Life Is Sacred

The young men of Afghanistan have discovered the art of bodybuilding. In a country ravished by war, these men still hold on to their dreams; dreams of muscle, honour and fame - absolute control of the body in a world of chaos.

London, England, 2008. Some of the most distinguished experts on the work of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) gather at the National Gallery to examine a painting known as Salvator Mundi; an event that turns out to be the first act of one of the most fascinating stories in the history of art.

The 27 residents on the tiny Danish Wadden Sea island of Mandø are used to severe weather and flooding. But climate change and increasingly extreme weather now pose a serious threat to the eight-square-kilometer island.

50 % of the world’s population lives in urban areas. By 2050 this will increase to 80%. Life in a mega city is both enchanting and problematic. Today we face peak oil, climate change, loneliness and severe health issues due to our way of life. But why? The Danish architect and professor Jan Gehl has studied human behavior in cities through 40 years. He has documented how modern cities repel human interaction, and argues that we can build cities in a way, which takes human needs for inclusion and intimacy into account.

A Syrian radio DJ documents the experiences of herself and her friends as their dreams of overthrowing their elected government give way to the grim realities of sectarian death squads and extremism.

An exciting and rapidly edited portrait of a city that has risen like a phoenix from the ashes. Bogotá, capital of Colombia, was long notorious as one of the most criminal, dangerous, and inhospitable cities in the world. The turnabout came in 1995, when Antalas Mockus was elected mayor of the city in a landslide victory.

An old, ailing general is losing his memory. His anarchist son wants to connect. They share a passion for the Wild East, where grandfather was a famous explorer among Mongol tribes. He died under mysterious circumstances in 1948 in Afghanistan. Rumors say he was a British agent and gunrunner. Michael, the grandson, takes his father Søren out of the nursing home. He wants him to taste life, and he wants them to spend time together. The odd couple travel across China. They encounter temples, chiefs, and ancestors who reveal that the grandfather was a true Lawrence of the East. A man who fought to unite the Mongol tribes and defend them against the Soviet Reds.

Gerel Byamba, a 33-year-old woman, leads the Mongolian organization Gerel Khas, an ultra-nationalist group composed entirely of women.

Heart-warming youth film about family and friendship, about a young woman’s struggle to find her place in the world, despite her autism. ‘Just be yourself’, says Rima on her way into adulthood.

When three heroic American doctors — Palestinian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian — enter Gaza to save lives in the middle of a genocide, they find themselves caught between medicine and politics, risking everything to expose the truth.

Convicted of murdering her husband, a woman who served her sentence and now faces a ticking clock to negotiate with her in-laws who, under Sharia law, have the legal right to either execute her or forgive her- for a price.

The filmic approach playfully balances on the edge between documentary and fiction, thereby both underlining and adding to the theme of the film. The two directors have filmed Troels for 4 years, capturing all his ups and downs, the defining moments, both the hilarious and the sad. This material will be combined with Troels¿ video diary where we get even closer, and animation that will bring life to Troels¿ text and inner universe in a compelling and humoristic way. The animation is done by the artist Carl Krull whoose very distinctive style matches Troels¿ story and personality, combining darkness and humor, the grotesque and the beautiful. It will be subtly integrated into the filmed material, at times taking over completely. The story of Troels and the visual approach melt together.

Convicted of murdering her husband, Tahereh served her sentence and now faces a ticking clock to negotiate with her in-laws who, under Sharia law, have the legal right to either execute her or forgive her- for a price.

When the Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier meets the Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev, he quickly rises through the ranks. From a role as a discreet adviser, he becomes a global power broker and manager of Rybolovlev’s investments in one of the world’s most closed and enigmatic markets: the part of the art world where the sums are staggering and the value of artworks is something agreed upon by a narrow elite of connoisseurs and ultrarich tycoons.