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Cefalonia

Cefalonia tells the real story about what happened in September 1943 on the Greek island of Kefalonia (Cefalonia in Italian), when the 12,000 men in the Italian 33rd Acqui Infantry Division, following Italy's surrender to the Allied, refused to put themselves under German command and also refused to surrender their weapons. The local German force, supported by Stuka dive-bombers and additional troops, attacked the Italians and after several days of combat the Italians surrendered, having lost 1,300 men. As punishment, the German High Command ordered that all surviving Italians should be executed. Some 5,000 were executed during a week of killings. A handful were rescued by locals and the Greek guerrilla, while the rest were shipped off as prisoners, whereof 3,000 drowned when their ships hit mines. The film "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" is based on a novel about the Italian occupation of Cefalonia, but the massacre was much toned down in the Hollywood version.

Cefalonia

6.6 2005
The Samurai I Loved

A young samurai stuck at the bottom of the hierarchical order attempts to rescue his childhood sweetheart from an evil clan lord after learning of a plot to kill her and her infant child. Bunshiro Maki is a skilled swordfighter who's lethal with a blade, yet still can't rise through the ranks of the system. After his father is accused of plotting against his clan and forced to commit ritual suicide, his longtime love Fuku is sent to Edo to become the clan lord's concubine. A few years later, Fuku has bore the clan lord a son. When Maki learns that the clan has hatched a plan to kill Fuku and her son to secure succession to the throne, he recruits two childhood friends to help thwart the diabolical plot.

The Samurai I Loved

7.6 2005
Secrets of Palace coup d'etat. Russia, 18th century. Film №2. Testament of the Empress

Having enthroned the wife of Peter the Great and his mistress Catherine I, Menshikov receives unlimited power, thereby causing envy and indignation of his former allies in the coup. Taking advantage of his absence, they are plotting against His Serene Highness. But once again, luck accompanies the brave darling of fortune: having received a warning of mortal danger, he escapes arrest and enters the boudoir of the Empress.

Secrets of Palace coup d'etat. Russia, 18th century. Film №2. Testament of the Empress

5.8 2000
In Search of Christmas

Digging into faith is always a delicate and difficult proposition, but In search of Christmas is a fascinating survey balancing belief, tradition and archeology to examine the familiar stories surrounding Christmas. Find out why many biblical scholars believe that the three wise men were astrologers, not kings. Discover what natural phenomenon might account for the appearance of the Star of Bethlehem. And hear from the growing number of experts who believe that Christ was not born in Bethlehem, but in Nazareth, and that His true birthday was in April, six years before the long-accepted date.

In Search of Christmas

NR 2001
Antarctica: A Frozen History

Antarctica: A Frozen History takes a look at the history and stories of the human explorations in the Antarctic. Although quite slow paced and relatively old, the documentary film successfully incorporates reconstructed film material and original Antarctic expedition footage to fully illustrate the hardships of the heroic and extreme arctic explorations. Human endurance is tested to the maximum, as the documentary takes a look back at those who have tried, failed and conquered this most unforgiving landscape. Some of these stories entail Robert Falcon Scott, a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition of 1910–1913. Scott reached the South Pole in January 1912 only to find he had been beaten to the spot by 33 days. His entire party died on the return journey; eight months later, a search party discovered some of their bodies, diaries and photographs.

Antarctica: A Frozen History

8.0 2002
The Castaways Of Mont Blanc

This documentary is a reconstruction, based on archive footage, testimonies, and filmed reconstructions, of the Vincendon / Henry tragedy. December 1956: Jean Vincendon and François Henry, two young mountaineers, aspire to join the High Mountain Group. Lacking experience, they set out to climb Mont Blanc via the Brenva spur in the middle of winter. The weather conditions deteriorated, and they decided to give up before meeting Walter Bonatti and Sylvano Gheser. They then decided to continue the climb and set off in two different roped parties. Bonatti decided to take refuge at the Vallot refuge higher up, rather than descend. The two young mountaineers, overcome by the poor weather conditions and fatigue, remained stuck for several days at 4,000 meters. What followed was a completely disorganized rescue operation that became, for more than ten days, a spectacle for all of France and a national tragedy.

