On Nation (and other dogmas)

An experimental study of nature through three stories and how we have destroyed it.

When Gordon Gund went blind in 1970 at age 30 due to retinitis pigmentosa, he resolved to find a cure for the disease and created the Foundation Fighting Blindness. After decades of scientific research, a major breakthrough emerged, and this short film showcases the inspirational story of a 17-year-old Belgian boy who is a beneficiary of this work.

Bastien is twenty years old and has been an activist for five years in the main extreme right party. When the presidential campaign begins, he's invited by his superior to commit even further. Initiated into the art of decking himself out like a politician, he starts to dream of a career, but old demons surge forth...

For one-night-only blood was spilled in the mud.

Sabina Cervoni, member of Exit, provides assistance to whoever chooses to take its own life legally.

This film is a look at the disappearance of religious and industrial cultures in a small town (Scardovari) located in northern Italy (Po Delta). This erasure, together with the economic situation, pushes the men and women to return to the water to survive. The image as a representation of the memory of a place, of an inner landscape, of a mystery. A narrative that belongs to the world of exegesis, to an infinite world of relationships, of networks where each image enters into correspondence with another, opening up the meaning ever more and breaking the unity of history.

Looking back at the history of the struggle for true equality, we follow the daughters and sons of immigrant workers who have been nominated as candidates representing "diversity" in various election campaigns since the 2007 presidential election. On the ground, through meetings, debates, and more "intimate" encounters with candidates and actors from past struggles, a great diversity of thought emerges. But they all have the same goal: not to be just "candidates for Beurs." With many activists from working-class neighborhoods, from Clichy-sous-Bois to Marseille, via Roubaix, and candidates Mouloud Aounit, Kamel Hamza, Faouzi Lamdaoui, Halima Boumedienne, Omar Slaouti, Samia Ghali, Karim Zeribi, Rama Yade, and others... Will these "new faces" of the Republic be in the picture when the votes are counted, or will they simply be "candidates for the Beurs"?

The rare short film presents a curious dialogue between filmmaker Julio Bressane and actor Grande Otelo, where, in a mixture of decorated and improvised text, we discover a little manifesto to the Brazilian experimental cinema. Also called "Belair's last film," Chinese Viola reveals the first partnership between photographer Walter Carvalho and Bressane.

Ocean Oasis is a fascinating journey into the bountiful seas and pristine deserts of two remarkably different, but inextricably linked worlds — Mexico's Sea of Cortés and the Baja California desert.

A group of writers from Hidalgo get together to generate their works and create a community around literature.

Sound progression of two opposite landscapes.

Italy’s biggest political party, the Five Star Movement, promotes direct democracy through internet voting. Five Star Movement uses a digital platform named Rousseau, that allows Movement’s members to vote online and express their opinion on various issues. But who governs this data?

Industrialization brings progress, but also harmful influences on the environment. Warning of the dangers of waste materials dumped into the air and the waters.

Documentary about four Chinese lesbian women who seek contract marriages with gay men, and form of their lesbian and gay community and fulfill their desires.

On the morning of her birthday, eight-year-old Katja learns what she has been afraid of for a long time: her parents want to separate. Instead of going to school, she takes the train into town to visit her older sister. Her sister tries to explain to Katja why everything happened and how things might continue.