Social & External
The people behind it
Jenethe Mesquita
Esmeralda Mesquita
Jenifer Mesquita
When filmmaker Mari Soppela took her children and husband to live for a year on a sacred mountain in her native Finland, she was fulfilling a lifelong dream to share the arctic wilderness of her childhood with her family. But when years later her children turn the camera onto her, she is forced to confront her motivation for filming their lives in this searching and searingly honest cinematic exploration of identity, belonging and motherhood. Filmed over the course of 27 years, Mother Land challenges us all to examine the landscapes we carry within us and the narratives we create to make sense of our lives.
Lucie was born with a protruding ear that she got from her mother. In this documentary she tries to find answers in her fathers' features.
Antoin, Yesuán and Karla share a common memory of their last moment together in the amusement park Parque Lenin. When they lost their mother, four years ago, their paths changed radically. Antoin moved to France to pursuit his dream of becoming a professional opera singer, meanwhile Yesuán and Karla stayed in Cuba, trying to consolidate their new family roles.
In the underground world of diffing, a community finds solace in their passion, as they navigate personal struggles and challenges both on and off the road.
ONLY IN THEATERS, a film by actor/director Raphael Sbarge, is an intimate and moving journey taken with the Laemmle family, spanning nearly three years of challenges, losses, and personal triumphs. Laemmle Theatres, the beloved 84-year-old arthouse cinema chain 3rd generation family business in Los Angeles, is facing seismic change and financial pressure. Yet the family behind this multigenerational business – whose sole mission has been to support the art of film – is determined to survive.
When the Cows Come Home introduces audiences to Tilly and Maggie, a pair of cows that musician, journalist, artist and cow whisperer, Andrew Johnstone has befriended and subsequently saved from slaughter. The garrulous herdsman is enthusiastic to expound his views on animal husbandry, bovine communication and the vagaries of life in general, before the film walks us back through the events that have shaped the singular farmer-philosopher. From personal family tragedy to warring with Catholic school authorities, innovating in Hamilton’s nascent music scene to creating guerrilla art installations; Johnstone’s life has had a truly idiosyncratic trajectory. Mental health issues may have seen him retreat to life on the farm, but the film makes clear its subject’s restless inquisitiveness is far from being put out to pasture.
Ida is cleaning out the house that her grandfather, an artist, used to live in. She wades through a studio overflowing with artefacts, oddities and lost history. Similarly to S P A C E S, Štrbová treats the theme of memory and loss, combining fiction and documentary, letting the images of nostalgic childhood and the suffocating past flow associatively. To the sound of Francesco Geminiani's Concerto grosso no. 12, subtitled Madness, the fragile physicality of both dead and living relics stands out. The head of a dead parrot, a cast of her grandmother's breasts or a moss-covered real estate agent represent the discoveries of a personal archaeological site and exhibits of an introspective museum of family history.
Due to the measures taken by the government, students have fewer and fewer prospects for a meaningful future. Life is on pause and society is kept in fear. The confidence in a bright future is gone. Even after 18 months, there is still no light at the end of the tunnel. The many promises have not yet changed this situation. In this moving documentary, young people give an idea of the impact of the measures on their lives. Is there still hope or has the damage already been done?
Kain Tayo follows Rica Piquan, the owner of Pamilihan Pinoy Asian Groceries, one of only two Filipino markets in Tucson, Arizona. Born and raised in the Phillipines, Rica’s lifelong passion for cooking inspired her next dream, opening a Filipino restaurant. She plans to share her culture and passion by the end of the year. While managing her grocery store seven days a week and building her restaurant from the ground up, she still finds time to cook for her family every day. Seen through Rica’s journey and her daughter's eyes, the film explores the resilience of an immigrant story and the rich traditions of Filipino food and culture.
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has declared a “State of Emergency”, after an outbreak of youth suicides has devastated the community. Due to a lack of Federal assistance, residents have taken prevention efforts into their own hands. A tenacious Oglala Lakota elder takes charge, rallying the community to get involved, while empowering a resilient young group of suicide survivors to band together to help raise awareness.
