Wolfgang Korruhn

Sigrid Baumann-Senn

Karin Berg-Kotterba

Gisela Brückner

Joachim Brückner

From 1959 to 1962, about 5000 disabled children were born in Germany, often with shortened and altered limbs, but also very often with damage to internal organs. About half of the children did not survive. In November 1961, it turned out that the sleeping pill and sedative Contergan was responsible for the disabilities. The active ingredient thalidomide had disrupted the growth process of the children in the womb in the early stages of pregnancy. In this documentary, parents of the so-called "Contergan children" tell how they experienced the tragedy.

Doctors of the Dark Side is the first feature length documentary about the pivotal role of physicians and psychologists in detainee torture. The stories of four detainees and the doctors involved in their abuse demonstrate how US Army and CIA doctors implemented the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques and covered up signs of torture at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. Interviews with medical, legal and intelligence experts and evidence from declassified government memos document what has been called the greatest scandal in American medical ethics. Based on four years of research by Producer/Director Martha Davis, written by Oscar winning Mark Jonathan Harris, and filmed in HD by Emmy winning DP Lisa Rinzler, the film shows how the torture of detainees could not continue without the assistance of the doctors.

Sima Shimony, age 69, embarks on a mission to find her friends and staff from the "ALYN" Institute for Children with Disabilities, which was situated in the secluded San-Simon monastery in Jerusalem, during the 1960s. Armed with a small camera attached to her wheelchair, she sets off on a journey across the country together with her friend Pini Newirth, also a polio child, to unfold and reclaim the story of the children affected by the Polio epidemic. In a futile attempt to rebuild their bodies so they could walk, the children were subjected to excruciating medical procedures with no parents or family at their side. But growing up together forged a group of remarkable, self-driven women and men with disabilities who eventually launched the Disability Rights movement in Israel.

‘Voices from the Shadows’ shows the brave and sometimes heartrending stories of five ME patients and their carers, along with input from Dr Nigel Speight, Prof Leonard Jason and Prof Malcolm Hooper. These were filmed and edited between 2009 and 2011, by the brother and mother of an ME patient in the UK. It shows the devastating consequences that occur when patients are disbelieved and the illness is misunderstood. Severe and lasting relapse occurs when patients are given inappropriate psychological or behavioural management: management that ignores the severe amplification of symptoms that can be caused by increased physical or mental activity or exposure to stimuli, and by further infections.  A belief in behavioural and psychological causes, particularly when ME becomes very severe and chronic, following mismanagement, is still taught to medical students and healthcare professionals in the UK. As a consequence, situations similar to those shown in the film continue to occur.

Every now and then, we get a teacher who doesn't just connect with us -- they make us a better person in the world. Jeffrey Wright of Louisville, Ky. is one of those teachers.  He uses wacky experiments to teach high school kids about science and the universe. But it's his own personal story about his relationship with his disabled son that shows his students the true meaning of life.

A documentary by Werner Herzog exploring the different treatment accorded to the disabled in Germany and the USA.

The official sequel to the original shockumentary presents a series of bizarre, shocking and grotesque cultural rituals, practices and events from around the world. Featured segments include the burning monks of Saigon in Vietnam, slave markets in Sudan, religious hysteria, mortician schools, and unusual global subcultures.