Awake, a Dream from Standing Rock

Malmi Airport Documentary

2022 · ★ 10

While on the surface Malmi Airport seems like just another airport, it is in fact, an incredibly important historical, cultural, and practical landmark with a rich past. However, the Finnish government has decided to demolish the airport. Hosted by the duo of Omar Kadir and Jolle Tolvanen, this documentary was made to raise awareness for the airport they love.

The Story of the Swastika

2013

In the week when Hindus celebrate the holy festival of Diwali, this documentary tells the story of one of their faith's most sacred symbols - the swastika. For many, the swastika has become a symbol synonymous with the Nazis and fascism. But this film reveals the fascinating and complex history of an emblem that is, in fact, a religious symbol, with a sacred past. For the almost one billion Hindus around the world, the swastika lies at the heart of religious practices and beliefs, as an emblem of benevolence, luck and good fortune.

La casa del Carnaval

Trans and queer communities shaped carnival traditions in the Canary Islands, exploring their historical role in developing costumes, performances, and celebrations that define the region's festive identity.

Masters of the Pillow

2003 · ★ 9

Traces the making of UC-Davis professor Darrell Hamamoto's first-ever Asian American porn movie ("Skin on Skin") from planning to production. Hou interviews filmmakers Justin Lin ("Better Luck Tomorrow") and Eric Byler ("Charlotte Sometimes"), professor Elaine Kim and playwright David Henry Hwang to get at whether Asian America truly needs its own "porno practices" as a way of decolonizing the community's collective sexual imaginations and confronting how sexuality and masculinity are treated in the Asian American community.

The Legacy of Othello

2022 · ★ 8

A fascinating exploration of the literary — The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, by English playwright William Shakespeare (1604) — and lyrical — Othello, by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (1887) — myth of Othello, the desperately tragic story of a Moorish general in the army of the Venetian Republic whose absurd jealousy poisons his love for his wife Desdemona.

Blackpill

2022 · ★ 10

An investigator researches incels and the reasons behind their misogynistic attitudes on the Internet.

India Cabaret

1985 · ★ 6.5

An exploration of the 'respectable' and 'immoral' stereotypes of women in Indian society told from the point of view of two striptease dancers in a Bombay cabaret.

Paris 1900

2019 · ★ 7.5

In 1900, the eyes of the whole world are on Paris. The World's Fair welcomed 50 million amazed visitors, and the city celebrated itself in a glamorous era. This period went down in history as the "Belle Époque." Elaborately restored and colorized historical photographs bring to life the exciting life in Paris between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of World War I in 1914. Bicycles, cars, airplanes, moving pictures, newly founded film studios, revolutionary composers and painters, avant-garde ballet performances, fashion houses, summer resorts on the Atlantic coast – life was intoxicating. People celebrate in the variety shows, cabarets, and revue theaters of Paris. Moulin Rouge, Folies Bergères, Bal Tabarin—in Paris, the nights are long and life is too short to sleep through. It is a dance on the volcano, given the political developments in the world.

Mondo Cane

1962 · ★ 6.3

A documentary consisting of a series of travelogue vignettes providing glimpses into cultural practices throughout the world intended to shock or surprise, including an insect banquet and a memorable look at a practicing South Pacific cargo cult.

My Survival as an Aboriginal

1979

Essie Coffey gives the children lessons on Aboriginal culture. She speaks of the importance of teaching these kids about their traditions. Aboriginal kids are forgetting about their Aboriginal heritage because they are being taught white culture instead.

No Lye: An American Beauty Story

2019

A documentary that chronicles the rise and decline of the black-owned ethnic beauty industry in America.

Disappearing World: The basques of Santazi

1987

This film follows the lives over one year, shot during three intervals, of two Basque shepherding families who live in Santazi, a village in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. The film is the only Disappearing World film made in western Europe and it focuses on the continuity and change in the community. This film shows the rationality behind the choice the villagers are making.