OVID’s March Lineup: After the Troubles in Belfast, Egypt on the Brink, Looking for Robert Kramer, a (beyond creepy) Dutch Nazi, Sweden’s de-escalation Police Force, Micro Budget the Mockumentary & much more!

OVID is bursting with docs of the highest caliber for March, with 21 new films and 14 exclusives!

OVID will exclusively premiere Luuk Bouwman’s The Propagandist, winner of the IDFA Award for Best Dutch Film 2024, a “chilling portrait” (Screen Daily), which tells of the rise and fall of Jan Tuenissen, the most powerful man in the Dutch film industry under the Nazis during World War II. 

Other exclusive premieres include Alessandra Celesia’s The Flats (World Premiere/WINNER Best Film, CPH:DOX 2024), an “urgent documentary” and “powerful look at the unresolved agony of the Troubles” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian) focusing on the residents of a run-down Belfast housing estate.

OVID also takes you to Egypt with El-Sisi: Egypt’s New Pharaoh, where Egyptian citizens struggle to make ends meet (much of the film was shot clandestinely, since it’s illegal in Egypt to film scenes of poverty or to criticize the army’s increasing dominance).

Plus, two behind-the-scenes portraits: Looking for Robert (Robert Kramer, director of Route One/USA) by his longtime collaborator Richard Copans; and The Hell of Auschwitz: Maus by Art Spiegelman, which delves into the impact of Spiegelman’s comic book masterpiece.

To lighten things up a little, we’ll bring you MICRO BUDGET, a ridiculous indie mockumentary about making an indie film, fresh off its theatrical run at Alamo Drafthouse: “From top to bottom, this film is comedic gold. A great film!” (Film Inquiry)

Full details on March’s complete lineup are below.

Image above from Alessandra Celesia's THE FLATS, premiering on OVID on March 17th (St. Patrick's Day).

Tuesday, March 3

Anything You Want To Be
Directed by Liane Brandon
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 1971 | 8 min

One of the earliest and most popular films of the Women’s Movement, Anything You Want to Be follows a teenager’s humorous collision with sex-role stereotypes and was one of the first to explore the external pressures and the more subtle, internal pressures a girl faces in finding her identity.

“A biting satire of the pressures of family, peers and society that force women to compromise their individuality and intellectual goals to assume a constantly changing identity of femininity.” —Booklist

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Betty Tells Her Story
Directed by Liane Brandon
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 1972 | 20 min

Considered a classic of documentary filmmaking, Betty Tells Her Story is a poignant tale of beauty, identity and a dress made in 1972, it was the first independent film of the women’s movement to explore the issues of body image, self-worth and beauty in our culture – and to explore the ways in which clothing and appearance affect a woman’s identity.

“A shattering verbal/non-verbal ballet of changed emphases, no longer hidden nuances, and dropped masks.” —Amos Vogel, Film Comment

“A groundbreaking classic of feminist filmmaking and a subtle and heartbreaking parable about disillusionment, the oppression of imposed gender roles, and the workings of memory.” —Peter Keough, The Boston Globe

** Betty Tells Her Story was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2022.

Wednesday, March 4

Carved from the Heart
Directed Ellen Frankenstein
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 1998 | 30 min

Carved From the Heart intertwines the process of carving and erecting the Healing Heart totem pole with the participants’ stories of personal loss, grief, substance abuse, suicide and violence. This powerful film explores questions of death and dying, family relationships and parenting, domestic violence, and the impact of the war in Vietnam on veterans and their families.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Scattering CJ
Directed by Andrea Kalin
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2022 | 63 min

Grieving mom Hallie Twomey put a call out on Facebook after losing her elder son CJ to suicide. Her request: to honor her son’s memory and love of travel by scattering his ashes in as many meaningful places as possible. The request went viral. A global community formed to scatter CJ’s ashes in thousands of locations worldwide, helping Hallie find the peace and courage to become a powerful voice in the fight against suicide.

