‘It’s better to hear the sound of the prison gate closing than to hear church bells ringing,’ says a Neapolitan adage. Better behind bars than dead. The teens that are locked up on the prison island of Nisida, situated before the coast of Naples, use it as a wry joke to put their…
After every war someone has to tidy up. Things won’t pick\ themselves up, after all. Sweet Smoke of the Fatherland, documentary maker Masha Novikova’s new film, begins with these lines from the poem ‘The End and the Beginning’ by the Polish Nobel Prize winner Wislawa Szymborska.…
Some research questions in psychology involve getting out and seeing how people actually behave in real life situations. This is called naturalistic observation. Using several key studies, this film illustrates different techniques of naturalistic observation, why psychologists use this method, some…
The foetal susceptibility hypothesis suggests the nourishment an embryo receives from its mother is a major determinant of health in later life. In this film, Professor Randy Jirtle tells the story of his ground-breaking experiment at Duke University that demonstrated the effect of maternal diet…
Spatial criminology asks whether it’s possible to reduce crime by changing social spaces. This film begins with Zimbardo’s influential abandoned cars experiment and the development of Wilson and Kelling’s Broken Windows theory. It looks at the impact of Broken Windows policy on…
Traditionally criminology focused on criminal action and its control. Labelling theory widened the focus to include the social reaction to crime and its consequences. This film documents the rise and fall of labelling theory and illustrates how aspects of it continue to influence contemporary criminology…
Robert Merton was one of the first sociologists to look at the relationship between culture and crime and this short film provides a clear introduction to Strain Theory - one of the most influential criminological theories of the 20th century. It also looks at Strain Theory's application to contemporary…
The Human Volcano is a reflexive, first-person narrative by Captain Don Leslie, a sideshow sword-swallower, human blockhead, tattooed man, and fire eater. Recounting everything from childhood feelings of being an “oddball” to his injuries as a sword-swallower, Captain Don spews flames, lights…
High above where the Rio Conchos joins the Rio Grande along the Texas-Mexico border, people in this film say the devil has mounted a swing, from which he can effect everything, revealing himself through seemingly unrelated worlds — sacred rituals, corridos, druglords, Pancho Villa, and the tragic…
The 1995 excavation of La Belle, buried beneath Matagorda Bay off the coast of Texas for more than three centuries, is among the most significant archeological discoveries in North America. Through an unprecedented recovery effort by the Texas Historical Commission, including the construction of a cofferdam…
Since 1946, Lucien Mouchet (b. 1923 in Paris) has been making small-scale reproductions of carrousels and fairground scenes that existed in the past or are still in operation today. A machinist by trade, Mouchet retired nearly two decades ago, but his obsession with precision and detail has continued.…
When Vincent Li murdered and then cannibalised 22 year old Tim McLean on a Greyhound Bus heading for Winnipeg, the shock waves ran through Canadian society. But when Li was found unfit to face trail and later released, shock turned to outrage and triggered a social media moral panic. This film,…
