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Professor Richard Fortey delves into the fascinating and normally-hidden kingdom of fungi. From their spectacular birth, through their secretive underground life to their final explosive death, Richard reveals a remarkable world that few of us understand or even realise exists – yet all life on Earth depends on it.
Thirty years on from the 1984 Union Carbide plant malfunction, the consequences of which are tragically ongoing, A Prayer for Rain is the powerful and moving story of the Bhopal tragedy, one of the great corporate and environmental scandals of the last half-century. It dramatises the dependence of the local community on the chemical plant that will eventually cause catastrophe, and the series of oversights that led to an event that stands as a benchmark for corporate irresponsibility in the developing world.
Jack to a King is a passionate portrait of the rise of Swansea City Football Club from near oblivion to the world stage of the Premier League. It is the story of a city and the people who made the club what it is today. An independent feature from film makers, Mal Pope and Edward Thomas, YJB Films’, Jack to a King is about more than just a football club, it is about a city that survives against all odds – through the Blitz, industrial decline and recession. It tells a universal story of how football plays into the lives of ordinary people. It touches on the Welsh attitude to defeat and victory and the relationship between sport and money. The story is told through the characters involved, capturing the rhythm of their lives and presenting a portrait of where they live. Through it all, there is one dream, one ambition which unites everyone – The Premier League.
Blood flows deep down the old Mississippi drug war. Business deals are conducted through gun-toting strippers who will do anything for money. Sip, a Mississippi born hustler, leaves graveyards filled with remains of those who crossed The Sip Boyz. Things turn sour when they steal from the boss, a Baton Rouge drug lord; the boss sends Black, a heartless hit-man in for retaliation and retribution. Mississippi Shakedown takes you into the shady underground world of drugs, money and women.
What is art and how does it relate to society? Is its value determined by its popularity or originality? Is the goal profit or expressing one’s personal vision? These are some of the questions raised as we follow fiercely independent New York artist Robert Cenedella in his artistic journey through decades of struggling for creative expression. A student, protégé and friend of German artist George Grosz, Cenedella is now passing on the legacy of Grosz’s approach to art, in the very same room where Grosz taught. In portraying Cenedella’s determination to buck the system of what’s popular while critiquing that popularity in his attempt to turn the art world upside down, ART BASTARD is a funny, touching, and insightful look inside the maverick mind of a true original.
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.
Every city has its legends and this city’s legend is the ‘Ferryman’. It is said that a person who takes on this role can help eliminate pain and sorrow from the world. Chen Mo, a bar owner, and his partner Guan Chun may seem foolish but in reality, they are an embodiment of this legend. As long as one makes a reservation, there is no problem either are incapable of solving. A young woman, Xiao Yu, makes such a reservation for her idol Ma Li, but as Chen and Guan begin to assist Xiao they begin to encounter and reckon with the sorrow hiding within themselves.
A.I. guru Ben Goertzel grew up in a hippie community in Oregon during the Vietnam War. Inspired by science fiction, he imagined a perfect rational world that would transcend 1970s’ America. Ben has dedicated his life to developing OpenCog, a software that models the human mind. If Ben’s design works, OpenCog will become a human-like general intelligence. But for OpenCog to work, it needs a body.
1984. One shiny quarter. 44.5 hours of continuous play. The race to be the first gamer in history to score one BILLION points. Until recently, Timothy McVey (not the terrorist) thought he had — for all these years — held the world record on Nibbler. Note: a Nibbler cabinet will be available in the lobby for the duration of Fantastic Fest for attendees to attempt to break the current world record.
Four exceptional astronomers celebrate 50 years of work and friendship on a return road trip in the southwestern United States, recapturing youthful adventures and recounting each other’s influences on the most exciting period in astronomy’s history. Roger the instrument-maker, Donald the theoretician, Nick the visionary, and Wal the observer. Together they represent the most productive period astronomy has ever had. They helped build the world’s biggest observatories and made revolutionary discoveries about the evolving universe, discoveries that have the power to change the way humanity sees itself. Alison Rose’s film is a funny, insightful, humbling and intimate portrait of friendship, as the men reflect on how their profound work on the universe has reflected back on the individual, affecting their sense of religious faith, how life may have purpose, and what is knowable and unknowable.
