Spotlight: Farm Life
This week, we’re spotlighting a range of documentaries and narrative films set on farms large and small. While some farms are backdrops for family-driven dramas, others become arenas of local resistance against environmental destruction, industrialization, patriarchy, and more.
Rams
(Hrútar)
Sheep farming brothers Gummi and Kiddi haven't spoken in 40 years—until a lethal disease threatens their flock.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iceland, Denmark, Norway • 2015
- Director Grímur Hákonarson
- Cast Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Theodór Júlíusson, Charlotte Bøving, Jón Benónýsson, Gunnar Jónsson, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson
- Genre Drama
- Available on Cohen Media Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Tubi TV, Kanopy
Back Home
(Revenir)
After twelve years abroad, Thomas returns to his family farm in southeastern France and finds past tensions resurfacing.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2020
- Director Jessica Palud
- Cast Niels Schneider, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Roman Coustère Hachez, Patrick d'Assumçao, Hélène Vincent, Franck Falise
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, IndieFlix, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Flix Premiere, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Freevee, Plex, Plex Channel
The Auction
(Le Démantèlement)
A sheep farmer must choose between his livelihood and his family when his daughter is in need of financial support.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2013
- Director Sébastien Pilote
- Cast Gabriel Arcand, Gilles Renaud, Lucie Laurier, Sophie Desmarais, Dominique Leduc, Pierre-Luc Brillant
- Genre Drama
- Available on Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Kanopy
Qu'est-ce qu'on attend ?
A French village transforms its practices to implement renewable energy and food sovereignty and radically reduce its carbon emissions.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2016
- Director Marie-Monique Robin
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Honeyland
Hatidze Muratova, one of the last "bee hunters" in Europe, raises bees based in a sustainable and minimally invasive manner.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Macedonia • 2019
- Director Tamara Kotevska
- Cast Hatidzhe Muratova, Nazife Muratova, Hussein Sam, Ljutvie Sam
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Kanopy
The Levelling
After learning of her brother's death, Clover returns home to find her family's farm in shambles.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2017
- Director Hope Dickson Leach
- Cast Ellie Kendrick, David Troughton, Jack Holden, Joe Blakemore, Angela Curran, Joe Attewell
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
The Moo Man
A British dairy farmer sells raw, unpasteurized organic milk and cultivates an intimate relationship with his small herd of cows.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2013
- Director Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier
- Cast Stephen Hook
- Genre Documentary
- Available on fuboTV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Hoopla
Hadithi za Kumekucha: Fatuma
A woman and her daughter struggle to find recognition for their contributions to the family farm.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Tanzania • 2018
- Director Jordan Riber
- Cast Ayoub Bombwe, Cathryn Credo, Beatrice Taisamo, Kulthum Maabad, MacDonald Haule
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
The County
(Héraðið)
A widowed dairy farmer stands up for her contained community in rural Iceland.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iceland • 2019
- Director Grímur Hákonarson
- Cast Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Þorsteinn Bachmann, Ævar Þór Benediktsson
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Freevee, Kanopy
Red Persimmons
(満山紅柿)
A small Japanese village has grown and packaged persimmons for centuries, but their traditional culture faces the threat of disappearance.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2001
- Director Shinsuke Ogawa, Peng Xiaolian
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on OVID, Amazon Video
Jean de Florette
When Jean de Florette inherits land in Provence, he decides to take up farming. But his scheming neighbors have other plans…
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Switzerland, Italy • 1986
- Director Claude Berri
- Cast Yves Montand, Gérard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil, Elisabeth Depardieu, Margarita Lozano, Ernestine Mazurowna
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Gunda
An intimate look at the life of a sow and her companions.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Norway, United States • 2021
- Director Viktor Kossakovsky
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Kanopy
Spotlight: World Press Freedom Day
In a world increasingly shaped by fake news, celebrating the dogged search for truth is more important than ever. This week we’re spotlighting films that show the role of the Fourth Estate in holding the powerful accountable, and the important work of journalists around the world.
