In Defense Of

Directed by Rafigh Pooya.

Four comic vignettes -- involving an activist, a balding writer, some Jews, and Troma Entertainment President Lloyd Kaufman -- connect in a stream-of-consciousness style reminiscent of Monty Python, The Firesign Theatre, and Luis Bunuel.

The only people charged over the brutal police murder of Elijah McClain are community activists who organized mass peaceful demonstrations calling for justice. They are facing up to 48 years in prison - among the highest charges for peaceful political protest in recent history.

A VD film from the Jim Handy studio

In this satire of the marriage equality movement, Sam and Alex prepare to get married in the heated climate of modern middle-America, their friends gathering to show them support, even if their family is uncomfortably absent. Each friend takes the time to give an interview for the happy couple’s wedding video, until the ceremony begins. As Sam starts walking down the aisle, the viewing audience will start to realize something is not quite what it seems. As the ensemble cast finally gets to see their friends joined together forever, none of them realize the true horror that awaits them.

French director Martin Ginestie arranges these powerful scenes according to chronology and subject matter to emphasize the iterative nature of the peace process, the repetitive images echoing persistent deadlock. In quick succession we see brief segments of Yasser Arafat shaking hands with countless world leaders, including Bill Clinton; of men throwing rocks, of blood on the streets; of explosions on city streets; and of Arafat being carried to his grave. Then the tragedy starts all over again, but with new protagonists. Now it is the Palestinian president Abbas who is shaking countless hands – with Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and so on. But it does nothing to stop the bombs raining down on the cities, destroying houses and refugee camps.

Senior prosecutor Duan Hongshan from the city prosecutor's office is tasked with handling a case involving a woman accused of killing her abusive husband. Young prosecutor Fang Lingyuan from the provincial office is assigned to assist. As they investigate, they discover connections to a case from Duan’s past. Guided by facts and legal principles, they navigate complex issues of justice, sentiment, and law to reach an accurate conclusion in the case.

When the Japanese government puts civilian organizations in charge of the country's air force, some of these companies decide to put their aspiring idol singers behind the controls of their fighter planes. Among these groups of idol singers is Hummingbird, a five-woman team consisting of the Toreishi sisters: Satsuki, Uzuki, Yayoi, Kanna and Miina. During a taping session, video director Kudo sees some potential in these girls and jumps in to help them reach the top of the charts by directing their debut video.

Defense attorneys, Chris Tritico and Stephen Jones, detail their time representing Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in his capital murder trial and their efforts to spare him the death penalty.

Set in the surreal landscape of her mind, a young woman must overcome her traumatic past in order to cultivate a potential new relationship.

Dan is a former geisha, now working as an ace pilot for the Earth Defense Troops. Her fiance was killed by the space monster Bemurasu which consumes nuclear waste. To save Planet Earth, Dan attacks Bemurasu, but whenever she does, she feels ecstasy. Can she save Planet Earth?

Two friends from the last war, Pierrot, a bar owner, and Gustave, a police inspector, are in contact with a notorious gang of racketeers in Montmartre. Tired of putting up with Albert the King's demands, Pierrot kills the gangster during a bar brawl. His first instinct is to flee, but on Gustave's advice, he turns himself in to the law. All things considered, he'll be safer in prison than exposed to the reprisals of the "underworld". Pierrot goes to trial. He was acquitted as having acted in self-defense. But his release leaves him open to the vengeance of Bob, one of Albert's accomplices. Pierrot narrowly escapes an ambush, but is finally able to rid himself of the threat hanging over him, thanks to the friendship of Inspector Gustave, and finally reunites with the companion of his life, Dora, who has never stopped trembling for him.

In June 1941, the Extraordinary Defense Headquarters of Leningrad, under the leadership of Zhdanov and Voroshilov, decided to build the Luga defensive line. Heavy fighting west of Pskov forced units of the front to withdraw, and on July 9, Pskov was also abandoned. The battles in the Luga direction held back the enemy. The first attacks of the Germans, intending to cross the Luga line on the move, were repulsed with heavy losses for them.

In 2016, hundreds of academics signed a petition in Turkey, asking the state to put an end to violence inflicted upon Kurdish people. Academics for Peace have been criminalized and put on trial with the charge of terrorist propaganda. A Defense portrays one of the Academics for Peace while preparing for her upcoming appearance in court in 2019. A psychodrama is put on stage in a house, where the person is both the state, the judge, the academic and the cook. It’s a self-portrait on the violence and absurdity of the ways in which the state sneaks into the house of an academic, forcing her to adjust her words, body and gestures.

Volker Keith Meinhold was discharged from the United States Navy after stating he was gay during a television interview. Meinhold sued in federal court and a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously that the Navy could not discharge Petty Officer Meinhold merely because he said he is gay. This documentary showcases segments of the court hearing.

The peace talks were just around the corner, but the peacekeeping police discovered that terrorists wanted to bury bombs to destroy the peace talks, so Chinese peacekeeping police Pu Fan entered the joint bomb disposal team to safeguard the peace talks. The joint team initially suspected Lampa, a well-known local bomb expert, as the murderer. However, Pu Fan received an anonymous letter from Lampa that contained the location where the bombs were planted. Turns out, behind this incident, there are two strong evil hidden forces...

Propaganda film enhancing the role of I.V. Stalin in the defense of the city of Tsaritsyn (subsequently Stalingrad, at present Volgograd) by the red army during the Russian civil war.