1. Memory Books
In Uganda, AIDS-infected mothers have begun writing what they call Memory Books for their children. Aware of the illness, it is a way for the family to come to terms with the inevitable death that it faces. Hopelessness and desperation are confronted through the collaborative effort of remembering and recording, a process that inspires unexpected strength and even solace in the face of death.
2. Witness 1939: When War Broke Out
WITNESS 1939 : THE DAY THE WAR BROKE OUT uses the words of interviewees, to add a personal insight into the events of 1939 and the beginning of the Second World War. From a Polish soldier we hear about the invasion of Poland and his experiences on the front line; we hear from an RAF pilot who scrambled to intercept a non-existent intruder, when the sirens sounded minutes after the announcement that Britain was at war. We also hear from the pilot who, two days later, took part in the 'friendly fire' incident that claimed the first RAF casualty of the war. Others give us a child's perspective of events. And what it was like to be evacuated. Their stories are illustrated using archive film. These are the untold stories of ordinary people, whose words convey a true sense of what it was like to be living at a time of momentous events.
3. When We Were Kings
It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.
It has an average vote of 7.708 on TMDB.
4. Traceroute
Artist and life-long nerd Johannes Grenzfurthner is taking us on a personal road trip from the West Coast to the East Coast of the USA, to introduce us to places and people that shaped and inspired his art and politics. Traceroute wants to chase and question the ghosts of nerddom's past, present and future. An exhilarating tour de farce into the guts of trauma, obsession and cognitive capitalism. Features interviews with Matt Winston, Sandy Stone, Bruce Sterling, Jason Scott, Christina Agapakis, Trevor Paglen, Ryan Finnigan, Kit Stubbs, V. Vale, Sean Bonner, Allison Cameron, Josh Ellingson, Maggie Mayhem, Paolo Pedercini, Steve Tolin, Dan Wilcox, Jon Lebkowsky, Jan "Varka" Mulders, Adam Flynn, Abie Hadjitarkhani, Kelly Poots...
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
5. Caixa D'Água: Qui-Lombo é Esse? (Caixa D'Água: Qui-Lombo é Esse?)
The documentary "Caixa D'água: Qui-lombo is this?" It reports, through testimonies from former residents and photographic collections, the importance in the cultural and historical scope of the Getúlio Vargas neighborhood located in Aracaju, capital of Sergipe. Emphasis is placed on black culture and the presence of black slaves and their descendants, with the rescue of issues related to their origin, orality, geographical location and awareness of their racial identity, showing that, although this community exists in an urban area, it still maintains many aspects of the quilombo life of the former black slaves in Brazil.
6. Maafa: Truth 2007
With the British government promoting an inaccurate revisionist version of the 1807 Abolition of the 'Slave Trade' Act many are determined to ensure that Truth prevails in 2007. With contributions from community activists, project workers, teachers, historians and the business community, this documentary confronts the myths about British slavery, presents the true history of the Maafa and African resistance and examines the politics of the government's bicentenary celebrations. On Screen Contributors: Dr Abiola Ogunshola, emma pierre, Bro Hakim, Dr Hakim Adi, Henry Bonsu, Ms Serwah, Bro Omowale, Kwaku Bonsu, Kubara Zamani, Dr Kimani Nehusi, Bro Ldr Mbandaka, Michael Eboda, Onyeka, shaka Marday, Stephen Henry, Teleica Kirkland and Dr William Lez Henry. Directed by Toyin Agbetu Produced by emma pierre
7. Maafa Legacy
Maafa Legacy exposes the euro-academic view that British slavery was just ‘trade’ as a lie and reveals why the crimes both past and present that continue to be committed against Mama Africa and her children stand as the most heinous ever in World history. This documentary also provides a retrospective view of Wilberfest 2007 and explores the enduring legacy of the Maafa on African people residing in the Diaspora. On Screen Contributors: Dr Abiola Ogunshola, Sis Ayen Meke, Christopher Cole, emma pierre, Bro Hakim, Hakim Adi, Sis Jendayi Serwah, Kimani Nehusi, Kubara Zamani, Kwaku Bonsu, Kwaku-Jesse Konadu Olaleye, Dr Lez Henry, Manga Clem Marshall, Bro Mbandaka, Michael Eboda, Morenike Fasuyi, Netsanet Solomon, Oleander William, Onyeka, Bro Omowale, Sis Panyin Aikins, Royson James, Sis Dr. Sandra Richards, Teleica Kirkland, Tony Warner, Toyin Agbetu, Tracey Jarrett Directed and produced by Toyin Agbetu
8. Maisha Solutions
In a two part documentary, specifically made for a Pan African audience, we follow the writer and activist, Toyin Agbetu as he shares the results of his three year journey across three continents in seek of solutions to the many problems African people currently face as a result of Maafa. Rejecting the classic ten point plan method, Maisha Solutions instead features contributions from various voices across the world with a strong emphasis placed upon independent learning and the empowerment of young people and women. This two part film offers insights into various topics and invites viewers to take leadership roles by becoming Pan African community workers that utilise our progressive traditional customs in order to successfully tackle many of the challenges we face today. Directed and Produced by Toyin Agbetu
9. The Walk
On 27 March 2007 a Pan Africanist named Toyin Agbetu challenged the British Government, Monarchy and Church as they gathered to hold a religious celebration for the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in Westminster Abbey, England. Toyin, who condemned the service as an insult and disgrace, halted the proceedings with words that gave a voice to the collective view of millions around the world. As Maafa truths were revealed he was demonised and misrepresented in the British media as a ‘lone madman’. Watch the restored uncensored footage of what happened that day and afterwards when the African community in Britain stood beside him - from his arrest and incarceration to the eventual dropping of all criminal charges. Directed by Toyin Agbetu Produced by emma pierre
10. JFK Remembered: 50 Years Later
A look back at the 1000 days of the John F. Kennedy presidency.
