Miss Italia Mustn't Die

Behind the glitz of Miss Italia, director Patrizia Mirigliani fights to save the iconic pageant, now wavering amid scandals and changing beauty standards.

2025-02-26 | it

Crowned Species

A journalistic investigation, built not on rumors and assumptions, but on direct evidence, revealing the true mechanisms of podium coronations. Hidden camera footage of negotiations with the owners of the largest national beauty contests and an attempt to answer the question of why these people are not yet in prison. Famous people on the jury are not a guarantee of fair judging. Irrefutable evidence of the corruption of the so-called “stars” who elect the next Miss and Mrs. The collection and subsequent theft of funds for charity is a side business of the owners of fraudulent shows. What actually awaits the titled Misses after purchasing the prize? And what do children's beauty pageants turn out to be like for young participants?

2013-04-12 | ru

The Bikini Open 5

THE BIKINI OPEN is a special-event, retro series featuring the best swimsuit, fitness, bikini, and modeling competitions from the early 90s.

1991-01-01 | en

Le soleil a pas d'chance

1975-01-01 | fr

The Pageant

Every year since 2011, a unique beauty contest has been taking place in Haifa. The contestants are female survivors of the Holocaust. In the midst of this flashy spectacle, their personal traumas remain as deep as ever. There are many things about this contest that are controversial: it is organized by the right Zionist organization, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, and the dubious contest itself rises the public indignation of various speakers, including other survivors.

2020-04-25 | he

The Pigeons of Lahore

The parallel stories of four Pakistani immigrants in Greece become the trigger for the director to explore the story of his father, a worker in the Perama Shipyard. The background unfolds a most deadly shipwreck, Libyan immigrants found in limbo, as well as a (possibly racist) crime, which was committed during the shooting of this film.

2024-03-11 | ur

Blackpool, Harden and Grange-over-Sands

A colourful miscellany of footage from both sides of the Pennines.

1968-08-15 | xx

Deutsche Raketen für Gaddafi

2021-10-12 | de

100 Beauties Per Day

One of the three polemical articles in the series "Forbidden" in which there are critically opposed stands on various phenomena in society. The works of Fulgosi offered sarcastic view on everyday life which prompted some to declare him "a genius of his time".

1971-01-01 | sh

The Queen

In 1967, New York City is host to the Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant. This documentary takes a look behind the scenes, transporting the viewer into rehearsals and dressing rooms as the drag queen subculture prepares for this big national beauty contest. Jack/Sabrina is the mistress of ceremonies, and their protégé, Miss Harlow, is in the competition. But, as the pageant approaches, the glamorous contestants veer from camaraderie to tension.

1968-06-17 | en

Libya: No Escape from Hell

2021-10-12 | fr

The British Guide to Showing Off

Documentary about British artist Andrew Logan as he attempts to put on the 2009 edition of his Alternative Miss World. The film also presents a history of the contest (which has run eccentrically since 1972) which was set up firstly as an excuse to have a good party, but has grown into a celebration of alternative lifestyles and sexualities. The documentary mixes archive footage, animated inserts, with talking head interviews and a fly-on-the-wall look at the organisation of the 2009 event

2011-11-11 | en

Sarkozy-Gaddafi: The Scandal of All Scandals

A democracy and a dictatorship. A presidential campaign and dirty money. War and death. When Nicolas Sarkozy affirmed in the press that “No one can make sense of it”, he was trying to discredit the investigation into his ties with Muammar Gaddafi, portraying it as a bunch of gibberish. As Sarkozy and his many accomplices go on trial in the Libyan campaign financing affair, here’s the film that will finally explain all of the ins and outs of one of the most remarkable French political scandals in decades.

2025-01-08 | fr

Route 4

2021-11-24 | de

Living Dolls: The Making of a Child Beauty Queen

Documentary about the subculture of child beauty pageants (usually restricted to girls no older than 5), showing the lengths to which some parents will go to ensure that their children win these pageants...

2001-05-13 | en

Little Miss Westie

A year in the life of two transgender siblings as they navigate puberty, a local beauty pageant, and transitioning in the Trump era.

2019-11-10 | en

American Royalty

The American Royalty docuseries showcases an in-depth perspective of the Miss America Pageant. Experience the hundred year history, influence, controversy, and evolution of this iconic institution.

2022-02-22 | en

Beauty of Fatherland

The documentary observes two matriarchs - Tiina Jantson governs the beauty contest empire in Estonia; Anne Eenpanu leads the activities of "Home Daughters" - a girls' corps of Estonian Defence League. The film's main characters and their activities are very different. Whereas Anne's pedagogical approach is almost totally based on the love for fatherland then Tiina spends her days in the glitter of show business. However, there are some similiarities in their lives. The documentary studies the values, gender roles and moral norms in Estonia at the beginning of 21st century.

2001-12-06 | et

Shadows of a Leader: Qaddafi's Female Bodyguards

The documentary investigates the phenomenon of Qaddafi's elite female bodyguard corps and the tensions these women embody: tensions between Islam, modernisation in a nomadic society, a militarist feminism and an urban dictatorship.

2004-01-04 | en

The Colonel's Stray Dogs

In 1981, seven Libyan exiles formed the core opposition group to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Thirty years later, they are back to their country only to inherit the mess he left. The film is an intricate blend of rare first-hand accounts, propaganda archival material turned on its head, evocative cinematography and an untold history of a country.

2021-04-29 | en