Virunga
Journalists and park rangers struggle to save the mountain gorillas and their natural habitat, and to expose political corruption.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Congo • 2014
- Director Orlando von Einsiedel
- Cast André Bauma, Emmanuel de Merode, Mélanie Gouby, Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo, Vianney Kazarama
- Genre Documentary, War
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Collective
(Colectiv)
A documentary portrait of a group of Romanian journalists attempting to uncover fraud and corruption in public healthcare.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Romania • 2020
- Director Alexander Nanau
- Cast Catalin Tolontan, Mirela Neag, Razvan Lutac, Tedy Ursuleanu, Vlad Voiculescu
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Gunda
An intimate look at the life of a sow and her companions.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Norway, United States • 2021
- Director Viktor Kossakovsky
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Kanopy
A Private War
The Most Powerful Weapon Is The Truth.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2018
- Director Matthew Heineman
- Cast Rosamund Pike, Jamie Dornan, Tom Hollander, Stanley Tucci, Corey Johnson, Faye Marsay
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Starz, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV Channel, Amazon Video, AMC on Demand
Five Broken Cameras
Five broken cameras – and each one has a powerful tale to tell.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Palestine, Israel, France • 2011
- Director Guy Davidi, Emad Burnat
- Cast Emad Burnat, Mohammed Burnat, Soraya Burnat
- Genre Documentary, War
- Available on OVID, Chai Flicks, Tubi TV, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Frost/Nixon
Former President Nixon sits down for his first interview following his resignation from office in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, France, United States • 2008
- Director Ron Howard
- Cast Michael Sheen, Frank Langella, Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell, Matthew Macfadyen, Oliver Platt
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Return to Homs
Filmed over three years in Homs, this film accompanies two young men as the war alters their lives.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Syria, Germany • 2013
- Director Talal Derki
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
The Killing Fields
Here, only the silent survive.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1984
- Director Roland Joffé
- Cast Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, Craig T. Nelson, John Malkovich, Athol Fugard, Julian Sands
- Genre Drama, History, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Kanopy
Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country
(Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land)
Thirty heroic underground video journalists secretly videotaped the peaceful protests and violent military response of the 2007 uprising in Burma.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Denmark, Sweden, Norway • 2008
- Director Anders Østergaard
- Cast George W. Bush, Ko Muang, Aung San Suu Kyi
- Genre Documentary
- Available on DocAlliance Films, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Amazon Video
Writing with Fire
Armed with smartphones, the journalists of India’s only female-run newspaper break traditions and tackle the country’s biggest issues.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- India • 2021
- Director Sushmit Ghosh, Rintu Thomas
- Cast Meera Devi, Suneeta Prajapati, Shyamkali Devi
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
The County
(Héraðið)
A widowed dairy farmer stands up for her contained community in rural Iceland.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iceland • 2019
- Director Grímur Hákonarson
- Cast Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Þorsteinn Bachmann, Ævar Þór Benediktsson
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Freevee, Kanopy
Karl Marx City
A filmmaker goes on a personal journey through East Berlin to investigate her father’s suicide.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2016
- Director Michael Tucker
- Cast Petra Epperlein, Christa Epperlein, Uwe Epperlein, Volker Epperlein, Udo Grashoff, Hubertus Knabe
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Spectrum On Demand, Kanopy, Hoopla
Frame by Frame
Four Afghan photojournalists attempt to reframe their country in the post-Taliban photo revolution.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Afghanistan • 2015
- Director Alexandria Bombach, Mo Scarpelli
- Cast Massoud Hossaini, Wakil Kohsar, Najibullah Mosafer, Farzana Wahidy
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Hoopla
Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World
Investigative journalism group Bellingcat, comprised of an international society of citizen journalists, uses open-source methods to fight against fake news.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Netherlands • 2018
- Director Hans Pool
- Cast Eliot Higgins, Christiaan Triebert
- Genre Documentary
- Available on MZ Choice Amazon Channel
Spotlight: Silent Film
Filmmakers in the silent era pioneered influential techniques and crafted unique, moving stories. In this Spotlight, we look at some of the best silent era films from various countries and movements, as well as a couple modern silent films that pay tribute to that era.
I Was Born, But...
(大人の見る繪本 生れてはみたけれど)
In moving to a new town, two young brothers come of age when faced with new social and class struggles.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1932
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Tomio Aoki, Tatsuo Saitô, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Hideo Sugawara, Takeshi Sakamoto, Teruyo Hayami
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
A landlady fears that the man lodging with her family and becoming involved with her daughter may be the serial killer terrorizing London.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1927
- Director Alfred Hitchcock
- Cast Ivor Novello, Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, June Tripp, Malcolm Keen, Reginald Gardiner
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Criterion Channel, Classix, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Amazon Video, The Roku Channel, Freevee, Shout! Factory TV, Plex, Plex Channel
Mother
(Мать)
A mother in 1905 Russia must choose whether to stand with striking workers.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Soviet Union • 1926
- Director Vsevolod Pudovkin
