Filmed over three years, Honeyland focuses on the life of one of the last of the nomadic Macedonian beekeepers, and her fragile relationship with her bees and hives. Directed by Macedonian filmmakers Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov, this acclaimed documentary says much about our collective future, exploring tradition and the human relationship with nature.
Afghan director Hassan Fazili was forced to flee his country when the Taliban put a bounty on his head. Filmed with his wife and children using mobile phones, Midnight Traveller is a moving document of their journey and attempt to claim asylum in Germany.
Hi, A.I. explores the relationship between humans and robots, including the stories of an American man and his sex robot Harmony, and an elderly Japnese woman whose son has designed a childlike companion robot for her called Pepper. Through her film, German director Isa Willinger offers a different perspective on solidarity - now and into the future - as well as isolation.
A history of the 1980s Polish opposition movement Solidarity from the perspective of women, who largely worked behind the scenes and were subsequently written out of the story. Directed by Marta Dzido and Piotr Śliwowski, the film has new relevance in the present, with women playing a crucial role in the defence of Polish democracy.
Philosopher, filmmaker and activist Astra Taylor travels the world taking a critical view of democracy, asking where real power lies. Arguing for a more direct form of democracy, Taylor’s passionate, erudite and at times funny documentary is a challenge to complacency, and a reminder that the personal and local is political.
A surprising, often amusing documentary about the Satanic Temple in the U.S., which subverts preconceived notions the audience might have by showing how the organisation uses grassroots activism to fight for social justice and religious equality.
Using archival footage and shot material, Jenn Nkiru's Black to Techno explores techno’s relationship to Detroit's black music scene, exploring the role of history, technology, geography and race. Stabat Mater Dolorosa is described as a “musical about death and the maiden” - set to the music of Poland’s Siksa, who co-directed and stars in the film.
The human reengineering of our environment raises questions about our place and responsibility to Earth. Moving from the Kenyan ivory trade to a Russian mining town, Italian marble quarry, Chilean lithium mine and the flooding of Venice, Anthropocene depicts the ways our species continues to mistreat and change our planet. Directed by Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky.
Konrad Szołajski’s The Good Change shows the polarisation of contemporary Polish society by following the lives and views of two women, one supporting the governing conservative Law and Justice Party, the other demonstrating against them. Grzegorz Paprzycki’s short film My Country, So Beautiful juxtaposes rallies, demonstrations and street riots to document the rise of radical sentiments in Poland. Both in Polish, with English subtitles.
The subject of The Brink is alt-right populist Steve Bannon, the former campaign adviser of Donald Trump. Filmmaker Alison Klayman follows Bannon across Europe as he meets far-right leaders, taking an approach that allows Bannon to unwittingly reveal himself and his hate games.
A lively, incisive documentary exploring how global finance is making cities unlivable, with lower and middle class people forced out due to rising costs. Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten follows Leilani Farha, the UNs Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing, to reveal a broken system that works for a tiny minority and goes far beyond issues of gentrification.
Offering insight into the citizen investigations of Bellingcat, this documentary shows how the collective has used social media, crowdsourcing and digital techniques to conduct research into the MH17 plane crash, the Syrian Civil War and more. Dutch director Hans Pool asks what Bellingcat’s success says about paradigm shifts in Government, social media, traditional media and technology.
Putin’s Witnesses covers the Russian President’s first year in power, from the perspective of filmmaker Vitaly Mansky, whose position at Russian State TV gave him close access. Mansky questions his own role in presenting an image of this president and his power bid, asking when silence becomes complicity.
Poland’s Ursus Factory was one of the largest producers of agricultural machinery in Europe, but closed after the collapse of communism. Visual artist and activist Jaśmina Wójcik returns with former workers - once numbering 20,000 - to re-enact a day’s labour at the abandoned factory. The result is a hybrid of documentary, choreography and body memory, with music by Dominik Strycharski. A Q&A with Jaśmina and Dominik will follow the screening.