100 Seconds to Beat the World

A Story from Africa

Following the 1884–85 Berlin Conference resolution on the partition of Africa, the Portuguese army uses a talented ensign to register the effective occupation of the territory belonging to the Cuamato people, conquered in 1907, in the south of Angola. A STORY FROM AFRICA enlivens a rarely seen photographic archive through the tragic tale of Calipalula, the Cuamato nobleman essential to the unfolding of events in this Portuguese pacification campaign.

Algérie 1962: Chronique d'un conflit

Salute

The black power salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico Olympics was an iconic moment in the US civil rights struggle. Far less known is the part in that episode in history played by Peter Norman, the white Australian on the podium who had run second — and the price paid afterward by all three athletes.

Djembefola

African drummer leaves village, makes it big in the world. Great drumming!!

The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos

In the remote and forgotten wilderness of Lake Natron, in northern Tanzania, one of nature's last great mysteries unfolds: the birth, life and death of a million crimson-winged flamingos.

Statues Also Die

Commissioned by the journal Présence Africaine, this short documentary examines how African art is devalued and alienated through colonial and museum contexts. Beginning with the question of why African works are confined to ethnographic displays while Greek or Egyptian art is celebrated, the film became a landmark of anti-colonial cinema and was banned in France for eight years.

Africa's Piranha

The plains of Africa have always been a hotbed of predator action, but lurking in its rivers is perhaps its most elusive killer: the Goliath tigerfish. Legends say they are man-eaters, that even crocodiles fear them. Locals call them "demon fish" but angling legend Andy Coetzee calls them something else: an obsession. He dives into the predator-infested Okavango Delta and the treacherous Congo River on a mission to finally land what is considered to be the hardest fish in the world to catch.

Ôrí

A look at the Brazilian black movement between 1977 and 1988, going by the relationship between Brazil and Africa.

Explore the Wildlife Kingdom: The Hidden World of Africa

Barely visible to the human eye, a truly fascinating universe lives in the bush and savannas of Africa. Here, creatures small, smaller and nearly invisible share a world with gigantic animals. Usually overlooked, often feared and despised, theirs may be a small world, but it's an important one.

Africa Blood and Guts

A chronicle of the violence that occurred in much of the African continent throughout the 1960s. As many African countries were transitioning from colonial rule to other forms of government, violent political upheavals were frequent. Revolutions in Zanzibar and Kenya in which thousands were killed are shown, the violence not only political; there is also extensive footage of hunters and poachers slaughtering different types of wild animals.

A Question of Madness: The Furiousus

In Capetown, South Africa, in September 1966, Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, the architect of apartheid, was stabbed to death in Parliament. The course of South African history was changed by the assassin, Dimitri Tsafendas, who was written off as mad and condemned to twenty-eight years of imprisonment. A Question of Madness tells the extraordinary human story of a man, born of a black mother, but classified white, who travelled the world in hopeless search of sanctuary - eventually returning to the land of apartheid to wreak vengeance on the one who symbolized the racism which had haunted his life.

A Life Among Elephants

60 years ago, almost nothing was known of elephants in the wild. But then one young Scottish biologist changed that forever. In 1965 Iain Douglas-Hamilton arrived in Tanzania to live alongside African elephants. Later joined by his wife Oria and daughters Saba and Dudu, elephants became central to their lives with matriarch Boadicea and gentle young mother Virgo cherished like human relatives. But this garden Eden was short-lived as an ivory poaching epidemic swept across Africa forcing Iain to switch from pioneering scientist to maverick conservationist. He became a lone crusader against the international Ivory trade which was finally banned in 1989. Now back in the field and revealing even more about the fascinating world of elephants, Iain’s work continues alongside a new generation of Kenyan conservationists. This inspiring documentary combines stunning wildlife imagery with the story of a remarkable life showing how sometimes you have to stand alone to protect what you love.

World War C

It's war. War against an invisible enemy that is not as deadly as we are told. The world is changing rapidly. Disproportionate measures are taken worldwide that disrupt society as a whole. A dichotomy in society forced vaccinations and restrictions on freedom. Have we had the worst? Or is there something more disturbing to awaiting us.

The Vocation

Sven Nykvist, best known as Ingmar Bergman cinematographer, made this film as a tribute to his father who was a missionary in Kongo in the early 20th century. The story of his father Gustav Natanael Nykvist is told through his own photos, letters, and films. Director & cinematographer: Sven Nykvist. Narrators in the English dubbed version: Liv Ullmann & Sean Connery. Produced by Ingmar Bergman (Cinematograph AB). Digitally restored in 2022.

Algeria in Flames

These are the first images shot in the ALN maquis, camera in hand, at the end of 1956 and in 1957. These war images taken in the Aurès-Nementchas are intended to be the basis of a dialogue between French and Algerians for peace in Algeria, by demonstrating the existence of an armed organization close to the people. Three versions of Algeria in Flames are produced: French, German and Arabic. From the end of the editing, the film circulates without any cuts throughout the world, except in France where the first screening takes place in the occupied Sorbonne in 1968. Certain images of the film have circulated and are found in films, in particular Algerian films. Because of the excitement caused by this film, he was forced to go into hiding for 25 months. After the declaration of independence, he founded the first Algerian Audiovisual Center.

Daley: Olympic Superstar

Daley Thompson is taken from the streets of his boyhood in Notting Hill to Olympia, the site of the Ancient Games where his iconic event began, an epic journey told from around the world: with Seb Coe at the 2023 World Championships in Hungary; with former nemesis and now friend Jurgen Hingsen at the Coliseum in Los Angeles, the setting for their titanic battle in 1984, where Daley’s irresistible will to win snatched victory from the German world record holder and firm favourite; and with Caitlyn Jenner, the legendary American decathlete, who Daley watched in awe, when, as Bruce, he set a new benchmark for the decathlon at the Montreal Games.

Memory Books

In Uganda, AIDS-infected mothers have begun writing what they call Memory Books for their children. Aware of the illness, it is a way for the family to come to terms with the inevitable death that it faces. Hopelessness and desperation are confronted through the collaborative effort of remembering and recording, a process that inspires unexpected strength and even solace in the face of death.

Elsa the Lioness

First transmitted in 1961, David Attenborough travels to Meru National Park in Kenya to visit Joy and George Adamson and meet Elsa the lioness and her cubs shortly before Elsa's death.

Trophy

This in-depth look into the powerhouse industries of big-game hunting, breeding and wildlife conservation in the U.S. and Africa unravels the complex consequences of treating animals as commodities.