Documentary
Summer Screening: Eyal Weizman – The Architecture of Violence + Q&A
In a journey across the settlements, the roads and the Separation Wall of the West Bank, Eyal Weizman demonstrates how architecture is central to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and how his work on the architecture of occupation has led him to understand the discipline’s role in modern urban warfare. This Al Jazeera Rebel Architecture preview screening will be followed by a discussion with director Ana Naomi de Sousa and protagonist and architect Eyal Weizman.
Summer Screening: Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus + Skype Q&A
Belarus is governed by Europe’s last dictator, Alexander Lukashenko. In the run-up to the 2010 presidential election and for a year afterwards, filmmaker Madeleine Sackler followed the trials and tribulations of Belarus Free Theatre, an underground theatre company based in Minsk and led by Natalia and Nikolai. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Madeleine Sackler via Skype.
BBC Arena Preview: The New York Review of Books – A 50 Year Argument + Q&A
Acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese and his longtime documentary collaborator David Tedeschi pay homage to a 20th century American institution: The New York Review of Books. The film weaves rarely seen archival material, interviews and excerpts from writings by such icons as James Baldwin, Gore Vidal and Joan Didion. These scenes reflect the humming and restless energy of a magazine that still feels as vital as its indefatigable founding editor, Robert Silvers. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with Anthony Wall, series editor of BBC Arena.
Screening: Who Is Dayani Cristal? + Q&A
On 3 August 2010, border police discover a decomposing male body beneath a cicada tree deep in Arizona’s sun-blistered Sonora Desert. Director Marc Silver chronicles the story of this migrant found in the strip of desert known as “the corridor of death”. This one life becomes testimony to the tragic results of the US war on immigration. As the forensic investigation unfolds, Mexican actor and activist Gael Garcia Bernal retraces this man’s steps along the migrant trail in Central America. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Marc Silver.
Screening: Seeds of Hope + Q&A
Seeds of Hope follows multiple-rape victim Masika Katsuva, who has rescued some 6,000 women and children in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by offering them shelter in her centre. Filmmaker Fiona Lloyd-Davies follows Katsuva and the centre’s inhabitants, as they reshape their lives to build a new future. The film also speaks with the perpetrators, among them soldiers from the Congolese army, who give extraordinarily open testimony as to why they rape and their attitudes toward their horrific acts. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Fiona Lloyd-Davies.
Syrian Snapshots: We started with hope and ended with despair
By Greta Hofmann At the screening of Syria – Snapshots of History in the Making on Thursday 29 May at the Frontline Club, host Vaughan Smith was joined by Abounaddara Films producer Charif Kiwan, former Le Monde editor and founder of the WARM Foundation Remy Ourdan, and photographers Patrick Chauvel and Paul Lowe, for a pre-screening discussion as well as a […]
Sheffield Doc/Fest 2014 Session: Trust and the Changing Face of News Gathering
For this year,s Frontline Club session at Sheffield Doc/Fest, we bring together a panel to discuss Trust and the Changing Face of News Gathering.
Hearts of Oil: Virunga Sneak Preview + Q&A
By George Symonds “They are like my family.” “They’re just fucking monkeys.” On Thursday 15 May 2014, the Frontline Club screened Virunga, a masterful documentary that portrays both the highest of human empathy, and lowest of murderous greed in eastern DR Congo. Present for the Q&A were director Orlando von Einsiedel, producer Joanna Natasegara and investigative […]
Shorts at the Frontline Club
Join us for another evening of short documentaries, from different parts of the world, covering a wide range of topics. Shorts at the Frontline Club showcases moving, striking and funny films, exploring the many different faces of documentary filmmaking.
Screening: Shado’man + Q&A
At night, a group of young men and women gather on the street corners of Freetown, Sierra-Leone. These Freetown Streetboys, as they call themselves, are amputees, some as a result of the civil-war that ended 10 years ago. Shado’man closely follows the lives of this tight community and delves into the inner world of each character to reveal the dignity of humans surviving under inhumane conditions. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Boris Gerrets.
