Bissau Diary

Amílcar(pt)

Poet, agricultural engineer and revolutionary Amílcar Cabral was born in Guinea-Bissau to Cape Verdean parents. After studying in Portugal, he emerged as the charismatic leader of the anti-colonial struggle against Portuguese rule. With his utopian ideas, he sparked a cultural and an armed uprising that went on to inspire other African liberation movements.

Concerning Violence(sv)

Based on powerful archival material documenting the most daring moments in the struggle for liberation in the Third World, this documentary is accompanied by classic text from The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon.

Malan Malé - The Voice of Independence(fr)

The life of Malan Mané, once the star singer of the legendary band Super Mama Djombo from Guinea-Bissau, is turned upside down from one day to the next: After 30 years in exile in France, he is now allowed to sing in a sold-out stadium in Bissau, see his country again and return to the studio to finally complete the album he started decades ago.

Mangrove School(pt)

We went to research the conditions of the students in the guerrilla schools in the mangroves. Instead, we soon became ourselves the learners and the first lesson was how to walk. In the mangrove school the learning happens with the whole body.

Clara di Sabura(pt)

Clara is a lazy and irresponsible teenager, who live in Bissau (the capital city of Guinea-Bissau), and uses her beauty as a weapon. Everyone around her admonishes her, despising her and naming her as Clara di Sabura (Clara of Parties, of the Good Life).

Candlelight(es)

Nearly four months after the historically devastating Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, only half of the island has power back. “Candlelight” is a journey through the storm’s aftermath and the events that changed Puerto Rico forever. It’s a heartfelt tribute to the resilience of the Puerto Rican people.

An Intervention(en)

Chelsea Bledsoe and her husband Graig throw a surprise intervention for her old high school boyfriend, Henry, with a mismatched group of acquaintances from back in the day to fill out the guest list.

Outlier: the story of Katherine Johnson(en)

Documentary about an African-American girl who grows up to help NASA put astronauts into space and bring them home safely. She was one of the main characters in the movie, "Hidden Figures." Includes interview with Johnson.

Prisoner C33(en)

Reading Gaol, England, 1896. Prisoner C33, starving and thin, unable to wash properly, is a brilliant writer, husband and father of two, once the most beloved artist in Victorian London. His real name is Oscar Wilde.

Laila(en)

Laila Paattinen is a working woman. Tired of low-paying jobs, she completed a five-month course in dry-wall installation. Because she had chosen a non-traditional job for women, she ran into resistance in the marketplace. She finally solved her problems by opening her own dry-wall application business. A useful film for women seeking non-traditional jobs.

Rise & Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story(en)

The true story of Dennis Byrd, his football career, his terrible accident, and his miraculous recovery and rehabilitation.

The Fabulous Ones(it)

It often happens that at the moment of death, transgender individuals are shorn of their identity. Their families are ashamed, the funeral takes place in secret, and on the tomb appears the name the deceased had before their transition, in one stroke nullifying the entire life path they had chosen. The same thing happened to Antonia. Her girlfriends gather to honor her memory and give her back her identity denied. In telling her story, the film’s stars, all drawn from the variegated transgender world, interweave the narrative with tales of their own lives, experiences, and memories.

The Quiet and Subtle Hurricane(pt)

An award-winning doc focusing on the idea of "disappearance" in both fascist dictatorships and our own Western cultures.

Brotherhood of the Wolf(fr)

In 18th century France, the Chevalier de Fronsac and his Native American friend Mani are sent by the King to the Gevaudan province to investigate the killings of hundreds by a mysterious beast.

The Edo Fortune-Teller(ja)

Karasudo, who charges 16 mon for his fortune-telling skill, asks for nothing when it comes to swordplay. His merciless blade is stained with the blood of his enemies when he uncovers a sinister plot and finds that his martial arts skill must be called into action. An unusual and highly entertaining story, about a man not to be trifled with.

The Pigeon People(en)

Directed by Patrick Gramm, 'The Pigeon People' (2023) takes you deep into Arizona's underground pigeon racing scene as racing rivals prepare for and compete in the Grand Canyon Classic - a 350-mile pigeon race from Utah to Arizona that crosses over the Grand Canyon.

