Showing posts with label Videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Videos. Show all posts
October 28, 2013
September 8, 2013
Documentary - "The Present and Future of Romiosini and Hellenism in Constantinople" (2013)
The above documentary, titled "The Present and Future of Romiosini and Hellenism in Constantinople", was shown on May 19, 2013 on the Greek television station ET-1. It shows that contrary to popular opinion, Romiosini and Hellenism indeed have a present and future in Constantinople.
September 5, 2013
BBC Documentary - "A History of Syria" (2013)
Robin Barnwell, who directed and produced 'A History of Syria with Dan Snow', explains the challenges of filming amid the conflict, and describes the spirit of the Syrian people he met.
The Syrian Airlines jet performed an alarming dive on its nighttime approach into Damascus airport in an attempt to avoid any hostile fire. The exterior lights on the aircraft were switched off to make it less visible to any rebel fighters attempting to shoot the plane down. Syrian army artillery rounds were flying through the air, thudding into residential suburbs not far from the airport.
Once we'd landed, I saw little of the Syria I knew from my previous two visits. The airport that had been the gateway to the country for tourists was quiet. The road to the centre of Damascus was eerily empty. Our driver drove as fast as he could, speeding us past signs welcoming us to Syria on a road that regularly comes under attack or is caught in the crossfire in a conflict that has now cost more than 70,000 lives and displaced millions. How, I wondered, had Syria and its people, whom I had such warm memories of, reached such a state?
Like many people, I first travelled to Syria in 1995 to immerse myself in the country's extraordinary and varied history. Now I was in Damascus to direct and film a documentary that would explain how history had helped shape and influence the appalling civil war that is tearing Syria and its different communities apart. It was a strange relief to be in Damascus, as visas for journalists and filmmakers, issued by the Syrian government, are difficult to obtain.
The programme's Middle East producer had doggedly convinced a suspicious Syrian Ministry of Information that now was the right time to make a history of Syria after weeks of officials telling us to come back after the 'current, temporary problems' were over. We persisted in pushing for access because history can help explain the current violence in Syria; violence that has become increasingly incomprehensible for audiences of news programmes around the world.
I was surprised by my own ignorance about the subject. It was only after weeks of reading and meetings with experts before actually arriving in Syria did I map the historical connections, linking present day events with the past. How though, were we to go about making a documentary in a country consumed by civil war?
Permission to film almost anything and anyone was frustratingly difficult to obtain. The official from the Syrian Ministry of Information assigned to take us around kept apologizing for the numerous new restrictions that had been put in place. Getting access to the beautiful Old City of Damascus now involved negotiating a way through sandbagged checkpoints past soldiers who were suspicious of foreigners and visibly on edge.
Surreally, though, Syrians were rushing around going about their daily business, seemingly ignoring the near constant sound of gunfire and fighter jets which screeched overhead to bomb targets in the suburbs. An even stranger sense of normality prevailed in other locations we filmed, particularly in Syria's coastal city Lattakia, where no fighting was taking place. We mingled with couples watching the sunset over the Mediterranean and for a moment one was back in pre-conflict Syria. But the effects of war were never far away.
January 15, 2013
The Merciful Duck (Video)
In the video above, the duck is seen sharing the bread crumbs left for him with the carp he shares the pond with.
December 24, 2012
Leo Tolstoy's "Papa Panov's Special Christmas" (animation)
Papa Panov, an old shoemaker almost too blind to thread a needle, has a dream that Jesus will visit him on Christmas Day.
He anxiously and eagerly waits all day, but his only visitors are a tramp, a roadsweeper, and a pauper woman with her cold and hungry baby.
Despite his disappointment and fading hope, Papa Panov gives them his coat, his money, his soup, and even the tiny shoes he was saving as a present for Baby Jesus.
As night falls and his special visitor still hasn't arrived, Papa Panov thinks himself a silly, old fool.
But then he has another dream, a dream which convinces him his special visitor did come after all ....
This short story of Leo Tolstoy can be read here.
Below is a cartoon based on the original tale, titled "Red Boots For Christmas":
"The Story of the Other Wise Man" (animation)
The Story of the Other Wise Man is a short novel or long short story by Henry van Dyke. It was initially published in 1895 and has been reprinted many times since then, including a "centennial edition" published in 1996 by Ballantyne Books.
The story is a fictional addition and expansion of the account of the Biblical Magi, recounted in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It tells about a "fourth" wise man (assuming the tradition that the Magi numbered three to be true), a priest of the Magi named Artaban, a Mede from Persia.
Read more here.