- Cast Vera Baranovskaya, Nikolai Batalov, Aleksandr Chistyakov, Anna Zemtsova, Ivan Koval-Samborsky
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Amazon Video, Public Domain Movies
The Smiling Madame Beudet
(La souriante Madame Beudet)
An innovative impressionist classic about a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1923
- Director Germaine Dulac
- Cast Germaine Dermoz, Alexandre Arquillière, Jean d'Yd, Yvette Grisier, Madeleine Guitty, Raoul Paoli
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kanopy
The Passion of Joan of Arc
(La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc)
The 15th-century teenage warrior Joan of Arc takes on the French church.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1928
- Director Carl Theodor Dreyer
- Cast Maria Falconetti, Eugène Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz, Antonin Artaud, Michel Simon
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Criterion Channel, FlixFling, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Tubi TV
A Trip to the Moon
(Le Voyage dans la Lune)
A voyage to the beginning of narrative cinema
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1902
- Director Georges Méliès
- Cast Georges Méliès, Henri Delannoy, Bleuette Bernon, Brunnet, Depierre, Farjaut
- Genre Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Science Fiction
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Amazon Video, Public Domain Movies
The Artist
An homage to Hollywood silent filmmaking about a romance between a fading silent film star and a rising actress at the dawn of film's sound era.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United States, Belgium • 2011
- Director Michel Hazanavicius
- Cast Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Malcolm McDowell
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand, Pluto TV, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Metropolis
This silent science-fiction classic follows a couple from different backgrounds who attempt to reform a dystopian city defined by class division.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 1927
- Director Fritz Lang
- Cast Gustav Fröhlich, Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Theodor Loos, Fritz Rasp
- Genre Drama, Science Fiction
- Available on fuboTV, FlixFling, Classix, Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Crackle, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
(Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari)
After his friend is found dead, Francis suspects the crazed hypnotist Dr. Caligari and his somnambulist, Casare.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 1920
- Director Robert Wiene
- Cast Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Fehér, Lil Dagover, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Rudolf Lettinger
- Genre Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Screambox, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, fuboTV, Classix, Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Crackle, Fandor, Tubi TV, Cineverse, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Public Domain Movies, Cultpix, Plex Channel
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
(Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed)
This earliest surviving animated feature film tells the story of a heroic prince attempting to save his sister from an evil sorcerer.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 1926
- Director Lotte Reiniger
- Cast Dana Dempsey
- Genre Adventure, Animation, Family, Fantasy, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Kanopy
A Throw of Dice
(Prapancha Pash)
Two kings fall in love with the same woman and gamble for her hand in marriage.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, India, Germany • 1929
- Director Franz Osten
- Cast Seeta Devi, Charu Roy, Himansu Rai, Modhu Bose, Sarada Gupta, Tincory Chakrabarty
- Genre Adventure, Drama, Romance
- Available on Kanopy
A Page of Madness
(狂った一頁)
A man working as a janitor in the mental asylum where his wife is being kept finds his own sanity slipping away.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1926
- Director Teinosuke Kinugasa
- Cast Masuo Inoue, Ayako Iijima, Yoshie Nakagawa, Eiko Minami, Misao Seki, Minoru Takase
- Genre Drama, Horror
- Available on Amazon Video
Spotlight: New Mexican Cinema
In this spotlight, we're highlighting the New Mexican Cinema movement, also known as Nuevo Cine Mexicano, that began in the 1990s and resulted in renewed critical success for Mexican films that depicted and investigated issues of sex, politics, drugs, violence, and other issues affecting the country.
The Night Watchman
(El Velador)
Follow the man who watches over the extravagant mausoleums of some of Mexico’s most notorious Drug Lords.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 2011
- Director Natalia Almada
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Tubi TV, Runtime
Amores Perros
(Amores perros)
Love. Betrayal. Death.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 2000
- Director Alejandro González Iñárritu
- Cast Gael García Bernal, Vanessa Bauche, Goya Toledo, Alvaro Guerrero, Emilio Echevarría, Jorge Salinas
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Tubi TV, Freevee, Hoopla
Leap Year
(Año bisiesto)
A woman tries to forget her past through sex with strangers, but secrets rarely stay that way.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 2010
- Director Michael Rowe
- Cast Mónica del Carmen, Armando Hernández, José Juan Meraz, Gustavo Sánchez Parra
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Tubi TV, VUDU Free
Güeros
Being young and not being a revolutionary is a contradiction.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 2015
- Director Alonso Ruizpalacios
- Cast Tenoch Huerta, Leonardo Ortizgris, Sebastián Aguirre, Ilse Salas, Sophie Alexander-Katz
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Pluto TV, Kanopy
Like Water for Chocolate
(Como agua para chocolate)
In Tita's kitchen, ordinary spices become a recipe for passion.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 1992
- Director Alfonso Aráu
- Cast Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos, Regina Torné, Ada Carrasco, Mario Iván Martínez, Claudette Maillé
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Hoopla
The Chambermaid
(La Camarista)
A chambermaid at a luxurious Mexico City hotel confronts the monotony of long workdays with quiet examinations of forgotten belongings.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 2019
- Director Lila Avilés
- Cast Gabriela Cartol, Teresa Sánchez, Agustina Quinci
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
The Untamed
(La región salvaje)
