Celluloid Underground

Chronicles the true story behind Argo’s Hollywood embellishments by looking at the efforts of the venerable Ken Taylor, Canada’s former ambassador to Iran, who personally sheltered six American diplomats in the operation that became known as "the Canadian Caper."

An examination of the work and lives of actresses in the Iranian film industry prior to the 1979 revolution, featuring myriad interviews and rare film clips.

In the late 90s, a video archivist unearths a series of sinister pirate broadcasts and becomes obsessed with uncovering the dark conspiracy behind them.

This fiction-documentary hybrid uses a sensational real-life event—the arrest of a young man on charges that he fraudulently impersonated the well-known filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf—as the basis for a stunning, multilayered investigation into movies, identity, artistic creation, and existence, in which the real people from the case play themselves.

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.

During the Nazi regime, there was widespread persecution of homosexual men, which started in 1871 with the Paragraph 175 of the German Penal Code. Thousands were murdered in concentration camps. This powerful and disturbing documentary, narrated by Rupert Everett, presents for the first time the largely untold testimonies of some of those who survived.

Renowned Iranian director Jafar Panahi received a 6-year prison sentence and a 20-year ban from filmmaking and conducting interviews with foreign press due to his open support for the opposition party in Iran's 2009 election. In this film, which was shot secretly by Panahi's close friend Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and smuggled into France on a USB stick concealed inside a cake for a last-minute submission to Cannes, Panahi documents his daily life under house arrest as he awaits a decision on his appeal.

An official is sent from his home in Tehran to hear the final appeal of a woman sentenced to death, a political prisoner. The official's wife of nearly 20 years, Fereshteh Samimi, writes him a letter to read when he reaches the hotel - the story of her student days during the revolution of 1978. We see the story in flashbacks as he reads: she leaves her province on scholarship, joins a Communist youth group, avoids arrest, and comes under the sway of a suave older man, Roozbeh Javid, a literary-magazine editor. As she tells her husband about the hidden half of her life, Fereshteh asks that he listen to the woman facing execution, a woman and therefore one of Iran's hidden half.

Filmmaker Jafar Panahi and actor Behnaz Jafari travel to a tiny village after receiving a plea for help from a girl whose family has forbidden her from studying acting. Amusing encounters abound, but they soon discover that the local hospitality is rivaled by the desire to protect old traditions.

Planned by Britain’s MI6 and then executed by America’s C.I.A., the coup d’état which follows will destroy Iran’s last democracy, and relations between Iran and the West until the present day. Most shocking of all, the truth about Her Majesty’s role will be hidden from the Queen herself, and even the all-powerful Shah who will be used by Britain and American to replace Iran’s last democratic Prime Minister. The coup will lead to political upheaval all over the Middle East for decades to come, eventually resulting in the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which will end the reign of the Shah, and British and American influence in Iran, inspiring countless other Islamist revolutions around the world.

“Price For Freedom” is based on the book written in 2013 by prominent NYC dental implant surgeon Dr. Marc Benhuri. It is a chilling account of how members of his family were terrorized, tortured, and murdered in Iran when Ayatollah Khomeni seized power in 1979.

Breath is about an Iranian family who lives in Iran. It tells the story of Bahar, who is living with her father, Ghafour and Grandmother during the 70s.She is living in her childish and surreal world, filled with their dreams and fantasies.

Karma, a Tibetan filmmaker from New York, goes to Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama's exile headquarters in northern India, to make a documentary about former political prisoners who have escaped from Tibet. She wants to reconnect with her roots but is also escaping a deteriorating relationship back home.One of Karma's interviewees is Dhondup, an enigmatic ex-monk who has just escaped from Tibet. He confides in her that his real reason for coming to India is to fulfill his dying mother's last wish, to deliver a charm box to a long-missing resistance fighter. Karma finds herself unwittingly falling in love with Dhondup even as she is sucked into the passion of his quest, which becomes a journey into Tibet's fractured past and a voyage of self-discovery

In this adaptation of the critically acclaimed debut novel by Iranian American author Dalia Sofer, a secular Jewish family is caught up in the maelstrom of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Why are we still able, today, to view images that were captured over 125 years ago? As we enter the digital age, audiovisual heritage seems to be a sure and obvious fact. However, much of cinema and our filmed history has been lost forever. Archivists, technicians and filmmakers from different parts of the world explain what audiovisual preservation is and why it is necessary. The documentary is a tribute to all these professionals and their important work.

