STIRR

Documentary Movies

Strange Birds In Paradise

Strange Birds In Paradise

While the Indonesian army dominates the indigenous inhabitants of West Papua, three friends gather to record outlawed folk songs. Charlie Hill-Smith, an Australian writer, is their friend. Afloat in an extraordinary musical tradition from the West Papuan highlands, hearing stories of escape, oppression and exile, listening to the defiant songs of murdered musician Arnold Ap, Charlie confronts a basic question: how could these two be at war and how can the rest of the world seemingly not care?

Duration : 52m
Maturity Level : all

Man In The Middle

Man In The Middle

Soon one of the world’s biggest sporting events takes place on African soil. This documentary follows the story of Jerome Damon, a young South African on a quest to reach the heights of one of the world’s most image-obsessed sports. Jerome is the only South African to be shortlisted to referee at the FIFA World Cup in 2010. As a sports mad teenager, he could never have imagined the world’s biggest sporting event taking place in South Africa, not to mention the opportunity to be a referee.

Duration : 48m
Maturity Level : all

Mandela: Rivonia

Mandela: Rivonia

For many of the journalists working for South African news channel eNCA, the death of Nelson Mandela was the most memorable story of their careers. It was a week in which South Africa regained the international limelight, but then threatened to derail following a series of bungles - including the hiring of a schizophrenic criminal who interpreted speeches in fake sign language. We go look backstage as the world bids farewell to Mandela.

Duration : 56m
Maturity Level : all

Old Yang Seeks Bride

Old Yang Seeks Bride

Old Yang is 73 years old. He lives in Shanghai and he wants a wife. And not just any wife. The woman of his dreams has a pension, does not dance or play mahjong and is, above all else, younger than he. Quite a bit younger. To find the perfect match Old Yang places an ad in the “personals” section of the Shanghai Senior Citizen newspaper. OLD YANG SEEKS BRIDE follows him for six months as he bicycles through a series off dates.

Duration : 51m
Maturity Level : all

Sheri - A Life Of Downs And Ups

Sheri - A Life Of Downs And Ups

Despite having Down\'s Syndrome, Sheri has managed to finish school, attain a tertiary degree and become a qualified teacher. She has also become a popular motivational speaker, inspiring people across the globe. Her secret: A mother who believes in her, an almost superhuman perseverance and an excellent memory. She has managed to overcome so many obstacles and she’s not about to succumb to the “forgetting illness” without a fight.

Duration : 54m
Maturity Level : all

Rhino Trade Uncovered

Rhino Trade Uncovered

Rhino Trade Uncovered examines the illegal trade in Rhino horns and presents a case for legalizing it as a mechanism to mitigate poaching, create jobs, provide a substantial revenue stream from trade for conservation, and incentivize private Rhino breeders to continue farming these animals.

Duration : 55m
Maturity Level : all

Sharpeville Echoes: The Story Of South Africa\'s Worst Apartheid Massacre

Sharpeville Echoes: The Story Of South Africa\'s Worst Apartheid Massacre

In the same year South Africa hosts the soccer World Cup, the country marks the 50th anniversary of the worst massacre under Apartheid. The massacre changed the course of South African history, leading to a vicious crackdown on further anti-apartheid dissent. Fifty years on, the handful of remaining survivors still meet to help each other cope with their enduring trauma.

Duration : 52m
Maturity Level : all

Sounds Of The Seas

Sounds Of The Seas

Marine biologist Antonella Servido investigates the mystery of the Canary Island pilot whales in this stunning documentary, Sounds of the Seas. Antonella wants answers as to why these whales are becoming fatally stranded and will not stop until she finds them. Military sonars are built to detect hostile submarines over hundreds of miles, but that needs hugely destructive sound volumes. As the threat of energy-wars increase, scientists are standing up to tackle the consequences for the oceans.

Duration : 52m
Maturity Level : all

Return Of The Prime Predators

Return Of The Prime Predators

Amongst the wine estates and sheep farms of South Africa, farmers are putting up powerful electric fences. A rumour is spreading around that the predators are back. The rumour is true. Adrian Gardiner is creating an African Eden on land. The cattle and sheep are getting a one way ticket out, and the wildlife is moving back in. And there’s nothing wilder than the big cats! It promises to be one of the most daring conservation projects of all time.

Duration : 53m
Maturity Level : all

No Problem

No Problem

India has 80,000 cases of kidney failure every year, most needing immediate transplants. In 1995 the Indian government passed a law prohibiting commercial transplants and organ donations from anyone other than relatives, dangerously reducing the number of possible donors. Due to the enforcement of the new law, Dr Reddy and his team had to stop their work. The kidney trade in India is thriving as never before, though nowadays declared illegal and therefore uncontrollable.

Duration : 46m
Maturity Level : all

Some Kind Of Spark

Some Kind Of Spark

Some Kind of Spark follows five kids as they embark on a life-changing experience—the opportunity to study music in Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program an outreach program for kids from communities that are underserved in the arts. This is a new world for these children and the demands are high, even for beginners. They come from the far corners of New York City, at times taking hours, as they navigate the buses and subway trains to reach the school.

Duration : 1h 29m
Maturity Level : all

The Lion Tree

The Lion Tree

This intimate film follows a pride of lions facing an upheaval that threatens their survival. A giant wild fig tree stands at the centre of a remote flood plain in north western Zambia. It marks the territory of a pride of lions who have thrived here for years. Without warning or explanation, the pride male has vanished, leaving five females and their cubs to cope alone.

