Strangeways

A documentary about the life and work of sleight-of-hand artist Ricky Jay, with appearances by Ricky Jay, David Mamet and Steve Martin.

A film about two comedians: Maung Thura, better known as Zarganar, is Burma's most famous comedian. Persecuted by the Burmese military regime, arrested, and sentenced to 59 years in prison on absurd charges, he is currently serving his sentence. Michael Mittermeier, on the other hand, is free to practice his art and, with his special humor and provocations, is one of Germany's greatest comedians.

How do you deal with threats of imprisonment for drawing a cartoon of the president? What does it mean if you are thrown out of your country for singing a song? How does it feel to be condemned for denying the existence of the Holocaust? An Independent Mind explores one of the most important and controversial human rights: freedom of speech.Through testimonies from eight people who have experienced problems as a result of expressing their personal opinions, filmmaker Rex Bloomstein explores the limits of freedom of expression. It is not always easy to to find out where these are. Obviously, it is not difficult to empathise with Reggae singer Tiken Jah Kakoly, who was forced to flee his native Ivory Coast, or with the Algerian cartoonist Ali Dilem, who was condemned to nine years in jail. But does the same apply to Holocaust denier David Irving or the Basque rock group Soziedad Alkoholika that ridicules victims of ETA violence?

Documentary film, without commentary, looking at events in Sheffield on 5th September 1973. Steelworkers retire, babies are born, there are fashion shows and council meetings, crashed lorries and policemen on the beat.