Active Vocabulary
PROPAGANDA: A Russian teacher flees to Berlin after questioning the war. Her story exposes ritualised school propaganda, then throws an uncomfortable mirror at Western «neutrality» and the new glamour of military service.
Nazi
Unanimal
ANIMAL RIGHTS: Isabella Rossellini narrates a reflective essay-film questioning human dominance, collapsing categories of pet, livestock, wildlife, and revealing systems of control.
Facing War
NATO: If this opening film at CPH:DOX was screened 30 years ago, we would have bought this narrative. But now, we have alternative media, independent authors, investigative journalists, Wikileaks and solidarity communities outside the military media research community.
The Propagandist
PROPAGANDA: The rise and fall of a filmmaker who reshaped Dutch cinema by serving Nazi propaganda during World War II.
Let the young die
CONFLICT: Ville Suhonen’s study of the cult of youth soldiers in inter-war Finland shows there’s nothing new in the old sacrificing the young for their own aims.
Let’s talk about Riefenstahl
IDEOLOGY: Leni Riefenstahl shaped a controversial legacy, prompting reflection on whether her work’s fascist ideals still resonate in contemporary culture.
Does Europe exist?
EUROPE: Researching the sources, challenges, failures and the future of the phenomena «Europe.»
A dual journey of memory and resilience at Docudays UA
This year’s #Docudays UA# (31 May – 6 June) festival features two compelling programmes: DOCU/UKRAINE and DOCU/ART. Each presents unique
The meaning of war
UKRAINE: Abel Ferrara’s idiosyncratic take on the war in Ukraine melds poetic performances by Patti Smith with the experience of people at war.
Have we as a civilisation met ourselves at the door?
IDENTITY: Do we all have some kind of doppelganger that expresses our most extreme thoughts and attitudes? In this book, Naomi Klein takes a special stand against her own people: the Jews.
From LSD to understanding evil: highlights from CoPro 25
The few intensive days of the 25th #CoPro in Tel Aviv, filled with panel discussions, project presentations, and meetings, end
The enduring darkness of Stalinism in Putin’s Russia
RUSSIA: If you can bear to witness the quintessential continuity of aspects of Stalinist evil in Putin’s Russia, Jessica Gorter’s meticulous study of the trials of human rights activist and historian Yuri Dmitriev is obligatory viewing.