Bouncing between Europe and the United States as often as she would between lovers, Peggy Guggenheim’s life was as swirling as the design of her uncle’s museum, and reads more like fiction than any reality imaginable. Peggy Guggenheim – Art Addict offers a rare look into Guggenheim’s world: blending the abstract, the colorful, the surreal and the salacious, to portray a life that was as complex and unpredictable as the artwork Peggy revered and the artists she pushed forward.
King of Mahjong centres on the decade-long feud and eventual reunion of Wong Tin Ba and Ah Fatt. 20 years later, Wong Tin Ba, who is now a world-acclaimed mahjong champion and magnate, shows up in Ipoh to challenge Fatt to a final showdown – The World Mahjong Championship. Despite Wong’s insistence, Fatt declines to join the competition as he is determined and contented to lead the life of a commoner. In a bid to force Fatt into the showdown, Wong abducts Fatt’s wife, Ramona, and threatens her to be on his alliance. Fatt has no choice but to join the championship as Wong holds his wife hostage. On the mahjong table, Fatt and Wong compete as the finalists; Master Ru’s secret legendary mahjong move and the truth comes to light as the winner emerges…
Mumford and Sons are a band that have never stayed still. An innate desire to travel, to meet people and to do the unexpected has become a calling card of sorts as fans the world over join their community and fall in love with their consistently evolving music. The documentary follows the band and their latest set of collaborators as they travel across uncharted territory, playing the major cities of South Africa with an eclectic mix of musician friends. They explore the craft of song writing and the people, events and influences that dictate that. The film showcases the band at their most open and collaborative as they relish the excitement of playing to crowds in new cities who’ve never seen them before. Along the way they set a fresh challenge for themselves; taking their collaborative culture one step further as they attempt to write and record a mini album in just two days, with the other musicians on tour. The filming of this process not only lifts the lid on the art of song….
Movie contains the stories of three people: Suzuki (Toma Ikuta), Kujira (Tadanobu Asano) and Semi (Ryosuke Yamada). Suzuki is a former middle school teacher. His girlfriend was killed, which led him to quit his job and attempt to take revenge on her murderer. To do so, Suzuki has to infiltrate the underground world of criminals. Kujira is a contract killer for hire. He makes his targets fall into confusion and eventually commit suicide. Semi is a contract killer who uses the knife to take out his targets.
When Lynyrd Skynyrd emerged onto the world stage in 1973, it was the result of a collective determination; the group had struggled and fought to gain real recognition ever since their formation eight years before. And although they were initially identified, both in the music industry and in the media, as just another act in the then booming Southern Rock movement, it became quickly apparent that not only were Skynyrd a distinctly individual collective, but also they had the potential to become one of the finest rock bands in history. Led by the headstrong and domineering Ronnie Van Zant, a tough, blue collar brawler with a powerful stage presence, distinctive vocals and gritty, honest lyrics, his energy and vision propelled the group until its tragic end in 1977. This films tells the story of the rise and fall of a remarkable band.
Greenland, 1908. Josephine, self-confident and bold wife of famous Arctic explorer Robert Peary, embarks on a dangerous journey in pursuit of her husband who is seeking a route to the North Pole. But Josephine is also naïve and ignores warnings from experienced polar travellers about the onset of winter. At great sacrifice the expedition reaches Peary’s base camp. Josephine refuses to go home and wants to spend winter in the hut. Only the young Inuit woman Allaka, who lives in an igloo and knows about the cold, stays with her. As the long nights draw nearer, Josephine realises she has more in common with this woman from a different world than she thought.
Claude and his friends are out of their element and in a whole lot of trouble when they choose the wrong lettuce for lunch. They must now find their way out of this world of horrors before they end up on the menu!
When her grandfather has a car accident, Isabel (11) takes on his search for the sword that has been promised to her ancestor centuries ago by the world famous musketeer D’Artagnan. Assisted by her nephew Rik (12) and friend Jules (13), she will need just as much bravery, loyalty and perseverance as the illustrious musketeer to find his lost sword, to save her grandfather and to reunite her family.
In an Oklahoma town with 2,000 churches, OpenArms is a small shelter for LGBT teenagers. This doc follows three teens who find love and friendship in a world that labels them outcasts.
