Tag Archives: culture

Escape From Room 18

John Daly, an ex-neo-Nazi skinhead, fled to Israel after his own gang attempted to murder him for being Jewish. Years later he receives an e-mail from someone in his long forgotten past.

Kevin Connell, a former friend and fellow ex-neo-Nazi is on a mission to change his own life and make amends for his past. He invites John to meet him in Eastern Europe to discover first hand the effects of what they both practiced and preached.

Suffering from PTSD and a brain tumor John is reluctant at first. Is this another attempt on his life? Or is this actually a man trying to better himself and make amends for the pain he caused so many people so many years ago?

In the Executioners Shadow

In the Executioner’s Shadow casts a penetrating look at the consequences of the death penalty through three powerful stories –  a former state executioner who comes within days of executing an innocent person; a Boston Marathon bombing victim who struggles to decide what justice really means; and the parents of a murder victim who choose to fight for the life of their daughter’s killer.

As the battle over capital punishment heats up, this provocative film challenges viewers to question their deepest beliefs about the meaning of justice.

Sticky: A (Self) Love Story

Everyone does it; few admit it; now there’s a movie about it!

Sticky talks candidly about what has been referred to throughout history as both a form of self-love and self-abuse. After being shamed as a child by fellow students for admitting that he masturbated, writer/director Nicholas Tana, interviewed over sixty sexologists, authors, religious figures, porn stars, and entertainers to understand what’s so wrong with masturbation.

Full of candid interviews from sex therapists, religious figures, and psychologists to celebrated figures such as former Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders, comedian Janeane Garofalo, and, among others, “Hustler” creator, Larry Flynt. Sticky answers age-old questions; “Will it make me go blind?”; “Is it “normal”?”; and, “Why are we so afraid to be caught in the act?” As well as tackling more contemporary issues like why the media portrays masturbation so negatively, how the world’s major religions disagree about the moral effects of self-pleasuring, and why the sale of sex toys is illegal in Alabama.

When confusion about sexuality remains at the root of so many societal problems – rape, sexual abuse, and the threat of sexually transmitted diseases – Sticky pulls no punches in exploring a subject that touches us all.

A Stone in Our Heart

A Mother and Daughter – Lillian and Jette –  are climbing up a mountain in Switzerland. A mountain that brings back a lot of memories.

They hike from cabin to cabin while they dig into a past which Lillian has spent many years trying to suppress: Jette was sexually abused by her stepfather throughout her childhood and youth. A part of the abuse took place in the same cabins that Jette and Lillian are now revisiting.

Jette has invited her mother to go on this trip because she needs to talk about what happened, and especially about Lillian’s role in it all. Jette loves her mother, but at the same time she can’t stand being close to her. Over the years Jette has begun to question whether her mother knew about the abuse or not. Naturally Jette feels a deep frustration. But she has a strong hope that if Lillian admits she knew about the abuse, Jette can find an opportunity to forgive her mother and reestablish a healthy relationship.

The mountain trip puts the two women’s relationship to the test. When Jette gets the conversation started, she doesn’t get the answer that she expected: Lillian denies that she saw or knew anything.

This is the starting point of a physically and emotionally life-changing journey, which forces the two women to face their own inner demons and to embrace the pain and the guilt, but also to have faith. The conversations intensify as the two women move up the mountain.

At one point it seems like this trip might be the last thing they will ever do together.

Body Language Decoded

Body Language Decoded takes us in to the mysterious world of non-verbal communication, what do we say without realising and how can we read the signals others give us involuntarily? We look deep in to the science of Body Language as well as practical applications in law enforcement, romance, commerce, national security and more.

As human beings, our bodies communicate our inner emotions and feelings in ways that can often be easily seen by others, but at other times are barely visible.  On every continent and in every ethnicity, expressions of emotions such as happiness, surprise, anger and fear are universally recognised. These expressions are hard-wired into our facial muscles for reasons that have everything to do with human evolution and survival of the species. To the trained observer, the way people move can be more revealing than the things people say.

Forensic Psychologist Dr. Stephen Porter describes how his team helped solve a murder mystery by accurately reading the body language of a key witness, and correctly concluding that she was not being truthful in a heart-rending television news appearance.  In Amsterdam, we are introduced to a company that is engaged in cutting-edge research and development that is enabling computers to recognize the gender, ethnicity and facial expressions of human beings.  And from Harvard University, social psychologist Amy Cuddy explains how it’s not just that our bodies display outwardly what we are feeling inside. In fact, the reverse is also true: we can actually influence the way we feel by changing the way we move.

We all use our intuition when trying to understand another person’s intentions or needs. We watch the way they walk, and how they stand. We look for their eye-contact, and whether they appear comfortable or anxious. But when intuition is augmented by scientifically based observational techniques, the picture becomes much clearer.  These techniques are increasingly being used in the worlds of law-enforcement, surveillance and security, as well as politics and commerce. Understanding the ‘non-verbals’ of the people we encounter gives us an edge that can mean the difference between a sale or no-sale, between an election victory or defeat, between safety and danger, and even between a successful or doomed relationship.

Body a la Carte

We live in a world where self-image has become an obsession, where we can no longer ignore the role that science and technology play in our never-ending quest for beauty and youth.

Through touching and meaningful stories, as well as the testimonies of plastic surgeons, and interviews with experts from related fields, Body à La Carte explores the increasingly popular and fascinating phenomenon of cosmetic procedures.

