Cyborg Society(2023)

A behind-the-scenes documentary about the 41st Paléo in Nyon (Switzerland) in 2016, with a selection of the best parts of the concerts and interviews with the artists and volunteers who organize the festival.

Tom Volf invites you to delve into the fascinating world of Véronique Sanson, a living legend of French chanson. After several years of research and immersion, he is unveiling an intimate and sincere portrait of the artist in a film event. The fruit of his encounter with the singer, this project highlights the raw emotion and beauty of her career.

In Bettina Büttner’s exquisitely lucid documentary Kinder (Kids), childhood dysfunction, loneliness, and pent-up emotion run wild at an all-boys group home in southern Germany. The children interned here include ten-year-olds Marvin and Tommy. Marvin, fiddling with a mini plastic Lego sword, explains matter-of-factly to the camera, “This is a knife. You use it to cut stomachs open.” Dennis, who is even younger, is seen in a hysteric fit, mimicking some pornographic scene. Boys will be boys, but innocence is disproportionately spare here. Choosing not to dwell on the harsh specifics, Büttner reveals the disconcerting manner in which traumatic episodes can manifest themselves in the mundane — a game of Lego, Hide and Seek, or Truth or Dare. Filmed in lapidary black-and-white, Büttner’s fascinating film sheds light on childhood from the boys’ characteristically disadvantaged perspective — one not yet fully cognizant — leaving much ethically to ponder over.

"Haus of Mercury" is a documentary about the drag scene in the city of Fortaleza, with a special look at the House of Mercury, a blooming and growing family of drag queens. Born out of the pandemic, it has already become synonymous of the weird, the strange, the monstrous. And now, they are ready to make the grand debut.

Nantali Indongo, the rapper of the group Nomadic Massive, has long refrained from using the word Bitch in the lyrics of the songs she sings. As an Afro-descendant and mother, she considers that this word’s purpose has always been to dehumanize the Black woman. However, at the junction of the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, she decided for the f irst time to use the b-word as a cry from the heart in her song Time . Aware of the complexity posed by the trivialization of this word, she embarked on a “word movie” across the Americas to understand the origins of the word and its many connotations over time. Her journey allowed her to give a voice larger- than-life to Black women, so that they could themselves express their opinions on the word bitch.

Viva El Vedado presents the history of the Havana neighborhood of El Vedado from the last quarter of the 19th century through the Cuban Revolution and highlights its varied and outstanding architecture. Known as a cultural center of Havana, Vedado is particularly notable for its unique collection of Cuban architecture of the 20th century. The film’s goal is to introduce its audiences to the neighborhood’s remarkable architecture, its vibrant life, and the need for preserving Vedado as part of Havana’s heritage. It is a glimpse beyond tourist fantasies and stereotypes, a rare view of one of Havana’s most important neighborhoods.

In the week when Hindus celebrate the holy festival of Diwali, this documentary tells the story of one of their faith's most sacred symbols - the swastika. For many, the swastika has become a symbol synonymous with the Nazis and fascism. But this film reveals the fascinating and complex history of an emblem that is, in fact, a religious symbol, with a sacred past. For the almost one billion Hindus around the world, the swastika lies at the heart of religious practices and beliefs, as an emblem of benevolence, luck and good fortune.

A documentary film that delves into the life and cinematic career of one of Japan's most prolific directors: Ishiro Honda. The film will spotlight Honda's filmography from both a historical and personal perspective, exploring his contributions to the Japanese film industry and his firsthand experiences of war, from which he barely survived. It will also delve into his profound feelings regarding the atomic bomb, a subject that became an obsession for him and was frequently reflected in his films. The documentary will analyze Honda's body of work through interviews with individuals who had the privilege of collaborating with him, as well as experts on Honda's films from both Japan and the Western world. Furthermore, the film will uncover Honda's friendship and professional relationship with director Akira Kurosawa.

Dolls, cunts and daddy issues – a personal portrait about being a woman.

The story of young Afghan girls learning to read, write and skateboard in Kabul.

Peter Moore, the murderer known as the 'man in black', has now served 25 years in prison. Back in 1995, he terrorised communities along the north Wales coastline, killing four men and allegedly attacking many more. By day he was a well-respected shopkeeper and cinema owner in Kinmel Bay, and by night he was a sadistic killer who seemed to target gay men. In this special edition of Dark Land, former chief constable Jackie Roberts returns to re-examine the hunt for the man who would go down in history as Wales’s worst serial killer. Moore is revealed as a man with a violent secret life, hiding in plain sight. Beneath the façade of a respectable businessman was a mind warped by a dysfunctional upbringing; a man who seized upon a climate of gay prejudice to embark upon a 20-year spree of savage attacks, confident his victims wouldn’t feel able to come forward to complain. The ultimate question is, could Moore have been stopped before he went on to kill and kill again?