In our fast-paced, always-on world, stress and burnout are skyrocketing. But now scientists have discovered an unexpected way out of the hamster wheel: boredom. Boredom is much more than pointless idleness. It sparks creativity and refreshes our brains.
More infoHamas's surprise attack on 7 October 2023 was the greatest tragedy Israel has ever known. Since then, Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of over 65,000 Palestinians. Yet this disaster could have been avoided. We investigate the story of what the Israeli army calls its “total failure”.
More infoWe delve into the hell that has become the daily lives of women in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Several women across the country courageously agreed to film their daily lives on their cell phones, the last bastion of freedom.
More infoFor most of the year, Daytona Beach is a quiet US seaside resort. But every spring, it becomes the craziest city in America.
More infoFrench prisons are among the most overcrowded in Europe. The country’s prison system is on the brink of collapse, putting prison staff on the front line. We gained unprecedented access to three notorious French prisons to reveal the scale of the problem.
More infoWe trace Pakistan’s slide toward fundamentalism and ask what this means for a nuclear-armed nation on the edge.
More infoThe Caudillo continues to cast a long shadow on Spanish society. How is it that a country known for being a progressive beacon, a country which had the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet arrested for crimes against humanity in 1998, is unable to come to terms with its own past?
More infoOn the evening of the terrorist attack on the Bataclan on 13 November 2015, Daniel Psenny, then a journalist for Le Monde, lived in a building next to the concert hall. As dozens of panicked people, some seriously injured, fled through the emergency exits of the concert hall he started instinctively filming with his mobile. Who were those people in the images? Ten years later, what has become of them?
More infoAlready more than 30 million people flee their villages, regions or countries every year because of climate change. By 2050, it’s estimated there will be between 200 million and 1 billion climate refugees. As extreme weather threatens the lives of hundreds of millions of people, how can the world best respond?
More infoFrom the corridors of the White House to the Mexican border, this documentary explains how, in just five months, Donald Trump has wrought panic across America.
More infoThe invasion of Ukraine changed everything for Russia’s Scandinavian neighbors. 200 years of neutrality, which had previously created a sense of stability, was replaced with NATO membership. Finland, Norway and Sweden are now preparing for the possibility of war.
More infoIt’s an undisputed fact that the best place to raise a child is in a family. But all over Europe, there’s a shortage of foster families for those children who can’t live with their biological families. In a house beside a lake in Germany, three youth workers step in as caregivers for five children in a therapeutic residential home. We spent a year following them and the children they care for.
More infoIn this acclaimed series, we journey on some of the world's most dangerous routes and explore the lengths people go to in order to change their destinies.
More infoThis is the first time in the history of warfare that such a brigade has been formed. On the Ukrainian front line, "troubadour-soldiers" remind us that, even amid the devastation of war, beauty can still blossom…
More infoThe Roma are one of the most closed communities in France and also one of the most discriminated against.
More infoRuja Ignatova is believed to have stolen at least €3.2 billion from OneCoin investors before disappearing on going on the run in 2017. Since then, everyone from the FBI and German police to former victims and criminal gangs have been trying to find her. It was even claiming she had was murdered at sea. In this film, we debunk that rumour and reveal what happened to some of the OneCoin money. Is Ruja Ignatova still alive and residing in South Africa?
More info"Change the system, not the climate" is a common demand in the climate movement. But what kind of system do we actually want? In the midst of humanity's worst crisis, there are pioneers standing ready. Meet the new economic perspectives that have the potential to change the world at its core.
More infoThe oneiric state: a dream-like state experienced while awake that allows the dreamer to reach inner worlds. Charlotte, Elona and Raphaëlle are able to enter into this state to explore extraordinary realms. They create fictional universes that they share on social networks. At the dawn of adulthood, they almost lose their way, before finding themselves.
More infoIn 2023, we reported on the ways paedophiles were exploiting post-COVID poverty in Thailand to abuse children. In this documentary, we return to the place where it all began, checking in with stories that have continued since the first film aired and examining whether any real reform is happening.
More infoSince the Communist government decided to swap marxism for capitalism in the 1980s, the country has transformed. It is now home to an increasing number of millionaires and signs of growth are everywhere. But this prosperity comes at a price and those who dare to criticise the official party policy risk losing everything.
More infoCancer treatments may be constantly improving but some patients choose to reject mainstream medicine and embrace alternative therapies. How effective are these treatments? And why do people choose them? Are they taking dangerous risks by choosing a different path.
More infoFeaturing rare access to President Zelenksy and the people who have known him since his childhood – as well as photos, film archives and never-before-seen eyewitness accounts – this film, which premiered in a Special Screening at the Cannes Film Festival, paints a picture of both the president and his country.
More infoEndless beaches, majestic mountains and villages with multi-coloured houses: Cape Verde has become one of the hottest new destinations for Instagrammers. Here, tourists can enjoy a week in an all-inclusive resort for as little as €700, including travel. But virtually none of this benefits the island.
More infoWe gained exceptional access to the international criminal networks making a fortune from stolen cars. In this film, they reveal all their tricks.
More infoIsrael’s actions since the start of the war in banning UNRWA and restricting the activities of NGOs and UN agencies helping Palestinians have been well publicised. But this policy of targeting aid organisations can be traced back years earlier.
More infoOn December 8 2024, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his entire family fled his country and sought refuge in Russia. The swift fall of the Butcher of Damascus, the man who had made a startling comeback after nearly losing everything during the Arab Spring, took everyone by surprise. This film, shot before and after the fall of the regime, tells the story of why his bloody dictatorship fell so quickly. How Syrians experienced the end of the Assad clan and their hopes and fears for the future.
