Documentary

Screening: The War Show + Q&A

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Andreas Møl Dalsgaard.
Through observational and at times humorous footage of everyday life, The War Show exposes what it is like to be a creative, ambitious young woman living amidst one of the most destructive conflicts of our time. This unprecedented documentary offers a rarely-seen image of youth culture in Syria, following the experiences of a DJ and her friends following Arab Spring of 2011, when the sad realities that follow envelop their hope for liberation.

Screening: The White Helmets + Discussion

This screening will be followed by a discussion with director Orlando von Einsiedel, producer Joanna Natasegara and others.
As daily airstrikes pound civilian targets in Syria, a group of indomitable first responders risk their lives to rescue victims from the rubble. The White Helmets introduces us to those extraordinary individuals, presenting an arresting and humanising look at one of the most urgent humanitarian crises of our time.

A Country in Motion: Films from Burma

The Frontline Club is delighted to present an evening dedicated to the recent social, political and cultural transitions in Burma presented through the eyes of its young filmmakers. Free elections, gender equality and defeating poverty are themes reoccurring in this unique programme of short films selected by Igor Blazevic; thinker, political activist and founder of the One World Human Rights Festival in Prague.

Screening: FREIGHTENED – The Real Price of Shipping + Q&A

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Denis Delestrac.
FREIGHTENED – The Real Price of Shipping reveals in an audacious investigation the mechanics and perils of cargo shipping; an all-but-visible industry that relentlessly supplies 7 billion humans and holds the key to our economy, our environment and the very model of our civilisation.

Screening: A Revolution in Four Seasons + Q&A

In A Revolution in Four Seasons, two politically-opposed young women fight to shape their lives along with the political future of Tunisia, the sole country to emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings as a functional democracy. Director/Producer Jessie Deeter and Co-Producer Sara Maamouri began filming in 2011.

The Frontline Club and Bertha DocHouse Present: Jim – The James Foley Story

Seen through the lens of filmmaker Brian Oakes, Foley’s close childhood friend, Jim: The James Foley Story takes us from small-town New England to the adrenaline-fuelled front lines of Libya and Syria, where photojournalist James (Jim) Foley pushed the limits of danger to report on the plight of civilians impacted by war. Brilliantly constructed with unparalleled access, Jim is a harrowing chronicle of bravery, compassion, and pain at the dawn of a new World War against ISIS.

Film Series: U.S. Under the Lens

Leading up to the 2016 presidential elections, our U.S. Under the Lens film series presents bold new documentaries tackling the most polarising and hotly-debated issues set to determine the outcome of the 2016 campaign.

U.S. Under the Lens: National Bird + Panel Discussion

This screening will be followed by a panel discussion with director Sonia Kennenbeck and others.

National Bird follows the dramatic journey of three whistleblowers who are determined to break the silence around one of the most controversial current affairs issues of our time: the secret U.S. drone war. At the centre of the film are three U.S. military veterans. Grappling with guilt over their participation in the drone programme, they decide to speak out publicly in spite of the possible consequences. As their stories take dramatic turns, this not-to-miss film gives a balanced insight into the U.S. drone programme through the eyes of veterans and survivors – connecting their stories as never seen before.

PBS America Presents: The Choice 2016 + Q&A

This screening is co-presented by PBS America and will be followed by a Q&A with director Michael Kirk.

With the opinion polls indicating a close-run race and the two major parties offering radically different viewpoints, the United States stands at one of the most significant political crossroads the nation has seen for many years. FRONTLINE’s critically acclaimed series returns for the 2016 election to examine the intriguing personal and political biographies of the presidential candidates.

U.S. Under the Lens: Under the Gun + Panel Discussion

This screening will be followed by a panel discussion with director Stephanie Soechtig and others.

Under the Gun examines the events and people who have kept the U.S. gun debate fierce and the progress slow, even as gun deaths and mass shootings continue to increase. Through the lens of families impacted by the mass shootings in Newtown, Aurora, Isla Vista and Tucson, as well as those who experience daily gun violence in Chicago, the documentary looks at why politicians are finding it difficult to act and what is being done at the state and local levels. The film is executive produced and narrated by Katie Couric and directed by Stephanie Soechtig.

U.S. Under the Lens: TRAPPED + Q&A

At this very moment, a woman’s reproductive rights in the United States are not clear. Since 2010, state legislatures have passed more than 250 laws restricting abortion clinics and their doctors. From mandating the width of hallways to requiring physicians to have active admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, these measures are forcing clinics across the country to shut down in epidemic numbers. Lawyer-turned-acclaimed-filmmaker Dawn Porter picks up the plight of the doctors and clinic operators along with the countless women relying on these facilities to uphold their legal right to safe abortion.

Screening: Ukrainian Sheriffs

Ukrainian Sheriffs follows Viktor and Volodya, two men who have been appointed local sheriffs by the mayor in the town of Stara Zburyevka, Ukraine. While dealing with crimes such as stolen ducks and drunken neighbours, the news about the war is slowly creeping in on them through their televisions and the invitations to join the army. Ukrainian Sheriffs gives us look beyond the war and inside everyday life in a remote Ukrainian village, with a great eye for the shady side of life.

