Four blind Indian boys compete to become chess masters.
Social & External
The people behind it
Darpan Inani
Charudatta Jadav
Anant Kumar Nayak
A brief glimpse through the life of Granny Lue. A woman of faith, fearlessness, and fierce energy, she never allowed her disability to determine her ability to live.
With the use of montage sequences, voiced over with the observations of the children, van der Keuken was able to use artistic expression to portray the sightless children’s unique perspective of the world.
A Hungarian girl dreams of conquering international men’s chess. After a 15-year battle against world champion Garry Kasparov and her domineering father, Judit Polgár revolutionizes the sport’s patriarchal culture to become one of the greatest chess prodigies in history and the greatest woman chess player of all time.
The film follows five people who lost their sight in armed conflicts, gathering fragments of their present-day lives. Through an enveloping sound composition, veiled archival material, footage shot by the protagonists themselves, and a sensitive visual approach, the film explores memory, perception, and our relationship to the visible. Steering away from spectacle, it invites us to hear what often goes unheard, and to feel differently. In an age saturated with images, this documentary offers a sensory experience where listening becomes a gesture of resistance and human reconnection.
Angela Su’s fictional artist Rosie Leavers is the last remaining person to upload her consciousness to a video game. Contemplating during a pandemic year which also saw people’s resistance movements in many parts of the world, the work pinpoints the uncanny affinities between gaming and warfare strategies. They have mutually informed the infrastructure of both worlds since time immemorial when diplomatic conflicts played out on the battlefield of the 64 squares of a chess board to flight simulation technologies which were adapted to shape gaming experiences as we know it now. When the conflict is between the state and its people, she speculates that gaming strategies empower civilians in resistance movements to counter imperialism through its own operative logic. But once we upload our consciousness, are we able to return to the sensibilities and political motivation that inspired the revolution to begin with?
Documentary film that takes a visual and anthropological journey through man's spirit across the thin line dividing excessive faith in religious believes and the passion with which he devotes himself to worldly pleasures in a city that coexists in harmony with its double standards. Religion, faith, politics, violence and death are intimately bound in this social portrait.
Nathan Quinell is a fully trained chef… he also happens to be legally deaf and blind. That’s never stopped him from chasing his dreams to become a full-time cook, but now Nathan must prove himself to his peers, his students and potential employers.
Through intimate stories and day-to-day routines we get a naturalistic glimpse into the lives of individuals with disabilities in the bustling urban landscape of São Paulo. The film captures personal moments and how modern societies confront (or fail to confront) ableism and inclusion.
Despite a lifetime of adversity, a blind high school wrestler attempts to win a State Championship before the end of his senior year.
Based on a chess set made of ivory, which came to the Habsburg court in Vienna from China, thoughts of Confucius, taken from the Book of Lun-Yü, are recorded.
Magnus Carlsen, widely regarded as the greatest chess player of all time, is challenged by Hans Niemann, a rising star who capitalizes on the meteoric growth of online chess. Niemann’s ascension culminated in an epic, controversy-shrouded victory over Carlsen at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, which eventually led to allegations and revelations of cheating. Determined to clear his name, Niemann fights his way back to the top of the chess world, setting the stage for a high-stakes rematch with Carlsen in 2024.
The speed chess tournament that has taken place once in a month for already 35 years involves well-known people from the field of culture. The game has no other purposes than the game itself. Some hobbies may seem funny for bystanders; however, for the practitioners of a hobby it may be even more serious activity than their main occupation. Work is compulsion, game is freedom. The documentary is a document of cultural history that has recorded well-known people in a situation that is unfamiliar for the public.
The film builds up a portrait of a great Sudanese film-maker, Gadalla Gubara. At eighty-seven, he is one of the pioneers of cinema in Africa. He has recently lost his sight but still continues to film life in Sudan as no one before him. Through his oeuvre, Gadalla reveals to us a Sudan both mysterious and misunderstood. Despite censorship and lack of financial support over sixty years, he has produced cinema that is independent and unique in a country where freedom of expression is a rare luxury.
Lotte (18) and Roos (16) are sisters and both have Usher syndrome. That means they will soon become deaf and blind. It is not known how fast that will go, but they already see and hear a lot worse than their peers. How do these two high-spirited girls deal with their development into adulthood, while the time bomb of deafness and blindness ticks inexorably? They are not deterred from getting the most out of life: Lotte is studying to become a photographer and Roos is passing her final exams. At the same time, they also want to do a few things before it is too late, such as seeing the Northern Lights with their own eyes. Director Kim Smeekes followed Lotte and Roos for the film for two years.
