Wuhan: The Long Night

Amidst the grand walls of the Forbidden City, the film takes us on a deep journey through the ceremonial life of the Chinese emperor, unveiling the secrets and intrigues of concubines, eunuchs, and palace maids. As the West begins to influence China in the late 19th century, the dynamics within the city shift dramatically. The film highlights the preservation and restoration of invaluable treasures and paintings, culminating in the creation of the Palace Museum. With insights from renowned China scholar, Jonathan Spence, this is an intimate exploration of the rich cultural and historical tapestry that makes up the heart of ancient China.

As the 'one country two systems' policy in Hong Kong has slowly eroded, resentment among the territory's citizens has steadily grown. What began as a series of spontaneous protests against an extradition law in March 2019 has now escalated in to a full-blown popular uprising that shows no signs of abating. ABC Four Corners reports from the frontline of the action, capturing extraordinary footage of the growing tension and violence.

It’s spring in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Uyantza festival is underway with the community celebrating all that the forest has to offer. Meanwhile, news is breaking around the world that a novel virus is spreading and a state of emergency is declared across the country. As people test positive for COVID-19 in the community, some families decide to leave and head deeper into the jungle. Disconnected from school, friends, the internet, and work, one family learns to reconnect with life in the forest. The children begin to unlearn the national curriculum, and instead are taught Indigenous knowledge that mainstream schools normally pass over. As COVID-19 wreaks havoc around the planet, the family reconnect to their ancestral ways, but as news arrives that Ecuador’s lockdown will end soon, will the family choose to return?

Follows the artist over two years as he explores his „life after Beethoven“, as he searches for his next challenge, his identity as an artist.

How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? Why do the poor often seem happier than the rich? Must a society lose its traditions in order to move into the future? These are some of the questions posed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by filmmaker and explorer Rick Ray. Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of an extraordinary spiritual leader. This is his story, as told and filmed by Rick Ray during a private visit to his monastery in Dharamsala, India over the course of several months. Also included is rare historical footage as well as footage supplied by individuals who at great personal risk, filmed with hidden cameras within Tibet.

Crocodile in the Yangtze follows China's first Internet entrepreneur and former English teacher, Jack Ma, as he battles US giant eBay on the way to building China's first global Internet company, Alibaba Group. An independent memoir written, directed and produced by an American who worked in Ma's company for eight years, Crocodile in the Yangtze captures the emotional ups and downs of life in a Chinese Internet startup at a time when the Internet brought China face-to-face with the West. Crocodile in the Yangtze draws on 200 hours of archival footage filmed by over 35 sources between 1995 and 2009. The film presents a strikingly candid portrait of Ma and his company, told from the point of view of an “American fly on a Chinese wall” who witnessed the successes and the mistakes Alibaba encountered as it grew from a small apartment into a global company employing 16,000 staff.

A Rebel Without a Cause for a new generation, and one of the most defiant children to ever grace the big screen, 14-year-old Hai is a teenage terror, a high school dropout and an all-around badass. He is also entirely irresistible. You cannot take your eyes off this kid, complete with a motorbike and an everpresent cigarette butt drooping from the corner of his mouth. (Dorothy Woodend, DOXA Documentary Film Festival)