As a gay man, filmmaker Arshad Khan examines his troubled relationship with his devout, Muslim father Abu. Using family archives and movies, Khan explores his struggle with his identity and compares it to his parents attempts to fit into Canada.
Social & External
The people behind it
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.
In the early ‘70s, in Argentina, a group of homosexuals decided to confront the status quo. With testimonies from its survivors as its denouncement source, Sex and Revolution brings back the voices of those who thought in order to be recognized as political actors in a society that wasn’t prepared for them.
125 employees of the Catholic Church come out as queer! In the exclusive ARD documentary, believers in the service of the Catholic Church in Germany dare to go public together. People who identify as non-heterosexual talk about fighting for their church - sometimes at the risk of losing their jobs as a result. There are priests, religious brothers, parish assistants, diocese employees, religion teachers, kindergarten teachers, social workers and many more who report intimidation, denunciations, deep injuries, decades of hide and seek and double lives. The Catholics report a system in which pressure, fear and arbitrariness leave employees uncertain as to what exactly happens when they stand by their sexual orientation or identity. The investigative documentary listens to those who live their faith every day and are nevertheless degraded by the church as an institution.
A documentary about the lives of eight trans people from different parts of Rio Grande do Sul, based on two narrative lines; the first, and main one, is composed of in-depth interviews that seek a multiplicity of experiences, addressing issues related to transition and also to other identity and intersectional crossings, such as class, race, age, sexuality, and body.
A portrait of people who live on the margins of life and exist outside normal society.
The film is a portrayal of Zanele Muholi, a lesbian photographer working in the South African GLBT community. This thin, combative person is already a world-wide famous artist. They define themselves as a "visual activist" in order to highlight their commitment to politics, to communicating ideas and to art. Their work includes: provocative nudes (like a female Mapplethorpe); young Zulu couples, dressed in traditional costumes, embracing each other; a homeless socially excluded lesbian couple; a dignified portrait of Victor Mukasa, the gay human rights leader from Uganda; wonderful shots of Zanele with their white partner. Beautiful and poetic pictures which are "militant" in nature since they condemn homophobia, poverty, and the public and private conflicts of a country divided between tradition and modernity.
This documentary, filmed over a 10-year period, centers on the debate over censorship as it follows Vancouver's Little Sister's Bookstore and its 20-year struggle with Canada Customs over the seizure of books. In the face of bigotry, bombings and repeated book seizures, it wages the most important legal battle in history against Canada Customs.
Are You Proud? is a vivid and engaged docu-celebration of the LGBT rights movement from the partial victory of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act to Stonewall, the Gay Liberation Front , the AIDS crisis, Legal Marriage and finally the 2016 Pulse night club shooting. The film gives an extensive history of the course of LGBT rights campaigning, but it also shows how much more work there is to be done.
Ninja is famous around the world for her fierce ballroom performances, but she is not as well-known in her native country of French Guyana. But a trip home to teach a workshop might change that.
Narrative of the process of building an identity as a trans illustrator who uses monstrous images to communicate his feelings.
An experimental documentary/animation hybrid exploring likeness scanning, AI, and what that means for identity.
After failing to make it into a major soccer tournament for 50 years, the Israeli National team finally gets into the Euro 2020 Qualifying Tournament. For the first time ever, nearly half the players, including the captain, are Muslim. This documentary explores the challenges that the Muslim players face from media critics and fans as well as how the team perseveres because of their passion for the game. Israeli director Shuki Guzik notes, “If an Arab child sees a Muslim score a goal for the Israeli team made of Arab and Israeli players, I see only good can come out of this.”
Everything is political, even something as insignificant as a bathroom. The struggle to occupy spaces represents the struggle to reaffirm one's very existence. This is why we explore why the creation of gender-neutral bathrooms in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters is so important in a country that leads in hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community.
Mothers and fathers of gay, lesbian, and trans children from Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine travel to Berlin to walk together in the Pride parade. Living under one roof, they prepare for the march — painting signs, cooking borscht, and reflecting on how their relationships with their queer children have evolved over the years.
"Miss Bixe Ultraviolência Queer," a short film approved under the Paulo Gustavo Federal Law, which aims to portray the transformation of a university party in the city of Ilha Solteira into a vibrant and revolutionary LGBT event. The project seeks to explore how the party became an essential gathering point for the local queer community, highlighting not only individual experiences but also the power of collectivity and art in building a space of resistance and celebration. The idea is to show how the transformation of this university party into a queer event is much more than a simple shift in audience; it is a reflection of the struggle for visibility, respect, and the freedom to be who you are, in an environment where art becomes a form of resistance and empowerment. The short film not only documents a story but also celebrates the existence and courage of people who, by coming together in a space like this, challenge norms and create new possibilities of belonging.
It’s the resilience and love that keeps this community marching to the beat of its own drum; each generation redefining what it means to be queer and to be seen.
Eight iconic performers of the first generation of Brazilian transvestite artists go on stage to celebrate their 50th career jubilee. The film depicts the human, personal dimension behind these icons, deconstructing gender stereotypes.
Recalling his childhood and relationship with his mother, a film student tries to understand the origin of his love for cinema and tragedies.
While global capitalism is a defining feature of our times, many engage in an anti-capitalist resistance. MARKET THIS! is a timely documentary that explores the desire for radical politics and culture in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Two-Spirited and Transgender community. The documentary began in 1999 after the Queeruption gathering in New York City. During workshops and caucuses and through discussion and entertainment, participants came together to explore ways that this community can sustain and validate itself without supporting a system that actively exploits poor people, women, People of Color, g/b/l/TS/t people. This video takes the dialogue from Queeruption one step further. MARKET THIS! considers both the successes as well as the problems which resulted most visibly (and ironically) from a lack of involvement and presence of People of Color and Transgender people.
Imposed under the British colonial rule in 1860, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalise any sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex, stigmatising them as 'against the order of nature'. On July 2, 2009 the Delhi High Court passed a landmark judgment scrapping this clause, thus fulfilling the most basic demand of the Indian LGBTQ community, which had been fighting this law for the past 10 years. Three characters, Beena, Pallav and Abheena travel through the city of Bombay heading to the celebrations for the first anniversary of the historic verdict. '365 without 377' is the story of their journey towards freedom.
Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.
After starting a family of his very own in the United States, a gay filmmaker documents his loving, traditional Chinese family's process of acceptance.
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.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
In 1997, Louis Theroux made a documentary about the world of male porn performers in Los Angeles. 15 years later, he returns to find a business struggling with the deluge of free porn on the internet. Louis revisits some of the original programme's contributors as well as meeting the latest crop of porn performers dreaming of porn stardom.
A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.
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.
In a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.
This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.
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 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.
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."
Though legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely through rare archival footage and interviews with Ashman’s family, friends, associates, and longtime partner Bill Lauch, Howard is an intimate tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent and a rousing celebration of musical storytelling itself.
From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, this film looks not just at Anton's impressive career, but at a broader portrait of the man.
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.
A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.
The incomparable Bruce Springsteen performs his critically acclaimed latest album and muses on life, rock, and the American dream, in this intimate and personal concert film co-directed by Thom Zimny and Springsteen himself.
Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a teen and her boyfriend. Who's sending them — and why? This twisty documentary reveals the shocking answer.
The evolution of adult cinema through the most influential films in history, a journey that begins in the 1970s and ends nowadays. An in-depth analysis of the success of the most prestigious erotic films, their impact on industry and society, and their influence on cinema and contemporary culture.