See also: Movie: "The Fourth Wise Man" (1985)
November 10, 2012
July 6, 2012
July 1, 2012
Video: "One Day in the Life of a Men's Monastery"
Documentary: "One Day in the Life of a Men's Monastery"
About: Chronicles one day in the life of a Men’s Monastery in Abkhazia.
Length: 26 min.
With the blessing of: The Chairman of the Council of the Holy Metropolitanate of Abkhazia Dorofei (Dbar) and the Father Superior of the Monastery of St. Simon the Zealot Hieromonk Andrei (Ampar)
Director: Sergei Yazvinskiy
Director of photography: Sergei Yazvinskiy, Vyacheslav Ivanov
Managers of the project: German Marshan, Tengiz Tarba.
June 28, 2012
Documentary on the Romanian Gulag of Pitesti
The Pitesti prison (Romanian: Închisoarea Pitesti) was a penal facility in Pitesti, Romania, best remembered for the brainwashing experiment carried out by Communist authorities in 1949-1952 (also known as Experimentul Pitesti - the "Pitesti Experiment" or Fenomenul Pitesti - the "Pitesti Phenomenon"). The latter was designed as an attempt at violently "reeducating" the mostly young political prisoners, primarily supporters of the fascist and anti-semitic Iron Guard, as well as former members of the National Peasants' and National Liberal parties or Zionist members of the Romanian Jewish community.
The experiment's goal, compliant with the regime's take on Leninism, was for prisoners to discard past political and religious convictions, and, eventually, to alter their personalities to the point of absolute obedience. Estimates for the total number of people passed through the experiment range from 1,000[2] to 5,000. It is considered the largest and most intensive brainwashing torture program in the Eastern bloc.
Read more here.
May 28, 2012
Documentary: Constantine the Great
This documentary is a fine production, but sometimes walks the line between truth and fiction, especially towards the end. It avoids any supernatural explanations for certain incidents in Constantine's life, but does not necessarily discount them either. Towards the end, following the defeat of Licinius, Constantine is depicted as a bit maniacal and power hungry, of which there is no evidence, and the documentary suggests a certain hypocrisy in Constantine for killing Licinius and his son (during an unnecessary emotional scene), and his wife Fausta and son Crispus. An objective history would have been better, such as stating that Licinius was hanged by Constantine for conspiring to raise troops among the barbarians, and Fausta and Crispus were killed for an unmentionable crime that not even his successors and her sons repealed. For the most part, however, this documentary is useful and moderate, just completely ignore the last few minutes if you seek an objective history.
May 13, 2012
May 11, 2012
Documentary: "Archimandrite"
Archimandrite Gabriel -- an Orthodox monk from the Podlasie province in Poland -- is the founder and sole inhabitant of the Kudak grove hermitage by river Narew. During his first few years there, he lived and prayed in a wagon house, without electricity, running water, or contact with the outside world. After five years, thanks to the help of people of Orthodox faith from local villages, the grove saw the rise of a wooden church, a dormitory for monks, and outbuildings.
Pilgrims are drawn to the place by archimandrite Gabriel's personality: he can find common ground with anyone, he grants spiritual advice, heals with herbs, and keeps bees. When necessary, he rolls up his sleeves and works on building the hermitage right alongside everyone else.
The archimandrite's biggest concern is finding a successor. Prospective monks don't last long in the hermitage, however. They can't stand the lack of access to civilization, common comforts, and contact with their peers.
Biełsat TV 2012
April 26, 2012
April 24, 2012
Video: Israel | Jerusalem | Filmed in Imax 3D
After a year of research and preparation, the giant screen film JERUSALEM advanced into production with an unprecedented aerial shoot throughout Israel and the West Bank. Scheduled for worldwide release in 2013, the film will take audiences on a spectacular tour of the Holy Land and the city once believed to lie at the centre of the world.
April 4, 2012
Video: Man Carves Four Churches on Mountainside
After receiving a vision he believed came from the Holy Spirit, an Ethiopian weaver went to the mountains to carve entire churches from stone. He has carved four so far — all with basic tools. From National Geographic.
April 1, 2012
A Miracle On An American Highway
Paranormal Witness S01E02 - Haunted Highway... by ChannelHub
I found the first story in this video pretty moving and amazing the first time I saw it on TV, so I thought I would share it. The entire story is told by first-hand accounts. Make of it what you wish. The second story is pretty interesting as well.
In 1994, a ghost of a woman who appears totally naked provides a clue into the tragedy of a mother and son who went missing for 5 days while driving on Highway 50 by mile marker 16 near Placerville, California.
From Paranormal Witness (S01 E02).
March 19, 2012
January 28, 2012
Video Footage From the Glorification of St. Nektarios (11/05/1961)
The video above is actual footage from the glorification service of St. Nektarios on the island of Aegina on November 5, 1961.
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