Therapy Below Zero(2025)

Priory: The Only Home I've Got(en)

The Priory is a public extended-care hospital in Victoria, British Columbia, for people suffering from chronic geriatric illnesses. Treatment is innovative. It is based on the theory that even the ordinary activities of a patient's life contain elements of therapy. The film shows us how patients are encouraged to do as much as they can for themselves despite their confinement to wheelchairs.

White Winter(de)

In southern Germany, winter can still be admired in all its glory every year. With its white coat of snow and icicles and myriads of small crystals that look like geometric works of art. In the valleys and on the slopes the snow is still so thick every year that the alpine huts are snowed in up to the windows. Cows and dairymen are safe in their farms at lower altitudes. But not the wild creatures of the mountains! They need strategies to survive the cold season and to defy snow masses, cold and ice. And some seem to do it so easily that they even raise their young in the middle of winter. But how do animals, plants and fungi cope with the annually recurring ice age, which from our perspective is a time of need? The many adaptations in nature prove that winter is an integral part of the natural cycle of the year and the living environment of species. They are adapted to cold and frost. That is why the animals and plants at the edge of the Alps suffer particularly from climate change!

Voices from the Shadows(en)

‘Voices from the Shadows’ shows the brave and sometimes heartrending stories of five ME patients and their carers, along with input from Dr Nigel Speight, Prof Leonard Jason and Prof Malcolm Hooper. These were filmed and edited between 2009 and 2011, by the brother and mother of an ME patient in the UK. It shows the devastating consequences that occur when patients are disbelieved and the illness is misunderstood. Severe and lasting relapse occurs when patients are given inappropriate psychological or behavioural management: management that ignores the severe amplification of symptoms that can be caused by increased physical or mental activity or exposure to stimuli, and by further infections. A belief in behavioural and psychological causes, particularly when ME becomes very severe and chronic, following mismanagement, is still taught to medical students and healthcare professionals in the UK. As a consequence, situations similar to those shown in the film continue to occur.

The Arctic: 66.5 Degrees North(de)

The beauty of the Arctic is breathtaking. For as long as we can remember, the Arctic has been associated with inhospitable cold. But the climate is changing, and with it the northern polar region, which begins beyond latitude 66.5 degrees north. Climate change is now happening four times faster north of the Arctic Circle than on the rest of the planet, making the future outlook dire. At the moment it is still possible for polar bears to raise their cubs, but hunting is becoming increasingly difficult on the drastically shrinking pack ice. The disappearance of the ice also affects the marine fauna. The wintry ice bridge between Canada and Greenland is threatened with collapse. The unstoppable melting of the permafrost, which has held the tundra together for thousands of years, is worrying. But the Arctic is still one of the wildest and loveliest regions on earth. A documentary visit to the Arctic - as long as it still exists.

The Pearl Button(es)

The ocean contains the history of all humanity. The sea holds all the voices of the earth and those that come from outer space. Water receives impetus from the stars and transmits it to living creatures. Water, the longest border in Chile, also holds the secret of two mysterious buttons which were found on its ocean floor. Chile, with its 2,670 miles of coastline and the largest archipelago in the world, presents a supernatural landscape. In it are volcanoes, mountains and glaciers. In it are the voices of the Patagonian Indigenous people, the first English sailors and also those of its political prisoners. Some say that water has memory. This film shows that it also has a voice.

Generation A: Portraits of Autism and the Arts(en)

A documentary about young people with autism, and how arts and creative therapies help them to lead fuller lives.

Flee(da)

Recounted mostly through animation to protect his identity, Amin looks back over his past as a child refugee from Afghanistan as he grapples with a secret he’s kept hidden for 20 years.

The Shelter(fr)

It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place, resulting in confrontations which can sometimes turn violent. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of “triaging the poor”: the women and children first, then the men. Although the total capacity at the shelter is 100, only 50 “chosen ones” will be admitted inside and granted a warm meal and a bed. The others know it will be a long night.

Back to the Titanic(en)

Back to the Titanic documents the first manned dives to Titanic in nearly 15 years. New footage reveals fresh decay and sheds light on the ship’s future.

What About ME?(en)

Inside the dramatic search for a cure to ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). 17 million people around the world suffer from what ME/CFS has been known as a mystery illness, delegated to the psychological realm, until now. A scientist in the only neuro immune institute in the world may have come up with the answer. An important human drama, plays out on the quest for the truth.

Rara Avis(fr)

On a sailboat in the middle of the Ocean, five teenagers in rehabilitation are travelling with adults of different ages and backgrounds. Off unknown coastlines, the boat’s space becomes a huis-clos in which everyone faces their own difficulties, the challenge of living together and also the manoeuvres of sailing, the Ocean and its turmoil—until the arrival on land.

Helicopter(en)

To heal the wounds of his family and spirit, Director Ari Gold goes on an epic two year journey to complete a "Psychomagic assignment" given to him by filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Edge of Ice(en)

This feature documentary highlights the nature of Arctic sea ice, and its crucial importance to life in the Far North. Underwater photography presents rare views of some of the most spectacular wildlife, with micro- and macro-photography enhancing the world within the individual ice crystals. Footage from Inuit hunting camps at the floe’s edge illuminate the relationship between the Arctic people and their intricate ecosystem.

My Depression (The Up and Down and Up of It)(en)

Based on Elizabeth Swados’ picture book of the same name, this animated short film charts one woman's struggle with depression.

We Are Not Done Yet(en)

Follows veterans and active-duty service members from varied backgrounds who come together to combat their traumas through the written word in a USO-sponsored arts workshop at Walter Reed National Military Hospital.

Images d'un été(fr)

Hoteliér(cs)

The film is not merely a record of rehearsals, but above all an intimate look at the relationships between its individual protagonists. Nor is it a classic documentary, because the line between acting, creation, and recording reality is too thin. The film thus reflects not only the aging of outstanding actors, but also their relationship to today's world and their disappointment with the current state of Czech film and theater. It speaks to their fears, desires, and efforts to give their best.

Taking Stock(en)

The cod fishery off the east coast of Newfoundland was a way of life, the backbone of society -- until it collapsed. A review of the history leading up to the crisis and the subsequent call for a moratorium of the northwest Atlantic cod fishery.

Echo(pl)

Ania and Bartek, two stuttering teenagers undergoing speech therapy, are learning to like themselves and stop being afraid.

Newfoundland Scene(en)

A portrait of Newfoundland that records a way of life that has all but disappeared.