Raise the Bamboo Curtain: Vietnam, Cambodia, and Burma(1996)

Top Gear: The Burma Special(en)

In this special Clarkson, Hammond and May don’t just buy three knackered old lorries and drive miles through the beautiful landscapes of Burma. Oh dear no. They actually have to use their lorries to do something useful. They have to build a real, use able bridge over the River Kwai. On their way to the river they almost bring down Burma’s power supply, encounter the world’s least relaxing truck stop, race around the streets of a deserted capital, saddle up a trio of unhelpful horses and attend a completely deranged party.

Vietnam: Fast Forward(en)

An uplifting documentary that explores the human element behind Vietnam’s resurgence as one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Das Dorf der Freundschaft(de)

A German Documentary about the “village of friendship” that was created by American Veteran George Mizo to help the Vietnamese kids suffering from the Vietnam War.

Angkor - Ein Urwaldgeheimnis in Kambodscha(de)

An overview of the ruins of Angkor, the former capital of the Khmer Empire.

Art as a Weapon(en)

Street art, creativity and revolution collide in this beautifully shot film about art’s ability to create change. The story opens on the politically charged Thailand/Burma border at the first school teaching street art as a form of non-violent struggle. The film follows two young girls (Romi & Yi-Yi) who have escaped 50 years of civil war in Burma to pursue an arts education in Thailand. Under the threat of imprisonment and torture, the girls use spray paint and stencils to create images in public spaces to let people know the truth behind Burma's transition toward "artificial democracy." Eighty-two hundred miles away, artist Shepard Fairey is painting a 30’ mural of a Burmese monk for the same reasons and in support of the students' struggle in Burma. As these stories are inter-cut, the film connects these seemingly unrelated characters around the concept of using art as a weapon for change.

The Lies That Led America To War In Vietnam(en)

America's involvement in the Vietnam War dramatically intensified in 1964 after the Tonkin Gulf incident, an incident in which the blame falls squarely on the Johnson administration. What would follow would be a series of misinformation and outright lies from the government to mislead the American public into supporting a war that would become increasingly harder to justify.

Nearly Really Me(en)

Nearly Really Me follows the story of Karla, a 35 year old professional who knows her life is fine, and yet feels that fine isn't good enough, she wants to feel alive. Trouble is, she has no real idea how to go about it. So she outsources her existential crisis to an internationally respected medium for direction and soon finds herself embarking on a trip to Vietnam for their 5 day spiritual conference, where participants gain knowledge, wisdom and insights delivered unlike any other in the world.

The Fog of War(en)

Using archival footage, cabinet conversation recordings, and an interview of the 85-year-old Robert McNamara, The Fog of War depicts his life, from working as a WWII whiz-kid military officer, to being the Ford Motor Company's president, to managing the Vietnam War as defense secretary for presidents Kennedy and Johnson.

Narratives of Modern Genocide(en)

Narratives of Modern Genocide challenges the audience to experience first-person accounts of survivors of genocide. Sichan Siv and Gilbert Tuhabonye share how they escaped the killing fields of Cambodia, and the massacre of school children in Burundi. Mixing haunting animation, and expert context the film confronts our notion that the holocaust was the last genocide.

Taking the Hill(en)

Over the years, Raul Ries, a military veteran (US Marine Corps) has reached out to those who are serving or have served in our armed forces. He has spoken to countless men and women from various theaters of military conflict, after their return home. In 2006, 40 years after fighting in the jungles of Vietnam, Ries experienced flashbacks for the first time. Subsequently, he found three of the men closest to him, who fought alongside of him in the Marine Corps unit ALPHA 1/7, and have suffered the consequences. Together again, they are taking the hill and finding healing.

Mirr(km)

Insein Rhythm(en)

Insein Rhythm portrays the sights, sounds and rhythms of Yangon’s Insein train station which is also a stone’s throw away from the country’s infamous Insein prison.

Chin and the Mountain(en)

A Hmong guide's daily life in the mountains of Sapa, North Vietnam.

Moving to Mars(en)

Moving to Mars charts the epic journey made by two Burmese families from a vast refugee camp on the Thai/Burma border to their new homes in the UK. At times hilarious, at times emotional, their travels provide a fascinating and unique insight not only into the effects of migration, but also into one of the most important current political crises - Burma.

À la Poursuite des Pilleurs de Temples(fr)

In 1972, during Cambodia's civil war, a sandstone statue was torn from the age-old Koh Ker temple. Measuring 1.58m high and weighing 110 kilos, it depicts a prince and belongs to a collection that retraces the epic of the Mahabharata. The sculpture was first sold at auction in London in 1975, via a strange British art dealer based in Bangkok, and reappeared in 2011 at Sotheby's in New York with a bid of $2.5 million. A sale that was ultimately prohibited. In the meantime, experts from the École française d'Extrême-Orient, an American lawyer commissioned by Phnom Penh and UNESCO mobilized the Heritage Police across the Atlantic to denounce the theft of a cultural asset. In 2013, the work was returned to Cambodia. A captivating investigation into the international mafia of antiquities trafficking.

Země jihu – Vietnam(cs)

I Am Golden Karen(en)

I AM GOLDEN KAREN is a coming-of-age story of Thaawa, a Karen refugee in search of his identity as a migrant in Thailand. In between puberty and adulthood, he nurtures a strong desire to return to his motherland, Karen State, Burma.

Little Dieter Needs to Fly(en)

Three decades after German-American pilot Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, he returns to the places where he was held prisoner during the early years of the Vietnam War. Accompanied by director Werner Herzog, Dengler describes in unusually candid detail his captivity, the friendships he made, and his daring escape. Not willing to stop there, Herzog even persuades his subject to re-enact certain tortures, with the help of some willing local villagers.

Defending Brother No.2(nl)

Two Dutch lawyers, Michiel Pestman and Victor Koppe, travel to Cambodia in 2011 to defend Nuon Chea in an international tribunal. Nuon Chea, also known as Brother No. 2, was the second man after Pol Pot in the Khmer Rouge regime. He is being charged with mass murder and crimes against humanity. For four years, the documentary follows the lawyers in their attempt to give this man a fair trial, but the UN tribunal is beset by local interests and a government which consists partly of other former members of the Khmer Rouge who would really like all of the blame to rest solely on the defendant. What should've been the crowning achievement in the careers of the lawyers turns out very different.

Norodom Sihanouk, King and Film-maker(fr)

Profile of the Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk, at the head of a country that has experienced colonization, the wars of the 20th century and the tragic period of the Khmers Rouge.