Films
Section Backstory: Films tracing back through history. The present understood through the past.
And So It Begins
Democracy is crumbling in the Philippines, where presidential candidate Leni Robredo is running for power in a toxic and brutal battle against one of the most extreme figures of the populist right, by celebrating freedom and solidarity.
Ramona Diaz / United States & Philippines / 2024
God is a Woman
The Search for a lost film from the 70s takes a young man from one of South America's largest indigenous communities on an existential journey in a post-colonial film about the right to one's own image.
Andres Peyrot / France, Switzerland & Panama / 2023
Hiding Saddam Hussein
The Iraqi farmer who kept Saddam Hussin hidden from 150,000 American soldiers in a hole in his garden tells his incredible story in his own words over the nine months he involuntarily hosted the dethroned dictator.
Homecoming
The museum world is at a turning point. Artefacts from indigenous peoples and other cultures are being encouraged to be returned to their place of origin. A Sami filmmaker traces the heritage of her own people in a personal film.
Invisible Nation
With unrestricted access to Taiwan's current president, we follow the tenure of Tsai Ing-wen, the country's first female head of state, during a time of great political tension between East and West. A competent and charismatic defender of democracy.
Vanessa Hope / United States & Taiwan / 2023
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
The incredible story of how jazz music and soft power were used on both fronts of America's ideological battles during the Cold War - including in the Congo. An epic, original and supremely stylish trip through the 20th century from an original angle.
Johan Grimonprez / Belgium, France & Netherlands / 2024
The Kyiv Files
The secret KGB archives in Ukraine have been opened to the public for the first time, testifying to a surveillance culture of distrust that remains a weapon in Russian politics. Three people open their own files for the first time.
Walter Stokman / Netherlands / 2023