Nicotine - A Drug with a Future

Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial(en)

In the early 20th Century, tobacco merchants were unaware of the danger of their increasingly popular product. Smoke & Mirrors documents the rise of the cigarette, and the tobacco industry's subsequent attempts to conceal its emerging link with cancer and other smoking-related illnesses. Throughout the 1940's, the scientific case against the cigarette was building. However, despite the evidence that tobacco was a major cause of disease and death among smokers, tobacco companies began conducting successful campaigns of misinformation designed to weave cigarettes into the social fabric of America by emphasizing the "glamorous" and "sophisticated" side of smoking. Today fifty years of documented denial is finally coming back to haunt the industry. Smoke & Mirrors examines this sordid past, and illuminates the issues that threaten tobacco's future.This video is divided into two parts for your viewing convenience.

The Back-breaking Leaf(en)

Here is a graphic picture of the tobacco harvest in southwestern Ontario. At the end of July, transient field workers move in for a brief bonanza when the plant is ripe. The tobacco harvesters call it "the back-breaking leaf."

Making a Killing: The Untold Story of Psychotropic Drugging(en)

Psychotropic drugs. It’s the story of big money-drugs that fuel a $330 billion psychiatric industry, without a single cure. The cost in human terms is even greater-these drugs now kill an estimated 42,000 people every year. And the death count keeps rising. Containing more than 175 interviews with lawyers, mental health experts, the families of victims and the survivors themselves, this riveting documentary rips the mask off psychotropic drugging and exposes a brutal but well-entrenched money-making machine. Before these drugs were introduced in the market, people who had these conditions would not have been given any drugs at all. So it is the branding of a disease and it is the branding of a drug for a treatment of a disease that did not exist before the industry made the disease.

Smoke Traders(en)

Smoke Traders is an inside look at the world of the Mohawk tobacco trade.

Under the Law Part II: 3 Days in the County Jail(en)

Educational short film

Joe Weider's Bodybuilding Training System, Session 10: Training Safe & Smart(en)

This session covers workout clothing, straps, wraps, and belts; warm-up and stretching; basic sports-medicine; healing; how to recognize and respond to minor injuries; plus common types of injury and how to prevent them.

"Früher haben wir Tabak geliefert..." - Tabakanbau in der Uckermark 1993/94(de)

The film documents the tobacco season of 1993/94 from the planting of the tobacco through the harvest and sale until the sowing for the next season - using some small planters from the villages around Schwedt on the Oder and a large farm, the former Agricultural Co-operative in Vierraden in an exemplary manner. It describes the transformation in the technical and agricultural fields. Different planters and representatives of the Tobacco Grower's Association discuss the situation of tobacco planting in the GDR compared to current conditions and answer questions on their self-organisation and on the future of tobacco cultivation in the Uckermark.

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.

Patients de seconde zone?(fr)

Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking(en)

Just suppose there was a quit smoking method which could enable any smoker to quit – immediately, permanently, and without willpower, no torturous withdrawal or weight gain, no shock tactics, pills, patches or other gimmicks. Furthermore, not only could you find it easy to quit, but you can actually enjoy the process from the moment you extinguish the last cigarette and never again feel that you miss cigarettes or smoking. This stop smoking method exists and is called Allen Carr’s Easyway.

First Aid Action(en)

Concentrates upon basic first aid steps. Simulated situations provide an opportunity to discuss and demonstrate mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, shock, bleeding, burns, fractures, poisoning and sudden illness. A recap is made of all first aid directions. Shots of real accidents provide realism which reinforce the film’s theme. Narrated by Burt Reynolds. ACMI Identifier 003727

Your Chance to Live: Heat Wave(en)

The film highlights the dangers of extreme heat and the importance of staying hydrated and cool. It portrays a conversation between two friends, one of whom insists on playing basketball despite the oppressive heat. The narrative emphasizes that heat-related illnesses can be avoided by recognizing the body's signals and taking necessary precautions, such as drinking water and staying indoors. The film concludes with a report of record-breaking temperatures, underscoring the seriousness of heat exposure.

Move Fast & Vape Things(en)

Two Stanford graduate students had an inspired idea and an idealistic mission: create an e-cigarette that would help millions of people stop smoking. How did the founders of Juul lose their way and end up accused of addicted a whole new generation?

A Billion Lives(en)

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.

The Tobacco Conspiracy: The Backroom Deals of a Deadly Industry(en)

This French-Canadian co-production goes behind the scenes of the huge tobacco industry, whose economic power has been expanding for five decades at the expense of public health. A gripping investigation covering three continents, Nadia Collot's film exposes the vast conspiracy of a criminally negligent industry that conquers new markets through corruption and manipulation. To confront the tobacco cartel, anti-smoking groups are organizing and scoring points, but the fight remains fierce. With ist diverse viewpoints, shocking interviews and riveting images, The Tobacco Conspiracy deftly defines the issues in a complex situation where private interests and the public good collide. Enlightening and engrossing, this documentary is a hard-hitting critique of an industry gone mad.