Brooklyn Castle is a documentary about I.S. 318 – an inner-city school where more than 65 percent of students are from homes with incomes below the federal poverty level – that also happens to have the best, most winning junior high school chess team in the country. (If Albert Einstein, who was rated 1800, were to join the team, he’d only rank fifth best.) Chess has transformed the school from one cited in 2003 as a “school in need of improvement” to one of New York City’s best. But a series of recession-driven public school budget cuts now threaten to undermine those hard-won successes.
An Exercise in Perspective is an experimental documentary and fundraising film, which follows the story of blind runner Phil Harrison. Born fully sighted, Phil has lost eyesight from two unfortunate moments – an injury to his left eye as a teenager, compounded by a cancer diagnosis in his right eye when he turned 60. He now has less than 5% vision, only afforded to him with an artificial iris. Many people could become reserved after such bad luck — Phil has decided to run. In 2026 he will run his first ever marathon, the London Marathon, raising money for the UK sight loss charity: RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People). As the frontman of infamous punk band Social Security he has always been defiant and young-at-heart. The band provide the perfect soundtrack to his story. Immersive, mixed-media and a DIY project — the documentary gives a perceptual insight into Phil’s excitable, scrappy and inspirational spirit.
Follow the brilliant mind of 13 year old Chess Grand Master Magnus Carlsen
Through the eyes of International Chess Master Paul Cassidy, this documentary traces a lifetime of strategy, triumph, and heartbreak, from representing Ireland on the world stage to confronting the loss that nearly ended his career, and ultimately rediscovering joy through the enduring support of the Dun Laoghaire Chess Club.
Interwoven portraits of Anatoli Karpov and Garry Kasparov, whose 25-year bitter rivalry accompanied the fall of the USSR. The story of a duel between two chess giants, fighting a personal war in a world gone to ruin. This battle of black and white was more than a face-off over a chessboard. Part psychological drama, part political thriller, the film brings to life their hostilities, nested like Russian dolls. Karpov vs. Kasparov represents the battle between the faltering empire and the young liberals several steps ahead of the game, checkmating the old guard. Or how two stories – the societal one and the personal one – started out separately and ended up superimposed, twining together into one tale.
Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.
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.
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.
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.
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
A feature length documentary about the all-women team at the helm of Pixar's original feature, Turning Red. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Director Domee Shi and her core leadership crew, this story shines a light on the powerful professional and personal journeys that brought this incredibly comical, utterly relatable, and deeply heartfelt story to the screen.
Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.
Explore the evolution of Buzz Lightyear from toy to human in the making of Pixar’s Lightyear. Dive into the origin and cultural impact of everyone’s favorite Space Ranger, the art of designing a new “human Buzz,” and the challenges faced by the Lightyear crew along the way.
An in-depth and intimate portrait of Coldplay's spectacular rise from the backrooms of Camden pubs to selling out stadiums across the planet. At the heart of the story is the band's unshakeable brotherhood which has endured through many highs and lows.
Deep Web gives the inside story of one of the most important and riveting digital crime sagas of the century -- the arrest of Ross William Ulbricht, the 30-year-old entrepreneur convicted of being 'Dread Pirate Roberts,' creator and operator of online black market Silk Road. As the only film with exclusive access to the Ulbricht family, Deep Web explores how the brightest minds and thought leaders behind the Deep Web and Bitcoin are now caught in the crosshairs of the battle for control of a future inextricably linked to technology, with our digital rights hanging in the balance.
Interviews with leading authors, philosophers and scientists, with an in-depth discussion of the Law of Attraction. The audience is shown how they can learn and use 'The Secret' in their everyday lives.
Christopher Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and care.
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
When a cross-section of seven-year-olds were interviewed for 7 Up in 1964 it was immediately evident that their social backgrounds influenced their attitudes towards life. While the upper class children were confident and self-assured, those from middle and working class backgrounds were resigned to a challenging life of hard work. This premise was put to the test every seven years when the same group were interviewed about the progression of their lives. 49 years in the making, the changes that occurred to the original 14 make for fascinating television and are in many ways the stories of all our lives. From success and disappointment, marriage and childbirth, to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life has been captured on film. Now, at the age of 56, the group are once more brought together and, with the benefit of hindsight, assess whether their lives have been ruled by circumstance or self-determination.
A backstage and on-stage look at Justin Bieber during his rise to super stardom.