André's Eyes is an experimental docudrama in which the actual family members themselves participate in the recreation of their own story. Set in a small village in the Portuguese countryside, the film follows the struggle of a divorced father to keep his family together after his youngest son is taken away from them and placed in a foster family.
A major feature-length ITV documentary about footballer Terry Butcher will chart his career as well as the devastating personal tragedy of the loss of his Army veteran son. Butcher is one of England's most celebrated players, with 77 caps, seven times as captain. Photos and footage of him playing on with a bandage around a head injury during a vital World Cup qualifier provide one of the iconic images of the national team's history. Butcher's achievements in the club game include trophy-winning stints at Ipswich Town and Glasgow Rangers. But Butcher: Invisible Wounds also tells the story of the personal loss he endured following the death of his son Chris, a British Army veteran who passed away after suffering severe PTSD.
When comedians draw on the family to make people laugh, everyone is concerned. This documentary looks at everything that is horrifying or hilarious in the family: from the "new generation" fathers to the dictates of the perfect mother, as well as the taboos of parenthood, unmanageable teenagers, and unbearable mothers-in-law.
Petr and Simona have been living together for twenty-five years. They have nine children, with whom they live in caravans on a meadow in Šumava – without television, computers, or running water. The authoritarian Petr calls himself a "professional father." He guides his offspring toward freedom and harmony with nature, while trying to protect them from the harmful influence of consumer society. The children only go to school for exams—their college-educated parents teach them at home. At first glance, the family cohesion, which is practically unparalleled in today's Western world, seems idyllic. Upon closer inspection, however, doubts begin to arise. The film Still Together explores the price of a free life outside of society and asks: is there a recipe for the ideal family?
Incarcerated participants in a mental health experiment watch videos of sunset-soaked beaches, wildflowers and forests on loop, prompting them to reflect on isolation and wilderness. Equal parts meditation and provocation, Blue Room identifies the damage done by withholding access to the outdoors and how we are all prisoners when the essential human need for communion with nature is denied.
Embark on an epic journey of family, courage, and coming home in this feature-length documentary. Join Athena, the majestic matriarch, as she leads her elephant herd across an unforgiving African landscape filled with vibrant wildlife.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Examines the life and career of singer Whitney Houston. Features never-before-seen archival footage, exclusive recordings, rare performances and interviews with the people who knew her best.
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.
The life of Bambi, a male roe deer, from his birth through childhood, the loss of his mother, the finding of a mate, the lessons he learns from his father, and the experience he gains about the dangers posed by human hunters in the forest.
An enchanting making-of story told through all-new in-depth interviews and cast conversations, inviting fans on a magical first-person journey through one of the most beloved film franchises of all time.
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."
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
Stars of "The Walking Dead," Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira, walk down memory lane and visit iconic locations where pivotal moments between their characters, Rick and Michonne, were filmed.
A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
Take a virtual vacation to some of the Star Wars films' most iconic and beloved locations like Hoth, Tatooine, and Sorgan, as this charming series whisks you off for fly-through tours of the Galaxy Far, Far Away.
A journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings.
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Cast, crew and fans explore the "Back to the Future" time-travel trilogy's resonance throughout our culture, thirty years after Marty McFly went back in time.
Grammy® winner singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo takes a familiar road trip from Salt Lake City, where she began writing her debut album “SOUR,” to Los Angeles. Along the way, Rodrigo recounts the memories of writing and creating her record-breaking debut album and shares her feelings as a young woman navigating a specific time in her life. Through new live arrangements of her songs, intimate interviews and never-before-seen footage from the making of the album, audiences will follow Olivia along on a cinematic journey exploring the story of “SOUR.”
Experience the events of September 11, 2001 through the eyes of President Bush and his closest advisors as they personally detail the crucial hours and key decisions from that historic day.
An IMAX 3D camera chronicles the effort of 7 astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
A behind-the-scenes documentary about the recording of Aretha Franklin's best-selling album finally sees the light of day more than four decades after the original footage was shot.
In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.