Preview Screening: The Agreement + Q&A
Before Serbia could begin negotiations to join the European Union, it had to prove it could achieve a modus vivendi with the disputed territory of Kosovo. The Agreement follows the negotiations lead by veteran diplomat Robert Cooper, whose patience reveals how diplomacy actually works, keeping the parties together as the delegates exchange pointed barbs or keep the other side waiting for hours. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Karen Stokkendal Poulsen and protagonist and EU peace negotiator Robert Cooper.
Preview Screening: Secrets of the Vatican + Q&A
Secrets of the Vatican chronicles the events that led to Pope Benedict’s unexpected resignation and looks into the challenges faced by his successor Pope Francis. It investigates these complex and sensitive issues through undercover footage and interviews with Vatican insiders, abuse victims and whistleblowers. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Antony Thomas.
Preview Screening: Miners Shot Down + Q&A
In August 2012, mine workers in one of South Africa’s biggest platinum mines began a strike for better wages. This peaceful demonstration was brought down violently by an intervention from state police forces, killing 34 miners and injuring many more. Miners Shot Down reconstructs what happened in Marikana and the aftermath, through testimonies and previously unseen police, security and TV footage. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Rehad Desai moderated by journalist and filmmaker Inigo Gilmore.
Preview Screening: Return to Homs + Q&A
Filmed between August 2011 and August 2013, Return to Homs is an intimate portrait of a group of young revolutionaries in the city of Homs. Filmmaker Talal Derki followed the journey of two close friends whose lives were turned upside down by the events in Syria. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with producer Orwa Nyrabia via Skype.
Frontline Showcase: Photographing the World
Showcase is back in June and this time we will be focusing on the compelling, inquisitive and thought-provoking images that are being captured around the world. The evening will feature a selection of work by photojournalists Daniel Berehulak, Eman Mohammed, Tim Freccia and Alvaro Ybarra Zavala. Following this, award-winning photojournalist Robert King will be in conversation with roving foreign correspondent for The Times, Anthony Loyd.
Preview Screening: The Condemned + Q&A
Federal Penal Colony No. 56 is situated in central Russia, in the middle of a forest larger than Germany and a seven-hour drive from the nearest city. In winter, temperatures fall to 40 degrees below zero. There are 260 prisoners serving out their sentences, all of them for murder. Nick Read and Mark Franchetti gained access to this isolated world and talked to the men about their crimes, their punishment and what freedom means to them. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Nick Read.
Sneak Preview: Virunga + Q&A
Virunga, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is Africa’s oldest national park, a UNESCO world heritage site and contested ground among insurgents seeking to topple the government who see untold profits in the land. Virunga portrays the personal experiences of the park staff as they prepare to protect everything they’ve worked for in an ongoing political and environmental crisis. This sneak preview screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Orlando von Einsiedel.
The Lost Signal of Democracy
By Tom Adams On Monday 7 April, the Frontline Club welcomed Yorgos Avgeropoulos for the screening of his latest documentary, The Lost Signal of Democracy. The film followed the closure of ERT, Greece’s public broadcasting service, in June 2013, and tracked the progress of its staff and critics right up until the end of March 2014. […]
Into Darkness: Pulling the plug on Greek Democracy
By Elliott Goat Introducing his film The Lost Signal of Democracy, screened at the Frontline Club on Monday 7 April, director Yorgos Avgeropoulos began by describing the film as more than merely a document of the closure of Greece’s public broadcaster, ERT, by the government: “I would just like to say that this film is […]
KINOTEKA Screening: Abu Haraz + Q&A
Abu Haraz can no longer be found on the map. The small North Sudanese village now wallows under 35 meters of water in the middle of an artificial lake 180 kilometres long. For seven years, filmmaker Maciej Drygas observed and documented the daily life of Abu Haraz’s citizens as they protested against the construction of the dam and eventually got ready to be relocated to a place unknown to them. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Maciej Drygas.
