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
The people behind it
Mali - Algeria - Libya - Italy. Issa’s escape from West Africa to the European mainland lasted ten years. Everything was supposed to be better here. But when he arrived in Rome, the only thing waiting for the young man was a life of homelessness and unemployment – which meant no money to send home. Drissa and Sekou share a similar fate, waiting in Italian asylum centres for a residence permit. Then there’s Bubu, who, forced to move from job to job, is unable to settle down. And lastly comes Alassane, who lives without identity papers in a state of constant uncertainty in a refugee camp near Rome. They all have one thing in common: after a gruelling odyssey, none of them has found the Italy they were hoping for when they arrived. Disillusioned, they find themselves in a vacuum of waiting, reflecting on the time they live in and the time that lies ahead.
Filmmaker Azad Larki, who is undocumented, follows his mother during her final days in Sweden after his family has lived without legal status for two years. Facing deportation to Iran, they have survived in hiding, without rights or security. When his mother decides to flee alone to London - leaving her husband and son behind - the film captures a dangerous farewell where humor becomes a final survival strategy against fear, separation, and uncertainty.
Matar Dia, from Senegal, is now a mediation agent in an asylum center in Paris. He loves to draw, that’s why he painted the walls of the laundromat where he works. He tells us about his story and some of the residents’ as he shows us his art.
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.
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.
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 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.
The story of Ahmed Albarjo, a man living in Malta struggling to secure Refugee Status. Made in collaboration with Spark 15 and RAAH.
Documentary about asylum seekers in the Netherlands.
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.
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.
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.
A small community of lovers of freestyle rap begins to grow in the parks and squares of Panama. From rapping on buses to on stage, the love of Hip-Hop abounds in their hearts.
In 2000 in the jungles of Panama, a young journalist, named Ana, has a chance encounter with a tiny orphaned sloth, which she names Velcro. For nearly two years, the pair is inseparable until finally Ana travels up a remote river to reintroduce Velcro back to the wild. This is the story Ana’s return to Central and South America to see how much has changed since Velcro came into her life.
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.
To cool the heat on the asylum debate - the biggest 'hot potato' in Australian politics, we took a hot potato food van around the country in the lead up to the 2013 Federal Election. The mission? To see what Australia really thinks asylum seekers. This is an account of this journey.
A Russian mother and her queer son try to cope with their new situation, as the son, a political activist and radical artist, applies for political asylum in Europe.
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.
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
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.
14-year-old Laura Dekker sets out on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to become the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone.
Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
49 Up is the seventh film in a series of landmark documentaries that began 42 years ago when UK-based Granada's World in Action team, inspired by the Jesuit maxim "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man," interviewed a diverse group of seven-year-old children from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Michael Apted, a researcher for the original film, has returned to interview the "children" every seven years since, at ages 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and now again at age 49.In this latest chapter, more life-changing decisions are revealed, more shocking announcements made and more of the original group take part than ever before, speaking out on a variety of subjects including love, marriage, career, class and prejudice.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
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.
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.
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
THE SPIRIT MOLECULE weaves an account of Dr. Rick Strassman's groundbreaking DMT research through a multifaceted approach to this intriguing hallucinogen found in the human brain and hundreds of plants, including the sacred Amazonian brew, ayahuasca. Utilizing interviews with a variety of experts to explain their thoughts and experiences with DMT, and ayahuasca, within their respective fields, and discussions with Strassman’s research volunteers, brings to life the awesome effects of this compound, and introduces us to far-reaching theories regarding its role in human consciousness.
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
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.
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).