Thursday, March 5

Break the Silence: Reproductive & Sexual Health Stories
Directed by Willow O’Feral & Brad Heck
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2019 | 56 min

Women from a variety of racial and ethnic, age, sexual orientation, and class backgrounds candidly recount their histories with sexual education, early sexual experiences, abortion, birth control, masturbation, relationships, gender transition, menstruation, STIs, gynecological exams, sexual assault, pregnancy, and pleasure.

“This documentary should be seen and digested by anyone with a pulse.” —Donna Macomber, Women’s Freedom Center

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, March 6

Glitter & Doom    
Directed by Tom Gustafson
With Alex Diaz, Alan Cammish
Music Box Films | Musical | USA & Mexico | 2024 | 116 min

In a fantastical summer romance set to the iconic hits of the Grammy Award-winning, trailblazing Indigo Girls, this visually stunning queer musical follows the love-at-first-sight connection between carefree circus performer Glitter and struggling musician Doom. An undeniable spark throws them into a summer of camping trips, late-night conversations, and innovative song-and-dance numbers—until the real world comes calling. Featuring a star-studded supporting cast including Lea DeLaria, Tig Notaro, Drag Race alum Peppermint, Ming-Na Wen, Missi Pyle, and the Indigo Girls—Amy Ray and Emily Saliers.

“If Baz Luhrmann orchestrated a TikTok-inspired extravaganza overseen by Charli XCX, chances are it would look quite a bit like Glitter + Doom.” —Andrea Thompson, Chicago Reader

“Dazzlingly delightful film musical… Cammish and Diaz provide sexy eye-candy – both have faces made for the close-up. They also give impressive performances.” —Frank Avella, Edge Media

“Full of elaborately staged and spirited sequences that come alive out of passion, Gustafson seems to know exactly how to play to an audience.” —Stephen Saito, Moveable Fest

Tuesday, March 10

Circle Up
Directed by Julie Mallozzi
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2018 | 69 min

After the brutal slaying of her teenage son, Janet Connors reaches out to her son’s killer to offer a chance for forgiveness. They team up with a group of mothers of murdered children to help young people in their community break the chain of violence and revenge.

“This groundbreaking story shares the true experience of what restorative justice looks and feels like as few media pieces have.” —Mika Dashman, Restorative Justice Institute

Monkey Dance
Directed by Julie Mallozzi
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2004 | 64 min

Three Cambodian-American teenagers come of age in a world shadowed by their parents’ Khmer Rouge nightmares. Traditional Cambodian dance links them to their parents’ culture, but fast cars, hip consumerism, and new romance pull harder. The three teens gradually come to appreciate their parents’ sacrifices and make good on their parents’ dreams.

“A fascinating narrative of fusion, assimilation, and renewal — the hard inevitabilities of multiculturalism.” —Marcia B. Siegel, Boston Phoenix

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, March 12

Taking Root
Directed by Lisa Merton & Alan Dater
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2008 | 80 min

The dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment, protect human rights, and defend democracy — a movement for which this charismatic woman became an iconic inspiration.

“Dr. Maathai’s courage and vision are rivaled closely by her capacity to teach. Her story – as told in this film — is worth a thousand textbooks.” —Roger Wilkins, Clarence J. Robinson Professor Emeritus, George Mason University

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, March 13

Micro Budget
Directed by Morgan Evans
With Bobby Moynihan, Chris Parnell, Maria Bamford, Jon Gabrus
Factory 25 | Comedy | USA | 2026 | 88 min

With a notable cast of comedians, this mockumentary captures the disastrous making of an indie movie. When Terry discovers he’s about to be a father, he does what any other sane person would do. He moves himself and his nine-months-pregnant wife from Iowa to Los Angeles to shoot a low-budget indie movie and sell it to a streamer.

