The Bowmakers

This documentary film explores the world of the bow and the extraordinary masters who make them. The bow is the Cinderella of the orchestra—the overworked and overshadowed ally to its more glamorous partners. Few people, even among lovers of classical music, think of the bow as an instrument in its own right, but players of stringed instruments see them differently. To musicians, the bow is as essential to expressing the soul of the music as the violin or cello. The film follows the journey of the “silent servant” of the music world—from the workshops of the virtuosos of the trade, to the birthplace of the bow in France, and to Brazil, home to the imperiled tree from which the world’s finest bows are made.

Favela Government

Brazil's "Red Command" drug cartel is considered a plague by the government. But for the people of the favelas they control, Red Command *is* the government. They’re the de facto leadership of the area. The gang has taken over the role of the authorities in their shanty towns, where the state has long abandoned them. Away Days got special access to the Rio favelas, hanging out out with young foot-soldiers, speaking to commanders, and seeing how civilians live between the gangs and the equally violent police militias.

Othelo The Great

A beautifully told story using archival footage to explore the life of Grande Otelo, a groundbreaking Black Brazilian actor. Overcoming poverty and racism, he built a stellar career, facing controversy yet using it to challenge prejudice.

Snake Island

"The highest concentration of one of the most venomous snakes in the world is located about 90 miles off the coast of Santos, Brazil, on a small, craggy chunk of otherwise uninhabitable land. It's known as Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island, and it's the only place you will find 2,000 or so of the wholly unique golden lancehead viper, or Bothrops insularis."

Trabantem až na konec světa

The third installment in Dan Přibáň's series of travel documentaries describes the author's journey with his friends across South America in vehicles that are often notorious but cult in their own way. The charming dynamics of the group on screen are further enhanced by the high-quality craftsmanship.

Seremos Todos Como Che

Freedom Downtime

A feature-length documentary about the Free Kevin movement and the hacker world.

Missivas

The Documentary tells the story of Jane Vanini from the author's reflections on her militancy-building process. Starting with the meeting of the two during the “Jornadas de 2013”, we will look at Jane's path as we follow steps, from her hometown, Cáceres, to Concepcion, in Chile. It is the possibility of discussing this journey from a personal point of view that makes this project unique and takes us to social, political and human borders. This window is opened to us through Jane's 41 letters to her family, allowing us to glimpse nuances of her intimacy and militancy choices. It was while researching Jane's militancy that the author debated these reflections on his own militant career and the context in which it takes place. Telling Jane's trajectory, going through her family and religious formation and its implications for her activism was one of the moments of encounter between these two days.

The Money Lenders

Critical investigation of The World Bank and IMF. Too hot for PBS, but prime time TV everywhere else. Do the World Bank and IMF make the poor even poorer? Are the Bank and IMF democratic institutions? Why do people demonstrate against the Bank and IMF? For the first time, a documentary global investigation of major criticisms of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), two of the most powerful financial institutions in the world. Five country case studies are presented, each concentrating on a different aspect of critics' charges: 1. Bolivia: Debt, Drugs and Democracy 2. Ghana: The Model of Success 3. Brazil: Debt, Damage and Politics 4. Thailand: Dams and Dislocation 5. Philippines: The Debt Fighters. The charges, including those related to structural adjustment, are controversial and provocative. Some go to the heart of the power and policies of these institutions.

Sou Jazz

Sound is a journey. Each note opens a door, closes another. Instruments chart the course. Through a poetic and immersive lens, Sou Jazz shines a light on musicians from the Paraisópolis community, reaffirming the social and transformative power of art. The film invites viewers into a reflective, sensory exploration of the relationship between jazz and life on the margins.

Ali's Story

For DJs, life revolves around records. Around sounds. Every life is a story, every DJ is a narrator. Every stack of records is an endless collection of stories, myths, and memories. Can we know someone’s life through their records? For some, we can even know their impact.

The Pig and the Society

"The Pig and the Society," symbolizes the stark contrast between the excesses of wealth and the plight of those left behind. It invites viewers to reflect on their perceptions and prejudices, challenging them to see beyond the surface and understand the systemic issues perpetuating homelessness.

An Invisible Victim: The Eliza Samudio Case

A star goalkeeper threatens a woman who is pregnant with his child. Her pleas for help go unanswered in the shadow of his fame — then tragedy strikes.

Du Chocolat Pour Sauver l'Amazonie

The Amazon is the river of superlatives: the longest - 7,025 km, the most powerful, the most indomitable - no dam possible over hundreds of kilometres. Its waters cross the largest tropical forest in the world: the Amazon, “the lungs of the earth”. Going against the current of this gigantism, this documentary is betting on approaching this extraordinary natural space through one of its tiniest productions: the cocoa bean. Scientists, chocolate makers, producers and farmers, many are those who, faced with the deforestation of this unique ecosystem, use this chocolate seed to recreate, on a small scale, human exploitations in harmony with nature. This film tells us about the fight of those who decided to make cocoa the spearhead of environmental defense in Brazil.

Saludos Amigos

A whimsical blend of live action and animation, "Saludos Amigos" is a colorful kaleidoscope of art, adventure and music set to a toe-tapping samba beat. From high Andes peaks and Argentina's pampas to the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro, your international traveling companions are none other than those famous funny friends, Donald Duck and Goofy. They keep things lively as Donald encounters a stubborn llama and "El Gaucho" Goofy tries on the cowboy way of life....South American-style.

Piripkura

The last two surviving members of the Piripkura people, a nomadic tribe in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil, struggle to maintain their indigenous way of life amidst the region's massive deforestation. Living deep in the rainforest, Pakyî and Tamandua live off the land relying on a machete, an ax, and a torch lit in 1998.

Rush in Rio

Legendary rock band Rush plays the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the final night of the band's 2002 Vapor Trails tour, in front of 40,000 fans.

2plus1

From casting to production of "Three", following the strategies used to compose the characters, chemistry between actors and coordination of intimacy; aiming to highlight the importance of a more humanized and sensitive work.

The Last Arthouse Theater in Maceió

In the age of multiplexes, a small Brazilian movie theater strives to survive with an alternative programming in the city of Maceió.

Tuire Kayapó

‘Tuire Kayapó’ (First Contact) is a moving portrait of the most important female chief of the Kayapó people, known for her environmental activism in the Brazilian Amazon since the late 1980s. In her first interview ever, which took place on January 13th, 2017 in her village in Kaprankrere, Tuire speaks about the issues of the Kayapó people such as deforestation, expansion of the cities towards the Indigenous territories, demarcation, discrimination, national agricultural policies, public administration, corruption and infectious diseases as a result of all this.