Hypnotic, perturbing, and enthralling, The Untamed combines a suspenseful family drama with truly bizarre elements of science fiction and horror.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico, Denmark, France • 2016
- Director Amat Escalante
- Cast Kenny Johnston, Simone Bucio, Jesús Meza, Ruth Ramos, Eden Villavicencio
- Genre Drama, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Kanopy
Cronos
The more he uses the device, the younger he becomes...but nothing comes without a price.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 1993
- Director Guillermo del Toro
- Cast Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook, Margarita Isabel, Tamara Shanath, Mario Iván Martínez
- Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
Sólo con tu pareja
A playboy's life is thrown into chaos when an ex-lover falsifies his blood test, convincing him he has AIDS.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 1992
- Director Alfonso Cuarón
- Cast Daniel Giménez Cacho, Claudia Ramírez, Luis de Icaza, Astrid Hadad, Dobrina Liubomirova, Isabel Benet
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Amazon Video
Midaq Alley
(El Callejón de los Milagros)
Three diverse perspectives from a group of men and women who cross paths in Mexico City.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 1995
- Director Jorge Fons
- Cast Ernesto Gómez Cruz, María Rojo, Salma Hayek, Bruno Bichir, Delia Casanova, Margarita Sanz
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Spectrum On Demand, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, VIX , Freevee, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Japón
A painter from Mexico City goes into the desert to commit suicide, staying with an old indigenous widow in Ascen.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico, Germany, Netherlands • 2002
- Director Carlos Reygadas
- Cast Alejandro Ferretis, Magdalena Flores, Yolanda Villa, Martín Serrano, Rolando Hernández
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV
Prayers for the Stolen
(Noche de fuego)
Three young girls come of age in a small and war-torn town in Mexico.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico, Germany, Brazil • 2021
- Director Tatiana Huezo
- Cast Mayra Batalla, Norma Pablo, Olivia Lagunas, Teresa Sánchez, Guillermo Villegas
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Spotlight: Hard Core: Punk Rock on Film
This week, we’re spotlighting kick-ass films that showcase the rebellious spirit of punk rock music. Whether a conduit for self-discovery or a platform for political protest, this music unites people of all backgrounds through its exhilarating focus on freedom and cultural subversion.
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché
The life and times of the late X-Ray Spex singer and iconoclast Poly Styrene.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2021
- Director Paul Sng, Celeste Bell
- Cast Poly Styrene, Celeste Bell, Ruth Negga, Neneh Cherry, Youth, Bruno Aleph Wizard
- Genre Documentary, Music
- Available on Showtime Apple TV Channel, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
Burst City
(爆裂都市)
Bikers, yakuza, and real-life punk bands gather in a dystopic Tokyo after a nuclear powerplant is set to be constructed.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1982
- Director Gakuryu Ishii
- Cast Michiro Endo, Shigeru Izumiya, Takanori Jinnai, Kou Machida, Shigeru Muroi, Hitomi Tsurukawa
- Genre Action, Music, Science Fiction
- Available on ARROW, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
We Are the Best!
(Vi är bäst!)
Three girls in 1980s Stockholm decide to form a punk band.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, Denmark • 2013
- Director Lukas Moodysson
- Cast Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin, Liv LeMoyne, David Dencik, Johan Liljemark, Mattias Wiberg
- Genre Drama, Music
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, FlixFling, Spectrum On Demand, Kanopy, Hoopla
Hard Core Logo
An off-kilter rock mockumentary that follows punk bank Hard Core Logo on a harrowing reunion tour through Western Canada.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 1996
- Director Bruce McDonald
- Cast Hugh Dillon, Callum Keith Rennie, John Pyper-Ferguson, Bernie Coulson, Julian Richings, Benita Ha
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Music
- Available on Hoopla, Night Flight Plus, Apple TV
Punk in London
Exclusive interviews and live concert footage capture the riotous energy of the Great British punk rock explosion of 1977.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- West Germany • 1977
- Director Wolfgang Büld
- Cast Gaye Black, Kevin Rowland, Paul Simonon, John William Weller, Bob Geldof
- Genre Documentary, Music
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, VUDU Free, Freevee, Hoopla
Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
(Показательный процесс: История Pussy Riot)
A group of radical-feminist punk rockers protested Putin's reelection in 2011. Now they are victims of a show trial.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Russia, United Kingdom • 2013
- Director Maxim Pozdorovkin
- Cast Mariya Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Andrey Tolokonnikov, Pussy Riot, Petr Verzilov
- Genre Documentary, Music
- Available on Fandor, Fandor Amazon Channel, FlixFling, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, Freevee, Cineverse
Good Vibrations
The joyful story of Terri Hooley, who promoted Belfast punk rock during the Troubles.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Ireland • 2012
- Director Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn
- Cast Richard Dormer, Jodie Whittaker, Karl Johnson, Michael Colgan, Liam Cunningham, Dylan Moran
- Genre Drama, Music
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, The Roku Channel, Freevee
24 Hour Party People
In 1976, Tony Wilson sets up Factory Records and brings Manchester's music to the world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2002
- Director Michael Winterbottom
- Cast Steve Coogan, Paddy Considine, Sean Harris, Lennie James, Shirley Henderson, Andy Serkis
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Music
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, ScreenPix Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Freevee, Kanopy
Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam
Young American Muslims form their own punk bands and go on tour, exploring the rebellion and subversion of the genre.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2009
- Director Omar Majeed
- Cast Michael Muhammad Knight, Basim Usmani, Shahjehan Khan, Arjun Ray
- Genre Documentary, Music
