In The Name Of Ben Hur

About a film studio director, who during the NEP years fights against the director of films designed for petty bourgeois tastes.

The film showcases the opening of the Dnepr water-power plant.

A short film about Holodomor. Based on a real life story. A woman is walking a long way from one village, where everyone has died of famine, to another, with no survivors left. She is hiding away from everyone, all she can think about is how to rescue her son from starvation. The only way to do it is to put the child on a train heading to some town.

Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Patti LaBelle share the stage.

A bus driven by the father in charge of a children's choir breaks down in the middle of the road on the way to Samayac, a town where its inhabitants practice witchcraft.

A wounded Greek partisan is helped by Albanian partisans and hidden in the house of an old woman, but his life is still in danger due to the presence of Nazis.

Two men happen to face God - something they had never expected. When God leaves, they set out to find a new church, but they find out that they have different beliefs in this animated short film.

Religiously themed early Soviet propaganda film in Azerbaijan against Islam. Unlike earlier propaganda films in the region, this was actually made by an (nearly) all Azeri cast and crew and directed by an Azeri filmmaker that would go on to be famous amongst his own people, despite his early collusion with the new ruling government. At the center of the film is a greed Molla (holy man in Azeri Islam) who has been cheating one of the local peasants for years out of all types of goods and services, and then delighting over his success in an very un-religious, specifically un-Islamic, way. Once the Revolution takes place and the Bolsheviks arrive, the peasant is empowered and realizes the deception on the part of the Molla and takes him to the newly set up "People's Court," where is finds justice and the Molla is punished.

In the year 2046, a powerful gang lord assembles a group of religious leaders, demanding to know what it takes to be a true messiah. Meanwhile, lying imprisoned in a garage somewhere nearby is a man who claims to be the son of God.

Documentary - Zacarias Moussaoui, a Frenchman of Moroccan descent has often been referred to as "the 20th hijacker" who was prevented from taking part in the 9/11 attacks only because he was already under arrest.This documentary listens to a first-hand story by Aisha El Wafi, Moussaoui's mother, about his childhood and youth and attempts to get to the religious-ideological roots of Islamist terror. The relationship between Islam and violence is commented by powerful Muslim voices.

This short documentary celebrates the late conceptual artist Chris Burden’s landmark work “Shoot,” in which a friend shot him in the arm. [Overview Courtesy of The New York Times]

Hot Docs will commemorate Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation with the commissioning of In the Name of All Canadians, a compilation of six short documentaries inspired by Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. From Indigenous rights to multiculturalism to the controversial ‘notwithstanding clause,’ participating filmmakers have each selected a specific aspect of the Charter to explore, looking at how it resonates in the stories of their fellow Canadians.

In China, in the foothills of the Himalayas, a non-violent egalitarian society has for millennia offered proof that a harmonious and peaceful life is still possible. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations the Mosuo were recognized as a “model society”.

In this dark love triangle that proceeds with the inexorable logic of a Greek tragedy, a dedicated wife in a small Vietnamese fishing village secretly turns to another man when her husband is unable to give her the child they both crave — but the surrogate father's crazed jealousy will have fateful consequences. (TIFF)

Terrified of stories of girls bleeding to death, young Tanzanian children face a terrible choice: whether to submit to female genital mutilation and child marriage, or risk their lives and run away from home. Rhobi Samwelly, a brave local hero, stands up to her community and provides a Safe House to protect the courageous girls. Although female genital mutilation (FGM) is harmful and illegal, in Northern Tanzania it is widely believed that girls' clitorises must be cut off to reduce promiscuity. Mutilated girls also demand twice the bride price as uncut girls. The chillingly named 'cutting season' runs through the school holidays in December. Now, some of the most courageous girls in the world, some as young as eight, are leaving everyone they love behind to run to a Safe House, not knowing if they'll ever see their families again.

Mentari is a 15-year-old tomboy girl who is smart and kind, but because she lives on the streets without her parents, she grows up to be stubborn and has no manners. Mentari was forced to steal and become a pickpocket to support her living. One day, Mentari hid in a car while trying to escape from security, without realizing it, she was seen by Tyo and Rika. They then adopted Mentari. One day, Tyo and Rika were in financial trouble. Accidentally, Mentari meets Aldi, who turns out to be her grandfather. When will Mentari realize that Aldi is her grandfather? What will Mentari's life be like next?

A young man named Chob, is caught in bed with In-tu-orn, the daughter of a powerful and wealthy landowner who owns almost ever acre in northern Thailand by her father. He asks Chob to prove his love towards his daughter by taking a seven-day trip upcountry, attempting to quarrel with anyone he meets along the way. If Chob can complete this unusual mission he will grant his daughter's hand in marriage, along with half of his property.

In the middle of the night Lea knocks on the door of her brother's flat. Elie, disturbed, wonders what made his sister travel all the way from Lebanon to Belgium. Only in a phone conversation will he learn that his sister is pregnant, and the father of the child is Muslim. Their Christian family refuses to accept this "disgrace", demanding that Elie restore the family honor.

This a documentary film on Afghanistan and the effects of wars of the last 38 years. Malalai Joya, Afghan activist for human rights, democracy and women's rights, speaks to the atrocities committed against Afghans by Soviets, local Warlords, Taliban, and now USA and NATO presence in the country. Many victims of these atrocious wars tell their stories. A film by Pronesis Institute of Audiovisual and Social Change and Cine Cinematográfica of Brazil.