Shipyard

The True Story of the Bridge on the River Kwai

2000

Made famous by the 1957 Hollywood movie, the bridges of the River Kwai emblematize one of the most misunderstood events in history. Contrary to the romanticized film version, the structures represent a period of terror, desperation, and death for over 16,000 POWs and 100,00 local slaves. The Thailand - Burma Railway was the vision of the Japanese Imperial Army: a 250-mile track cut through dense jungle that would connect Bangkok and Rangoon. To accomplish this nearly impossible feat, the fanatical and ruthless Japanese engineers used POWs and local slaves as manpower. Candid interviews with men who lived through the atrocity - including Dutch, Australian, British, and American POWs - illuminate the violence and horror of their three-and-a-half-year internment. From Britain's surrender of Singapore the enduring force of friendship, The True Story Of The Bridge On The River Kwai narrates a moving and unforgettable account of a period in history that must be remembered.

The President, April 1968

1968

The film captures the pivotal events surrounding President Lyndon Johnson's historic address on March 31st, focusing on his decision to halt bombing in North Vietnam and his surprising announcement not to seek re-election. The speech aimed for peace negotiations amidst the Vietnam War, leading to diplomatic breakthroughs with North Vietnam. It also chronicles the aftermath, including societal unrest following Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and Johnson's efforts to maintain national unity.

John Stevens: Storming the Beach

2017

Lieutenant Colonel John Stevens served in both World War II and the Korean War. During the Korean War, he received a Bronze Star for leading his company in one of that war's harshest battles.

Last Days in Vietnam

2014

During the chaotic final weeks of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon as the panicked South Vietnamese people desperately attempt to escape. On the ground, American soldiers and diplomats confront a moral quandary: whether to obey White House orders to evacuate only U.S. citizens.

Le Bataillon du Pacifique

2024

Das Dorf der Freundschaft

2001

A German Documentary about the “village of friendship” that was created by American Veteran George Mizo to help the Vietnamese kids suffering from the Vietnam War.

Begrijpt u nu waarom ik huil?

1969

The work of Leiden professor Bastiaans on dealing with the trauma of war victims attracts the attention of filmmaker Louis van Gasteren. He decides to make a film about the psychotherapeutic treatment with LSD of a former concentration camp prisoner in the clinic of Bastiaans. Patient Joop is arrested in September 1941 and begins a long hellish journey through various camps, until he is liberated by the Russians. When he returns to his wife, he has become a completely different man. Joop suffers from nightmares and is incapable of normal human contact. With two cameras, Van Gasteren records approximately six and a half hours of the first treatment that Joop undergoes with Bastiaans (four more will follow later). Special attention is paid to details: Joop's hands, the sweat on his forehead, a tear running slowly down his cheek. Van Gasteren reduces the recordings to more than an hour.

People of Russia

1942

This FitzPatrick Miniature visits the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the largest geographically unbroken political unit in the world, covering one-sixth of the world's land mass.

Night and Fog

1956

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

Ralph Rush: Concentration Camp Liberator

2015

Ralph Rush, a Scout in General George S. Patton's World War II Intelligence & Reconnaisance Platoons went from digging up German mines to being the first American to enter the Ohrdruf Concentration Camp; the first concentration camp liberated by the Allies.

The Unknown Woman

2011

The Unknown Woman is a documentary film scripted and directed by Elina Kivihalme. It depicts the reality of Finnish agriculture and forestry during the war years, when the home front relied entirely upon the work and endurance of the women. All farm work, caring for the children, woodcutting and other forestry operations were undertaken by the civilians, as the men in their prime were on the front.

Bataan Death March

2021

Within hours of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, bombs rained down on U.S. and Filipino forces in the Philippines. After months of vicious fighting, Allied forces surrendered on the island only to be met with a brutal march to P.O.W. camps dotted across the islands. Thousands died on the marches, before reaching the P.O.W. camps where countless more died. The surrender of the Philippines, now almost forgotten in U.S. history, is commemorated in the Philippines every year.