colonial history

The inspiring true story of Seretse Khama, the King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments. Seretse and Ruth defied family, Apartheid and empire - their love triumphed over every obstacle flung in their path and in so doing they transformed their nation and inspired the world.

Chile, early 20th century. José Menéndez, a wealthy landowner, hires three horsemen to mark out the perimeter of his extensive property and open a route to the Atlantic Ocean across vast Patagonia.

A Javanese royal and half-Dutch woman fall in love as Indonesia rises to independence from colonial rule.

Jamaican-born Stuart Hall looks at the history of the Caribbean islands through interviews with modern inhabitants.

After World War II, the French colonial empire, which dominated the lives of over 110 million people on five continents, collapsed in just under a quarter century of blood and tears.

From the flickering screens of Hollywood horror, to the haunted cane fields of colonial Haiti, Black Zombie unearths the buried origins of the zombie, reclaiming it as a symbol of survival and spiritual resistance.

Based on the revolutionary novel by Jose Rizal, the story follows Crisostomo Ibarra, a young Filipino man who returned from his studies in Europe, who discovered that his father was falsely imprisoned and abused by the Spanish friars, including Padre Damaso. While he is making plans to uplift the lives of his fellow countrymen, he faced resistance from the Spanish colonial government.

After numerous military operations, Major Müller can't find a way back into civilian life. Following his urge to communicate, the Major is looking for listeners and encouragement. He doesn't find either. Instead, the repeated monological memory of his own heroic deeds determines his present – with all the consequences. This 30-minute short film is based on the statements made by the mercenary Siegfried Müller in the documentary “The Laughing Man” (Walter Heynowski and Gerhard Scheumann, DEFA studio for newsreels and documentaries, 1966), as well as records from the German colonial period in Africa. An intensive contribution to the necessary public debate about the consequences of military operations.

From the camera of celebrated French documentarians Jean-Pierre Bruneau and Jose Reynes, and in the tradition of The Buena Vista Social Club, comes the exhilarating musical documentary Louisiana Blues. From the backwoods of Baton Rouge to the heart the Big Easy, creole and Cajun music have endured despite years of tumult. This film explores not only the musicians who continue to produce this music, but the climate, culture, and way of life that have shaped them. Innumerable zydeco superstars appear onscreen and deliver legendary performances, including Beau Jocque, D.L. Menard, and Zydeco Joe.

Negotiating Amnesia is an essay film based on research conducted at the Alinari Archive and the National Library in Florence. It focuses on the Ethiopian War of 1935-36 and the legacy of the fascist, imperial drive in Italy. Through interviews, archival images and the analysis of high-school textbooks employed in Italy since 1946, the film shifts through different historical and personal anecdotes, modes and technologies of representation.