For Walter Backerman, seltzer is more than a drink. It is the embodiment of his family. As a third generation seltzer man, he follows parts of the same cobblestone route his grandfather began in 1920’s Manhattan. Walter maintains a collection of more than seven thousand antique bottles that he circulates to his customers. Many bear the family name, a tribute to his father and his grandfather before him. Now, after 90 years of the Backerman’s being in the business, Walter knows all too well...

Three prisoners are locked in a cell. A priest arrives and offers to hear their...

Cabo Polonio, a small, rough and charming beach lost in time and space located on the coast of Uruguay. The place attracts travelers, hippies and artists from all over the world. Since the place has no pumped water nor electricity, once you are there you can totally disconnect yourself from the madness of the modern life. To tell this story, we talked with a few locals, who explained what does being or going to Polonio means to them. They are: Martin Buscaglia (musician); Gonzalo Brown...

Reforesting of identity is a documentary on the experiences of nativeforest restoration in Cordoba and its close elation to water conservation.The story seeks toc onvey, through a rip by a photographer and journalist, the idea that the reforestation ofnative plants contributes to the environmental balance, water conservation and identity, among other...

The late 1960s. In the Almería desert, a Spanish-Italian co-production is being filmed. The lack of resources and poor communication among the different members of the crew are on verge of runing the end of the film. They might just be saved by one...

As a toddler, Philly Mayer was healthy and happy. A chubby baby, he was quick to laugh and eager to get up on his own feet. And then, before his first birthday, Philly suddenly stopped walking. His motor skills began to deteriorate. After a slew of tests and endless emotional upheaval, doctors diagnosed Philly with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a genetic disease that occurs in an estimated 1 out of every 6,000 births and leaves the spine underdeveloped. His parents were told that he would not live...

Flying in a motorized paraglider over one of the most diverse continents in the world, George Steinmetz captures the stunning beauty of Africa's landscapes and people. His pictures show not only the spectacular patterns of the land, but also the potential and hope that the continent...

David is the perfect husband. He is sensitive and attentive, and always knows what to do and what to say. In fact, he never, ever forgets to celebrate his wedding anniversary. For his wife Mary, he manages to commemorate their wedding with the absolutely perfectdinner every year.But, this time, David´s carefully prepared ritual is interrupted by an unexpected phone call that exposes the disturbing –and trgic- reality beneath his...

A family prepares to leave on holiday and grandfather is left behind to watch ovet the family home. A situation about to take a plunge into the...

In Airsick: An Industrial Devolution Toronto Star Photographer Lucas Oleniuk tackles the global issue of climate change through a local approach. With the exception of two images, all 20,000 photographs were shot in Ontario, Canada. But they illustrate a global problem. With a haunting original score by Randy Risling and evocative quotes, Airsick plays out like an unsettling...

Take Care offers a glimpse into the life of Virginia Gandee, a 22-year-old woman who lives in Staten Island, New York. At first glance one is struck by Virgina's bold appearance; her bright red hair and the dozen tattoos that canvas her body. When she was 15, Gin left home to marry a 20-year-old she met online. Two years later, she was a teenage mother. Today, Gin is raising her daughter as a single mother and pursuing her dream to become a nurse. Inside her family's trailer, her caregiving...

The piece of furniture in the living room serves as one family proud and sacredwindow to their...

In Iowa, the thriving Midwestern family farm is no longer, having been choked by industrialized agriculture and replanted with subdivisions. A shifting economy, combined with an old-fashioned lifestyle that doesn't translate from generation to generation, is forever altering the landscape.old-time farmers try to hang on to their way of life, while their young push out to find their futures...

Since 1934, the well-worn stage at The Apollo Theater has been one of the world's greatest launching pads for phenomenal talent, catapulting the likes of James Brown and Ella Fitzgerald to international stardom. Thousands of contestants audition each year, with the hopes of facing the famously mean Apollo audience, described "like a bunch of pit bulls eating raw meat." Judged by the length of their cheers — or the depths of their boos — these contestants put more than their pride on the...

In 1994, in the East African nation of Rwanda, one million ethnic Tutsi people were slaughtered, in a genocide committed by their Hutu countrymen. But the scars left by these murderous militiamen go well beyond the numbers of the dead: they live on, in the lives of the women they held captive, raped - and left...

What can happen in our lives if we put our minds to it? Just what are we capable of turning ourselves into — and why do we try? One Man Brand explores these questions by delving into the life of a man who, in his own eyes, has really made it big. Robert Burck was a kid from a small town who was determined to make himself into something special. Always loving the attention of others, he worked as a model, a male stripper — "everything under the sun" — to get himself noticed. Then he made a...

Diamonds and gold — vast natural resources that could enrich a nation — are a curse in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Congolese people have suffered the largest death toll since the second world war. The conflict between warlords and armed rebels for control of these resources have plunged the citizens into a life of poverty, sexual violence, and war. Some 45,000 people die each month as a...

Reality is a television show hosted by famous Alicia Ortega where people go to tell their private life. One of them is Saida, who backs out in the last minute and refuses to appear. Ana, the program's editor in chief, must convince her, no matter what it...

A spy ring infiltrates the internet onlinegame with real missions. Heidingsfelder is an addicted nerd and walks into the trap. He accomplishes the illegal assignments for bonus points. Journalist Heppler is collecting evidence and suddenly becomes a mission target...

In this animated short, young Winston, who suffers from chronic asthma, isn’t able to participate in the everyday activities of his peers and classmates. He copes with the predicament through his vivid imagination, with paper and...

Lucy has decided to kill herself, crashing his car in the next bend. At that moment Peter went on a bike and he was the one who suffers a serious accident while avoiding Lucia. He was caught in a slag heap next to the road, Peter waited for someone to come to help him, but no one saw him, and Lucy...

The remains of an ancient circus can still be seen on the outskirts of a big...

Karishma is the co-founder of the Gilgit-Baltistan Girls Football League, a female soccer championship that takes place every year in the astonishing Karakoram Mountain Range, a remote and rugged area located in the North of Pakistan. Through soccer, Karishma and her sister, studied and gained freedom. But freedom always has a...

Day break in the red-light district of a Spanish town. Someone who earns their living in these parts makes their way home, sits down in front of the mirror and begins to remove their make-up. As they do so, they reflect on the events of the night to the strains of a song from the Middle Ages entitled “¿Con qué la lavaré?”, a lament about single women which was once sung in four-part harmony. A celluloid tribute to homosexual artistes of the late 1970s, just after Franco’s...

After 20 years in the dark a document comes to light which reveals the moments before someone was run over, an event which could have changed the history of the...

This short animation film takes place in a topsy-turvy land of ice, water and sky. What does the penguin think about on the barren ice floes? How can a cataclysm be triggered by its attempts to fly? We've all heard of the butterfly effect; now see what happens when a penguin takes to the...