Director Jimmy Hendrickx adopts the energetic, edgy attitude of his film’s subject in this study of Indonesia’s Muslim punk community, which he sets in the context of a much older tribe – the Dayak – who are also viewed as “outsiders” by the general populace. Both these ancient and modern clans share a sense of […]
In China, career-focused women who haven’t married by their late-twenties are often referred to as “sheng nu” or “leftover women”, a derogatory term to begin with, and especially so when one considers that many have achieved tremendous professional success in highly competitive sectors. Returning to China after making an impact with their internet addiction treatment […]
You’ve heard of climate change but this latest documentary-spectacle from Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter (The Border Fence, DocPoint 2019) is about landscape change. Geyrhalter’s film is alerting us to the vast changes to terrain and geology that are being made with large-scale mining and construction, industries that are gouging out the Earth’s contents, hollowing out […]
The Symphony of the Ursus Factory is a creative documentary, which applies the methods of participatory art and social practice, and combines video art. With choreography and experimental music. Above all, though, it is a voice commemorating the Ursus Factory and the industrial and workers’ culture, a voice which fights for the dignity of the working […]
In interviews, Russian director Andrey Tarkovsky (1932-1986) enjoyed expounding on his life, work and ideas. This material—the sound and film recordings—forms the basis for this film meticulously compiled by his son. The only speaker is Tarkovsky himself, talking on subjects ranging from his first memory to the importance of religion and spirituality; film critics (who […]
Comrade Ivan Komendantov, the secretary of ideology for a regional youth association, has a mission: to revive the socialist state. Sipping a soft drink, he shakes his head, hardly believing he’s only 16. He takes his new star status in the communist sphere very seriously, so he hastens from funerals to dinners, party meetings and […]
According to School of Seduction, working-class women have few options in patriarchal Russia, and all of them involve finding a man. To aid young ladies in that quest, there are seduction schools where they can learn the timeless art of bumping, grinding and butt-wiggling their way into a prospective partner’s heart and pants – in […]
Alex Gibney’s riveting documentary untangles Putin’s rise to power. A grippingly clear and comprehensive overview of post-Soviet Russia that’s wrapped around the smeared maquette of a man who’s defined it. David Ehrlich, Indie Wire — Alex Gibney’s absorbing new documentary about Mikhail Khodorkovsky charts the Russian businessman’s transformation from plutocrat to political dissident. While all […]
As machines get smarter what it means to be human is changing. How does AI impact who we are? How can we make sure we develop AI that is safe and for the common good? What goals and values do we program into our AI systems? Good Pitch — iHuman is a solid introduction to […]
After coming together for 2 years in 2014, a group of 12 grownups with their 6 kids elope on an adventure to start the very first conscious eco-community in Estonia. They scrap together their savings and buy an old manor lot with 33 hectars of agricultural land and 3750 square meters of half-derelict houses. Their […]