City 40: film lifts veil on secretive nuclear town

On Tuesday 14 June, a packed-out Frontline Club hosted a screening of the acclaimed documentary City 40 followed by a Q&A with the film’s director Samira Goetschel and Guardian journalist Luke Harding.

Screening: The Hard Stop + Q&A

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director George Amponsah.

This timely documentary explores the life and death of Mark Duggan, whose killing at the hands of London’s Metropolitan Police sparked the London riots of 2011.

He Named Me Malala: Education and the Refugee Crisis

“We learn so much from Malala, she tells us that we have a voice in the West but we take it for granted”, Guwali Passarlay.

Reproducing Reality: Animation and Documentary

Join us for a screening and discussion exploring the use of animation techniques within documentary filmmaking. We will be joined by a panel of documentary makers and animators who will present a behind-the-scenes look at the varied artistic techniques behind recent projects, as well as the broader motivations and challenges to capturing reality through animated form.

Screening: City 40 + Q&A

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Samira Goetschel.

Tucked away deep in the heart of Russia, there is a hidden city where thousands of men, women and children live and work behind barbed-wire fences monitored by armed guards. Built after the Second World War to create the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons program, City 40 is one of Russia’s secret closed cities. In this feature-length documentary, the film crew is smuggled inside the top secret CITY 40 to meet the brave residents who risk their lives to warn us of the human and environmental catastrophe that threatens the region.

Screening: Shorts at the Frontline Club

Join us for an evening of short documentaries from different parts of the world, covering a wide range of topics. Shorts at the Frontline Club showcases moving, striking and funny films, exploring the diverse faces of documentary filmmaking.

Preview Screening: The Pearl of Africa + Q&A

The Pearl of Africa is a story about Cleopatra Kambugu, a 28 year old Ugandan transgender woman. Born biologically male, she is transitioning into the woman she knows she was born to be – in one of the most transphobic places in the world. Forced to leave her country and loving boyfriend behind, she sets out to fight for her right to love and, against all odds, to become the first accepted trans person in Uganda.

Screening: Daesh Deserters Speak Out + Q&A

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with directors Thomas Dandois and Francois-Xavier Tregan.

In southeast Turkey, a few dozen kilometres from war-torn Syria, at great risk to themselves, a clandestine network is exfiltrating fighters who have decided to leave Daesh. This groundbreaking documentary from Memento films and ARTE provides rare testimonies from Daesh defectors and those who have helped them escape. Gaining unprecedented access, directors Thomas Dandois and Francois-Xavier Tregan capture what daily life is like inside Daesh and expose the conditions surrounding the dangerous process of exfiltration.

Screening: He Named Me Malala + Panel Discussion

This screening will be followed by a panel discussion on access to education for refugee girls with the Malala Fund’s Director of Policy and Advocacy Philippa Lei and others, moderated by BBC Radio 4 Today correspondent Sima Kotecha.

He Named Me Malala is an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then 15-year-old was singled out, along with her father, for advocating for girls’ education, and the attack on her sparked an outcry from supporters around the world. She miraculously survived and is now a leading campaigner for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund.

Insight with Zaina Erhaim: Syria’s Rebellious Women

Join us for a discussion with IWPR’s Syria coordinator and award-winning Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim. This event will feature a screening of Zaina’s short films from the series Syria’s Rebellious Women, offering a rare insight into the challenges facing women living and working in rebel-held parts of Syria. 

Screening: The Siege + Q&A

The Siege of Sarajevo was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. In this award-winning new documentary acclaimed journalists Remy Ourdan and Patrick Chauvel masterfully capture the experiences of the city’s residents who experienced the siege firsthand. As these men and women recall memories of everyday life under the blockade, history interweaves with personal testimony to create a humanising portrait of battle and resistance.

Screening: Oleg’s Choice + Q&A

Since the summer of 2014, thousands of young Russians poured into the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine. Driven by propaganda on Russian television, they believed they were fulfilling their patriotic duty. This documentary follows two volunteers, Oleg and Max, as they discuss their motivations and share their own perspective on the conflict. Oleg’s Choice serves as a uniquely personal testimony of one side of the war rarely seen in the western media.

#NotACrime Campaign – Film Screening + Discussion

To Light A Candle is a film by journalist Maziar Bahari, focusing on the Baha’is of Iran and their peaceful response to decades of state-sponsored persecution. The Baha’is are Iran’s largest religious minority. Persecuted because of their faith, they are barred from teaching and studying at University. #NotACrime is an international campaign working to stop the human rights abuse of Iranian Baha’is and encourage universities around the world to admit Iranian Baha’i students.

Screening: Bloody Money + Q&A

UPDATE: Unfortunately, on account of legal challenges directed at the Frontline Club, this event will no longer include a screening of Bloody Money as originally advertised. The event will still be going ahead minus the screening – and promises to be a fascinating discussion on the wider issue of corruption in Ukraine featured three key experts in this field: presenter and journalist Oliver Bullough; executive director of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Centre, Daria Kaleniuk; and Shauna Leven, Global Witness’ Campaigns Director on corruption.