
Reporter

The Jehovah’s Witnesses are a religious group with eight million followers in multiple nations, including Australia. A knock on the door and an earnest offer to share their teachings is the only interaction most people will have with this god-fearing organisation. Few would know the extreme nature of their beliefs. The conduct of the religious group came under scrutiny in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
2021-09-13
0
Exposing the secretive world of the Jehovah’s Witnesses
6.0A documentary based on the book Umbanda no Brasil by the scholar Mata e Silva, who is interviewed by the director. The book studies the Brazilian religion known as spiritism, a syncretism of African beliefs and magical rites, Indian beliefs and images, and Catholic symbols.
0.0Forget the neon lights and cherry blossoms — this is Japan like you’ve never seen it. In this gripping short documentary, Omar Farooq dives into the dark underbelly of Japanese society, exposing hidden truths, silent struggles, and the untold stories that lie behind the country's polished image.
6.0King of the Jews is a film about anti-Semitism and transcendence. Utilizing Hollywood movies, 1950's educational films, personal home movies and religious films, the filmmaker depicts his childhood fear of Jesus Christ. These childhood recollections are a point of departure for larger issues such as the roots of Christian anti-Semitism.
5.8An unprejudiced portrait of Spanish folklore and a crude analysis in black and white of its intimate relationship with atavism and superstition, with violence and pain, with blood and death; a story of terror, a journey to the most sinister and ancestral Spain; the one that lived far from the most visited tourist destinations, from the economic miracle and unstoppable progress, relentlessly promoted by the Franco regime during the sixties.
0.0When one thinks of the American Deep South, the image of veiled Muslim students strolling the University of Alabama campus is the last thing that comes to mind. VOICES OF MUSLIM WOMEN FROM THE US SOUTH is a documentary that explores the Muslim culture through the lens of five University of Alabama Muslim students. The film tackles how Muslim women carve a space for self-expression in the Deep South and how they negotiate their identities in a predominantly Christian society that often has unflattering views about Islam and Muslims. Through interviews with students and faculty at Alabama, this film examines representations and issues of agency by asking: How do Muslim female students carve a space in a culture that thinks of Muslims as terrorists and Muslim women as backward?
6.7A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse
9.0Archival film maestro Göran Hugo Olsson has assembled—from a vast catalogue of footage in the vaults of Sweden’s national television service SVT—accounts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as witnessed and represented by Swedish journalists. Stories of the beginning of the Israeli state interwoven with the Palestinian struggle for independence. News coverage with Yasser Arafat and interviews with Israeli foreign minister Abba Eban during a visit to Sweden unseen since first broadcast. From the tenth anniversary of Israel’s founding to the First Intifada, perspectives and encounters with statesmen, civilians, revolutionaries, and intellectuals tell the story from myriad angles of an evolving media landscape, revivifying a history of the ongoing conflict.
6.0Two Bangladeshi girls born and raised in London have weddings arranged for them against their will by their family. Shahanara, the rebel of the family, banished from the family in her teens for being "too Western", has to swap her pink hot pants for a sari as she goes off to the airport to meet her new Bangladeshi husband. Her sister Hushnara is the opposite of Shahanara; a devout Muslim who agrees to marry so she doesn't upset her parents.
7.3The history of surfing is like one long ride in which surfers relay the baton to each other across the years on a single, endless wave. In order to understand how this ancestral Polynesian tradition was able to span the globe and the eras until it became a competitive sport and eventually won a place at the Olympics, we’ll plunge into its history through the exceptional stories of those who allowed it to survive and be reinvented.
7.5Documentary film about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Poland.
0.0In BBC ONE's The Virgin Mary, dramatic reconstructions and stunning visual effects are combined with the latest findings from historians and New Testament scholars to recreate the story of this remarkable woman. Presented by actress Sue Johnston, The Virgin Mary explores the history behind the miraculous Bible story to reveal the living, breathing mother of Christianity. The picture that emerges is very different from that of popular belief – the serene young woman, dressed in blue silken robes, was largely a creation of later writers and Renaissance painters.
