Eastern Europe


OCCUPATION 1968
OCCUPATION 1968

2019  Anthropology  Cinema Studies  Directed by Women  Eastern Europe  Europe  Peace & Conflict  Russia  Short Films  World History 

An anthology documentary consisting of five short films on the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, each by a different director from the five countries that participated in the occupation. 


WHEN PIGS COME
WHEN PIGS COME

2019  Aging / Gerontology  Cultural Studies  Directed by Women  Eastern Europe  Women's Studies  World History 

A retired teacher in Serbian province, devotedly monitors elections believing that all individuals could and should make a difference in building democracy.


JOANNA
JOANNA

Eastern Europe  Family Relations  Health  Death & Dying  Women's Studies  2015  Academy Award Winners & Nominees  Short Films  Medicine  Directed by Women 

2015 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Short Subject, Joanna is a tender and heartbreaking portrait of a young wife and mother facing terminal cancer who, wishing to leave something behind for her eight-year-old son, begins writing an online journal that resonates with and becomes embraced by millions of devoted readers.

LETTERS TO MAX
LETTERS TO MAX

Political Science  Cinema Studies  Russia  Eastern Europe  2015 

What is the job of a diplomat for a country that does not exist? With this question, acclaimed filmmaker Eric Baudelaire initiates a wide-ranging correspondence with his friend Maxim Gvinjia, former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Abkhazia, a country with physical borders, a government, and its own flag, but has not been recognized as a nation.

image coming soon
SOKUROV: EARLY MASTERWORKS

Literature  Russia  Cinema Studies  Eastern Europe 

A deluxe collector"s set featuring three early masterworks by visionary Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark, Alexandra) in newly translated and restored director"s cuts: Whispering Pages (70 min), a brooding, beautiful film inspired by nineteenth-century Russian literature, primarily Dostoevsky"s "Crime and Punishment"; Stone (79 min), a mysterious fable about a young night watchman"s encounter with the ghost of Chekhov; and Save and Protect (133 min), a visually sumptuous adaptation of Flaubert"s "Madame Bovary".

MAIDAN
MAIDAN

2015  Russia  Eastern Europe  Political Science  Sociology  Cinema Studies 

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa, Maidan chronicles the civil uprising that toppled the government of Ukrainian president Victor Yanukovich and has since developed into an international crisis. Filmed in stunning long takes, sans commentary, Maidan is a record of a momentous historical event and an extraordinary study of the popular uprising as a social, cultural and philosophical phenomenon.

THE WOMAN WITH THE FIVE ELEPHANTS
THE WOMAN WITH THE FIVE ELEPHANTS

Literature  Eastern Europe  Psychology & Psychiatry  Russia  Jewish Studies  World History  2011 

Winner of multiple awards, The Woman with the Five Elephants unravels the mystery behind the life and work of the world's greatest translator of Russian literature. A poetic, precise and revelatory investigation into language, meaning, and the tides of history.

THE DESERT OF FORBIDDEN ART
THE DESERT OF FORBIDDEN ART

Art History  Russia  Eastern Europe  Anthropology  Cultural Studies  Islamic Studies  2010  Directed by Women 

The incredible story of how a treasure trove of banned Soviet art worth millions of dollars was found in the desert of Uzbekistan develops into a larger exploration of how art survives in times of oppression. A fascinating documentary about a group of visionary artists and one man who risked his life to rescue their work.

17 August
17 August

Criminal & Law  Psychology & Psychiatry  Russia  Eastern Europe  2010 

On a small island in central Russia, inside a former monastery converted into a high security prison, inmate Boris Bezotechestvo is serving a life sentence in solitary confinement. This startling documentary chronicles one day in his life, advancing a complex and troubling assessment of crime and punishment.

THE ENGLISH SURGEON
THE ENGLISH SURGEON

Health  Eastern Europe  2009  Medicine 

What is it like to have God-like surgical powers, yet to struggle against your own humanity? This film follows a renowned brain surgeon to Eastern Europe as he confronts an under-funded healthcare system and the dilemmas of the doctor-patient relationship. Original soundtrack by Nick Cave.

