Hans Pool

In the year of the presidential elections in the US, journalist Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal and director Hans Pool sketch a portrait of the most activist generation since the 1970s: Generation Z. However, the freedom they demand collides with other freedoms, and nowhere does that collision occur as on the surface as in Florida, a state where 'freedom' is rotten in everyone's mouth.

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In 1983, the wife and stepdaughter of Dutch Jaitsen Singh are gruesomely murdered in California. Singh is convicted of inciting the murders, but has maintained his innocence for nearly 40 years. Given the way his case was handled at the time, this may well be true. Filmmaker Hans Pool investigates this intriguing and complex case and gets exclusive access to court and police documents that reveal a shocking story about racism, corruption, a mistress and a dubious key witness. How did Singh's American dream turn into a nightmare?

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Discover the endless highway in British Columbia where over 40 indigenous women and girls (by unofficial estimates) have disappeared since the 1970s.

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A first-hand look into the revolutionary rise of the “citizen investigative journalist” collective known as Bellingcat. Comprised of various distinct personalities from around the globe, Bellingcat is an online association of talented and dedicated truth-seekers utilizing advanced digital research techniques to upend the world of journalism. De facto leader Eliot and his fellow researchers give us exclusive access into their tight-knit world as they demonstrate the unlimited power of open source investigation. In cases ranging from the MH17 disaster to the hidden crimes of the Syrian regime, the group’s power and growing global influence is examined and explored.

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Putin’s Olympic Dream is about the rapid transformation of the city of Sochi. In just a couple of years it has to be refashioned from a nostalgic Soviet holiday resort, filled with gorgeous sanatoriums, into a modern Russian city. The Olympic Winter Games are held here in February 2014, and literally everything and everyone has to yield in order to turn this status project of President Putin into a success.

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Jelle Brandt Corstius is traveling through India. Whereas he previously attempted to explain Russia as an expert in the series From Moscow to Murmansk and From Moscow to Magadan, he is now trying to understand India as a stranger. The country has more poor people, 426 million, than the 26 poorest African countries combined. But there is also enormous wealth. Indian conglomerates are buying up Western companies. The biggest challenge for India is not to become more prosperous, but to distribute that prosperity more evenly. Brandt Corstius travels between two extremes across the country. From Bihar, located in the poor east, to Bangalore, the technological giant in the rich southwest.

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Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) left us a small oeuvre of only 36 paintings. Internationally, the power of his work is now more profound than ever. Blockbuster exhibitions, the novel and movie ‘Girl with a pearl earring’ caught a broad audience. Millions are touched by his work. What do we see in Vermeer that makes him so contemporary? The dignity of his painted ladies, the cinematic and photographic character of his images, the psychological impact, the serenity or apparent glimpse in our own everyday life? Influential contemporary artists, photographers and opinion leaders unravel the extraordinary and mysterious impact of this 17th century master in our day and age.

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Looking for an Icon examines the process by which photos become icons, revealing that once a photo is published, social forces are at work beyond the photographer's control. The film focuses on four World Press Photo winners, including Eddie Adams's 1968 photo of the public execution of a Viet Cong prisoner, an anonymous photographer's last image of Salvador Allende during the 1973 coup, Charlie Cole's 1989 photo of a lone student confronting tanks in Tiananmen Square, and David Turnley's 1991 photo of a grieving soldier during the first Gulf War.

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Ten years after his tragic accident on the Imola circuit, Ayrton Senna remains a hero; a source of inspiration and a example for many to follow. In this new film, personal recollections from Formula One drivers and from relatives and friends give a passionate insight into his genius, his complicated personality and a deeper understanding of his motivation and deep commitment to motor racing.

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A successful boxing career is also the goal of Badr Hari, but the tight training schedule that entails is very difficult for him. Rachid el-Haddad has been Dutch champion for years and has decided to give up boxing and start his own barber shop. Every penny is welcome now. In his perhaps very last fight he puts his Dutch title on the line. It's gonna be death or the gladiolus, or Victory or Hell.

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For more than thirty years, the coffee shop has been the international model of tolerance and lenience in the Netherlands. Nobody is penalized here for using soft drugs. But the production nederwiet (Dutch skunk) is still prohibited. The result is an equally hilarious and worrisome cat-and-mouse game played by growers, coffee shop owners, organised crime, police and judges at the backdoor of coffee shops. Filmmakers Maaik Krijgsman and Hans Pool decide to start growing marijuana at home. Their ill-fated enterprise is entertaining to watch. But the stories of the hemp grower, the seller of growing equipment and the coffee shop owner they do business with are sobering. The stricter police policy forces up the price, which paradoxically only fuels the interest of heavy criminals. The idealist hippie era is over. Nederwiet shows all sides of the nederwiet business: from police raids of home growers and visits to large-scale nurseries to a musician who tries to end his weed addiction.

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In 1983, the wife and stepdaughter of Dutch Jaitsen Singh are gruesomely murdered in California. Singh is convicted of inciting the murders, but has maintained his innocence for nearly 40 years. Given the way his case was handled at the time, this may well be true. Filmmaker Hans Pool investigates this intriguing and complex case and gets exclusive access to court and police documents that reveal a shocking story about racism, corruption, a mistress and a dubious key witness. How did Singh's American dream turn into a nightmare?

Open details →

In the year of the presidential elections in the US, journalist Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal and director Hans Pool sketch a portrait of the most activist generation since the 1970s: Generation Z. However, the freedom they demand collides with other freedoms, and nowhere does that collision occur as on the surface as in Florida, a state where 'freedom' is rotten in everyone's mouth.

Open details →

In 1983, the wife and stepdaughter of Dutch Jaitsen Singh are gruesomely murdered in California. Singh is convicted of inciting the murders, but has maintained his innocence for nearly 40 years. Given the way his case was handled at the time, this may well be true. Filmmaker Hans Pool investigates this intriguing and complex case and gets exclusive access to court and police documents that reveal a shocking story about racism, corruption, a mistress and a dubious key witness. How did Singh's American dream turn into a nightmare?

Open details →

A first-hand look into the revolutionary rise of the “citizen investigative journalist” collective known as Bellingcat. Comprised of various distinct personalities from around the globe, Bellingcat is an online association of talented and dedicated truth-seekers utilizing advanced digital research techniques to upend the world of journalism. De facto leader Eliot and his fellow researchers give us exclusive access into their tight-knit world as they demonstrate the unlimited power of open source investigation. In cases ranging from the MH17 disaster to the hidden crimes of the Syrian regime, the group’s power and growing global influence is examined and explored.

Open details →