Kingdom of Bhutan: The Land of Hidden Treasures

A documentary video about the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Bhutan - Glücksland im Wandel

It was only in the 2000s that the population of Bhutan discovered television and the Internet, as well as the first democratic elections. Near the capital Thimphou, one of the fastest-developing cities in Southeast Asia, live some 20,000 nomadic yak herders.

Bhutan - Königreich der Glücklichen

Buddhism, Bhutan and Me

Rinzin Jurmey chose to join a monastery and dedicate his life to Buddhism at the age of 11, loving its rituals and traditions. Now 18, he moves harmoniously between mountain village and city, embracing tradition and pop culture, religion and hip-hop, prayer and video games. With guidance from cinematographer Cat Papadimitriou, Jurmey documents the ways in which he – and his country – are striving to preserve ancient practices while embracing modernity.

The Dragon House

The Dragon House portrays the confrontation between tradition and modernity which the Kingdom of Bhutan is currently experiencing. This is done by means of two Bhutanese characters: a young Buddhist monk, heir to the local tradition, and the first disc jockey to dare to play House and Techno music in the small Himalayan kingdom.

Bhutan: The Snowman's Trek

Ultramarathon runners Ben Clark, Anna Frost and Tim Olson travel to Bhutan's high Himalayan landscape to try and set a speed record on the world's hardest trek.

A Musical Journey: On the Road to Bhutan

The Frisian singer Linde Nijland was always fond of the combination of traveling and singing. An invitation to listen to a concert in honor of the coronation of the fifth king of Bhutan was the ideal occasion in 2008 to make a months-long journey through South East together with multi-instrumentalist Bert Ridderbos.

Bhutan: Following in the Footsteps of Matthieu Ricard

Buddhist monk and photographer Matthieu Picard as he returns to the Asian country in the Himalayas where he spent a decade after seven years away, revisiting breathtaking landscapes and experiencing local traditions.

Golden Globe - Bhutan

Crossing Bhutan

Bhutan is known as the last Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom and one of the happiest places on earth. 'Crossing Bhutan' tells the story of four veteran athletes and their journey to explore Bhutan’s enigmatic policy of Gross National Happiness by making the first 485-mile, border-to-border crossing of this isolated kingdom entirely by foot and bike.

Happiness

Peyangki is a dreamy and solitary eight-year-old monk living in Laya, a Bhutanese village perched high in the Himalayas. Soon the world will come to him: the village is about to be connected to electricity, and the first television will flicker on before Peyangki's eyes.

1000 Hands of the Guru

Four monks, a royal scholar, and their American guru are fighting to save Bhutan's sacred arts while learning the art of letting go.

Bhutan: The Dictatorship of Happiness

Hidden away in the Himalayan foothills, Bhutan is a country reputed for its exquisite natural beauty and the importance its people place on individual happiness. The Bhutaneses’ acute environmental awareness has led it to being the only carbon-negative country in the world. To many, the small nation seems like a model for the rest of the world. But behind this idyllic façade there lies a more sinister reality. Buddhism is the only religion tolerated by the Wangchuck dynasty who have ruled the country for the last century. This ultra-conservative regime is closely intertwined with the Buddhist faith. The flocks of millionaires and Hollywood stars who arrive in Bhutan to work on their karma can only be accommodated thanks to the toil of terribly paid workers. This film explores the dynasty’s rule while also taking a look at the youthful counterculture movement which has emerged since the country’s exposure to the internet.

Agent of Happiness

The documentary team follows two happiness agents in their forties who spend a month and a half on the road twice a year, going door-to-door with their questionnaires in isolated villages in the Himalayas. The filmmakers undertake to provide an intimate insight into the daily lives and desires of Bhutanese people, and also seek the answer to the universal question of whether happiness can really be measured. Gross National Happiness promises a heart-warming journey into a mysterious, fairytale-like world, which is the exact opposite of the social order dominated by consumption and desires.

83 and Alone: Bhutan's Water Crisis

Bhutan, despite being one of the world's two carbon negative countries, suffers from a changing climate that has led to a disastrous water shortage. After his children leave him, Daw, an elderly Bhutanese villager, must fend for himself. 83 AND ALONE explores a community made empty because of water.

Dr Ward - Bhutan Film

The film opens with general views and shows building works and Sherpas loading up. Scenes of threshing and a campsite, with Sherpas and huts. A settlement is then shown, including people weaving. Scenes of walking in towards the mountains and climbing in the foothills. More threshing scenes and the film ends with shots of the mountains and village.