Cusp(en)

In a Texas military town, three teenage girls confront the dark corners of adolescence at the end of a fever dream summer.

Yellow Tobacco from Quebec(fr)

History of yellow tobacco cultivation in the regions of Joliette, Berthier and Trois-Rivières. The documentary describes the care and work required for this crop and pays tribute to the producers whose efforts have made it possible to introduce and maintain this highly specialized industrial crop in Quebec.

You Don't Know Nicotine(en)

Amidst radical changes in nicotine use globally, one filmmaker's journey through the confusion & fear leads to a startling discovery about Earth's most hated stimulant. Society may be changed forever.

Manufacturing Ignorance(fr)

Tobacco, climate change, pesticides,... Never has scientific knowledge seemed so vast, detailed and shared. And yet it appears to be increasingly challenged. It is no longer surprising to see private corporations put strategies in place to confuse the public debate and paralyze political decision-making. Overwhelmed by excess of information, how can we, as citizens, sort out fact from fiction? One by one, this film dismantles the workings of this clever manoeuvre that aims to turn science against itself. Thanks to declassified archives, graphic animations and testimonies from experts, lobbyists and politicians, this investigation plunges us into the science of doubt. Along with a team of experts (philosophers, economists, cognitive scientists, political men, or even agnotologists), we explore concrete examples of doubt making and try to understand the whole process and the issues behind it.

The Circle(en)

Produced in 1967, this black and white film is an inmate's view of Daytop, a drug treatment centre on Staten Island, New York, where addicts learn to get along without drugs. Uncompromising, often brutal group therapy sessions are designed to shake loose the excuses a victim makes for himself. The people and situations shown are authentic; only one actor was employed. The results obtained at Daytop are regarded by some psychiatrists as a breakthrough.

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me(en)

From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.

Banking on Bitcoin(en)

Not since the invention of the Internet has there been such a disruptive technology as Bitcoin. Bitcoin's early pioneers sought to blur the lines of sovereignty and the financial status quo. After years of underground development Bitcoin grabbed the attention of a curious public, and the ire of the regulators the technology had subverted. After landmark arrests of prominent cyber criminals Bitcoin faces its most severe adversary yet, the very banks it was built to destroy.

Spielberg(en)

A documentary on the life and career of one of the most influential film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg.

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye(en)

Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.

The Mole: Undercover in North Korea(en)

A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.

David Lynch: The Art Life(en)

An intimate journey through the formative years of David Lynch's life. From his idyllic upbringing in small town America to the dark streets of Philadelphia, we follow Lynch as he traces the events that have helped to shape one of cinema's most enigmatic directors.

After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News(en)

An investigation into the ongoing threat caused by the phenomenon of “fake news” in the U.S., focusing on the real-life consequences that disinformation, conspiracy theories and false news stories have on the average citizen.

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists(en)

Takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical "hacktivist" collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, then moves to Anonymous' raucous beginnings on the website 4chan. Through interviews with current members, people recently returned from prison or facing trial, writers, academics, activists and major players in various "raids," the documentary traces Anonymous’ evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown movement with a global reach, the most transformative civil disobedience of our time.

Fuck(en)

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

Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear(en)

Explore the evolution of Buzz Lightyear from toy to human in the making of Pixar’s Lightyear. Dive into the origin and cultural impact of everyone’s favorite Space Ranger, the art of designing a new “human Buzz,” and the challenges faced by the Lightyear crew along the way.

Cameraperson(en)

As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.

My Mom Jayne(en)

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

Full Tilt Boogie(en)

A documentary about the production of From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and the people who made it.

The Celluloid Closet(en)

Exuberant, eye-opening movie that serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Film contains fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s.

Spider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home(en)

JB Smoove and Martin Starr host a celebration of 20 years of "Spider-Man" movies, from the Sam Raimi trilogy to Marc Webb's movies and the trio from Jon Watts.

Unknown Number: The High School Catfish(en)

Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a teen and her boyfriend. Who's sending them — and why? This twisty documentary reveals the shocking answer.

Downloaded(en)

A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.

Money Shot: The Pornhub Story(en)

Featuring interviews with performers, activists and past employees, this documentary offers a deep dive into the successes and scandals of Pornhub.

David Blaine: Real or Magic(en)

David Blaine's signature brand of street magic mystifies the most recognisable celebrities in the world, such as Jamie Foxx, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Ricky Gervais, Katy Perry, Woody Allen, and Robert DeNiro, to name a few. He goes to the homes of Kanye West and Harrison Ford, Will Smith and Olivia Wilde. He pays a visit to Stephen Hawking at his office in Cambridge University. Blaine also travels the world, astonishing people from all walks of life with never-before seen, inconceivable magic.

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley(en)

With a magical new invention that promised to revolutionize blood testing, Elizabeth Holmes became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, heralded as the next Steve Jobs. Then, overnight, her 10-billion-dollar company dissolved. The rise and fall of Theranos is a window into the psychology of fraud.