The Letter to a Chinese Friend

John Ford Goes to War

When World War II broke out, John Ford, in his forties, commissioned in the Naval Reserve, was put in charge of the Field Photographic Unit by Bill Donavan, director of the soon-to-be-OSS. During the war, Field Photo made at least 87 documentaries, many with Ford's signature attention to heroism and loss, and many from the point of view of the fighting soldier and sailor. Talking heads discuss Ford's life and personality, the ways that the war gave him fulfillment, and the ways that his war films embodied the same values and conflicts that his Hollywood films did. Among the films profiled are "Battle of Midway," "Torpedo Squadron," "Sexual Hygiene," and "December 7."

Prisoners of Propaganda

In 1943, the Imperial Japanese Secret Service made a film called Calling Australia! to show the "exemplary conditions" under which prisoners of war were kept, and to "soften up" the Australian public for the anticipated occupation of their country by Japanese forces. Prisoners of Propaganda tells why the film was made, and how it came to be forgotten.

Twentieth Century Fox: The Blockbuster Years

Behind-the-scenes footage, rare screen tests and insightful interviews highlight this engrossing two-hour look at one of Hollywood's greatest dream factories. Such film luminaries as Tom Hanks, William Friedkin, George Lucas, Oliver Stone and Robert Altman discuss their work at the studio. Clips include scenes from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Patton, Young Frankenstein, Star Wars, Alien, Big, Home Alone, Die Hard and dozens more.

Panoramas of War

The end of the Franco-Prussian war (1870-71) saw the birth of the panoramas of war, huge circular paintings depicting scenes of war, cruelty and desolation that were contemplated by thousands of spectators, a kind of inmersive static newsreels, a mass media prior to the era of mass media, a virtual reality on canvas.

Mr. Nobody Against Putin

As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war. Facing the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, a brave teacher goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school.

The Phoney War

September 3rd, 1939. Britain and France declare war on Nazi Germany, only two days after the Wehrmacht invades Poland. This day, the sad date when the fate of the world changed forever, the Phoney War began: eight months of uncertainty, preparations, evacuations and skirmishes.

Open files

A more experimental aproach to labor protection films. In the line of Săucan's style, the soundtrack is as important as the image, the threatening music, full of shrillness, composed by Ion Dumitrescu potentiating the visual construction that mixes - in a montage reminiscent of the Soviet avant-garde school of the 1920s - all kinds of shooting techniques and frame combinations.

Swastika

Comprised of footage shot during the Nazi regime, including propaganda, newsreels, broadcasts and even some of Eva Braun's colorized personal home movies, we explore the way in which the Third Reich infiltrated the lives of the German population, from 1933 to 1945.

Stalin and the Katyn Massacre

The Katyn massacre, carried out by the Soviet NKVD in 1940, was only one of many unspeakable crimes committed by Stalin's ruthless executioners over three decades. The mass murder of thousands of Polish officers was part of a relentless purge, the secrets and details of which have only recently been partially revealed.

Heroic Spain

Documentary produced by Falange and edited in Berlin, in response to the international success of the Republican production "Spain 1936" (Le Chanois, 1937).

Hungarian Retro 2.

A feature length, lively - montage style - documentary, capturing the essence of what life was like in socialist Hungary - dubbed the "The most cheerful barrack" back then - using contemporary music, interviews, adverts and news footages.

Forbidden Films

Between 1933 and 1945 roughly 1200 films were made in Germany, of which 300 were banned by the Allied forces. Today, around 40 films, called "Vorbehaltsfilme", are locked away from the public with an uncertain future. Should they be re-released, destroyed, or continue to be neglected? Verbotene Filme takes a closer look at some of these forbidden films.

The Battle of France

A montage of newscasts tracing the events of the "damned war" and the German invasion of 1940.

Tabu, propriedade privada

Replay

Older adults cannot believe the things younger people do, but they probably have forgotten they were the same way when they were younger.

Food and Magic

A sideshow barker uses magic and visual aids to alert the public that proper food management is both a resource and a weapon that could be to America's advantage if conserved properly in winning the then current World War. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, Academy War Film Collection, in 2008.

Lapidar o Bruto

Food Will Win the War

World War II propaganda film on the importance of American farming. A morale booster film stressing the abudance of American agricultural output.

Solovki

Depicts life in the Solovki prison camp as a vacation at a holiday resort, pointing at the authorities’ efforts to humanise the re-education of criminals via an aesthetics of normalcy.

The Road to the Tokyo Olympics

A documentary film that includes footage of past Olympics held in different countries with an particular emphasis on the activities and successes of Japanese athletes and how they are currently (circa 1963) improving themselves.