The rise and fall of Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Recounting his life with his wife, children and mistress, this biography (based on the recollections of Mussolini's eldest son, Vittorio) chronicles Il Duce's tyranny as he plunges Italy into the dark days of World War II.

A worldwide guided tour of the greatest movies ever made and the story of international cinema through the history of cinematic innovation.

Five programmes that trace a remarkable decade in British film-making through interviews with its stars and directors.

Dr Clare Jackson tells the story of The Stuarts in Exile and sheds new light on the political, military and cultural threat the Jacobite's posed to the embryonic British state. Although the '15' ultimately failed, it crystallised the stark choice facing those living in early 18th-century Britain. Are you for the Stuarts or are you for Hanoverian's?

Because of him being in strange positions and situations, a man is several times mistaken as other, usually famous people; and now must explain himself to a judge as he has been arrested for impersonation.

Hezar-Dastan was an Iranian epic historical drama television series from 1987, developed and directed by Ali Hatami. Hezar Dastan is considered one of the most important and most influential works of art in the history of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. The production of the show took almost 8 years, starting in 1979 and ending in 1987, during which Hatami established a large set to represent Tehran in both Qajar dynasty and World War II, retroactively creating Iran's first movie studio and backlot (named Ghazali Cinema Town). The show tells the story of Reza Khoshnevis (also known as Reza Tofangchi), and his life and entanglement with corruption in government, and trying to correct it using not conventional means. The story is split into two section and it features Iran during the turbulent times of the latter days of Qajar Dynasty and during the events of World War II and Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.

Mark Kermode reveals the film-making tricks and techniques behind classic movie genres, from romcoms to horrors.

Charged for impersonation, we are studying criticisms directed towards different sectors in the society as our impersonator looks back at his crimes.

Fragile tells the story of two diametrically opposite families: the wealthy, influential Bachands, and the salt-of-the-earth Coutures. It’s also the story of an unlikely friendship, that of Dominic Couture (Pier-Luc Funk) and Félix Bachand (Marc-André Grondin). The pair’s mysterious death sends shock waves through their families and community, exposing jealously guarded secrets, dangerous liaisons, and hidden agendas.

As told through clips from 183 female directors, this epic history of the cinema focuses on women’s integral role in the development of film art. Using almost a thousand film extracts from thirteen decades and five continents, Mark Cousins asks how films are made, shot and edited; how stories are shaped and how movies depict life, love, politics, humour and death, all through the compelling lens of some of the world’s greatest filmmakers – all of them women.

It tells the story of a man named "Bardia Barazandeh" who owns a beauty center and is rich and miserly. But soon, with the revelation of the secret of Berdia's wealth, the situation of his family will improve.

Maleki is one of the managers of a successful company run by Rizabadi. Rizabadi instructs him to negotiate a major oil deal with the Norwegians. After signing the contract, the Norwegians want to transfer the contract amount, which is several million dollars to the company's account.

Amidst the backdrop of the 1979 Iranian revolution, Jimmy Carter's failure to free American hostages sets the stage for Reagan's own hostage crisis.

Naeem, who has endured 15 years in prison for his daughter's love, faces a major crisis after his release to see her.

To escape from a financial crisis, a family bets on the match between Iran and Argentina. They get huge money if Iran wins or draws, but Lionel Messi's 92nd minute goal ruins everything. "New Camp" tells the story of the Sarcheshme family in search of their small dreams, when a big dream hits their home.