In a booming industry where plastic surgery is just another product to purchase, who knows when we will bite? Even the sceptics have mirrors.

Foul Play

Foul Play takes us into the shady world of football match fixing across Asia, where government officials and corporate club owners conspire to ensure that the outcome of the game is determined long before the whistle blows. We follow the story of Simon McMenemy – an English football coach parachuted in to save an Indonesian team after shooting to fame in the Philippines managing their national team. After overcoming his initial culture shock, it becomes clear that the best team doesn’t necessarily win.

A sophisticated network of match fixers have an iron grip on the game, players on low salaries are vulnerable to bribes and coaches who raise questions can be removed by team owners. 

Foul Play uncovers, with startling new evidence, a world where international tournaments are set up purely to be fixed, players are given specific instructions on exactly when to take a dive and even when the match isn’t fixed, the referees can ask for a kick back just to ref impartially. As Simon’s frustration grows, it becomes clear that the corruption that is choking Indonesian Football, is the same that is holding back the region across every field.

Bad Hombres

Bad Hombres explores the most heavily used migration route on Earth. Journalist Stef Biemans traveled between Guatemala and the US to see what the so-called ‘bad hombres’ hope to find in the USA.
Who are the people who inspired the building of a wall on the Mexican border?

“Biemans stays calm at all times and defers to his subjects. The result is rich and integral television, sometimes moving and always captivating”

De Volkskrant

Also available as a five part series:

Episode One:

Episode Two:

Episode Three:

Episode Four:

Episode Five:

91%: A Film About Guns in America

America’s 325 million residents own an estimated 347 million firearms. Not surprisingly, gun violence has become one of the most urgent public health issues facing Americans today.

In 91%, a cross-section of U.S. gun violence victims tell their heartbreaking stories of loss, pain, and a heroic search for hope in a nation stalled in a senseless gun control debate. Throughout these otherwise unrelated shootings, we find a common thread – the gunmen had all-too- easy access to the virtually untraceable, high-powered weaponry used in their attacks.

In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, a 2013 poll revealed that 91% of Americans support comprehensive background checks – a factor that could prevent thousands of similar gun violence tragedies nationwide. Yet, divisive political rhetoric and congressional gridlock continues to perpetuate a flawed system that hurts communities across the country.

Moving beyond the confusing gun control politics and avoiding any discussion about the often-unpredictable motivations of rampage killers, 91% shows that Americans almost unanimously support both 2nd amendment rights and common sense regulation. The film finds a shared language between citizens on both sides of the issue, encouraging them to move common sense policy forward by speaking up in a conversation typically dominated by firearm lobbyists and manufacturers.

By highlighting the impact of unregulated gun sales on schools, families, and communities across the country, 91% addresses the real problems and possible solutions to gun violence in America. It’s something we all agree about, we just don’t know it yet.

The Spiders Web

The Spider’s Web: Britain’s Second Empire, is a documentary that shows how Britain transformed from a colonial power into a global financial power. At the demise of empire, City of London financial interests created a web of offshore secrecy jurisdictions that captured wealth from across the globe and hid it behind obscure financial structures in a web of offshore islands.

Today, up to half of global offshore wealth is hidden in British offshore jurisdictions – the largest global players in the world of international finance.

How did this come about, and what impact does it have on the world today?

This is what the Spider’s Web sets out to investigate. With contributions from leading experts, academics, former insiders and campaigners for social justice, the use of stylised b-roll and archive footage, The Spider’s Web reveals how in the world of international finance, corruption and secrecy have prevailed over regulation and transparency, and the UK is right at the heart of this.

 

“Want to know more about the menace of tax havens and the role of the City of London & Overseas Territories? Then this great film is a must”

Frederik Obermaier, Journalist (Pulitzer Prize 2017)

Desert Coffee

In California’s poorest desert region, a colourful group of regulars and their dogs gather at Rob’s cafe for coffee in ‘the last free place in America’. 

Slab City is a squatter community in the Sonoran Desert, Southern California. The inhabitants, Slabbers, live in broken trailers or old school buses. Their closest neighbors are the United States Navy and Marine Corps, who practice aerial bombing in the area. Despite living off-grid in extreme weather conditions with no running water, electricity, sewage system or trash pickup, the residents enthusiastically embrace their freedom in the beautiful badlands of the desert. 

Rob hates coffee but as soon as dawn breaks he meticulously brews ‘the best coffee in the county’ for the customers of his makeshift cafe. Desert Coffee sketches an intimate, warm portrait of Rob and his friends – an unforgettable bunch of troubled characters and left-behinds.

Journey to Space

Narrated by Patrick Stewart and available in native 4K and 3D, Journey to Space reveals that Nasa’s next era will be its greatest yet. Journey to Space showcases the exciting plans NASA and the space community are working on, and the challenges they must overcome to carry out audacious missions from landing astronauts on Mars to capturing asteroids.

We put into historical context the magnificent contributions made by the Space Shuttle program and its intrepid space pioneers using spectacular space footage – including unique views of Earth and operations in space – such as deploying and repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. We go on to show how the Shuttle launched and assembled the International Space Station. Together, these programs have taught us how to live, build and conduct science in space. The International Space Station will continue operating in space until 2024; Journey to Space shows how it is building a foundation for the next giant leaps into space.