FOR GOD, TSAR AND THE FATHERLAND
FOR GOD, TSAR AND THE FATHERLAND

Eastern Europe  Cultural Studies  Political Science  Peace & Conflict  Russia  Religion & Spirituality  2009  Directed by Women 

Is the small village of Durakovo - where residents unquestioningly obey a self-appointed leader - a microcosm of Russia today? For God, Tsar and the Fatherland deftly explores what drives the current strain of Russian patriotism, and why many of the country's citizens oppose Western-style democracy.

THE LOST COLONY
THE LOST COLONY

Anthropology  Health  Europe  Eastern Europe  Science  Russia  Biology  2008  Directed by Women 

The recent history of Abkhazia - a breakaway republic in Georgia, like South Ossetia - is told through the story of a once-renowned scientific institute struggling to survive after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. It's a far different perspective on the Russia-Georgia crisis than what's reported on CNN.

ORANGE REVOLUTION
ORANGE REVOLUTION

Political Science  Media Studies  Eastern Europe  Russia  2007 

An in-depth look at Ukraine's historic Orange Revolution. Assembled from over 300 hours of original footage and archival materials, featuring penetrating interviews with key players, this documentary chronicles one of the most successful non-violent revolutions in decades.

SONIA
SONIA

Art History  Women's Studies  Russia  Performing Arts  Jewish Studies  Eastern Europe  Cultural Studies  Architecture  2007  Directed by Women 

A magical portrait of Russia's revolutionary artistic avant-garde - Mayakovsky, Voloshin, Blok, Malevich, Tatlin - through the life of Sonia Dymshitz-Tolstaya, an impassioned artist whose life reflected the social upheavals of her time. She was one of the few Jewish women who became part of this inner circle.

IN MEMORIAM: ALEXANDER LITVINENKO
IN MEMORIAM: ALEXANDER LITVINENKO

Russia  Political Science  Eastern Europe  Criminal & Law  Media Studies  Islamic Studies  Terrorism Studies  2007  Directed by Women 

Begun nearly two years before his death, this fascinating documentary offers a meticulous account of the life and final days of ex-FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko, who died of radiation poisoning in November 2006. In the process, it provides extraordinary insight into the current political climate in Russia.

IN SEARCH OF HAPPINESS
IN SEARCH OF HAPPINESS

Russia  Jewish Studies  Eastern Europe  Aging / Gerontology 

A beautiful and poetic film about the last remaining Jews in Birobidzhan, the world's first Jewish autonomous region, established in a distant corner of Siberia in the 1920s.

THE GREAT COMMUNIST BANK ROBBERY
THE GREAT COMMUNIST BANK ROBBERY

Sociology  Political Science  Media Studies  Jewish Studies  Eastern Europe  Criminal & Law  Cinema Studies 

This striking documentary reveals the incredible story behind the greatest bank robbery that ever occurred in a Communist state - a tale of disillusionment, resistance, government propaganda, and Jewish life behind the iron curtain.

THE ANGELMAKERS
THE ANGELMAKERS

Women's Studies  Alcohol & Drug Abuse  Aging / Gerontology  Eastern Europe  Death & Dying  Criminal & Law  Sociology  Psychology & Psychiatry  Directed by Women 

In a sleepy Hungarian village, after the First World War, a series of arsenic murders took place. Over 140 bodies were discovered. The victims, all men, were apparently killed by their wives.

RIVER OF TIME
RIVER OF TIME

Science  Russia  Physical Science  Europe  Eastern Europe 

A poetic journey into the groundbreaking theories of Russian scientist Igor Novikov, renowned for his work in astrophysics and amazing theories on the concept of time.

image coming soon
CARPATI: 50 Miles, 50 Years

Jewish Studies  Music  Eastern Europe 

Carpati: 50 Miles 50 Years focuses on Zev Godinger, a Jewish ice cream man of the Carpathian Mountains, a self-described "proste" (ordinary) Jew who embarks on a symbolic pilgrimage to his hometown.

1 2 3