The Castaways Of Mont Blanc

10.0 2002
Jeanne Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour

Jeanne Poisson, the headstrong, ambitious, witty and erudite, catches the eye and heart of French King Louis XV at a costumed ball. She masters the art of seduction well enough to become accepted even by the Queen, corpulent mother of ten. As a sensibly chosen Royal 'favorite' mistress she is soon ennobled Marquise of Pompadour to facilitate her introduction at court. The immature dauphin (crown prince) proves a bitter and unrelenting enemy, joined by his imposed Saxon bride, and his sister at her deathbed. Although friends at court help Pompadour return, her health gives way.

Jeanne Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour

6.1 2006
The Pagan Christ

There are 2.1 billion Christians on the planet – roughly one-third of the entire human population. At the heart of their religion is the New Testament and the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. To Christianity, the written word is the glue that binds the faith of its followers. So what if it could be proven that Jesus never existed? What if there was evidence that every word of the New Testament – the cornerstone of Christianity – is based on myth and metaphor?

The Pagan Christ

6.5 2007
Böseckendorf - Die Nacht, in der ein Dorf verschwand

Autumn 1961: The GDR regime secures the border between the workers' and peasants' state and the class enemy in the West. To ensure this, the leadership also orders the use of firearms against those fleeing the republic. In Böseckendorf, close to the border, people are not prepared to accept this development. When one of the residents accidentally learns of a secret plan from the SED district leadership, which reveals that all unruly residents are to be forcibly relocated in just a few days, the people of Böseckendorf spontaneously decide to flee en masse. But can an entire village escape the GDR state power unnoticed overnight?

Böseckendorf - Die Nacht, in der ein Dorf verschwand

3.0 2009
A Prince Called Toto

Totò, the mythical comedian of Italian stage and screen, was the illegitimate child of a noble man in one of Naples's poorest neighborhoods. As a child, he enlisted in the army simply to eat three square meals a day. Later, his dizzying success in show business brought him riches he had never dreamed of, plus stories of love and jealousy, the most important being with 16 year old Diana who eventually became his wife, only to leave him and inspire the Italian classic torch song Malafemmina, meaning bad woman.

A Prince Called Toto

5.0 2007
Alexander: The Neva Battle

Young prince Aleksandr has to hold out against two enemies - the Horde in the east and the Teutonic order and Sweden in the west. He discovers that some boyars are plotting against him and are ready to betray Novgorod to the Swedes and the Germans to boost their trade. Meanwhile, his best friend falls under suspicion, as somebody tries to poison the young prince at his own wedding feast. Aleksandr has no way out - to defend his people against the invaders and to find the true poisoner.

Alexander: The Neva Battle

4.2 2008
Diving Women of Jeju-do

Jeju-do is the largest of Korean islands and lies between Korea and Japan. There, for hundreds of years, women dive without breathing apparatus, to the ocean floor and collect shellfish, octopus, and urchins that they sell. The divers are in their sixties and seventies and their daughters do not want to inherit their work, lifestyle, and health problems that go with diving. As a filmmaker I was privileged to meet many of these women and dive with them. Their stories of hardship and pride confirmed my desire to record this unique and ancient tradition.

Diving Women of Jeju-do

NR 2007
The Scorpions - A Home Movie

The Scorpions were a Serbian paramilitary unit that gained notoriety for their involvement in war crimes during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. By using the statements of former members of the Scorpions unit, and the materials recorded by the unit itself in the course of its campaignes, this film demonstrates the functioning of a typical combat unit organized by the security service to do dirty jobs in the Balkan wars. Including their treatment of Bosnian Serbs; from refusing them water to the stomach-wrenching murders of six Bosnian Muslim men, some of whom were minors, in Srebrenica in July 1995. Archival footage used in this film includes materials of Humanitarian Law Center, International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia.

The Scorpions - A Home Movie

NR 2007
The Edelweiss Pirates

Cologne towards the end of the Second World War. The city is in ruins, everyone is afraid, many are dead. It is a time of great inhumanity. Cologne’s young Edelweiss Pirates refuse to submit to the pressure of the Nazi regime. They fight with the Hitler Youth and scrawl anti-war propaganda on walls. Karl is an Edelweiss Pirate; his younger brother, Peter, is in the Hitler Youth movement. The two young men have been alone ever since their mother’s death in a bombing raid; their father is serving at the front, and their older brother, Otto, has been killed in action. Otto’s financée, Cilly, is doing her best to survive the war with her children. Carl is trying to help her.

The Edelweiss Pirates

5.4 2004