Shooting Bigfoot with Morgan Matthews
by Sally Ashley-Cound “I hope you enjoy the film half as much as I enjoyed making it. Apart from the crazy bit,” director Morgan Matthews said on Monday 17 March at the Frontline Club as he introduced his new documentary Shooting Bigfoot in association with BBC Storyville. Warning: Contains spoilers.
WARM Presents: Syria – Snapshots of History in the Making + debate
Founded in 2010 by a group of Syrian filmmakers, Abounaddara anonymously releases weekly films on the web in order to avoid censorship. These short films are a testimony of the fight for freedom in Syria. The film Syria: Snapshots of History in the Making is constructed from these short films and forms an intimate journey into a society on the brink. The screening will be preceded by a discussion with journalist and head of WARM Remy Ourdan , producer of Abounaddara Films Charif Kiwan , photographers Patrick Chauvel and Paul Lowe.
Shorts at the Frontline Club
Join us for an evening of short documentaries, from different parts of the world, covering a wide range of topics. Shorts at the Frontline Club showcases moving, striking and funny films, exploring the many different faces of documentary filmmaking. This month’s six films will take you from the futuristic city of Ordos in inner Mongolia to a slum in Kenya; from Romania under communism to the inner world of war veterans; and from Tibet to Myanmar.
Preview Screening: Aleppo. Notes from the Dark + Q&A
In the summer of 2013, Michal Przedlacki and Wojciech Szumowski spent 44 days in Aleppo, documenting the lives of ordinary citizens in extraordinary circumstances. Aleppo. Notes From the Dark offers a unique and poignant account of life in Aleppo from the perspective of seven of its residents. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with co-directors Michal Przedlacki and Wojciech Szumowski.
Screening: Open Access + Q&A
In 2011 the law ‘On Access to Public Information’ was adopted in Ukraine. Open Access brings together five stories of people in different parts of the country trying to invoke the law to access information. Told by five directors, these stories all illustrate the lack of transparency, indifference, dominance of private motifs and lack of responsibility by the country’s leaders. The screening will be followed by a Q&A via Skype with Ukrainian journalist and protagonist Sergii Leshchenko.
Screening: The Lost Signal of Democracy + Q&A
On the evening of 11 June 2013, the Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras pulled the plug on ERT, Greece’s public broadcaster, after 75 years of continuous operation. The silencing of public television resulted in a political conflict and provoked protests in a country already divided. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Yorgos Avgeropoulos.
Screening: Oleg Klimov – Letters to Myself + Q&A
For 12 years, Oleg Klimov documented the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Throughout the 1990s he witnessed almost all the conflicts and ethnic tensions of the region. Personally affected by his experiences as a war photographer and longing for inner peace, Klimov returns to some of the areas he photographed during wartime: Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and Chechnya. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Masha Novikova in person and photographer Oleg Klimov via Skype.
Preview Screening: The Longest Kiss + Q&A
The meeting of the Blue and White Nile in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, is referred to as ‘the longest kiss in history’. Focusing on the stories of six people searching for a place to call ‘home’ ahead of the south’s secession, The Longest Kiss paints an intimate portrait of the country’s complex fragmentation. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Alexandra Sicotte-Levesque and James Copnall.
BBC Preview Screening: Shooting Bigfoot + Q&A
When director Morgan Matthews decided to join three groups of men from the highly competitive and bitterly divided world of Bigfoot hunting, he got more than he bargained for. Shooting Bigfoot is a raucous road trip featuring a larger than life cast of monster-hunting men who devote their lives to the search for Bigfoot. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Morgan Matthews.
Screening: First to Fall + Q&A
In 2011, director Rachel Beth Anderson followed two friends who abandoned their peaceful lives in Canada and returned to their home country of Libya to fight in the revolution. Hamid (26) and Tarek (21) had never fired a gun, but in 2011 they ran recklessly towards war, fuelled by their hatred of Muammar Gaddafi and their desire to be part of history. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with co-directors Rachel Beth Anderson and Tim Grucza.