This darkly comic, genre-bending piece of gonzo journalism from international provocateur Mads Brügger (filmmaker of Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Red Chapel) rips the corroded lid off the global scheme of political corruption and exploitation happening in one of the most dangerous places on the planet: the Central African Republic. Armed with a phalanx of hidden cameras, black-market diplomatic credentials and a bleeding-edge wit, Brügger transforms himself into an outlandish caricature of a European-African consul. As he immerses himself in the life-threatening underworld of nefarious bureaucrats, Brügger encounters blood diamond smuggling, bribery, and even murder — while somehow managing to crack amazing razor-sharp barbs at every step along the way. From each absurdly terrifying/hilarious situation to the next, The Ambassador is a one-of-a-kind excursion from the man whom The Huffington Post has called “the most provocative filmmaker in the world.”
You May Also Like
Elton John opens up about his childhood, stardom and battles with addiction in an exclusive interview with Graham Norton.
Filmmaker Dan Klores examines the strange love affair of Burt Pugach and Linda Riss. Pugach is a successful attorney in 1950s New York when he meets much-younger Riss. The pair date, but Riss breaks off contact with Pugach upon learning his claims of divorce are false. Discovering that Riss was engaged to another man, Pugach hires some men to throw lye in her face, and he serves 14 years in prison for the crime.
A film profiling the unusual cross-demographic fandom of the ostensibly girl oriented television series “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic”
This is a story about the elderly and caregiving, about the life of a 98-year-old father and 90-year-old mother (*at the time of filming) who suffered from dementia. With the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, the cheerful mother, who had always been a whiz at housework, gradually lost her abilities to do everyday things. Meanwhile, their daughter chronicled the heartbreaking reality of their lives with as much love and humor as possible.
The last two decades have seen a striking decline in the quality of sound and listening experience. Compressed music, MP3s and streaming, have diminished the quality and flattened the emotion. Marketing gimmicks and convenience now take the place of excellence. The Distortion of Sound is an eye-opening exposé of the current state of sound starring Linkin Park, Slash, Quincy Jones and more. This documentary will open your ears and inspire you to reach for richer, more soul-stirring musical experiences.
When Women Kill is a poignant documentary exploring the shocking violence that seven women fell victim to at the hands of men. The program profiles the battered women who speak frankly about the cruel abuse, threats, and fears, and the overassertive men who led them down a one-way path to death and destruction. The film features in-prison footage, including a segment depicting a confession by a follower of the notorious Charles Manson, Leslie Van Houten, who was convicted of two killing sprees and committed to life in prison.
Viewed at a distance, the world of mountain biking is a disjointed network of seemingly similar but disconnected communities. Freeride. Downhill. Big Mountain. All Mountain. Dirt Jump. Slopestyle. A sport of individuals, equally defined by their many differences, as the common threads that bind. And while our story doesn’t follow a straight line, we all end up in the same place. Tire to ground, foot to pedal, hand to bar – communities drawn together by trails of dirt.
A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement that is financed and made possible by brands, advertising and product placement.
One man’s soul searching decision on whether or not he should join Facebook sets him off on an epic journey of self-discovery as he weighs the pros and cons of becoming a member of the world’s largest social networking site. Along the way he talks with family, friends, total strangers and even celebrities whose lives have all been touched in one way or another by Facebook. From the long lost high school friend who uses it to stay in touch with classmates, to the pick-up artist who trolls the site to score with women, to the criminal who tracks your every movement to know when to rob your house, the best and the worst of Facebook is on display.
During the time of the Stolen Generations, thousands upon thousands of Aboriginal girls were taken from their families and pressed into domestic servitude by the Australian Government. They were supposedly employed as servants, but with total control over their movements, wages and living conditions, their lives all too frequently became an inescapable cycle of abuse, rape and enslavement, with consequences that echo powerfully to this day. Recounting the stories of five of these women – Rita, Violet and the three Wenberg sisters – Servant or Slave is a commanding piece of first-person testimony to a dark and unacknowledged corner of Australian history. Shot with admirable craft and humanity by documentarian Steven McGregor (Croker Island Exodus, MIFF 2012), Servant or Slave is a work of great sadness and urgency, bringing to forceful life the human tragedy of Australia’s Indigenous history in the unadorned words of those who lived it.
Reporter Bronagh Munro investigates how a teenage gap year student became one of Britain’s worst ever paedophiles.
In 2001, Lenny Cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. A decade later, Lenny has never played a minute in the NBA. In this quintessentially American documentary, filmmaking brothers Joshua and Benny Safdie track the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was only just out of reach.