- Available on Kanopy
We Are Little Zombies
(WE ARE LITTLE ZOMBIES)
Their parents are dead. They should be sad, but they can’t cry. So they form a kick-ass rock band.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Director Makoto Nagahisa
- Cast Keita Ninomiya, Satoshi Mizuno, Mondo Okumura, Sena Nakajima, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Youki Kudoh
- Genre Drama, Music
- Available on Fandor Amazon Channel, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Night Flight Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
No One Knows About Persian Cats
(کسی از گربههای ایرانی خبر نداره)
Two young Iranian songwriters must find musicians for their underground band while trying to receive visas to perform in Europe.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2009
- Director Bahman Ghobadi
- Cast Negar Shaghaghi, Ashkan Koshanejad, Hamed Behdad, Babak Mirzakhani, Kosh Mirzahi
- Genre Drama
- Available on AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Sid & Nancy
A biographical portrayal of the destructive relationship between Sid Vicious of The Sex Pistols and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1986
- Director Alex Cox
- Cast Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, David Hayman, Debby Bishop, Andrew Schofield, Xander Berkeley
- Genre Drama, Music, Romance
- Available on Plex, Plex Channel
Spotlight: Slow Cinema
In this Spotlight, we’re exploring Slow Cinema, a globe-spanning canon of art house films from a diverse group of filmmakers whose works prioritize long takes, naturalistic sound design, minimal dialogue, and an invitation to introspection.
Taste of Cherry
(طعم گيلاس)
A middle-aged man, Mr. Badii, seeks someone to bury him after he commits suicide.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France • 1997
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast Homayoun Ershadi, Abdolrahman Bagheri, Afshin Khorshid Bakhtiari, Safar Ali Moradi, Mir Hossein Noori, Ahmad Ansari
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Kanopy
An Elephant Sitting Still
(大象席地而坐)
In the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- China • 2018
- Director Hu Bo
- Cast Zhang Yu, Peng Yuchang, Wang Yu Wen, Congxi Li, Xiang Rong Dong
- Genre Drama
- Available on Fandor, Fandor Amazon Channel, OVID, AsianCrush, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Kanopy
Stray Dogs
(郊遊)
A father and his children wander the margins of modern day Taipei, and spend their nights sleeping in abandoned buildings.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Taiwan, France • 2014
- Director Tsai Ming-liang
- Cast Lee Kang-Sheng, Lu Yi-Ching, Chen Shiang-Chyi, Chao-rong Chen, Yang Kuei-Mei
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Kanopy
Norte, the End of History
(Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan)
In the Philippines, a man is put in jail for a murder he didn't commit.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Philippines • 2013
- Director Lav Diaz
- Cast Sid Lucero, Angeli Bayani, Archie Alemania, Mailes Kanapi, Soliman Cruz, Mae Paner
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Kanopy
Neighboring Sounds
(O Som ao Redor)
Life in a neighbourhood in Recife, Brazil takes an unexpected turn after the arrival of an independent private security firm.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2012
- Director Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Cast Maeve Jinkings, Irandhir Santos, Gustavo Jahn, W.J. Solha, Irma Brown, Sebastião Formiga
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Kanopy
Police, Adjective
(Polițist, adjectiv)
A cop risks his career and goes undercover to bust a drug ring.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Romania • 2009
- Director Corneliu Porumboiu
- Cast Dragoș Bucur, Vlad Ivanov, Irina Săulescu, Ion Stoica, Cerasela Trandafir, Marian Ghenea
- Genre Comedy, Crime, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, The Roku Channel, Plex, Plex Channel
Leviathan
(Левиафан)
A universal parable about the individual versus the might of a corrupt state.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Russia • 2014
- Director Andrey Zvyagintsev
- Cast Aleksey Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova, Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Roman Madyanov, Anna Ukolova, Aleksey Rozin
- Genre Drama
- Available on Klassiki, Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
(ลุงบุญมีระลึกชาติ)
Contemplating the reasons for his illness, Boonmee treks through the jungle with his family to a mysterious hilltop cave.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Thailand, United Kingdom, France • 2010
- Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul
- Cast Sakda Kaewbuadee, Jenjira Pongpas, Thanapat Saisaymar, Natthakarn Aphaiwonk, Geerasak Kulhong, Wallapa Mongkolprasert, Kanokporn Tongaram
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- Available on Strand Releasing Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Court
A sewage worker's suicide prompts the arrest of a folk singer/activist accused of encouraging the suicide with his lyrics.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- India • 2015
- Director Chaitanya Tamhane
- Cast Usha Bane, Vivek Gomber, Pradeep Joshi, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Shirish Pawar
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
(Bir zamanlar Anadolu'da)
In the rural area around the Anatolian town of Keskin, officials lead a search for a murder victim.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina • 2011
- Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- Cast Muhammet Uzuner, Yılmaz Erdoğan, Taner Birsel, Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan, Fırat Tanış, Ercan Kesal
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on MUBI Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Kanopy
Silent Light
(Stellet Licht)
Johan is a Mennonite who, despite his guilt, is cheating on his wife.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico, France, Netherlands • 2007
- Director Carlos Reygadas
- Cast Cornelio Wall, Miriam Toews, Maria Pankratz, Peter Wall, Jacobo Klassen, Elizabeth Fehr
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Fandango At Home, VUDU Free, Kanopy
The Turin Horse
(A torinói ló)
A horse's refusal to work or eat signals the beginning of the end for a poor farmer and his daughter.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hungary, France, Switzerland • 2011
- Director Béla Tarr
- Cast János Derzsi, Erika Bók, Mihály Kormos, Ricsi, Lajos Kovács
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Kanopy
Spotlight: Palm Springs International Film Festival Microsite!
