Procession of Elephants with Howdahs - India

By the River

2021

Varanasi is the Indian city where Hindus go to die. Stretching along the Ganges, Varanasi holds great spiritual significance because Hindu scriptutres say that anyone who dies there will attain moksha—liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Berlin-based director Dan Braga Ulvestad captures life and death in India’s heartland in this moving documentary filled with exquisite cinematic moments. By the River starts its narrative journey with the city’s “death hotels,” dedicated apartments where people wait to die, sometimes for decades, so they can be cremated on the banks of the Ganges.

Palna's Daughters

2007 · ★ 6

A film about memory, identity and the overwhelming power of love. One-year-old Devi was found starving at a railway station in Delhi. The police took her to Palna, an orphanage, where she lived for a year. When Devi learned to talk she often wanted to talk about Amma, her first mother. In the film, the 6-year-old Devi journeys to her own past, as her family adopts another daughter from Palna, a baby sister for Devi.

The Golden Thread

2022 · ★ 7.8

In the heyday of the jute industry, millions of people in Bengal made their living doing this laborious work, which has hardly changed since the industrial revolution. The 100-year-old machinery has been endlessly repaired. State aid kept this sustainable alternative to plastic going, but its future looks bleak.

Gurukulam

2013

Every individual confronts fundamental questions about the nature of reality, self-identity, and elusive happiness, yet few make these their life goal. An international group of students have traveled to a monastery in a remote area of southern India with the single purpose of discovering these answers. GURUKULAM is a journey into their lives, a wisdom tradition, and the contemplative space in which it is carried.

Picturing Elizabeth: Her Life in Images

2022

Sophie Raworth explores the stories behind some of the most famous and era-defining pictures of the Queen, and shows how they chart our changing relationship with the monarchy.

Elizabeth: Fashioning a Monarch

2023

In this special tribute Fiona Bruce looks at how, across the decades, The Queen used her wardrobe to fashion a style that came to perfectly reflect her dedication to duty.

A Tribute to HRH Duke of Edinburgh

2021 · ★ 8

The remarkable life story of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, the man who stood beside the Queen for over 70 years. Featuring interviews with those who knew him best.

Lady Di: Before Royalty

2022

In 1980, an innocent nursery school teacher would go from anonymity to worldwide super stardom practically overnight. In this documentary we take a look at the story of the country girl before Buckingham Palace, meet her friends, the people who knew her and visit the school where she spent her childhood.

Protecting Princess Diana: The Bodyguard's Story

2022

Diana, Princess of Wales. One of the most famous and most photographed women in the world. But with fame comes lack of privacy and the need for greater security. Inspector Ken Wharfe, Diana's royal protection officer, tells us first hand the truth about what life was really like for the princess. Revealing his affectionate account of his years protecting Diana from 1986 until 1993.

Diana: Lasting Words of a Mother

As a mother, Diana's energies were devoted to her boys, the most important part of her life, and she laid the foundations for them to grow into strong, resilient and kind young princes, instilling into them qualities that would help to shape a truly modern monarchy. In her actions, and in her words, Diana changed the workings of the British monarchy forever. Join us as we look back at her lasting legacy and her impact on those she loved the most.

Kongehusets troløse butler

Diana's butler and confidant, Paul Burrell, provides us with his insight into the real Diana, in her lonely hours behind palace doors. Dedicated to serving Diana, both in life and in death, Paul shares his very personal story.

Gardens of the Orient

1936

This portait of life on the tea plantations is decidedly rosy – clearly, there are no exploited workers here. However, the film provides an intriguing overview of tea production – from the planting of tea seeds to the final shipping of the precious leaves across the globe.