, leaving destruction in their wake.
Captured during Billie Eilish's sold-out world tour, a concert experience from one of the most celebrated and successful artists of her generation, presented in immersive 3D.
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.
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.
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.
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
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.