More infoIn Marseille, criminal gangs wage turf wars. In this city alone, drug trafficking has claimed the lives of 73 people in the past two years. More and more innocent victims are caught in the crossfire of drug trafficking. Is France tipping over into the kind of ultraviolence more commonly seen in South America?
More infoFor the past decade, this small ex-Soviet republic in Central Asia has been one of the main breeding grounds for jihadism. Why?
More infoSince their clandestine ordinations on a boat on the Danube in 2002, Catholic women priests have been challenging the Vatican to denounce its misogyny. For the first time, women priests have succeeded in obtaining a dialogue with the Vatican, prompting cardinals and Pope Francis to take a stand on the forbidden subject of women's ordination.
More infoFor the past three years, Ukraine's youth have been growing up in a warzone. As the fighting intensifies, the number of victims is increasing. The lives of millions of young Ukrainians, like Napoléon, Plombir, Timur and Hannah, have been irrevocably changed.
More info"Blank Plate: Creating the Best Restaurant in the World" takes us on the journey of Disfrutar as it rises to be crowned the best restaurant in the world. As well as documenting this achievement, the film delves into the personal stories of its three chefs – Eduard Xatruch, Mateu Casañas and Oriol Castro – tracing them all the way from their demanding years at El Bulli to the creation of their own restaurant.
More infoIn the prisons of Al-Hol and Al-Roj camps, Kurdish forces are managing what many Western countries regard as a time bomb: 60,000 prisoners affiliated with the Islamic State. Nearly three quarters of them are under the age of 15. Here, ISIS still reigns supreme. The prisoners believe it's only a matter of time before ISIS return and frees them.
More infoThrough a combination of industrial espionage, technology theft and the establishment of networks of influence abroad, China is waging a clandestine and merciless war to become the world's leading military and economic power.
More infoUltra-Orthodox Jews in America make up a very visible yet inaccessible community. Recognisable by their outfits, they have a strict dress code and live by even stricter rules. We gained exclusive access to their world and heard from a family expelled from the community.
More infoFor centuries, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and China have disputed territories in the South China Sea. But China’s claims of overriding sovereignty over the entire sea, supported by annexations and aggressive military patrols, have turned the sea into a global hotspot.
More infoAdolescents who are connected to their smartphone for more than five hours a day are 66% more likely to suffer suicidal symptoms than those who use it for one hour a day. 44 US states are currently suing Meta, blaming it for the malaise of an entire generation. Faced with powerful tech giants like Meta, Tiktok, Snapchat, X and Discord, how can we protect children and their childhood?
More infoA wave of gang violence and shootings in Sweden has taken everyone by surprise. The country now has one of the highest per capita rates of gun violence in the EU, with young teenagers being recruited as hitmen in ongoing gang wars. How did it come to this?
More infoFor the Trump clan, the presidency is a family affair. His sons, daughters, son-in-laws, daughter-in-law, grandchildren: each one of them was rewarded for assisting the campaign. From bloodlines to conflicts of interests and ultra-bright smiles, this documentary pulls back the curtain on the Trump family, the gilded dynasty that is running America.
More infoFor King Abdullah of Jordan, President Trump’s suggestion that Palestinians in Gaza should be resettled there threatens the very survival of his country. Trump’s comments have highlighted Jordan's dependence on US aid and raised existential questions about the country’s identity.
More infoThere are currently almost 10 million Native Americans in the United States. Once confined to reservations and condemned to poverty, they are now proudly reclaiming their culture.
More infoIt's the symbol of the American dream. The film capital of the world has become a beacon for Americans and expatriates in search of the dolce vita. But, for many, the glitz and glamour of the City of Angels has lost its lustre.
More infoLong considered a haven of peace in Latin America, Ecuador today is facing an unprecedented wave of violence. Prison riots, hostage-taking on live television and homicides by the thousands: the country is now in a ‘state of war’ against the narcos.
More infoSince 1991, Turkmenistan has been ruled by an equally bizarre and ruthless dictatorship. Much like North Korea, the heads of state wield absolute power and have the freedom to act on a whim.
More infoWe gained exclusive access to the world's biggest and toughest prison in El Salvador. Fifteen thousand prisoners are locked up here, most of whom will never leave alive.
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We delve into the hell that has become the daily lives of women in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Several women across the country courageously agreed to film their daily lives on their cell phones, the last bastion of freedom.
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We trace Pakistan’s slide toward fundamentalism and ask what this means for a nuclear-armed nation on the edge.
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On the evening of the terrorist attack on the Bataclan on 13 November 2015, Daniel Psenny, then a journalist for Le Monde, lived in a building next to the concert hall. As dozens of panicked people, some seriously injured, fled through the emergency exits of the concert hall he started instinctively filming with his mobile. Who were those people in the images? Ten years later, what has become of them?
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Spring 2025 has kicked off with an exciting wave of recognition for Java Films’ documentary catalogue, with numerous awards and official selections for our titles at film festivals across the world. Here are some of our Spring 2025 highlights: Prolonging […]
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In honour of the late founder and managing director of Java Films, the company is delighted to mark the second anniversary of the Roch Bozino Engagement Award at this year’s Sunnyside Festival.
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After a successful year filled with impressive festival selections and awards, we’ve continued to build on that this winter, with even more recognition for our documentaries. Here are some of the highlights: Nenets vs Gas won the “Hérisson d’or” Award […]
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Two men, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, are driving the radical right-wing agenda of Benyamin Netanyahu’s government. Who are they and what is their ultimate goal?
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In Port-au-Prince, nearly three million people are living in the grips of all-out gang war. Gangs now control more than 80% of the city. Murders, kidnappings, gang rapes and fires are common and no end to the crisis seems in sight.
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Since the start of Operation Iron Sword, provoked by Hamas’ attack on Israel, life in Gaza has become apocalyptic.
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