9.0From Kristin Kobes Du Mez, the creator/author of Jesus and John Wayne, comes a powerful new documentary highlighting how a culture of submission and sexual abuse in the evangelical church ties directly to the Christian nationalist quest to use the outcome of the 2024 election to deprive all American women of basic democratic rights. FOR OUR DAUGHTERS speaks to all women of faith, encouraging them to use their voices and their votes to ensure that their daughters will have the rights to health and happiness guaranteed to all Americans.
6.0Meet the Mormons examines the very diverse lives of six devout Mormons. Filmed on location and across the globe, Meet the Mormons takes viewers on a journey into the day-to-day realities of individuals living in the U.S., Costa Rica, Nepal and beyond. From their individual passions to their daily struggles, each story paints a picture as rich and unique as the next while challenging the stereotypes that surround the Mormon faith.
0.0Hollywood is perhaps the most elusive animal. "We Want the Airwaves" follows three first time TV makers who set out on the ultimate adventure: to change television as we know it. The trio creates, films and pitches their advocacy docuseries masterpiece, "Manifesto!" all over the world, with the goal of giving a broadcast voice to a generation.
8.3Julia Sweeney's third autobiographical monologue, Letting Go of God takes the audience through her Catholic upbringing and how personal events in her life and that of her family led her to a disbelief in a personal universal deity.
0.0"Our film is about the religious sect of Russian Pentecostals, one of the most reactionary and fanatical cults. Their actions are incompatible with the life and laws of our society. We testify that every frame of this film is documentary."
1.0On January 7th 2005, 29 year old Rick Rodriguez murdered his former nanny and then killed himself on a lonely desert highway. Hours earlier he had videoed his suicide note and this final message provided a remarkable insight into a deeply damaged life. It also lifted the lid on one of the most notorious religious cults to emerge out of the 1960s counter culture: The Children of God sect.
8.2Pussy Riot make a comeback after a long absence to stand with Ukraine. Their story and their struggle are told through archival footage and interviews with the group’s members.
7.0Holy Cowboys offers a fascinating, disconcerting look at Indian youth indoctrinated as bovine vigilantes. This observational documentary from Sundance Institute alumnus Varun Chopra goes deep into a world of bigotry and division, where a genuine love for animals and a naive sense of righteousness are weaponised.
9.0Books, apps, coaching sessions: Today, happiness is everywhere. We might think that there is nothing wrong with this common-sense concern. But it’s actually the opposite of social reality. So what lies behind this contemporary obsession with happiness and the billions of euros generated by its industry? Philosophers, sociologists, economists and psychiatrists including Christophe André, Éva Illouz, Martin Seligman and Julia De Funès, confront their point of view and decipher one of the most captivating and worrying phenomena of this early century.
6.4A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
6.1A sexual wellness company gains fame and followers, then members come forward with shocking allegations.
7.3Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
7.1Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.
7.1A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
6.4A documentary on a former Miss Wyoming who is charged with abducting and imprisoning a young Mormon Missionary.
6.7A behind the scenes look into George Romero's groundbreaking horror classic Night of the Living Dead.
6.1A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
6.7The strange story of John McAfee, who went from millionaire software mogul to yogi, Kurtz-like jungle recluse to potential murderer, and most recently a prospective presidential candidate for the American Libertarian Party.
6.5Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
7.6A documentary focused on plastic pollution in the world's oceans.
8.2A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.
6.8Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.
6.0A night of drunken chaos rocks a quiet Dutch town in this shocking documentary about a teen's birthday invite that accidentally went viral on Facebook.
6.5Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.
7.1This documentary focuses on the actors and their journey over two summers to create the remake to the original IT, by Stephen King. The documentary originally released as bonus material, bundled with IT: Chapter Two.
7.0A documentary special that explores the power of identity behind the iconic superheroes we know and love today. These legendary Marvel creations and stories have not only reflected the world outside our window – they have become a reflection of our own identities and who we truly are.
7.6GOING CLEAR intimately profiles eight former members of the Church of Scientology, shining a light on how they attract true believers and the things they do in the name of religion.
7.2A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.