Introducing the Palm Springs International Film Festival Microsite on Telescope! Featuring the Academy Award submissions for Best International Feature that have been programmed in the festival over the past five years. This week we present a few of our favorites, but click here for many more.
Les Misérables
A policeman discovers how deep tensions run among gangs in the Parisian suburbs.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2019
- Director Ladj Ly
- Cast Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djibril Zonga, Steve Tientcheu, Jeanne Balibar
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Freevee
Burning
(버닝)
Jongsu's solitude is interrupted when he runs into a childhood neighbor and her enigmatic friend.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2018
- Director Lee Chang-dong
- Cast Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jun Jong-seo, Kim Soo-kyung, Choi Seung-ho, Moon Sung-keun
- Genre Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Netflix, MUBI, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, AsianCrush, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
Border
(Gräns)
Sense something beautiful.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, Denmark • 2018
- Director Ali Abbasi
- Cast Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Sten Ljunggren, Ann Petrén, Rakel Wärmländer, Viktor Åkerblom-Nilsson
- Genre Thriller, Fantasy, Romance, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Tubi TV
Pain and Glory
(Dolor y gloria)
Aging film director Salvador Mallo turns to drugs to manage his chronic pain, triggering memories of childhood in rural Spain.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 2019
- Director Pedro Almodóvar
- Cast Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nora Navas, Julieta Serrano, Penélope Cruz
- Genre Drama
- Available on Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
Atlantics
(Atlantique)
When one comes back to claim what was left behind, what are the consequences?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Senegal, Belgium • 2019
- Director Mati Diop
- Cast Ibrahima Traore, Mame Bineta Sane, Aminata Kane
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
1982
For 11-year-old Wissam, confessing his love is a lot like the looming invasion of Lebanon: scary, uncertain, and potentially disastrous.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Lebanon, United States, Norway • 2019
- Director Oualid Mouaness
- Cast Nadine Labaki, Mohammad Dali, Ghassan Maalouf, Aliya Khalidi, Rodrigue Sleiman
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Apple TV, Amazon Video, The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Hoopla
I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians
(Îmi este indiferent dacă în istorie vom intra ca barbari)
An ambitious young theater director faces censorship when she is hired to create a public art project related to Romania's past.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Romania, Germany, Bulgaria • 2018
- Director Radu Jude
- Cast Ioana Iacob, Alex Bogdan, Alexandru Dabija, Ion Rizea, Claudia Ieremia
- Genre Comedy, Drama, History
- Available on Klassiki, Kanopy
Flee
(Flugt)
Part memoir, part documentary, this animated film recounts the story of a refugee from Afghanistan to Denmark.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Denmark, France, Sweden • 2021
- Director Jonas Poher Rasmussen
- Cast Daniel Karimyar, Fardin Mijdzadeh, Milad Eskandari, Belal Faiz, Elaha Faiz, Zahra Mehrwarz
- Genre Animation, Documentary
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, AMC on Demand
And Then We Danced
(და ჩვენ ვიცეკვეთ)
A dancer on the brink of adulthood falls unwillingly in love with his greatest rival.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, Georgia • 2019
- Director Levan Akin
- Cast Levan Gelbakhiani, Bachi Valishvili, Ana Javakishvili, Giorgi Tsereteli, Tamar Bukhnikashvili, Anano Makharadze
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Here TV, OVID, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Reveel, Plex Channel
I'm Your Man
(Ich bin dein Mensch)
To secure funding for her work, an archeologist signs up to test a robot designed to be her perfect partner.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2021
- Director Maria Schrader
- Cast Maren Eggert, Dan Stevens, Sandra Hüller, Hans Löw, Annika Meier
- Genre Comedy, Romance, Science Fiction
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Kanopy, Hoopla
Under the Shadow
After Shideh's building is hit by a missile during the Iran-Iraq War, a superstitious neighbor says the missile was cursed.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Jordan, Qatar • 2016
- Director Babak Anvari
- Cast Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi, Ray Haratian, Hamid Djavadan, Bijan Daneshmand
- Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller, War
- Available on Netflix, Hoopla, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Invisible Life
(A Vida Invisível)
Two estranged sisters struggle to make lives for themselves despite the restrictive expectations of 1950s Brazil.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil • 2019
- Director Karim Aïnouz
- Cast Carol Duarte, Julia Stockler, Fernanda Montenegro, Gregório Duvivier, Bárbara Santos, Flávia Gusmão
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Freevee
The Square
How much inhumanity does it take before you access your humanity?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, Germany, France • 2017
- Director Ruben Östlund
- Cast Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West, Terry Notary, Christopher Læssø, Lise Stephenson Engström
- Genre Drama
- Available on Cinemax Amazon Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Cinemax Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, FlixFling, Hoopla
A Fantastic Woman
(Una mujer fantástica)
My name is Marina Vidal. Do you have any problem with that?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Chile, Germany, Spain • 2017
- Director Sebastián Lelio
- Cast Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Küppenheim, Nicolás Saavedra, Amparo Noguera
- Genre Drama
