Asahiyama Zoo Story: Penguins in the Sky
Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido, is the northernmost zoo in Japan. The unpopular zoo welcomes a new zoo keeper, young Yoshida (Yasuhi Nakamura), who has more affection for insects than people after years of being bullied at school when he was young. Yoshida soon realizes that Asahiyama Zoo is facing a financial crisis and the zoo director Takizawa (Toshiyuki Nishida) has been doing everything in his power to save the zoo from closing down. Moved by Takizawa's passion, Yoshida and other zoo keepers came to share the zoo director's belief that one's dreams can come true, and together they tackle this seemingly impossible task of revitalizing Asahiyama. A breakthrough arrives in the form of “Behavioral Exhibition,†a method that is pioneered by Ashiyama's zoo keepers and which eventually makes the zoo renowned throughout the world.
Landfall
Hurricane María abated, the news crews packed up and left Puerto Rico, and the interest of the international community turned elsewhere. What happened next?
Heimliche Ehen
Et je choisis de vivre
At just 30 years old, Amande loses her child. To rebuild herself, she undertakes an initiatory journey in the Drôme, accompanied by her friend director, Nans Thomassey.
Girl in Pieces
Charlie Davis is a young woman recently released from a Minnesota psychiatric ward following a suicide attempt. After a move across the country to Tucson, Charlie tries to piece her life back together among a band of artists and musicians while dealing with the trauma of childhood abuse, self-harm, and homelessness. A toxic relationship with a local musician and the reappearance of a friend from the psych ward threaten the delicate life she’s putting together.
16 Acres
The dramatic inside story of the monumental collision of interests at Ground Zero in the decade after 9/11.
Thai Nilam
A father and his daughter came to India as refugees post-war in their country. Few good hands help them to rebuild their lifestyle.
9/11: Reclaiming Ground Zero
After the 9/11 attacks, after the smoke was gone, after the rubble cleared away, New Yorkers had a city to rebuild. In response to fast-tracked redevelopment plans, more than 5,000 people gathered in the largest town hall in American history. They came to vote on the city’s six proposals for rebuilding Ground Zero. But instead, the people rejected the top down approach and successfully charted a new path forward. Their work determined what is at Ground Zero today. And their story is an example of what democracy can look like.
Education Rebuilt
In 2018 the 1st & 2nd EPA.L. Agia Paraskevi relocates to a new state of the art building after 20+ years of being in an unsuitable and ready to fall apart one. The situation got so bad that the students where literally hanging out with the chickens next to the building and as the principal of the school council told us they actually felt like they themselves where the chickens. The construction of the new building was held up since the original contractor "ran out of money" and thus the building was abandoned mid construction, the building stayed in this stage for more than 5 years where it was looted and vandalized. The situation had reached an impasse and so the students decided to step up and speak directly to the mayor resulting in getting heard by the secondary school administration, so years later a second contractor was hired to complete this project and finally put into operation.
Kaikōura: A Big Year
After a massive earthquake cut the South Island town of Kaikōura off from the rest of the country, a huge effort went into rebuilding the road and rail connection along this magical part of the New Zealand coast.
Eat Bitter
A local construction worker and a Chinese engineer are assigned to build a bank in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, one of the poorest countries in the world. But time is short and resources are scarce, and there are rumours in the countryside that a new civil war is brewing. And as if all this wasn’t bad enough, their relationships to their wives are falling apart. ‘Eat Bitter’ mirrors the existential and mundane problems of the two men, while an unlikely friendship and mutual trust blossoms between them. However, the chaotic microcosm of the construction site also mirrors China’s contradictory role in 21st century Africa, with the bank itself as the ultimate symbol of money, power and illusion. Director duo Pascale Appora-Gnekindy and Ningyi Sun themselves represent each of the two cultures, and their film has a unique eye for the human fallibility and irony of it all, but also for how we can reach each other despite all our many differences.
A Powerful Noise
Bookended by call-to-action quotes from Margaret Mead and Mahatma Gandhi, this inspiring documentary follows three extraordinary women -- in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mali, and Vietnam -- as they lead day-to-day battles against ignorance, poverty, oppression, and ethnic strife.
Kherson: Human Safari
Kherson, Ukraine's embattled city, has endured invasion, occupation, and liberation. On February 24, 2022, Russian tanks entered Kherson, leading to brutal occupation marked by violence. Despite being outnumbered, local defense forces resisted, and citizens protested under the slogan "Kherson is Ukraine!" An underground resistance formed, led by brave individuals like journalist Valentyna and others who risked arrest and torture to support the cause. After nine months, Ukrainian forces liberated Kherson, but Russian destruction left the city in chaos. Shelling and drone attacks became relentless, and in June 2023, a dam explosion flooded the city, causing further devastation. Despite these challenges, Kherson's spirit remained unbroken, with citizens embracing arts and resilience. By August 2024, drone attacks specifically targeted civilians, yet the city resisted, determined to rebuild and reclaim its identity, refusing to succumb to ruin.
Two Cigarettes
Unable to come to terms with his father’s death, Rafał meets his murderer, 21-year-old Daniel, recently released from a juvenile detention center. As Daniel tries to rebuild his life, he teeters on the edge of homelessness and crime.
Yu & Me
When a fire destroys a beloved Chinatown bookstore, its hyper-independent owner learns that community is necessary for survival.