Surviving Progress
86 Minutes / 2012 / English / Directed by: Mathieu Roy & Harold Crooks
Humanity’s ascent is often measured by the speed of progress. But what if progress is actually spiraling us downwards, towards collapse? Ronald Wright, whose best-seller, A Short History Of Progress inspired Surviving Progress, shows how past civilizations were destroyed by “progress traps” – alluring technologies and belief systems that serve immediate needs, but ransom the future. The film focuses on the present-day impact of civilization and the lack of an ethical underpinning in modern global economic practices which is directly responsible for the over-consumption and exploitation of natural resources.
Mystery of the Fairy Circles
49 Minutes / 2011 / English / Directed by: Barbara Fally Puskás
When it rains in the Namib, a thick carpet of grass covers the sand and stony desert. But this green layer is punctuated by bare circular patches, as regular as if drawn by a compass. And there are not just one or two of them, but hundreds of thousands. But where did these mysterious come from? Footsteps of gods, underground dragons or UFOs? Three scientific teams have conflicting theories, but finally the amazing secret of the fairy circles is revealed!
50 Minutes / 2017 / English / Directed by: Ingo Herbst
According to estimates of the United Nations, more than 2.6 billion people in 110 countries are directly affected by progressive desertification. Deserts now cover more than a third of the entire surface of the earth, thus 65% of arable lands. More than three billion cattle, sheep and goats chomp their way through pastures faster than they can be regenerated. This program shows how desertification is changing the balance of the earth and affecting two continents in particular: Asia and Europe.
Deserts on the Move: Asia
50 Minutes / 2017 / English / Directed by: Klaus Feichtenberger
According to estimates of the United Nations, more than 2.6 billion people in 110 countries are directly affected by progressive desertification. Deserts now cover more than a third of the entire surface of the earth, thus 65% of arable lands. More than three billion cattle, sheep and goats chomp their way through pastures faster than they can be regenerated. This program shows how desertification is changing the balance of the earth and affecting two continents in particular: Asia and Europe.
Searching for Sugarman
86 Minutes / 2012 / English / Directed by: Malik Bendjelloul
Sixto Rodriguez was a Detroit folksinger who had a short-lived recording career with only two well received but non-selling albums. Unknown to Rodriguez, his musical story continued in South Africa where he became a pop music icon and inspiration for generations. Long rumored there to be dead by suicide, a few fans in the 1990s decided to seek out the truth of their hero’s fate. What follows is a bizarrely heartening story in which they found far more in their quest than they ever hoped, while a Detroit construction laborer discovered that his lost artistic dreams came true after all.
ADHD: Out of Control Kids
43 Minutes / 2015 / English / Directed by: Sue Younger
This poignant film examines the lives of people who suffer from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Behavioural characteristics include severe distractibility, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Diagnosis has proved controversial as most sufferers are diagnosed when young and treatment is for life. Filmed in New Zealand, the programme shows the reality of dealing with children so difficult they can barely interact with their peers, let alone family members. The film also features adult sufferers who have had to live with the disorder, undiagnosed for much of their lives and the different methods of dealing with ADHD such as drugs, life management, natural remedies and counselling
Lifeline Express
58 Minutes / 2009 / English / Directed by Gerry Troyna
It’s based on a simple concept that if the people cannot reach a hospital, the hospital should reach the people. This is the story of a very special train – the Lifeline Express. Over a four week period, specialists will treat the poor with life saving and enhancing operations, aboard a stationary hospital train.
Congo, My Precious
52 Minutes / 2017 / English / Directed by Anastasia Trofimova
Congo, My Precious is an impactful portrait of human suffering. Its subjects are burdened by the ghosts of their past, and they long for normal lives free from terror and insurmountable economic hardship.
O Poema Imperfeito / The Imperfect Poem
40 Minutes / 2018 / Portuguese with English subtitles / Directed by: Zulmira Coimbra
The destruction of nature is considered a recent phenomenon. But long before the industrial revolution, what we believed to be the untouched nature, or the perfect poem, was not perfect anymore. When the palaeontologists started to dig up fossils, they revealed an extremely rich megafauna that became extinct as the human beings colonised the different continents.
The Cathedral Forest
45 Minutes / 2007 / English / Directed by: Patrick Rouxel
This film was commissioned by the WWF Gabon, both to raise awareness on the plight of the elephants who are being decimated for their tusks, and to promote the efforts of the eco-guards dedicated to the protection of the Minkebe forest.
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