Enjoy cinema the continental way with this collection of the finest European documentaries made over the past year.
Grandma Lo-Fi: The Basement Tapes Of Sigríður Níelsdóttir and Italy: Love It, Or Leave It
Big Boys Gone Bananas!*
(Year: 2011; Director: Fredrik Gertten; Stars: Alex Rivera, Alfonso Allende, Arvid Jurjaks, Bart Simpson, Bernt Hermele, Charlotte Lundgren, Dan Koeppel, David Magdael, Dawn Hudson, Jesper Osmund, Juan J. Dominguez, Ken Silverstein, Lars Åström, Lincoln Bandlow, Luciano Astudillo)
The story of how Dole food corporation tried to suppress a documentary about them.
Heima
(Country: Iceland; Year: 2007; Director: Dean DeBlois; Stars: Sigur Ros),
Official Site
The most original and successful Icelandic band travels the country giving free concerts.
If It Weren't For You (Als ik jou niet had)
(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2011; Director: Anne-Marieke Graafmans)
In their old rusty campervan, a couple from Amsterdam seek warmth and comfort, away from the pain and sorrow that marks their home.
Italy: Love It, Or Leave It
(Country: Italy, Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Gustav Hofer, Luca Ragazzi; Stars: Gustav Hofer, Luca Ragazzi),
Official Site,
Trailer
Gustav wants to leave Italy so his partner Luca drives him around the country in an old Fiat trying to convince him how wonderful their Italian heritage is.
Heima and Putin's Kiss
Law Of The Jungle
(Country: Denmark; Year: 2012; Director: Michael Christoffersen, Hans la Cour)
A group of indigenous people from the jungles of Peru are put on trial over the death of a policeman at a protest against oil exploitation.
Looking For Nicolas Sarkozy
(Country: France; Year: 2011; Director: William Karel)
The true story of the former French President, his rise to power and his sometimes spectacular mishaps.
Mark Lombardi - Death-defying Acts Of Art And Conspiracy (Mark Lombardi - Kunst und Konspiration)
(Country: Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Mareike Wegener)
The true story of Mark Lombardi, who dedicated his life to mapping out the connections between powerful people around the world, and who died in mysterious circumstances.
Not A Carwash (S'eshte Lavazh)
(Country: Albania; Year: 2012; Director: Gentian Koçi)
Students battle to save their film school in Tirana when the government wants to sell off the land where it stands to foreign investors.
A Place We Call Home (Naslaitynas)
(Country: Lithuania, Estonia; Year: 2012; Director: Albina Griniute)
It’s a dog’s life, in the biggest no-kill animal shelter in Lithuania – an old abandoned house in the centre of Vilnius. Like a nursery school, the daily routines of meals, play and rest are familiar to the dogs, who are all dependent on the loving care of their human volunteers.
Big Boys Gone Bananas!* and ¡Vivan las Antipodas!
Putin's Kiss
(Country: Denmark; Year: 2011; Director: Lise Birk Pedersen; Stars: Oleg Kashin),
Official Site
A leading light of Russia's nationalist youth movement, begins to question what they really stand for.
The Punk Syndrome (Kovasikajuttu)
(Country: Finland; Year: 2012; Director: Jukka Kärkkäinen, JP Passi)
A documentary charting the rise to fame of a Finnish punk group whose members all have learning difficulties.
¡Vivan las Antipodas!
(Country: Germany, Netherlands, Argentina, Chile; Year: 2011; Director: Victor Kossakovsky)
A documentary looking at four pairs of countries exactly opposite one another: Argentina and China; Spain and New Zealand; Hawaii and Botswana; and Russia and Chile.
