At least two years, twelve hours every day, memorizing over 6000 verses from Koran–that is what small kids have to do in Hifz-Khana. Many parents send their children very willingly to this special department of a madrasa, the Islamic orthodox school. Generally, cameras are strictly forbidden; filmmaker Shaheen Dill-Riaz still managed to enter and observe in these madrasas in Bangladesh. The result is a film that approaches very carefully this unique religious practice, which is contradictory to th... more

"Rhythmic Uprising" is a documentary that shows how vibrant Afro-Brazilian performing arts are used to fight racism, social exclusion, and poverty in Bahia, Brazil. The film outlines the transformative power of a large movement of community cultural projects that make up the latest chapter in a creative struggle for racial equality that began four centuries ago. Concepts of citizenship considered in this hour-long film include capoeira, candomblé, blocos afros, theater, circus, and quilombos.

"X-Mission" explores the logic of the refugee camp as one of the oldest extraterritorial zones. Taking the Palestinian refugee camps as a case in point, the video engages with the different discourses —legal, symbolic, urban, mythological, historical—that give meaning to this exceptional space. According to International Law, the Palestinian refugee represents indeed the exception within the exception.

Stereotypes are often perpetuated and exaggerated through the media. This video analyzes stereotypes specific to America's indigenous peoples, as seen in cartoons and liquor and cigarette advertisements. Interviews with Native American teenagers and adults indicate that the struggle continues, and there are still many obstacles to overcome.

As a child, I climbed up on a stool to reach the balcony so as not to lose any of the show displayed in my street in Casablanca. On Saturday, our day of rest, the wandering musicians would come under our windows to collect a few coins. Amongst them the Black Gnawas with their multicolored costumes, their big drum hanging from their neck, and their hat whirling on top of their head, at the same time frightening and fascinating. Later, as a teenager, my ear glued to the radio. I guesse... more

Following the day-to-day lives of three teenage street boys in the northern city of Cap-Haitien, "Children of Haiti" provides an intimate view of the country-wide orphan epidemic. Known as sanguine ("soulless") and forgotten by their own people, they have struggled for survival long before the devastating 2010 earthquake. Three years in the making, this documentary captures the spirit of human survival, Haiti's beautiful landscape and rich history.

When xenophobic attacks broke out across South Africa in 2008, many were caught off guard, shocked by violence that felt like a violation of the principles of their newly democratic nation. Over two months, 62 people were killed, hundreds injured, and many more left homeless. In the midst of the violence, many young people picked up pangas. Other youth, clad in the bright greens and maroons of their school uniforms, looted neighborhood shops while some of their classmates, refugees themselves, fle... more