- Available on Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Fandango At Home, AMC on Demand
BPM (Beats per Minute)
(120 battements par minute)
A group of young activists desperately seek a cure for AIDS in 1990s Paris.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2017
- Director Robin Campillo
- Cast Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois, Adèle Haenel, Antoine Reinartz, Félix Maritaud, Ariel Borenstein
- Genre Drama
- Available on fuboTV, Dekkoo, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Crackle, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Sand Storm
(Sufat Chol)
When Jalila's husband marries a second woman, Jalila and her daughter's worlds are shattered.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Israel, Germany, France • 2016
- Director Elite Zexer
- Cast Lamis Ammar, Ruba Blal, Hitham Omari, Shaden Kanboura, Khadija Al Akel, Jalal Masrwa
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Spotlight: Ukraine
This week we present films from and about Ukraine including documentaries and narrative features about key moments in the nation’s recent past and in its relationship to Russia. Servant of the People is a series created by and starring the country’s current president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a former comedian.
Falling
(Стрімголов)
Two bewildered young Ukrainians meet at a crucial moment of their existence and experience a few days of happiness together.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ukraine • 2017
- Director Marina Stepanska
- Cast Darya Plakhtiy, Andrii Seletskyi, Oleh Mosiichuk, Larysa Rusnak, Christian Boris
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Tribe
(Плем'я)
Love and hate need no translation.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ukraine, Netherlands • 2014
- Director Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi
- Cast Hryhoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy, Oleksandr Dsiadevych, Oleksandr Osadchyi, Yaroslav Biletskiy
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Peacock, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Tubi TV, Kanopy, Hoopla
The Russian Woodpecker
As his country is gripped by revolution, a Ukrainian victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States • 2015
- Director Chad Gracia
- Cast Fedor Alexandrovich, Andrei Alexandrovich, Igor Alexandrovich, Natalia Barabovskaya, Andrei Bilyk
- Genre Documentary, History
- Available on fuboTV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Breaking Point: The War for Democracy in Ukraine
This nerve-racking documentary follows the citizens of Ukraine who have given up their lives to fight an insidious Russian invasion.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ukraine, United States • 2017
- Director Mark Jonathan Harris, Oles Sanin
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Bad Roads
(Погані дороги)
An anthology of four short stories, all set on the roads of Ukraine during the war in the Donbas.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ukraine • 2021
- Director Natalya Vorozhbit
- Cast Ihor Koltovskyi, Andrey Lelyukh, Anna Zhurakovskaya, Yuliya Matrosova, Oksana Cherkashyna
- Genre Drama
- Available on Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
No Obvious Signs
(Явних проявiв немає)
A woman returning from service during the war in Donbas struggles with PTSD and tries to reclaim her normal life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ukraine • 2018
- Director Alina Gorlova
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on GuideDoc, DocAlliance Films, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Takflix, Kanopy
All Things Ablaze
(Все палає)
What does the violent heart of revolution feel like? Witnessing from the middle of the fire in Ukraine, winter 2013-2014.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ukraine • 2014
- Director Oleksandr Techynskyi, Aleksey Solodunov, Dmitry Stoykov
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
Chervonyi
(Червоний)
In 1947, Ukrainian commander Chervonyi is captured and put in Stalin's camps, but his fight for freedom rages on.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ukraine • 2017
- Director Zaza Buadze
- Cast Mykola Bereza, Ihor Koltovskyi, Alexandr Mavrits, Oleh Shulha, Lubov Tyshchenko
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Freevee
Maidan
(Майдан)
A revealing documentary about the civil uprising against former Ukranian president Viktor Yanukovych in 2013 into 2014.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ukraine, Netherlands • 2014
- Director Sergey Loznitsa
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on DocAlliance Films, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Kanopy
Servant of the People
(Слуга народу)
After a viral video of him circulates, a humble teacher becomes president of Ukraine overnight.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ukraine • 2015
- Creator Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- Cast Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Stanislav Boklan, Yevgeniy Koshevoy, Natalia Sumska, Victor Saraykin, Elena Kravets
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
In Ukraine, student demonstrations supporting European integration grew into a violent revolution calling for the resignation of President Viktor F. Yanukovich.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Ukraine, United States • 2015
- Director Evgeny Afineevsky
- Cast Cissy Jones, Bishop Agapit, Catherine Ashton, Serhii Averchenko, Kristina Berdinskikh, Pavlo Dobryanskyy
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Donbass
(Донбас)
In the Donbass, war is called peace, propaganda is presented as truth, and hatred is declared to be love.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Ukraine, France • 2018
- Director Sergey Loznitsa
- Cast Valeriu Andriuță, Irina Plesnyaeva, Evgeny Chistyakov, Georgiy Deliev, Vadim Dubovsky
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Spotlight: International Women Filmmakers Day
In celebration of International Women's Day, we're going to inaugurate International Women Filmmakers' Day here at Telescope: an opportunity to highlight some of our favorite films by women from the past year.