On 3 April 2004, during the holiday of Ashura, Iraqi rebels loyal to Shiite leader Muktada As-Sadr, launched an insurgency in the Polish zone. The Poles, together with Bulgarian soldiers and Iraqi police, were given the task of defending City Hall, led by Lieutenant colonel Grzegorz Kaliciak. The clash developed into the biggest Polish engagement since World War II. Not a single allied soldier died, although about 80 insurgents were killed in a counter-attack.
In hidden basements, bedrooms and bars across London, “Chemsex” is a documentary that exposes frankly and intimately a dark side to modern gay life. Traversing an underworld of intravenous drug use and weekend-long sex parties, “Chemsex” tells the story of several men struggling to make it out of ‘the scene’ alive – and one health worker who has made it his mission to save them. While society looks the other way, this powerful and unflinching film uncovers a group of men battling with HIV, drug addiction and finding acceptance in a changing world.
In July 1945, during the end of World War II, Japan is forced to accept the Potsdam Declaration. A cabinet meeting has continued through days and nights, but a decision cannot be made. The U.S. drops atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. General Korechika Anami is torn over making the proper decision and the Emperor of Japan worries about his people. Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki leads the cabinet meeting, while Chief Secretary Hisatsune Sakomizu can’t do anything, but watch the meeting. At this time, Major Kenji Hatanaka and other young commissioned officers, who are against Japan surrendering, move to occupy the palace and a radio broadcasting station. The radio station is set to broadcast Emperor Hirohito reading out the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War.
With more than 50 million Latinos now living in the United States, Latinos are taking their seat at the table as the new American power brokers in the world of entertainment, business, politics and the arts. As Latinos’ influence in American society has soared, they have entered mainstream American culture, and the proof is in the music. Executive produced by legendary music mogul Tommy Mottola, THE LATIN EXPLOSION: A NEW AMERICA features a dazzling array of artists at the center of Latino cultural power and influence, including Marc Anthony, Emilio Estefan Jr., Gloria Estefan, José Feliciano, Eva Longoria, George Lopez, Jennifer Lopez, Los Lobos, Cheech Marin, Ricky Martin, Rita Moreno, Pitbull, Romeo Santos, Shakira, Thalía and Sofía Vergara. Narrated by John Leguizamo.
Four inseparable teenagers in a small town in Brittany (France). As lifelong fans of the West Coast, they think are real gangstas. Together as a “gang”, they are invincible, respected, fearless and nothing can reach them, certainly not the teasing and contempt of their fellow classmates. So when Fle-O, the leader of this merry gang, learns that he has to leave his town and his friends at the end of the year, his whole world falls apart leaving him vulnerable when the most popular kid in school decides to make fun of them in front of everyone. Humiliated, our protagonists decide to take their revenge through one last expedition together that will lead them further than they would have imagined. Through incongruous situations and successive meetings, they will grow and learn.
Lorraine believes there’s a lost portal to another world in Essex. As she explores time and space with her friends and family will she be proven wrong or be vindicated?
Leon, who has succeeded the name of Golden Knight “GARO,” devotes himself to train a young Makai Knight for the next generation, together with Prince Alfonso of the Valiante Kingdom. Then, they receive an order to exterminate the most beautiful Horror in the world which resides in a neighboring country “Vazelia.” At the same time, a young Makai Knight for the next generation is kidnapped by an unknown person. Leon desperately follows them, only to find that he is surrounded by his enemies at a dead end. Then, a Makai Knight Dario who was supposed to be missing for some time suddenly appears and rescues him. Under his guidance, Leon is led to the town where he meets up a totally unexpected person.
Mastering classic pinball arcade games requires focus, agility and dedication. Robert Gagno has all these traits. It might explain why he surged from a complete unknown to one of the world’s best players in five years. The achievement is even more impressive considering he was diagnosed with autism at age three. His success on the pinball circuit made him part of a community that provided acceptance and encouragement. With his parents’ support and determination, Robert has exceeded every expectation placed upon him. As he approaches adulthood, his next challenge is to become more self-sufficient and gain his independence. From high-stakes tournaments across the continent to his day-to-day search for employment, we follow Robert’s persistent progression to overcome obstacles and manage the highs of success and lows of falling short. In Wizard Mode, flashing lights and triple combos highlight an outstanding individual who continues to beat the odds and set records.