Duration : 50m
Maturity Level : all

Two Men And A Wedding

Two Men And A Wedding

Across the continent of Africa there has been a recent hardening of attitudes towards gay people, encouraged in large measure by US based Christian evangelical groups. The Ugandan parliament is currently debating legislation that will allow homosexuality to be punishable by death. Sudan and Nigeria’s northern states can already enforce the death penalty. Burundi criminalised homosexuality this year, joining 37 African countries where gay sex is outlawed.

Duration : 50m
Maturity Level : all

The Vula Connection

The Vula Connection

Tim Jenkin is an unlikely revolutionary. Breaking from a privileged life in apartheid South Africa, Jenkin placed himself in extreme danger as a young man by volunteering to assist the banned African National Congress. After a dramatic arrest, and even more outrageous prison break, Tim disappeared into the backrooms of the liberation movement.

Duration : 57m
Maturity Level : all

Til Death Do Us Part

Til Death Do Us Part

This is the story of an extraordinary crime of passion. Judge Patrick Maqubela was found dead in his Sea Point flat in 2009. Shortly afterwards, his wife Thandi was arrested. Allegations of infidelities, police corruption, blackmail, and call girls emerged in the trial. Patrick had had a string of extra marital affairs and, bent on revenge, Thandi had devised a plan to kill him and alter his will so that she would inherit his estate.

Duration : 24m
Maturity Level : all

Wired Wolf

Wired Wolf

The wolf was exterminated from most parts of Norway and Sweden around 1870. But now it is back. History is in danger of repeating itself, with fear and anger accompanying the big predator´s presence. Science can reveal the true habits of the wolf packs. We follow Ulrik, an alpha male wolf. He was one of the first wolves to be tranquilised and equipped with a radio collar. Following his whereabouts has given the scientists a fascinating look at just how dramatic the life of a single wolf can be.

Duration : 50m
Maturity Level : all

The Model And The Bushmen

The Model And The Bushmen

This is the story of an incredible adventure: a young woman from Norway, Aleksandra Ørbeck-Nilssen moves into the wild and joins the last Bushmen hunters in Namibia. She needs to learn more about their amazing survival skills – not for the sake of fun and thrill, but to actively help maintaining the lifestyle of the earth’s first and last hunter-gatherers.

Duration : 52m
Maturity Level : all

Two Wings, Many Prayers

Two Wings, Many Prayers

Two friends with a love for aviation and adventure decide to design and build their own tiny aircraft. As if this isn’t challenge enough, they also want to fly the plane to Oshkosh, the world’s greatest air show. With the clock ticking down, they rush to complete the build of the plucky little plane that will become known as The Sling. With very little test flying done, they take off into the night… but will it be a bumpy landing?

Duration : 52m
Maturity Level : all

When Snakes Bite

When Snakes Bite

Every year in the US, 7,000 people are bitten by poisonous snakes. Most survive, though many are horribly disfigured, and every year more than a dozen die. This film looks at our frightening relationship with venomous snakes. We travel to Tennessee to meet the evangelical church which lives by Jesus\' words, \"and they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.\" For 100 years this extreme sect has been using poisonous snakes in their religious ceremonies.

Duration : 50m
Maturity Level : all

The Neanderthals\' Dark Secret

The Neanderthals\' Dark Secret

A tomb of bones, 49,000 year-old Neanderthal bones, has been discovered by chance in a remote, mountainous region of Northern Spain. It is an unparalleled end. It may help solve the biggest Neanderthal puzzle of all—why we are here today and they are not. Mystery surrounds the cave system called El Sidron. The bones are buried 20 metres below ground, and almost a quarter of a kilometre from the tunnel entrance. How did they get here?

Duration : 52m
Maturity Level : all

Unsolved - The Story Of The Cape Ripper

Unsolved - The Story Of The Cape Ripper

It’s been two decades since a serial killer\'s reign of terror hit Cape Town\'s sex workers. During the period 1992-1996, twenty six workers were killed and their bodies dumped all over the peninsula. This film pieces together the facts, and uses experts and witnesses to attempt to throw new light on the shocking events.

Duration : 24m
Maturity Level : all

Whispers In The Dark

Whispers In The Dark

In 2007, serial rapist Johannes Mowers was arrested. He led police to a large burrow covered in corrugated iron where he was keeping two girls, one of them four years old, who he had kidnapped in 2005. The girls were severely traumatised and it appeared that Mowers had sexually abused the older girl, aged 14. This sensitive film tells the girls’ story, and tries to understand the mind of a man who could perpetrate such inhumane crimes.

Duration : 52m
Maturity Level : all

Wandering Wild

Wandering Wild

Filmmaker Lianne Sleigh journeys into the greater Kruger national park, 5.5 million hectares of unrivalled density of permanent game. Lianne joins the anti-poaching unit; a team dedicated to be guardians to the animals. Stand with Lianne in the middle of the Limpopo river, and experience the transformation of a dry river into an endless flow of water and life.

Duration : 23m
Maturity Level : all

The Curse Of The Nobody People

The Curse Of The Nobody People

In the African country of Tanzania, the population of albinos face a deadly threat. Up to sixty albinos have been hunted down by unscrupulous witchdoctors that sell their skins, bones, hair and an array of body parts as ingredients in potions that are promised to make them rich. The Tanzanian government has declared the killings a national crisis and has vowed to hunt the killers down and do more to protect albinos, but the killings have continued unabated.

Duration : 36m
Maturity Level : all