Die Sonne

Les aventures de Robert Fortune ou comment le thé fut vole aux Chinois

In the 19th century, China held the monopoly on tea, which was dear and fashionable in the West, and the British Empire exchanged poppies, produced in its Indian colonies and transformed into opium, for Chinese tea. Inundated by the drugs, China was forced to open up its market, and the British consolidated their commercial dominance. In 1839, the Middle Empire introduced prohibition. The Opium War was declared… Great Britain emerged as the winner, but the warning was heeded: it could no longer depend on Chinese tea. The only alternative possible was to produce its own tea. The East India Company therefore entrusted one man with finding the secrets of the precious beverage. His mission was to develop the first plantations in Britain’s Indian colonies. This latter-day James Bond was called Robert Fortune – a botanist. After overcoming innumerable ordeals in the heart of imperial China, he brought back the plants and techniques that gave rise to Darjeeling tea.

Inside Red China

October 1st, 1957. Dusk descends on Tiananmen Square, Peking. Fireworks crackle light across the night sky, above a city alive with National Day festivities and celebrations. Two intrepid New Zealand film-makers - Rudall and Ramai Te Miha Hayward - are there, documenting the life and times of communist China. The distinction of being the first English speaking foreigners to film unfettered in communist China was significant. The invitation to visit China was facilitated through the New Zealand China Friendship Society. They filmed in Canton, Shanghai, Peking (Beijing) and Wuhan. It was a small window of opportunity for Westerners to gaze on a country that was largely a mystery to the outside world since 1949. The unfortunate irony was that two of the documentaries; “Wonders of China”, and “Inside Red China”, were considered to be communist propaganda, and were not distributed outside of New Zealand.

China's 3Dreams

Featuring rare archive and powerful testimony from former Red Guards and Rebels, CHINA’S 3DREAMS takes us directly to the perspectives of China’s people, in stories that develop over eleven years. It explores, through their eyes, how China's policies affect the lives and the happiness of its people, especially the common dreams that drive their values and actions.

Un opéra pour un empire

The amazing and epic story of how the Paris Opera House, the Palais Garnier, was built from 1852 to 1870, thanks to the decisive impulse of the French Emperor Napoleon III; a story that is also that of the birth of a golden age for orchestral music, opera and ballet; of the rise of the urban bourgeoisie turned social elite; and of a certain mysterious inhabitant of the darkest corners of a legendary place.

客家村歌

A song is heard in the distance. It comes from the Hekeng village, famous for its ancient earthen buildings, also called tulou. It is where the last original Hakka families live amidst the exodus of those looking for a more modern environment. Among them there is Zhang Zhouyin, an elderly man concerned about the state of the village's temple; or her daughter-in-law, Wei Yi, who spends her entire day guiding tourists through these awe-inspiring houses. And then there’s young Zhang Weibo, her son, who manages to find joy even in the simplest of things... Hekeng: a place frozen in time whose songs have endured for centuries.

Grünes Fliegen - Reisen in der Zukunft

Dissidents

An artist's sculpture is burnt down, a protester is charged with a criminal case, and a democracy movement is violently attacked. In the United States, three Chinese dissidents fight for democracy against a superpower through art, petition, and grassroots organizing, but not even exile is safe.

Savaşın Efsaneleri: Baideng Savaşı

The war units of the Hun Emperor Mete Han and the Chinese Emperor Gao-Zu, the father of the turan tactic used by the Turks for centuries, come face to face in the Battle of Baideng. The war genius Mete Han was going to surround the Chinese with an unexpected war tactic and inflict a heavy defeat on them.

Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle : Aéroport du futur

With 66 million passengers coming through it each year, Roissy-Charles-De-Gaulle airport is Europe's second largest and busiest hub. Every day, up to 1800 aircraft land and take off in record time. This film provides a fascinating glimpse into how Roissy-Charles-De-Gaulle airport is able to welcome over 230,000 passengers a day with as little turbulence as possible.

The Balloonist

Meet Brian Boland—the beloved, eccentric hot air balloonist and artist from the rural Upper Valley of Vermont.

Mármol y Cemento

A documentary that invites the viewer to immerse themselves in a intimate and thoughtful walk through Poblenou Cemetery in Barcelona, better know as "El Santet", to see what is happening at its surrounding areas and, especially, inside: work, buildings, people watching over those who are no longer here, cemetery workers... A trip through a space that is closer than we think.

Kathedralen

The city of Ordos, in the middle of China, was build for a million people yet remains completely empty. Ordos is not so much a place but a symbol of babylonic hype. But nothing will change - as long as people believe.

Beijing Spring

The documentary film of the brief window of artistic freedom and democracy movement 1978 - 1982 following China's brutal cultural revolution.

100 jaar Schiphol: Luchtzaken onder de zeespiegel

Documentary about the development of the national airport over the past hundred years. With conversations with relatives of aviation pioneers such as Albert Plesman and Jan Dellaert, with virtually all Schiphol directors of the past decades and with local residents.

方绣英

In a quiet village in southern China, Fang Xiuying is sixty-seven years old. Having suffered from Alzheimer's for several years, with advanced symptoms and ineffective treatment, she was sent back home. Now, bedridden, she is surrounded by her relatives and neighbors, as they witness and accompany her through her last days.

Kampf um Tibet

The Story of Nintendo

Over 133 years in the making, from humble beginnings manufacturing 'Hanufuda' cards came one of the world's most recognized videogame companies, from the birth of Mario and Luigi to Donkey Kong and Zelda... to beating its competition and presenting itself as a platform for quality games and strong values. This is the story of Nintendo.

i.Mirror by China Tracy

Cao Fei recorded her experiences within the online social platform Second Life. The result is a wistful, surreal vision of an alternative reality sprung from the pop culture fantasies and hyper-consumerism of contemporary urban China, while also trying to transcend its real-life limitations. It can be seen as an answer to the challenge posed by River Elegy: how to envision a new Chinese destiny founded on principles of individuality, creativity, discovery, and freedom. The film also reflects the contemporary condition of the virtual supplanting our experience of the real.

Journey to the East

Could our mounting modern problems have ancient solutions? Travel to the depths of China to find out.