The Vocation

Delhi and The North

1947

Grand buildings and missionary work come together in the 1947 Indian tour of construction magnate John W. Laing.

Safari

1939 · ★ 8

Between 1933 and 1935, the painter Wilhelm Eggert and his wife Dora Kuster traveled the African continent. Their expedition took them from Mediterranean Algiers through the Sahara and parts of the African west coast to the Congo and Kenya. Not only did the couple explore vast stretches of land that were almost completely unknown, at least to private travelers at the time, they also captured this journey on film. A screenable documentary film was compiled from the original 12,000m of film material. In cinemas and film clubs, European audiences were presented with a film that was evidently able to satisfy an interest in foreign, 'wild' cultures and exotic landscapes, albeit one that was always Eurocentric. The spectacular shots of African lifestyles and nature, which in many respects were new to European viewers who were almost completely unfamiliar with Africa, were praised and appreciated precisely because of their supposed authenticity.

Gorillas: From the Heart of Darkness

Rwanda was once a country of peace, beauty and fabulous wildlife. Romain Baertsoen arrived there in 1966 and started to film two of Rwanda's secrets, the Bahima tribe and rare mountain gorillas. The Rwandan Civil War shattered the peace in 1994, as warring factions pillaged towns and plundered the forests. Remarkably, the gorillas survived, but the world around them is increasingly uncertain.

Zum Schneegipfel Afrikas

1925

Silent adventure film

Gefährliche Jagd

1950

A humorous documentary about a historic hunt in 1929 through the African savannah and Indian jungle with lots of animal footage.

Fold Crumple Crush: The Art of El Anatsui

2010

A powerful portrait of Africa's most widely acclaimed contemporary artist El Anatsui. It gives an insider's view of the artist's practice, the ingenious steps and thousands of hours of labor that convert used bottle tops into huge, opulent wall hangings.

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

2024 · ★ 7.8

Jazz and decolonization are intertwined in a powerful narrative that recounts one of the tensest episodes of the Cold War.

Mining for God

2015 · ★ 9

America has long been called a Christian nation. In fact, over 70% of adults in America identify themselves as Christian. Yet when filmmaker Brandon McGuire heads to the streets to ask a few clarifying questions about how Christianity is defined within our culture, he is shocked by the answers he finds. This provocative documentary takes us deep within the American mind and brings to the surface the big ideas that have influenced the way we think about ourselves and about God.

Africa's Wild Roommates: How Animals Share Bed and Board

2020 · ★ 10

A unique look at three of the greatest builders of the African Savannah: weaver birds, aardvarks and termites. In their spectacular buildings they do not live alone! Many roommates from other species, from small insects, reptiles and birds to large mammals, not only live together — they also benefit from sharing the same roof.

Forced PTO or Intrusive Thoughts of a Lower-Middle Class American in a Foreign Land

In this comedic travelogue movie, filmmaker Alex Suszko ventures to the country of Mauritius where he attempts to understand the cultural differences as a lower-middle class American abroad.

The Aviatrix

2015 · ★ 10

In 1928, Lady Heath became the first person to fly solo from Cape Town to London. Eighty-five years later, Tracey Curtis-Taylor set out in a vintage biplane to fly that adventure again. Following Tracey as she retraces the journey, The Aviatrix is more than just a film about the rapture of flying – it’s a story about living life on your own terms and having the courage and determination to realise your greatest dreams.

Ouaga, the Capital of Cinema

2000

Between 1983 and 1987, Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso and the home city of FESPACO, one of the most important Pan-African film festivals in the world, was the scene of an exciting cinema utopia. With the support of the young president Thomas Sankara, the festival became a symbol of the cultural renaissance of a whole continent. The assassination of Sankara stifled the hopes of millions of young Africans, but the dynamism of FESPACO and African cinema did not stop.