Afghan Star

This documentary on the effect the talent competition "Afghan Star" has on the incredibly diverse inhabitants of Afghanistan affords a glimpse into a country rarely seen. Contestants risk their lives to appear on the television show that is a raging success with the public and also monitored closely by the government.

Στα Τουρκοβούνια

Greek internal migrants in Athens, after the Greek Civil War colonize the tops of the Tourkovounia hills.

Mama Rosa

Rosa is from Croatia and lives in Switzerland, with her husband who depends on her care. She takes care of everything. Her children have grown up and want to leave home. Rosa stays behind alone.

Les cèdres du Liban

Irpinia

Irpinia follows the journey of young West Indian dreamer Dudley as he makes his way to England in the 1960s. At 24 years old, Dudley boarded a ship named Irpinia in search of a better life in England, the so-called motherland. Now 86, Dudley reflects on the exciting journey at sea and the harsh reality that lay ahead of him.

مسلمو بولونيا - العدو الداخلي

Six stories from Italian Islam. As in the rest of the country, in Bologna, intolerance and attempts at dialogue coexist, ghetto neighborhoods and second generations fighting, crime and everyday life.

Horungen

In 1909, in an undemocratic Sweden, a bastard child is born and given the name of Hervor. Her mother is unmarried, due to which she is called a "whore' and is driven from her home. Hervor grows up at shelters and orphanages, unwanted, rejected by society. As an adult she spends her life struggling for social justice. In old age she tells us her story. Director Knutte Wester brings his grandmother's memories to life thought hand-painted animated images and has us witness someone being rejected in order to unite others. A story that all too often still repeating itself.

Big Zuu Goes to Mecca

Chef and rapper Big Zuu makes a pilgrimage to Mecca on a personal spiritual journey to try and understand more about his faith and what it means to be 'a good Muslim'.

Monaco, Italia. Storie di arrivi in Germania

Ellis Island, une histoire du rêve Américain

In 1892, Ellis Island, in New York Bay, became the main gateway to the United States for immigrants arriving increasingly from Europe. The story of immigration to the United States from 1892 to 1954, an enthralling polyphonic narrative that embraces both small and great history.

Le grand Magal de Touba

Each year, the pilgrimage of the Muslim brotherhood of the Mourides takes place in Touba. From all over Senegal (and even from all over the world) pilgrims flock to take part in this religious event which will last three days and two nights. Grand Magal in Touba evokes the black Islam, promotes peace and tolerance, born of syncretism between Islam and the blackness of the Sufi brotherhoods in Senegal.

גדוד עליה

The long lasting Palestinian-Israeli conflict has created appaling phenomenons that have horrified the Israeli society. the "politically conscience-refusals" or those individual soldiers refusing to fight in the occupied territories, are one of those phenomenons. In opposition to them stand a thousand immigrants from the former Soviet Union, ex-military men from the Red Army, who yearn to be recruited into the IDF and fight for Israel, but who are denied the right to serve in the army. Through the stories of Oleg and Alex, immigrants and the battalion's charismatic commanders, the story of the Russkii Battalion is told. It is a story of contrasts between the hardships of the daily struggles they face as new immigrants against the pride and the sense of belonging they find in the battalion. The Russkii Battalion is a film about a militaristic social bubble, in a country that is in constant war.

Livet är kort, konsten lång – filmen om Åke Göransson

Tarajal: Desmontando la impunidad en la frontera sur

The events that took place at the beach of El Tarajal in Ceuta (Spain) in February 2014 - the killing by the border police of 15 people who were trying to reach the Spanish coast - are an example of how the police force can violate the laws of its own country and international conventions with total impunity. The worst part is that this violation of human rights is protected by the Spanish Ministry of Interior itself, which hinders any effective action by the prosecution. For this reason, the civil society plays a fundamental role in revealing the facts. This is where the figure of collective complaints (DESC Observatory and the association Coordinadora de Barrios) steps in.

Le Silence Du Fleuve

“Forgetting is complicit in recidivism,” says the commentary of this film dedicated to the demonstration of October 17, 1961 in Paris and the savage repression that followed. 11,538 Algerians will be arrested, which is reminiscent of the great Vel d’hiv roundup of July 16 and 17, 1942 where 12,884 Jews were arrested.
 The film brings together eyewitnesses including a priest, a peacekeeper, a couple of workers sympathetic to the Algerian cause, a lawyer, Paris municipal councilors including Claude Bourdet (then one of the leaders of the PSU and journalist to France Observateur), Gérard Monatte, the future police union leader, and the editor and writer François Maspero.

Saudi Solutions

How to combine modernity and fundamentalist Islam. "Saudi Solutions" is a unique and revealing documentary about the lifestyles and attitudes of ambitious career womenin conservative Saudi Arabia - the only country in the Arabworld where women are obliged to cover themselves inabayas and aren't allowed to drive cars. Because of the strong influence of fundamentalist Islam on society, filmingis severely restricted in Saudi Arabia. With unique access to the Kingdom, Backlight had the opportunity to film the daily routines of Saudi working women. This documentaryfeatures a top gyneacologist, a TV news anchor woman, a photographer, and a university professor. It also introducesthe wealthy Prince Al-Waleed, who passionately promotes the acceptance of women into the workforce. He kindly invitesBacklight to his luxury desert camp, but there are no women to be found - only thousands of men.

Aan ons den arbeid

Documentary that shows the changing attitude towards immigrant labor in The Netherlands. The documentary follows three immigrants that arrived in Holland 30 years ago to work in a bakery.

Visions of Europe

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Esteetilistel põhjustel

Andres Kurg is an art historian who likes Danish modernist architecture and therefore wants to settle there. He argues with Danish officials to grant him a residence permit for aesthetic reasons.

Immigrant Service: Focus on Jesus Duran

After losing her father at an early age, Tina Duran explores the rich history of her father, the story of her ancestors who migrated from Mexico to the United States, and the impact the Vietnam War had on their community.