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- Fidel Castro was one of history's most controversial leaders. The man who freed Cuba from a crushing regime and lived a Communist dream, stood up to American and international condemnation, yet survives to this day. Undoubtedly a legendary figure, Castro is full of contradictions - some see him as a hero, others as a ruthless dictator. Who is the real Castro?
- How did Fleming find inspiration for "007" from his own experiences and imagination? What triggered his need to write the novels? How did he explore traumatic material he found from his time with the British Naval Intelligence Service.
- Mille Miglia, the historic car race with its top-class participants from the aristocratic, industrial, financial and high-society circles, celebrated its 80th birthday in 2007. This jubilee inspired film-maker Philip Selkirk to produce the first feature-length documentary about this legendary racing event. The Mille Miglia, was a thousand-mile (1,600km) race through the heart of Italy. Almost every year from 1927 until 1957 the fastest sports cars in the world would compete to cover the gruelling course from Brescia via Ferrara and San Marino to Rome and back again via Siena and Florence. For this feature-length documentary, Philip Selkirk and his 24-man-team filmed the "modern" Mille Miglia in 2006, which is a pageant driven round the same course by a selection of appropriately flamboyant cars built between 1927 and 1957. The models range from Alfa Romeo saloon cars, Morgans, early thoroughbreds with leather straps on their bonnet, an Isetta two-seater bubble-car, and a three-litre Bentley, once described by Ettori Bugatti as "the fastest lorry on Earth". Incidentally, no Bentley ever reached the starting line in the historic Mille Miglia. The film has interviews with some of the race's heroes - such as Sir Stirling Moss (who won the fastest ever race in 1955), and Count Giannino Marzotto, who won twice as an amateur driver, original footage exists in black and white of the classic races. The Mille Miglia evolved out of a contest between famed egotists and Italian marques, into a clash between nations under the shadow of fascism. The last wartime race transplanted to the Libyan desert, was a duel between Alfa Romeo and BMW. Then, in the 1950s the Mille Miglia became a battle between the manufacturers of Mercedes, Porsche, BMW, Lancia, Maserati, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo along with the odd Jaguar and Aston Martin. Stirling Moss raves about the Mercedes 300 SLR which, "talks to you and tells you when the back will break away or when you're understeering". It is a time when the car and driver existed as one, and subsequently, as the race got faster and more popular the likelihood of a major accident increased. For instance, it happened in 1957 when a Ferrari ploughed into the crowd at 300km an hour killing the two drivers and 10 spectators. The Mille Miglia was banned; but a modern version was revived in 1977. If you love graceful bodywork and pedigree cars which are more than just a mode of transport, to witness the moment in the early morning when a priest in Brescia solemnly blesses each car with holy water, until the moment when the checkered flag crosses the finish line, this film is for you... Selkirk is clearly obsessed with the beautiful lines and the intelligent design of the early high-performers. The viewer follows the procession, which lacks the drama of those races of 50 and more years ago, but is charged with nostalgia and is still a test of stamina. Bleary-eyed participants roll into Brescia after three gruelling days in cockpits that were not built for comfort.
- Jacky Ickx was always reticent, to consent to any sort of book or film documenting his life, or depicting his career. Only when filmmaker Philip Selkirk - well known also for his motor sports documentaries on the Mille Miglia and Rudolf Caracciola - approached him, Ickx agreed to support this 80-minute film project. The Belgian racing driver is one of the major talents in motor sports around the track, to many, comparable only with Stirling Moss. With Selkirk, he reveals the experience of never becoming Formula 1 World Champion, even though he has been awarded second place in the World Cup, twice. In addition to his eight victories that he achieved in the Ferrari and Brabham teams fighting for a victory in the Formula 1 World Championship, the world of endurance racing in sports cars and prototypes was his actual domain; there he competed for Ford, Ferrari, Matra, Alfa Romeo and, above all, Porsche, before he successfully took part in the great desert rallye, the Paris-Dakar. Ickx was especially successful at the "24 Hours of Le Mans," a title he won six times. In this 80-minute film, Jacky Ickx addresses in full detail his sporting career, starting as a young motocross-rider, making his way into touring, car racing from Formula 2 to Formula 1 and, ultimately the sports car world championship. In a very sympathetic manner, this talented racing-driver never falls victim to vain showmanship; rather, he praises the profession, the various team members and their efforts towards - the engineers, the clerks of the racecourses, the mechanics and Jacky's co-pilots in the sports car races. A very humbled player in the game. Jacky Ickx is very forthright and "frank" when he speaks to his successful past, as well as poignant moments, such as the death of colleagues, from Jochen Rindt to Stefan Bellof and Paris-Dakar founder Thierry Sabine. To further round out this story, Selkirk interviewed as well many of Jacky's contemporary witnesses: Sir Jackie Stewart, Ron Dennis, Sir Stirling Moss, Jean Todt, Jochen Mass, Norbert Singer and Klaus Bischof from Porsche, even delving into his personal life, to include his third wife Khadja Nin - the Burundian singer - and his two daughters Vanina and Larissa. The lives of these individuals are fantastically illustrated by original footage from various automotive and private archives. The fast-paced, action-packed sequences intrigue the audience, however with true depth brings to life Jacky's days within this treacherous era of motor racing. Selkirk blends this balance of baring the emotional world of one of the most versatile racing drivers of all time. Due to Selkirk's sympathetic way of interviewing, Ickx goes far beyond the motor sport aspects and further explores the boundaries of racing events. His comments are meticulous, not only influenced by respect, but of a universal point of view. Jacky Ickx himself has always treated his private life strictly as an off-limits area. Here, his daughters Larissa and Vanina get the opportunity, at least rudimentarily, to describe her father as a family man even though Vanina says: "Even for us, his children, it's not easy to say who he is or what he thinks, how he feels - because he's very private, very mysterious." Therefore, it is even more interesting that Ickx was very open to the interviewer, Philip Selkirk. The verbal descriptions are chronologically embedded into film and photo sequences from the time of Jacky's racing career; these recordings range from the 1960s to the present day. While alternatively, the charismatic Belgian acts as a brand ambassador for the Volkswagen Group and the watchmaker Chopard, attending various events of historic motor sports. Despite its limited, sometimes poor quality, the footage from the 1960s, 70s and 80s show the fascinating but also perilous world of Formula 1 and the sports car races of this era. In the summer 2011, when Selkirk presented the rough-cut to Jacky Ickx and his wife Khadja in their house in Brussels, Jacky Ickx had tears in his eyes and explained: "I would never have imagined that in 80 minutes my life could be that well presented. Well done!" Probably the best compliment the film director could have expected to receive from the protagonist who is known to be not only most sensitive, but also very critical about what one says about him .
