"A Cambodian Spring" is an intimate and unique portrait of three people caught up in the chaotic and often violent development that is shaping modern-day Cambodia. Shot over six years, the film charts the growing wave of land-rights protests that led to the 'Cambodian spring' and the tragic events that followed. This film is about the complexities - both political and personal, of fighting for what you believe in.
"A Cambodian Spring" is an intimate and unique portrait of three people caught up in the chaotic and often violent development that is shaping modern-day Cambodia. Shot over six years, the film charts the growing wave of land-rights protests that led to the 'Cambodian spring' and the tragic events that followed. This film is about the complexities - both political and personal, of fighting for what you believe in.
Filmed over more than half a decade, this feature follows a campaign by the waterside residents of Boeung Kak in the Cambodian capital to halt the demolition of their homes to make way for a shiny new redevelopment. With the government and the World bank involved in this high-profile project and with the nation determined to prove that it has emerged positively from the Khmer Rouge era, the importance of this country being a place for international investors to spend their money cannot be overstated. With this powerful array of officialdom lined up against them, it falls to determined Buddhist monk Luon Sovath to galvanise the locals and walk a very tight line between the people he supports and the supreme leader of his faith - an appointment made by a Prime Minister who is not interested in any disruption to his grand design. The documentary is based on some characterful individuals, some perilously shot archive and it’s lack of directional narration allows us to engage more directly with these proud and poverty stricken citizens whose assets might not look like much, but it’s all they have - and selling for a fraction of the value, if at all, isn’t on their agenda either. As the story gathers pace, the more global elements begin to play their part as the investment conditions from the Bank seem to be being ignored and it becomes clear that unless they intervene, nothing is going to change for the protesters. It is quite obvious that despite the best intentions of an international community that, on paper anyway, is striving for an equitable distribution of it’s loans, local governance gets away with paying scant regard to any contractual clauses once the dollars are in the bank. Those resistant to the authorities risk fines, beatings, jail and maybe even worse - the sight of their homes being gobbled up by a voracious JCB. This film exemplifies that concept of a commonwealth where the wealth isn’t common, and where those fighting for their own independence and freedoms are stomped upon as little more than inconvenient ants. It is maybe a bit long. There is perhaps too much front loading onto a film that is actually more politically resonant in the last half hour, but it’s a very telling depiction of a society that has had enough of despots and just wants to be treated fairly and with respect.
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
In this documentary, recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it therefore to be his rightful property.
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
In 1999, Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris recruits dozens of young men and women who agree to live in underground apartments for weeks at a time while their every movement is broadcast online. Soon, Harris and his girlfriend embark on their own subterranean adventure, with cameras streaming live footage of their meals, arguments, bedroom activities, and bathroom habits. This documentary explores the role of technology in our lives, as it charts the fragile nature of dot-com economy.
A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments.
Dubbed “The Cannibal Cop,” former NYPD officer Gilberto Valle was charged with conspiring to kidnap and eat women but argued it was all a fantasy. His story made headlines both for its disturbing details and its potential to kick off a trend of thought-policing across the nation. Featuring intimate interviews with Valle and insights from experts, Thought Crimes explores if someone can be found guilty for their most dangerous thoughts.
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.