Aslanbek

A 20-minute documentary film about the Kyrgyz people living by the Narym River.

Life in a Kyrgyz aul (village) in the mountains connected to the rest of the world by a cable bridge, and the teenage boys who are constructing the rope of the bridge. A rope bridge which the locals call “The devil’s bridge” forms part of each and every event which takes place in a small village lost in the mountains of the Kyrgyz Republic. A platform driven by a huge winch which they have to pull with their own strength to cross the torrent is their only link with the outside world. But the director of the documentary wondered something else: “Does this bridge unite or does it actually separate?” Through the mist and over the thrashing waters, the inhabitants of the area glide along their ropes. A film, in the director’s own words, about ordinary people who live in an extraordinary place.

As a boy, Dawa was an illiterate Tibetan nomad whose life revolved around herding yaks. At 13, his life changed: through a series of visions, Dawa acquired the gift of telling the epic story of Tibet’s King Gesar. Now, at 35, Dawa receives a salary from the government as a guardian of national cultural heritage and is regarded as a holy man by his community. When an earthquake reduces his hometown to rubble, redevelopment of the region takes a giant leap forward. In the midst of such seismic shifts, Dawa seeks healing from King Gesar and other divine protectors of the land.

In recent years, the number of people living in a bus or camper has increased significantly. But for this growing group, there are fewer and fewer places where you can legally park. The Kardinge car park in Groningen, a popular refuge for people staying in their campers, is also under pressure. Does the Netherlands actually have room for nomads and what drives people to want to live off the beaten track? Filmmaker Tom Tieman temporarily goes into hiding at the Kardinge car park and meets the current residents. Read more

A documentary on the experiences of the Nubetya Yaptiks nomadic family in the Yamal Peninsula, Eastern Siberia, from 1992 to 2001.

Imagine one of the most remote wildernesses in the world. Granddaughter Masha and Vladimir, the protagonists of this story from Central Siberia try the impossible to keep their nomadic traditions alive.

After Kai saves a woman's life, he turns into an overnight hero and viral sensation — until disturbing truths about his erratic behavior come to light. This shocking documentary chronicles a happy-go-lucky nomad's ascent to viral stardom and the resulting steep downward spiral.

One of the highest achievements of the new wave of Kirghiz cinema, which emerged in the mid-1960s. This story of a boy building sandcastles on the shores of the Issyk-Kul Lake becomes a documentary parable on the tensions between an artist and society.

ROAMERS accompanies different characters on their way through the countries and social media feeds of this world: From the celebrated video blogger from Palestine who quit his lucrative job at PayPal in favor of as much life experience as possible, to the former young top manager who gave up her business in Switzerland and her marriage for the adventure of a round-the-world trip, to the Argentinean couple who use their computer science skills acquired at IBM to distribute self-produced porn videos online "on demand" and thus finance their trip around the world. As digital nomads who become the creators of their impressive life stories on their own initiative, they are all sounding out the boundaries of a new era: between personal freedom and the dependence on algorithms and wifi, between self-fulfillment and self- exploitation - in search of meaning and support in a world that offers ever more possibilities and yet also seems increasingly fragmented.

Explorer Bruce Parry visits nomadic tribes in Borneo and the Amazon in hope to better understand humanity's changing relationship with the world around us.

The last two surviving members of the Piripkura people, a nomadic tribe in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil, struggle to maintain their indigenous way of life amidst the region's massive deforestation. Living deep in the rainforest, Pakyî and Tamandua live off the land relying on a machete, an ax, and a torch lit in 1998.