It has an average vote of 3 on TMDB.
11. La face cachée de Hiroshima (La face cachée de Hiroshima)
(La face cachée de Hiroshima)
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
12. Pages in the dream factory (Pagen in der Traumfabrik - Schwarze Komparsen in deutschen Spielfilmen)
Until 1942 around 100 German propaganda films were made, that were set in Africa. They were produced in Germany, with Black Germans and Africans living in Germany. Who were these Black extras and how did they come to Germany? Why did they work in film-making? Which roles did they play and what messages did they send? What were their daily experiences as Black people during the Weimar Republic and the Nazi Regime?
13. The Computers
Six young women programmed the world's first all-electronic programmable computer, ENIAC, as part of a secret US WWII project. They changed the world, but were never introduced and never received credit. These pioneers deserve to be known and celebrated: Betty Snyder Holberton, Jean Jennings Barik, Kay McNulty Mauchly Antonelli, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum, and Frances Bilas Spence.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
14. WWII From Space
WWII from Space delivers World War II in a way you've never experienced it before. This HISTORY special uses an all-seeing CGI eye that offers a satellite view of the conflict, allowing you to experience it in a way that puts key events and tipping points in a global perspective. By re-creating groundbreaking moments that could never have been captured on camera, and by illustrating the importance of simultaneity and the hidden effects of crucial incidents, HISTORY presents the war's monumental moments in a never-before-seen context. And with new information brought to the forefront, you'll better understand how a nation ranked 19th in the world's militaries in 1939 emerged six years later as the planet's only atomic superpower.
It has an average vote of 7.1 on TMDB.
15. Barnstorming
Barnstorming is the true story of an unexpected friendship that developed between a farm family and two pilots who literally dropped out of the sky. Their friendship has created a new tradition out of an old one long gone: barnstorming.
16. Swing con Son (Swing con Son)
Music documentary by director Rafael Marziano Tinoco from Venezuela
17. How the Monuments Came Down
How the Monuments Came Down is a timely and searing look at the history of white supremacy and Black resistance in Richmond. The feature-length film-brought to life by history-makers, descendants, scholars, and activists-reveals how monuments to Confederate leaders stood for more than a century, and why they fell.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
18. The Word in the Woods (La Palabra en el Bosque) (The Word in the Woods (La Palabra en el Bosque))
During the early 1970s, hundreds of peasants in a remote region of El Salvador began to emulate the early Christians, working the land together and building communities based on solidarity. By the late 1970s, thousands of peasants in northern Morazan organized to resist National Guard repression which often involved torture and executions. In 1980s, the military engaged in scorched earth operations against their villages, inaugurating a 12-year civil war. The Word in the Woods tells their stories. The film's protagonists must reflect upon their struggles in the light of current reality.
19. Out of Darkness
Out of Darkness is a full length three-part documentary by director Amadeuz Christ , examining the untold history of African people, the African cultural contribution to the nations of the world, and the events that have contributed to the condition of African people today. Out of Darkness will explore the Nubian/Kushitic origins of Nile Valley Civilization, contact between Africa and the Americas since the times of antiquity, as well as the influence of the Moors in Europe leading to Europe’s intellectual Renaissance. In addition, the film will analyze the history of modern day racism, the concept of “white supremacy,” the impact of Hip Hop as a social movement, and the idea of nationhood. Out of Darkness is narrated by Prof. Kaba Kamene and co-stars Dr. Umar Johnson, Dr. Claud Anderson, Tim Wise, Prof. James Small, Dr. Joy DeGruy, Anthony Browder, Sabir Bey, Atlantis Browder, and Taj Tarik Bey.
20. The Certainty of Probabilities (Certitudinea probabilităților)
1968, The Socialist Republic of Romania. Women catch up on the latest tendencies in beachwear, the young hippies of Hamburg are harshly criticized by Romanian students, while Nicolae Ceaușescu reads the famous defiance speech against the intervention of the Warsaw Pact troops in Czechoslovakia. Floating solemnly over all this is The Internationale, sung on a stadium by a crowd of pioneers dressed in white shirts and red ties. A certainty for each probability: the documentary is at the same time a history lesson and an ideological warning sign, the director’s endeavour permanently draws our attention to the functions of the propaganda film, yet without tarnishing the fascination that dwells in the core of the images, that of the figures that wave at us from a past buried in commonplaces and political parti pris.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
