"How do you feel about dying?"
Born with cystic fibrosis, 28 year old Ethan Rice faces his demise with a dark sense of humour and more concern about what his passing will mean to those he leaves behind than for himself.
Social & External
himself
At the risk of a 5-year prison term, Francesco Da Vinci struggles with his Virginia draft board to be recognized as a sincere conscientious objector to the Vietnam war.
The story of Hitler’s final hours told by people who were there. This special features exclusive forgotten interviews, believed lost for 65 years, with members of Hitler’s inner circle who were trapped with him in his bunker as the Russians fought to take Berlin. These unique interviews from figures such as the leader of the Hitler Youth Artur Axmann and Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge, have never before been seen outside Germany. Using rarely seen archive footage and dramatic reconstruction, this special tells the story of Adolf Hitler’s final days in his Berlin bunker.
The story of Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn whose short & flamboyant life, full of scandals, adventures, loves and excess was largely played out in front of the camera - either making movies or filling the newsreels and gossip magazines. Tragically he was dead from the effects of drugs and alcohol by the time he was only 50 & the myths live on. But there is another side of Flynn that is less well known - his ambitions to be a serious writer and newspaper correspondent, his documentary films and his interest in the Spanish Civil War and Castro's Cuba
In a quiet village in southern China, Fang Xiuying is sixty-seven years old. Having suffered from Alzheimer's for several years, with advanced symptoms and ineffective treatment, she was sent back home. Now, bedridden, she is surrounded by her relatives and neighbors, as they witness and accompany her through her last days.
The free, almost naive view from the perspective of a child puts the "68ers" in a new, illuminating light in the anniversary year 2008. The film is a provocative reckoning with the ideological upbringing that seemed so progressive and yet was suffocated by the children's desire to finally grow up. With an ironic eye and a feuilletonistic style, author Richard David Precht and Cologne documentary film director André Schäfer trace a childhood in the West German provinces - and place the major events of those years in completely different, smaller and very private contexts.
A big hearted community celebrates life by fronting up to death. Set against the stunning backdrop of the industrial seaside town of Port Kembla, a feisty and resilient community group have determined to take back the responsibility that most of us leave to someone else — to care for their own dead. Scattered throughout are stories that cut to the core revealing why this small band have decided to take on a practice that for most is taboo. As their plans for community-based funerals gather momentum one of their own is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Tender is at once a heartbreakingly beautiful and beautifully funny glimpse of an extraordinary community taking on one of the most essential challenges of human life … its end.
The film examines the death of the anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli, who fell from the fourth floor of the police headquarters in Milan December 15, 1969, after being stopped following the Piazza Fontana bombing.
The Finnish modern dancer Noora Hannula dances through this documentary film in her own explosive style. Noora’s life has always been very connected to the artist environment with her grandfather, Simo Hannula, who throughout his entire life dedicated him fully to his art. Noora and her grandfather crossed paths when Noora used a picture of his dead body in her show and now we meet Noora working on her newest show: The Era of No Talent Rising, while she is trying to figure out where her own limits are.
The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened? feature film documents the process of development of the ill fated "Superman Lives" movie, that was to be directed by Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage as the man of steel himself, Superman. The project went through years of development before the plug was pulled, and this documentary interviews the major filmmakers: Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, Jon Peters, Dan Gilroy, Colleen Atwood, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and many many more.
In August 1997, the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, stunned her family and catapulted the British public into one of the most extraordinary weeks in modern history. What was it about Diana that resulted in such an outpouring of grief? And what does that week reveal about Britain's relationship with the monarchy, then and now?
Herbert Fingarette once argued that there was no reason to fear death. At 97, his own mortality began to haunt him, and he had to rethink everything.
An experimental look at the origin of the death myth of the Chinookan people in the Pacific Northwest, following two people as they navigate their own relationships to the spirit world and a place in between life and death.
In 1973, 591 American POWs returned home from the Vietnam War, bringing with them harrowing tales of survival. But there was an even more remarkable -- and secret -- story to tell: a feat of incredible spycraft that remained classified for decades...until now. This is the unbelievable story of James Stockdale and his fellow prisoners at the notorious "Hanoi Hilton." Their clandestine communications with U.S. intelligence alerted the CIA and Pentagon to the horrors of the Vietnamese POW camps and prompted a daring, top-secret rescue mission.
In April 1975 -- despite a ceasefire agreement -- the North Vietnamese communists took Saigon and the world by surprise, mounting an offensive that ousted the South Vietnamese government. This enlightening documentary recounts the last two years of America's military engagement in the country and the U.S. role in Saigon's fall. Interviews with former National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese officers provide context.
A German Documentary about the “village of friendship” that was created by American Veteran George Mizo to help the Vietnamese kids suffering from the Vietnam War.
In mid-1971, French television organized a press conference in both Paris and Washington, with 20 journalists participating—10 of them, mostly American, defending the U.S. stance, while the other 10, mostly French, remained neutral. Madam Bình sat alone among these formidable journalists, under bright lights, calmly and confidently responding with strength yet courtesy, clearly expressing her goodwill in seeking a political solution to end the war. Her image at that moment led people to metaphorically compare it to "dancing among wolves."
A Thousand Words explores a daughter's relationship with her stroke-stricken father through still pictures and 8mm footage he shot while serving in Vietnam.
A doctor's efforts to live a green life near the Appalachian Mountains lead to the development of a radical idea to use green burials to conserve one million acres of land and to create wildlife reserves.
21 Days, based on the story of six young fishermen who left Gros-Islet fishing village on a routine fishing expedition and simply vanished. The young men disappeared on February 15, 1985, after they set out on a fishing expedition.
'if you only had one year left of your life, what would you do?' This question asks Swiss author Franz Hohler. His answer: 'Make death your adviser to live life to the fullest.' He is one of several carefully chosen Swiss citizens who give us an insight into their personal views on life and death. Besides these colorful, oftentimes funny quotes we meet Tom, a 50-year old male that has been diagnosed with incurable brain tumor. Contrary to what one would expect, Tom takes his sickness not as a burden but as a chance and lives his life happier than ever before. This to the surprise of his family and friends and above all - himself. The film encourages people to live life more consciously.