Bhutan: Taking the Middle Path to Happiness

Imagine a country where happiness is the guiding principle of government. Imagine a people who see all life as sacred and the source of their happiness, a place with an abundance of clean and renewable energy, a nation committed to preserving its culture and whose progress is measured by obtaining Gross National Happiness for its people. Where is this Shangri-La? Bhutan. But can a place like Bhutan really exist? Can such ideals be realized? Can this small, geographically isolated country tucked away in the Himalayans truly protect its environment and culture as they open their doors to the West? The answer is rooted in the Bhutanese view of the world, anchored in Buddhism, with the simple message that happiness can only be found by taking the middle path the path that balances the needs of man with the powerful spirits of nature.

The Lost Kingdom of the Yeti

From the Bhutanese wilderness, scientist and yeti-hunter Mark Evans hears fresh reports of new sightings; Mark mounts a considerable expedition into the Himalayas and takes his search for the yeti further than ever before.

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom

A teacher, in search of inspiration, travels to the most remote school in the world, where he ends up realizing how important his job is and appreciating the value of yak dung.

Butterfly Bhutan

When religious tradition becomes a threat to Bhutan's Nature, one man braves society and sets out on a mission to change the minds and hearts of the locals.

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country

Going beyond the occasional news clip from Burma, the acclaimed filmmaker, Anders Østergaard, brings us close to the video journalists who deliver the footage. Though risking torture and life in jail, courageous young citizens of Burma live the essence of journalism as they insist on keeping up the flow of news from their closed country.

Our Planet: Behind the Scenes

Years spent recording footage of creatures from every corner of the globe is bound to produce a bit of drama. Here's a behind-the-scenes look.

Extremis

A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.

Naqoyqatsi

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

Avatar Spirits

Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creators of the hit television series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, reflect on the creation of the masterful series.

The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button

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.

A Plastic Ocean

A documentary focused on plastic pollution in the world's oceans.

Fuck

A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

I Want to Return Return Return

A depiction of the Wrangelkiez neighbourhood in Berlin. The people portrayed tell their life stories. One woman came to the neighbourhood a decade ago to work in Berlin’s still unfinished Brandenburger Airport, one man reminisces his childhood on a Tobacco farm in Kentucky, another speaks of an exceptional day in an otherwise monotonous workplace. These portraits are interwoven with the story of Elpi, a Greek woman who is waiting for the long overdue visit of an old important friend. The outcome of this mixture is a film which captures the lives and perspectives of some of Wrangelkiez’s most commanding citizens, while at the same time evoking the loss that change and time passing means for places and for people.

John Was Trying to Contact Aliens

John Shepherd spent 30 years trying to contact extraterrestrials by broadcasting music millions of miles into space. After giving up the search, he makes a different connection here on earth.

Jim: The James Foley Story

In August, 2014, a video of the public execution of American photojournalist James Foley rippled across the globe. Foley wore an orange jumpsuit as he knelt beside an ISIS militant dressed in black. That image challenged the world to deal with a new face of terror. And it tested one American family. Seen through the lens of filmmaker Brian Oakes, Foley’s close childhood friend, Jim takes us from small-town New England to the adrenaline-fueled front lines of Libya and Syria, where Foley pushed the limits of danger to report on the plight of civilians impacted by war.

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library

A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.

Sherpa

In 2013, the world's media reported on a shocking mountain-high brawl as European climbers fled a mob of angry Sherpas. Director Jennifer Peedom and her team set out to uncover the cause of this altercation, intending to film the 2014 climbing season from the Sherpa's point-of-view. Instead, they captured Everest's greatest tragedy, when a huge block of ice crashed down onto the climbing route...

Directed by John Ford

A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.

Downloaded

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.

Tricked: The Documentary

This character-driven film considers the evolving sex trafficking landscape as seen by the main players: the exploited, the pimps, the johns that fuel the business, and the cops who fight to stop it.

Champs

A documentary about the sport of boxing, as seen through the eyes of champions Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Bernard Hopkins.

Sherman's March

Ross McElwee sets out to make a documentary about the lingering effects of General Sherman's march of destruction through the South during the Civil War, but is continually sidetracked by women who come and go in his life, his recurring dreams of nuclear holocaust, and Burt Reynolds.

As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

Drew: The Man Behind the Poster

A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.