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Lift is a documentary with an unusually simple premise: what happens when a filmmaker sets up a camera in an average London tower block lift? The results are engrossing: as the project progresses, residents begin to confide in the filmmaker in remarkably personal and often amusing ways. With humour and candour, this film by the UK director Marc Isaacs touches on questions of trust, the way the camera can transform a situation, and the usually hidden lives of everyday people.
Director: Marc Isaacs
Producer: Belinda Giles
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Rituals and celebrations
A beginner’s guide to a joyful Persian tradition of spring renewal and rebirth
3 minutes
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Politics and government
How it looked to Afghan women to see the Taliban return to power
33 minutes
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Love and friendship
Love looks a bit different for a chain-smoking couple in a small apartment
11 minutes
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Biography and memoir
Passed over as the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight carved out an impressive second act
13 minutes
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The ancient world
The six priestesses who kept the flame of ancient Rome alight at risk of death
5 minutes
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Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes
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Architecture
West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?
12 minutes
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Work
A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?
14 minutes
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Biography and memoir
The unique life philosophy of Abdi, born in Somalia, living in the Netherlands
29 minutes