Those Shocking Shaking Days

This poetic documentary is an elegy to the Middle East, where cement flows across the region as they rebuild after the ravages of war. For the narrators, the smell and taste of cement remind them of their father, who left to work in neighboring countries, and the horrifying sight of their devastated home.

A testimony documenting the plight of Iraqi civilians as observed over several months by the film’s director, chronicling the subjection of everyday life under the dual regime of helplessness. Part I shows the daily reality under the control of a dictatorship with the war looming in the background; the second part depicts the post-war chaos.

Combining elements of science fi ction and poetry, the fi lm uses period documentaries to look at the question of Dutch colonialism within new contexts while digging deep into the history of this nation. The fi lm, which was awarded the 2019 Doc Alliance Selection Award, consciously aims for a deeper refl ection on the complicated nature of what we consider to be true

Like thousands of other African immigrants, Labrun from Congo embarks on an entrepreneurial mission to find work in Chinese Canton. However, things soon get complicated and he becomes stranded in the overpopulated megalopolis. Against the backdrop of the improvised actions of a fictitious protagonist in a real environment, the director provides an insight into the growing relationship between China and Africa.

With the use of a casual cinematic language, French director Andy Guérif has breathed life into a grandiose polyptych by painter Duccio di Buoninsegna from Siena. Twenty-six simultaneously unfolding scenes from the Passion of Christ show the 14th century majestic work of art frame by frame from a previously unseen perspective.

An intimate confession by Ada, a woman who was raped at the age of nineteen, is told by twelve women and two men. The individual interpretations of one and the same testimony affects their credibility,and creates emotionally highly suggestive documentary depicting the very specific and comprehensive image of the experience of violence and cthe consequences that persecute the victim throughout their entire life.

A group of female fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party set up a camp in the mountains under constant attacks from Daesh, and the Turkish and Iranian armed forces. These girls and young women left their families to protect the families of others. Together, they train in combat, venture into war zones and then come back to the heavily mined hills. They openly speak about war and the role women play in it.

Through interviews and footage from theatre rehearsals, the film reflects on the origins of a theatre production by Croatian director Oliver Frljić about the murder of a twelve-year-old girl during the war in Yugoslavia.  What might seem like history is actually everyday reality for Croatian Serbs, filled with hatred and fear.

Childhood as an age of extraordinary imagination, games, and sense of security in a world bordered by the close horizon is explored in this observational documentary that focuses on a year in the life of a Norwegian Waldorf kindergarten. This sensitive study of the expressions of modern, progressive pedagogy can renew viewers’ faith in education and the importance of the work of educators.

A film essay about the obsession with maintaining visual memory using Polaroid works as a historical excursion, a how-to manual, and a philosophical contemplation. Accompanied by a hypnotic soundtrack, the film reveals the magic of instant photography using the compelling nostalgic aesthetic of the time before digital photography.

Apocalyptic depiction of an area literally engulfed by the mining industry is presented in this documentary that observes the eponymous northern Swedish city, part of which was abandoned due to activities in the nearby iron mine. The mining company’s management decided not to halt profitable mining activities and instead made the decision to move the residents of the threatened district. Using footage shot in the city inside the Arctic Circle and directly in the mines, the director has uncovered subtle film imagery, and using the stories of three protagonists now living in a bizarre inter-time, imaginatively addresses the topics of resettlement, tradition, and respect for a particular location. “The dystopian story of Kiruna is about lost people looking for a home in an uprooted city. It shows the dark side of the advanced society, whether in Sweden or the Czech Republic.” G. Stocklassa

A warrior as an archetype – a symbol – a real person – along this line, the film’s authors descend into the heart of darkness of the  Liberian civil war at the turn of the century. One by one, seven generals share their thoughts on what it means to commit one’s life to a war in which ancient traditions clash with modern alienation.