Synopsis:

Bitter Brew peels back the glossy veneer of the world’s most expensive coffee — Kopi Luwak — to reveal a disturbing reality hidden behind luxury branding and exotic marketing.

Touted as a rare delicacy, Kopi Luwak is made from coffee beans that have passed through the digestive system of the Asian palm civet. But behind this quirky process lies a harrowing tale of animal cruelty, fraudulent practices, and environmental exploitation.

From the dense jungles of Indonesia to high-end cafes across the globe, this eye-opening documentary follows investigative journalists, ethical coffee farmers, and wildlife conservationists as they expose how wild civets are captured, caged, and force-fed in squalid conditions to meet international demand. The film uncovers a shadowy market rife with mislabeling and fake products, where most so-called “wild” kopi luwak is anything but.

Featuring interviews with former kopi luwak farm workers, coffee experts, and activists, Bitter Brew challenges viewers to confront the uncomfortable truths behind a luxury product few question — and asks: Is the price of indulgence worth the cost of cruelty?

High in the heart of the Swiss Alps, where ancient ice has carved valleys for millennia, a quiet ritual unfolds each summer. In the shadow of towering peaks, locals and scientists come together to wrap the Rhône Glacier—one of Switzerland’s most iconic ice masses—in massive white blankets.

The documentary tells the story of an extraordinary act of protection and hope. As climate change accelerates glacial melt across the globe, Switzerland has adopted a surprisingly simple yet symbolic response: covering parts of its glaciers with reflective thermal blankets to slow the loss of ice. The effort is small compared to the scale of the problem, but it speaks volumes.

Following the journey of the community members and glaciologists who trek each year to the melting edge, Switzerland Protects the Alps with a Blanket reveals a nation’s intimate connection with its disappearing glaciers. The film explores the science behind the practice, the challenges of preserving cultural and environmental heritage, and the emotional toll of watching these frozen giants retreat.

At once poetic and urgent, this is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and the deep love of a people for their mountains.

• Genres: Documentary
• Running time: 50 min
• Language: Romanian
• Subtitles: English
• Synopsis:
• The village of Tichilesti is in a remote area of easternmost Romania, in the in a hidden forest near the Danube Delta it is home to what is thought to be Europe's last remaining leprosy colony. The establishment has an over 100 years long history, where all the leprosy affected people from all regions of Romania and neighbouring countries had been isolated. Most inhabitants had spent their entire life in Tichilesti, hidden from the eyes of the outside world, a society that had stigmatized and marginalized them mostly because of fear. During the decades of the Ceausescu dictatorship, the colony remained a carefully guarded secret of communist Romania, a blemish of the "communist Eden".
• "The Colony" presents the life of the last residents, who were taking care of by the devoted Dr Rasvan Alexa Vasiliu, the one who opened the possibility for their social integration and rehabilitation.
• Doctor Rasvan Alexe Vasiliu has dedicated his life to caring for Hansen’s disease patients for over two and a half decades. Thanks to his devotion, today the leprosy hospital is a modern medical unit meeting European standards. Thanks to the effective treatment, at present, Tichilesti residents can move freely in the society of the healthy. Grigore "Grișa" Grigorov has also come from the Delta, from the area where the Danube flows into the sea. He trained to become a carpenter, and finished trade school while keeping the ailment already afflicting him a secret. Stela Mitulescu, Dumitru Ifemia, Vasile Olescu, Romică Nedelcu, Tutu Aurelian and "Anonymous"—they have also been living in Tichilesti most of their life. The residents of the colony used to get married, have children. It was here that Domnica Mișcov was born from infected parents. She has lived her whole life here and never wanted to leave. Shot in an observational/participative style, the documentary took over ten years to film, amassing hundreds of hours of footage, including archival footage and deep interviews with the last residents and medical staff of the colony. It follows the story of the long-term residents, their struggles to reintegrate in the outside world. Will they be able to adapt to a relative normal life and will they ever be able to successfully join the world of the "healthy"?
• "The Colony" is the only audiovisual document that preserves the history of leprosy in Romania, the memories of the last residents of Tichilesti and of those who had already left it.
• Dedicated to those suffering from leprosy.
• ▷ Watch trailer:

The Galápagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago 1,000 km off Ecuador’s coast, are famed for their unique wildlife. Many species found here exist nowhere else on Earth. Charles Darwin’s 1835 visit inspired key ideas in his theory of evolution. Today, climate change and warming waters threaten iconic species like the marine iguana, along with many others.