Gray Matters(en)

Gray Matters explores the long, fascinating life and complicated career of architect and designer Eileen Gray, whose uncompromising vision defined and defied the practice of modernism in decoration, design and architecture. Making a reputation with her traditional lacquer work in the first decade of the 20th century, she became a critically acclaimed and sought after designer and decorator in the next before reinventing herself as an architect, a field in which she laboured largely in obscurity. Apart from the accolades that greeted her first building –persistently and perversely credited to her mentor–her pioneering work was done quietly, privately and to her own specifications. But she lived long enough (98) to be re-discovered and acclaimed. Today, with her work commanding extraordinary prices and attention, her legacy, like its creator, remains elusive, contested and compelling.

Visite à Oscar Dominguez(en)

This is the legendary meeting between a young filmmaker and one of the masters of surrealism: the spanish painter Óscar Domínguez, born in La Laguna, Tenerife, in 1906, died in Paris in 1957. In the "Visite," the artist -admirer of Picasso, rebellious disciple of Breton- is presented in solitude, far from the tumult of the exhibitions and parisian circles. An austere approach, almost “povera”, with no audio, nor flashy camera movements, but rarely attractive. Why Resnais could not finish his movie? Hope one of our experts help us to solve the mystery.

Homegrown(en)

Three Trump supporters from different backgrounds unite to campaign across America in 2020, advocating for his re-election while laying foundations for what they hope will be a long-lasting political movement.

銀幕版 湘南乃風～雲外蒼天～(ja)

The Untold History Of The United States(en)

Oliver Stone charts the history of the United States from the Second World War to the present.

The Last Rifleman(en)

A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.

The War on Democracy(en)

Set both in Latin America and the United States, the film explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger says that the film "...tells a universal story... analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called "war on terror". According to Pilger, the film’s message is that the greed and power of empire is not invincible and that people power is always the "seed beneath the snow".

Ronaldo(en)

Filmed over 14 months with unprecedented access into the inner circle of the man and the sport, this is the first official and fully authorised film of one of the most celebrated figures in football. For the first time ever, the world gets vividly candid and un-paralleled, behind-closed-doors access to the footballer, father, family-man and friend in this moving & fascinating documentary. Through in-depth conversations, state of the art football footage and never before seen archival footage, the film gives an astonishing insight into the sporting and personal life of triple Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo at the peak of his career. From the makers of ‘Senna’ and ‘Amy’, Ronaldo takes audiences on an intimate and revealing journey of what it’s like to live as an iconic athlete in the eye of the storm.

Fuck(en)

A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad(en)

A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.

Visions of Light(en)

Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.

#AnneFrank. Parallel Stories(en)

One single Anne Frank moves us more than the countless others who suffered just as she did but whose faces have remained in the shadows-Primo Levi. The Oscar®-winning Helen Mirren will introduce audiences to Anne Frank's story through the words in her diary. The set will be her room in the secret refuge in Amsterdam, reconstructed in every detail by set designers from the Piccolo Theatre in Milan. Anne Frank this year would have been 90 years old. Anne's story is intertwined with that of five Holocaust survivors, teenage girls just like her, with the same ideals, the same desire to live: Arianna Szörenyi, Sarah Lichtsztejn-Montard, Helga Weiss and sisters Andra and Tatiana Bucci. Their testimonies alternate with those of their children and grandchildren.

Outlaws - For Greater Glory(en)

A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.

The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin(en)

A documentary about the development and spread of the virtual currency called Bitcoin.

The Mystery of D.B. Cooper(en)

This documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington State with a parachute and $200,000, never to be heard from again.

The Making of 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day'(en)

Documentary of the making of the sequel to the popular Schwarzenegger film, The Terminator.

Night Will Fall(en)

When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound(en)

The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.

Twenty Years Later(pt)

Eduardo Coutinho was filming a movie with the same name in the Northeast of Brazil, in 1964, when there came the military coup. He had to interrupt the project, and came back to it in 1981, looking for the same places and people, showing what had ocurred since then, and trying to gather a family whose patriarch, a political leader fighting for rights of country people, had been murdered.

The Current War(en)

Electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse compete to create a sustainable system and market it to the American people.

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library(en)

A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.

Girl Rising(en)

Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.

The War Room(en)

A behind-the-scenes documentary about the Clinton for President campaign, focusing on the adventures of spin doctors James Carville and George Stephanopoulos.

Apollo: Missions to the Moon(en)

National Geographic's riveting effort recounts all 12 crewed missions using only archival footage, photos and audio.