To mark the twentieth anniversary of “Around the World in 80 Days” we went back to Dubai and India to retrace our steps and to see if we could find any of the crew of Al Shama. The result was a one-hour documentary and an account of our return and a whole stack of new pictures. Now they join all my other traveller’s tales.

2018 was a banner year and the 40th Anniversary for TOTO who celebrated the occasion by embarking on their longest world tour in years. The band performed for hundreds of thousands of fans across Europe and North America, as their level of global critical mass reached new heights largely fueled by a rediscovery of favorites from their beloved repertoire.

Samsara is a word that describes the ever turning wheel of life. It is a concept both intimate and vast – the perfect subject for filmmakers Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, whose previous collaborations include Chronos and Baraka, and who, in the last 20 years, have travelled to over 58 countries together in the pursuit of unique imagery. Samsara takes the form of a nonverbal, guided meditation that will transform viewers in countries around the world as they are swept along a journey of the soul. Through powerful images pristinely photographed in 70mm and a dynamic music score, the film illuminates the links between humanity and the rest of the nature, showing how our life cycle mirrors the rhythm of the planet.

Nearly 100 years after its creation, the power of the U.S. Federal Reserve has never been greater. Markets and governments around the world hold their breath in anticipation of the Fed Chairman’s every word. Yet the average person knows very little about the most powerful – and least understood – financial institution on earth. Narrated by Liev Schreiber, Money For Nothing is the first film to take viewers inside the Fed and reveal the impact of Fed policies – past, present, and future – on our lives. Join current and former Fed officials as they debate the critics, and each other, about the decisions that helped lead the global financial system to the brink of collapse in 2008. And why we might be headed there again.

In December 2016 a remarkable chapter in music history was closed as the Finnish punk rock band Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät (PKN) retired. Punk Voyage is a feature length documentary film about the last years of the band, with all the ups and downs included. After becoming celebrities in Finland, this incredible quartet continued to conquer new fans around the World. In its seven years run PKN played nearly 300 gigs in 16 countries. In 2015 the band was selected to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest, where they played to over 100 million television spectators. However, the busy traveling and success created a lot of pressure within the band: Kari struggled with the temptations and responsibilities brought by publicity; Sami extended his territory to politics and religion; Toni’s and the band’s roadie Niila’s crush to the the same girl caused conflicts; and Pertti, tired of this all, decided to retire.

In 20 years’ time, there will be nearly 1.6 billion smokers around the world. Approximately 70% of smokers want to quit. The United Nations’ World Health Organisation expects a billion people will die prematurely from smoking this century. The products their doctors recommend are rarely effective and many are trapped. A new vapour technology was invented to give smokers a successful way to quit. But it was quickly demonised, and even banned in many countries. A perfect storm is brewing between smokers trying to quit, government regulators, and health charities funded by the powerful pharmaceutical industry. Director Aaron Biebert travelled across four continents interviewing doctors, scientists, and others working to save a billion lives. What he found was profound government failure, widespread corruption in the public health community and powerful subversion by big business.

This unique documentary follows the life of a Slovak hockey legend, Pavol Demitra. It takes us from the very begining of his career in Slovakia through successful years in NHL to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and his tragic death in a plane crash in 2011. His family, friends and fans around the world remember him not only as a top sportsman but also as a good man with strong character.
– Written by ITA Film

It was an unprecedented occurrence in world history. Nowhere and never in well-governed democratic states, had the public broadcaster been silenced in such a manner that was characterized as “autocratic” and “undemocratic”. Within five hours, on the evening of June 11, 2013, the Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras turned off the switches of ERT, Greece’s public broadcaster, after 75 years of continuous operation. Both TV and radio frequencies fell silent, making screens broadcast black and the FM to buzz. The closure of ERT was an unheard-of political act that shocked Greek citizens bringing back memories from the dark period of the dictatorship. It also caused a fierce international outrage from all around the world. Why did the public broadcaster have to die?