Five film students are producing a documentary about the local zoo when suddenly the animals go berserk: The reason is a light ball flying by in the sky and crashing at the horizon. Convinced that they’ve just witnessed a meteor landing the students follow the trajectory to document the event with their camera. In a forest area they discover a burned crater. Since it’s too dark to film they decide to spend the night in their van. The next morning one of them is missing. The remaining students find first a trail of blood and then the torn up pieces of what used to be their friend. Soon they realize that something is hunting them – something that’s not from this world.
On July 1st, 1916, the Newfoundland Regiment took part in a massive First World War offensive on the Somme, led by the British, to liberate France and Belgium from the claws of the Germans. To commemorate its 100th anniversary, Brian McKenna’s latest feature documentary film Newfoundland at Armageddon tells the story of this epic tragedy. Using a technique that brings new meaning to reenactment, McKenna recruits descendants of soldiers who fought this battle, offering a unique opportunity to relive the experience of their ancestors in trenches built specifically for this moving and enlightening film.
A girl named Olga is pursued by both the World Government and a man named Mad Treasure, as she is the only one who knows the location of the Pure Gold, a substance that can buy the entire world. Olga ends up sailing with the Straw Hat Pirates, and they journey to find the Pure Gold on the lost island of Alchemi, which is located inside the stomach of a large angler fish named Bonbori.
Locked away from society in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Angulo brothers learn about the outside world through the films that they watch. Nicknamed ‘The Wolfpack’, the brothers spend their childhood reenacting their favorite films using elaborate home-made props and costumes. Their world is shaken up when one of the brothers escapes and everything changes.
Thorsten Schütte’s film is a sharply edited and energetic celebration of Zappa through his public persona, allowing us to witness his shifting relationship with audiences. Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into the musician’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character. At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of performing and, in the next moment, a fiercely intelligent and brutally honest interviewee whose convictions only got stronger as his career ascended.
Documentary which celebrates, over the period covering the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 60s, the phenomenon of the Everly Brothers, arguably the greatest harmony duo the world has witnessed, who directly influenced the greatest and most successful bands of the 60s and 70s – The Beatles, The Stones, The Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel to name but a few.
The day a hit and run driver took the life of her little boy, Marilyn (Wendy Raquel Robinson) died inside. Not even the passing of time, the love of a good man or a job as choir director at her church could bring her peace. But a chance encounter with a mysterious homeless man, who calls himself Mozart (Gary Dourdan), will change Marilyn’s world and let her see that there are no accidents, and true healing starts with forgiveness.
Michael Winterbottom, celebrated director of 24 Hour Party People, The Road to Guantanamo, and The Trip, joins forces with actor, comedian, and provocateur Russell Brand for that most unlikely of documentary approaches: an uproarious critique of the world financial crisis. Building on Brand’s emergence as an activist following his 2014 book Revolution, where he railed against “corporate tyranny, ecological irresponsibility, and economic inequality,” The Emperor’s New Clothes pairs archival footage with comedic send-ups conducted in the financial centers of London and New York. Brand spotlights not only how the crisis affected the working class around the world, but also how the uber-wealthy benefited from the downturn. With Winterbottom providing his signature ingenuity and pinpoint directorial control, they generate a riveting, boisterous, and, at times, cathartic riff on the extreme disparities between the haves and have nots in contemporary society.
One record company has been a constant presence in popular music throughout our lives. EMI brought The Beatles to the world and in every decade since has been instrumental in producing some of Britain’s most celebrated and enduring music.
George is haunted by the demons of his family’s past and tortured by the voices inside his head. He makes one last attempt at recovery by contacting his dead mother’s doctor. The doctor’s orders; that he attend Bedlam Hospital for a guaranteed recovery. As George checks in he’s confronted by a world of society’s unwanted, unloved and unstable. Soon, he will discover that all is not as it seems. The hospital hides a dark secret. Welcome to Bedlam…
How far would you go to get over your ex? After recent bad relationships with men, best friends Brea, Wendy, and Jessica want answers—so they decide to kidnap their exes and hold them hostage until they get them! After the kidnappers share their story in an internet chat room, they become a worldwide sensation, as millions cheer on their battle of the exes in this screamingly funny comedy of seduction and abduction.
