Located nearly 80 kilometres north of Berlin, Germany, the former municipality of Ravensbrück was home to a prison between 1939 and 1945 that became a concentration camp designed specifically for women. It was built by order of Heinreich Himmler, a high dignitary of the Third Reich and head of the SS. Of the more than 130,000 people who were deported there, almost 90,000 never returned. Based on witnesses, international experts and computer-generated images, the document reveals the atrocities committed in Ravensbrück.
Episodic story of the resistance to the German invasion of the Ukraine in 1918 during World War 1, and made as an example of the guerrilla warfare and fierce spirit in which Ukrainian peasants were again resisting Teuton onslaughts in 1939. Highlights a small band of guerrillas and their battles using scythes, shotguns and, often, just clubs against the Kaiser's army in the Ukrainian forests.
Sicily, July 10, 1943: the US army lands in Gela, where some divisions encounter strenuous resistance from the Italian army. The marines, in an attempt to escape to safety, are dispersed through the Sicilian countryside. A small task force luckily meets Robert Capa: the great photojournalist, who launched himself at the first light of dawn together with the soldiers of the ill-fated 82nd division, awaits help hanging from a tree. The group of soldiers, with the photojournalist and a wounded comrade, stops at a farm of poor Sicilian shepherds. John Mancuso, marine of the first infantry division, discovers that his father's birthplace is in nearby Niscemi, and wants to go and see it. He will get help from little Salvatore.
In 1962, René Vautier, together with some Algerian friends, organised the audio-visual formation centre Ben Aknoun to encourage a "dialogue in images" between the two factions. Together with his students he made a film that shows the history of the Algerian War and of the ALN (National Liberation Army), and life during the reconstruction.
In 1945, on the battlefields in Hungary, three Bulgarian soldiers from the reserve have to fight for the liberation of the country. They are totally unprepared for the war and have no desire to take part in the battles. The three reservists are the sad sight and initially their commander wants to send them back to Bulgaria. But their attitude is changed after the witnessed tragedies. Without knowing it, they all turn into heroes.
In the depths of a snowy forest in an unknown wartime, two soldiers from opposing armies try to outwit each other in a perilous game of cat and mouse - until they find themselves outplayed by destiny.
A plane drops an atomic bomb, after which the pilot is ordered into hiding by the command centre. They have even rented a piece of jungle for him, where he starts a micro-community. However, a power struggle ensues between his half-blind granddaughter Ruby, the insomniac bodyguard, the priest appointed as her guardian by the pilot, and a policeman who says he is family. Things explode when Ruby befriends a mysterious stranger.
In 1895, young journalist Albertine Auclair arrives in the Kabylie during a family visit. The beauty of the region seduces her but she soon learns of the struggles of the native Algerians. She hears in particular about Arezki El Bachir, who was recently sentenced to death by the colonial justice system, and decides to find out more about this extraordinary man.
An Iraqi pilot crashes during the Iran-Iraq War over the Kurdish mountains, and two teams race to find him first: the Iranians who want to arrest him, and the Kurds who want to save him from Iranian capture.
Vietnam, 1968, João Cruz and his platoon are assigned to Da Nang when they are ambushed and taken prisoner by the VC forces, commanded by Colonel Tó Huang, Now he will have to come up with a plan to get out of there, anyway he can. Will he make it, we will find out soon.
During Korean War Chinese veteran Du Chuan was ordered to reorganize the reconnaissance platoon to carry out the mission of raiding deep behind enemy lines. In order to survive the main force, the Volunteer Army's third reconnaissance platoon risked their lives in the attack, forged with fearless courage and the belief of living towards death. A Great Wall of flesh and blood was erected to block the enemy's torrent of steel.
Sergei Govorukhin, son of well known Soviet and Russian film director Stanislav Govorukhin, was a Russian scriptwriter and war correspondent. This is his first and only documentary, dealing with his feelings about the first war he covered - the first Chechen war - as well as his very cynical view of Russian society during this time. These feelings and opinions were shared by many other war correspondents and cameramen at the time. The author used heavily contrasting footage and sound to illustrate his point of the indifference of 90's/early 2000's Russian society towards the conflicts it found itself in after the Second World War.
A response in music and film to the conflict that launched a century of war, and a celebration of the power of art to keep us sane and offer us comfort. Beyond Zero: 1914-1918 brings together three of the world's most pioneering artists: the Kronos Quartet, known for decades for their trailblazing performances and collaborations; acclaimed Serbian composer Aleksandra Vrebalov; and filmmaker Bill Morrison, respected for his work with rare and even partially destroyed archive images.
Normandy, 1944. Young engineer Sgt. Wally Harris and his unit of craftsmen begin a journey through France, aiding the Allied liberation of Northern Europe. Untrained in combat, Wally and his men have never looked their enemy in the eye, until now.