Slalom
A riveting drama that paints a devastating portrait of the relationship between a teenage ski prodigy and her predatory instructor.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2020
- Director Charlène Favier
- Cast Noée Abita, Jérémie Renier, Marie Denarnaud, Muriel Combeau, Maïra Schmitt, Axel Auriant-Blot
- Genre Drama
- Available on Showtime Apple TV Channel, Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
Bergman Island
Art imitates life and life imitates art.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2021
- Director Mia Hansen-Løve
- Cast Tim Roth, Vicky Krieps, Mia Wasikowska, Anders Danielsen Lie, Wouter Hendrickx, Gabe Klinger
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on MUBI, Hulu, Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
Identifying Features
(Sin señas particulares)
Magdalena sets out on an epic journey in search of her son, who disappeared en route to the US border.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico, Spain • 2020
- Director Fernanda Valadez
- Cast Mercedes Hernández, David Illescas, Juan Jesús Varela
- Genre Drama
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Hoopla
Titane
A near-fatal car crash leaves a girl with physical and emotional trauma that shapes her future — and her fetishes.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2021
- Director Julia Ducournau
- Cast Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle, Garance Marillier, Laïs Salameh, Mara Cissé, Marin Judas
- Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, AMC on Demand, Kanopy
Beginning
(Დასაწყისი)
Yana is the wife of a Jehovah’s Witness who begins to question her faith — with dramatic and devastating results.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Georgia • 2020
- Director Dea Kulumbegashvili
- Cast Ia Sukhitashvili, Rati Oneli, Kakha Kintsurashvili, Saba Gogichaishvil, Giorgi Tsereteli, Ia Kokiashvili
- Genre Drama
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home
Saint Maud
A Catholic nurse believes God has made her responsible for saving an atheist in her care.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2019
- Director Rose Glass
- Cast Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Knight, Lily Frazer, Turlough Convery, Rosie Sansom
- Genre Drama, Horror, Mystery
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus, fuboTV, Epix Amazon Channel, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
The Souvenir: Part II
A film student makes a graduation film in the aftermath of a manipulative relationship.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2021
- Director Joanna Hogg
- Cast Honor Swinton Byrne, Richard Ayoade, Tilda Swinton, Charlie Heaton, Joe Alwyn, Harris Dickinson
- Genre Drama
- Available on Showtime Apple TV Channel, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Hoopla
Violation
Two sisters and their husbands gather in a cottage. The horror begins.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2020
- Director Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer
- Cast Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Anna Maguire, Jesse LaVercombe, Obi Abili, Jasmin Geljo
- Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Shudder, AMC+, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , Fandango At Home, Hoopla
Asia
(אסיה)
When Asia’s teenage daughter, Vika, starts experiencing serious health problems, she must learn to finally make peace with motherhood.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Israel • 2021
- Director Ruthy Pribar
- Cast Alena Yiv, Shira Haas, Tamir Mula, Gera Sandler, Eden Halili
- Genre Drama
- Available on Chai Flicks, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Kanopy
Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time
(Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre)
Márta, a neurosurgeon, falls in love and goes to Budapest to start a new life with the man who claims has never met her.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hungary • 2020
- Director Lili Horvát
- Cast Natasa Stork, Viktor Bodó, Benett Vilmányi, Andor Lukáts, Zsolt Nagy
- Genre Drama
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Hoopla
The Power of the Dog
In Montana, in 1925, a rancher responds with cruelty when his brother brings home a new wife and her son.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Australia, United States • 2021
- Director Jane Campion
- Cast Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Thomasin McKenzie, Frances Conroy
- Genre Drama, Western
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Hive
(Zgjoi)
Fahrije’s husband has been missing since the war in Kosovo: does she wait for his return, or move forward on her own?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Kosovo, Switzerland, Albania • 2021
- Director Blerta Basholli
- Cast Yllka Gashi, Çun Lajçi, Aurita Agushi, Kumrije Hoxha, Adriana Matoshi, Molike Maxhuni
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla