Secluded from view by nine-meter-high walls and composed of 980 buildings, the Forbidden City in Beijing is the largest imperial palace ever built in the world. Three majestic structures form its center and host the city's ceremonies, each of which is considered an architectural masterpiece. In 1406, construction of the Forbidden City was launched at the initiative of one of China's most powerful sovereigns and founder of the Ming dynasty: Yongle. Endowed with divine power, the construction has already resisted more than 200 earthquakes.

Amidst the grand walls of the Forbidden City, the film takes us on a deep journey through the ceremonial life of the Chinese emperor, unveiling the secrets and intrigues of concubines, eunuchs, and palace maids. As the West begins to influence China in the late 19th century, the dynamics within the city shift dramatically. The film highlights the preservation and restoration of invaluable treasures and paintings, culminating in the creation of the Palace Museum. With insights from renowned China scholar, Jonathan Spence, this is an intimate exploration of the rich cultural and historical tapestry that makes up the heart of ancient China.

A new film compiled from the BFI National Archive's unparalleled holdings of early films of China, features films from 1900-48 filmed across China. The cinematic journey of Around China with a Movie Camera contains many films which may never have been seen in China, or at the very least not for over 70 years. These travelogues, newsreels and home movies were made by a diverse group of British and French filmmakers, some professionals, but mainly enthusiastic amateurs, including intrepid tourists, colonial-era expatriates and Christian missionaries.

In 1997, Oscar-winning documentarian Allan Miller embarked on a film project with renowned conductor Zubin Mehta and celebrated Chinese film director Zhang Yimou as they joined forces in a production of Puccini's opera Turandot in Florence. Before the year was out, an extraordinary opportunity arose: to stage Turandot in its original setting in the Forbidden City of Beijing. The outdoor production was an undertaking on an epic scale. A fascinating chronicle of an unprecedented cross-cultural collaboration, THE TURANDOT PROJECT combines the pageantry of this opulent opera production with a spectacular cinematic portrait of the struggles and triumphs of Zubin Mehta and Zhang Yimou to mount their production in this most historic venue of China. (Source: Amazon.com)

A story about an adolescent years of Tyoma - a young boy from Russian countryside...

In the window of the house, where some say the sweetness dwells, is reflected, every night, a delicious story.

After traveling hundreds of miles, a woman must wait another twenty-four hours before she can get an abortion.

Yonatan, Michal's dad, turned orthodox and left her family when she was very yang. 7 years later, when he appears at her mother's funeral, all the anger and tensions in the family are brought up again. Michal on the other hand, is very curious, and tries to find a way to communicate with her father. They find common interest in competitive swimming, a hobby that Michal picked up, and which her father, as it turn out, used to be a serious contestant in.

Simmons, best-known for her photographs of miniature rooms populated by dolls and of oversized objects—such as a house, birthday cake, and pistol—balanced on female legs, both human and fake, brings these characters to life in a three-act mini-musical. The film is inspired by three distinct periods of Simmons’s photographic work: vintage hand puppets, ventriloquist dummies and walking objects enact tales of ambition, disappointment, love, loss, and regret. Working with composer Michael Rohaytn ("Personal Velocity") and cameraman Ed Lachman ("The Virgin Suicides" and "Far From Heaven"), Simmons’s puppets come to life in miniature domestic scenes that echo real life.

A princess in disguise, Oshichi launches an investigation to reveal the truth about the disappearance of young women in Edo.

When Ayumi Mastuda (Eiko Koike) worked as a freelance writer she met Chinese cameraman Gyoukou (Kingone Wang), who worked at the same publishing company in Tokyo. They married 5 years ago. After his employer's went bankrupt, Gyoukou and Ayumi Matsuda moved to Ishigaki Island. Gyoukou also decided to apply for naturalization as a Japanese citizen. In order to prove they are real married couple they have an interview at a local Bureau of Judicial Affiars branch. As the interview goes along, they find it more difficult than expected ...

In summer 1975 at the Constanța Shipyard, director Mihai Coman pushes to cast a massive ship propeller in-house, facing technical failures, internal resistance, and political hesitation. As the casting repeatedly breaks and deadlines loom, he must overcome engineering hurdles and personal sacrifices to see the vessel launched with the home-forged propeller.