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The short documentary Blaulicht (Blue Light) follows two paramedic teams in Switzerland, one in the country’s mountainous centre, the other in the city of Zurich. With a fly-on-the-wall style, the Swiss filmmakers Roman Hodel and Lena Mäder capture the first responders’ work as they aid those in need, in situations that range from a traffic accident to an at-home fatality. As the teams focus their attention on their patients, Hodel and Mäder focus their cameras solely on the paramedics. In doing so, the directors capture their emotions as they provide everything from wellness checks to life-saving care with a mix of expertise, compassion and composure – and attempt to find respite in the quiet moments in between.
Directors: Lena Mäder, Roman Hodel
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Gender
A catchy tune explains the world’s ‘isms’ – according to your mum doing the laundry
5 minutes
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Technology and the self
The commodified childhood – scenes from two sisters’ lives in the creator economy
14 minutes
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Food and drink
The passage of time is a peculiar thing in a 24-hour diner
14 minutes
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War and peace
A frontline soldier’s moving account of the fabled ‘Christmas truce’ of 1914
12 minutes
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Technology and the self
A haunting scene from ‘Minority Report’ inspires a voyage into time and memory
7 minutes
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Family life
The stream-of-consciousness thoughts and memories that emerge while cooking a meal
5 minutes
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Ageing and death
We’re not the only animals that appear to grieve. What are the implications?
6 minutes
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Making
Forging a cello from pieces of wood demands its own form of virtuosity
27 minutes
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War and peace
A century later, can poetry help us make sense of the First World War’s horrors?
9 minutes