- Philip Selkirk's time-less documentary will lend a visual depiction of the watch-making process: the inception interwoven with craftsmanship, and finally unveiling the "pièce de résistance". The "Single Men" speak fervently of their common goal: ensuring that the mechanical watch continues to thrive. The documentary features some of the works of art made by the likes of Svend Andersen, Vincent Calabrese, Philippe Dufour, Paul Gerber, Vianney Halter and Francois-Paul Journe.
- Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was the first woman to be elected head of government in the Islamic world. Her way to the top of her country was accompanied by years of humiliation, persecution and clashes.
- The Carrera Panamericana ... the Mexican Road Race. In its day it was the longest, fastest and likely wildest international automobile race ever staged. A World Championship event along with Le Mans, the Mille Miglia, Nürburgring and the Tourist Trophy, most drivers considered it the best-and the worst-of them all. From 1950 to 1954, it was witnessed by ten million spectators along a nearly 2,000-mile course that featured deserts where the faster cars could reach 180 mph and 10,000-foot mountain passes requiring first-gear operation. Carrera Panamericana influenced engineering and marketing from Michigan to Modena. Ferrari designed and named a model specifically for the race. Lincoln emerged as a high-performance sedan and Porsche's Carrera was named in honor of its wins. 1948 saw the birth of the Porsche brand with construction number 356. Its series production began two years later. From 1953 onwards, Porsche began to use a mid-engine roadster designed for motorsport, which was to have a long tradition of spectacular success: the 550 Spyder. Both the 356 and the 550 Spyder are very clearly featured in our film "The Mexican Way." We are telling the story of the birth of the Porsche Carrera! And we are telling the story of the rebels who put their lives on the line during the Carrera Panamericana, one of the world's most dangerous open road races. Our film is about danger and competition, hearing engines that sound angry but make people happy, seeing the drivers - the rebels. It works with emotions, heritage, consistency and something that is ... mystical. The 'Pan-Am' was so unconventional and fascinating that it came to hold the world's attention for a full week each year. It was one of the last of the great open road events and the first in which European and American cars could be compared and marked the return of US factory support to racing in America. With this new creation, Mexicans certainly had a thing going in their favour. A Mexican game, played by Mexican rules - on Mexican terrain. If you wanted to be part of it, you had to do it ... THE MEXICAN WAY.
- First and only comprehensive, all encompassing feature documentary about the sport of polo in the United States
- Portrait of 30-year-old Marlice van Vuuren, who founded a reserve for sick and orphaned animals on her parents' farm in Namibia
- Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (4 December 1892 - 20 November 1975), known simply as Francisco Franco was a Spanish military general and head of state of Spain from October 1936 - a unified nation from 1939 onwards - and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November 1975. He came to power as a prominent member of the far-right Falange movement. As head of state, Franco used the title Caudillo de España, por la gracia de Dios, meaning Leader of Spain, by the grace of God. Historically speaking, Franco is, today, mostly regarded one-dimensionally: as the brutal, autocratic Fascist dictator, who ruled his land and its people for almost four decades with an iron fist. This point of view, although indeed valid, is yet too analogous. Without euphemising or attempting to minimize the autocratic and suppressive character of the Franco regime and its atrocities, our film seeks to portray that the "Generalissimo", despite his reclusiveness and virtual "invisibility", was a complex and multi-faceted personality full of contradictions. The film does not propose answering all questions of historical context or provide an ultimate political evaluation; nor does it seek to conclusively solve the "Enigma of Franco" for all time. But, based on in-depth examination of existing evidence and painstaking research, it will present many facts hitherto unknown, cast a new light on numerous aspects, while adding fresh, previously unknown, information to much that is already accepted; for example: ... the viewpoints of close family members (daughter, grandson) and former companions of the private man, Francisco Franco; ... highlighting the role that the "Spirit of Francoism" still plays in present day Spain and the underlying question as to whether the extensive tabooing of the Franco era has allowed this spirit to survive longer than would probably have been the case had there been a thorough historic reappraisal. These aspects, among others, and hitherto undisclosed information will enable the viewer to form his own - possibly revised - opinion of Franco. Singular about the author's approach is the fact that, as a Briton living in the US and Spain, he is able to cast a neutral and non-judgmental light on the Franco era and its consequences on present day Spain. No Spanish film-maker could ever make a film of this kind - not even today, more than 35 years after Franco's death: too great is the unexplained taboo with which politics and modern Spanish society have documented this "unpopular" portion of their history ... with the result that most of today's 46 million Spaniards know far too little about this slice of recent history. With suspense and excitement, the film will document the mystery still surrounding the "Franco enigma" - from the perspective of Francisco Franco himself ... "I, Franco".