A Scent of Chocolate

Charlie Marx and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie Marx and the Chocolate Factory started as an investigation of the link between politics and chocolate, at the Karl Marx Confectionary Factory in Kiev, Ukraine. Since access to the factory was denied, the project had to be re-considered, re-invented or re-enacted. Mostly made of archival footage and re-enacted performances based on the company's website, the film merges what was left of the initial idea with what has been collected and realized instead. It borrows from the genres of video art, 'Man on the street' interview, direct address, corporate film, essay, and music video, without legitimately belonging to any of them. The film unravels as a reflection on its own failure, and yet keeps on investigating what has always been at stake: the shift from public to private property (and from analog to digital technology), dialectics of permanence and change, language as a mirror of ideology, and post-Soviet oligarchy culture.

Harlan County U.S.A.

This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. Eastovers refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined with the United Mine Workers of America) led to the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent battles between gun-toting company thugs/scabs and the picketing miners and their supportive women-folk. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike into perspective by giving us some background on the historical plight of the miners and some history of the UMWA. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with New York Women in Film & Television in 2004.

Ascension

The absorbingly cinematic Ascension explores the pursuit of the “Chinese Dream.” Driven by mesmerizing—and sometimes humorous—imagery, this observational documentary presents a contemporary vision of China that prioritizes productivity and innovation above all.

Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down

This anthology film, whose Chinese title begins with a romantic name for human excrement, premiered internationally at Rotterdam and won Best Screenplay from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society. A variety of Hong Kong people wrestle with nostalgia when facing an uncertain future. Their stories give way to a documentary featuring a young barista turned political candidate.

The Dark Side of Chocolate

A team of journalists investigate how human trafficking and child labor in the Ivory Coast fuels the worldwide chocolate industry. The crew interview both proponents and opponents of these alleged practices, and use hidden camera techniques to delve into the gritty world of cocoa plantations.

Workingman's Death

Is heavy manual labour disappearing or is it just becoming invisible? Where can we still find it in the 21st century? Workingman's Death follows the trail of the HEROES in the illegal mines of the Ukraine, sniffs out GHOST among the sulphur workers in Indonesia, finds itself face to face with LIONS at a slaughterhouse in Nigeria, mingles with BROTHERS as they cut a huge oil tanker into pieces in Pakistan, and joins Chinese steel workers in hoping for a glorious FUTURE.

Requiem for the American Dream

Through interviews filmed over four years, Noam Chomsky unpacks the principles that have brought us to the crossroads of historically unprecedented inequality – tracing a half-century of policies designed to favor the most wealthy at the expense of the majority – while also looking back on his own life of activism and political participation. He provides penetrating insight into what may well be the lasting legacy of our time – the death of the middle class, and swan song of functioning democracy.

Inside Cadbury: Chocolate Secrets Unwrapped

This one-off documentary goes deep inside the Willie Wonka world of Cadbury, Britain's biggest and best-loved chocolate maker. Behind closed doors at the famous Bournville plant, a team of dedicated scientists struggle to meet the biggest challenge the company's faced for a century - to dramatically cut sugar from their Dairy Milk recipe. Meanwhile, the firm's Easter Creme Egg campaign finds Cadbury agents 'reverse shoplifting' as they hide prize-winning white eggs around the country. Elsewhere in the factory new flavours of chocolate are put into production, with wacky recipes invented by lucky members of the public.

Every Face Has a Name

Recalls the day when Holocaust survivors took their first steps into freedom, unaware of their future. Every Face Has a Name puts a name on those nameless faces and lets them recount their feelings of that day, the 28th of April, 1945.

A Cop Movie

This documentary walks the line between fact and fiction, delving into corruption in the Mexican police through the experiences of two officers.

The Chocolate Factory: Inside Cadbury Australia

The Chocolate Factory takes viewers from the sugarcane fields of Queensland to a dairy farm in Tasmania before revealing the slow journey of millions of Easter eggs and bunnies inside the Cadbury factories in Hobart and Melbourne.

Förintelsens beska efterbörd - Röda Korset och svensk hjälpverksamhet 1945-1947

The film starts just when WWII is over. A German ship, m / s Homberg, arrived at Malmö Nyhamn on May 11, 1945. On board there were over 1300 former concentration camp prisoners to be taken care of. We then follow one of the Red Cross Sergeant who was in Germany and received prisoners from concentration camps for further transport by boat to Sweden. 10000 prisoners would be decontaminated and made ready for departure. This happened in Lübeck. He was later moved to Poland to transport medical equipment to Otwock outside Warsaw where Sweden would build a hospital. Through his amateur photos we get an insight into the difficult circumstances that prevailed.

Night School

Indianapolis has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country. Night School follows three adult students living in the city’s more impoverished neighborhoods as they attempt to earn their diplomas while juggling other difficult responsibilities and realities. Through their stories, the filmmakers explore many issues that low-income Americans deal with, including unjust minimum wage and working conditions, arbitrary legal hindrances, and race and gender inequality.

Sewing Sisters

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, girls aged 12 to 16 began working at Pyeonghwa Market. Running sewing machines, they also study the Labor Standards Act under the tutelage of Jeon Taeil. On September 9, 1977, they were imprisoned fighting against the government that closed labor classes, shouting, “The next Jeon Taeil will be a woman!” Now the middle-aged girls recall the memories of the life of female workers, social contempt, and stigma. Watching the sunrise in the East Sea, they admire, ‘How fair it is because everybody can see it.’ Sewing Sisters rewrites the history of maledominated Korean labor struggles in the 1970s with news interviews of female workers belonging to the Cheonggye Clothes Union.

Quel numéro ? - What number ? ou le travail automatisé

Where to Invade Next

To understand firsthand what the United States of America can learn from other nations, Michael Moore playfully “invades” some to see what they have to offer.

Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks

A detailed look at the gradual decline of Shenyang’s industrial Tiexi district, an area that was once a vibrant example of China’s socialist economy. But industry is changing, and the factories of Tiexi are closing. Director Wang Bing introduces us to some of the workers affected by the closures, and to their families.

How Every Film You Watch Tells You To Love The Rich and What To Do About It

"How Every Film You Watch Tells You To Love The Rich and What To Do About It" explores the representations of wealth in cinema. It looks into how most beloved characters are subtly more well-off than they should be, how criticisms of the system are crushed, how the rich have become the average in the world of the cinema. And it shows how these stories distort the view of the real world, and are used against you by politicians.