“Micro Budget is actually funny and reaches a region that can be called brilliant.” —Charles Mudede, The Stranger

“The mockumentary skewers the world of show-business and the depths some maniacal auteurs will sink to in pursuit of their vision.” —Peter White, Deadline

“A rambunctious comedy with the same absurdist flow as something like Parks and Rec or The Office.” —Jerry Roberts, Armchair Cinema

Tuesday, March 17

The Flats
Directed by Alessandra Celesia
Icarus Films | Documentary | Ireland | 2024 | 116 min

Joe and his Belfast neighbors reenact childhood memories from the violent Troubles era in their Catholic district, exploring the collective experiences that shaped their lives and community.

“A powerful, urgent and deeply sad film.” —The Guardian

“A dark, uneasy reminder of the indelible, multi-generational stain of violence.” —Screen Daily

“The triumph of the film lies in its ability to make us admire his persistence, be alarmed at his extremity of tactics, and, above all, ponder the shape and reach of the past.” —High on Films

** World Premiere/WINNER Best Film, CPH:DOX 2024

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Wednesday, March 18

El-Sisi: Egypt’s New Pharaoh
Directed by Claire Billet, Nadia Blétry
Icarus Films | Documentary | Egypt | 2026 | 53 min

Egypt is a country on the brink of collapse. In the decade since President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi took power in a coup, poverty has exploded, and the social safety net has been dismantled in favor of providing seemingly unlimited funding to the military, which the regime depends on for its survival. Directors Claire Billet and Nadia Blétry speak with regular Egyptians struggling to make ends meet. Much of the film was shot clandestinely, since it’s illegal in Egypt to film scenes of poverty, the destruction of heritage or to criticize the army’s increasing dominance.

“An eye-opening documentary about Egypt ruled with an iron fist by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who sacrifices the country for the benefit of his dreams of greatness.” —Télérama

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Thursday, March 19

The Dialogue Police
Directed by Susanna Edwards
Icarus Films | Documentary | Sweden | 2025 | 90 min

The dialogue police unit was created in the wake of 2001 anti-E.U. protests in Gothenburg. Police shot three protesters, and Swedes were shocked by the violence. The result was the creation of a unit meant to manage relationships with demonstrators to prevent violence, rather than reacting to it, and to de-escalate effectively, when necessary. As Sweden exports this model to other countries, The Dialogue Police offers an insider’s look at an alternative approach to policing protest.

“The strength of Edwards’ absorbing film is in the close attention to character she pays.” —Modern Times Review

“An intense and compelling contemporary chronicle of the conflicts that are defining our times.” —Movies that Matter

** CPH:DOX 2025

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Friday, March 20

Looking for Robert
Directed by Richard Copans
Icarus Films | Documentary | USA | 2025 | 74 min

Cahiers du Cinéma‘s Serge Daney once wrote of Robert Kramer: “He invents cinema with each new shot.” More recently, Erika Balsom wrote in the New Left Review: “Kramer embraced risk and disorientation, producing a singular body of work.” This behind-the-scenes look at Robert Kramer was made by Kramer’s longtime collaborator Richard Copans (who produced and shot Route One/USA, streaming concurrently on OVID), and includes never-before-seen rushes from the film and from Doc’s Kingdom, while sharing unique insights into Kramer’s sometimes unorthodox process.

“The central concern of Robert Kramer’s cinema—how to reconcile the personal and the political, or in other words, how to live a meaningful life—is a timeless one.” —The Los Angeles Times

“A wonderful overview of Kramer’s career.” —Derek Smith, Slant Magazine

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Tuesday, March 24

Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy
Directed by Alice Elliott
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2008 | 40 min

Directed by Academy Award-nominee Alice Elliott, Body & Soul is a look at an unusual, symbiotic relationship between two people some might call profoundly disabled. Two of the country’s most remarkable advocates for people with disabilities, Diana Braun, who has Down Syndrome, and Kathy Conour, who has cerebral palsy, met three decades ago and vowed to fight to live independent lives. Told in an intimate vérité style, the film is a story of a compelling and creative friendship, as Diana and Kathy model a grand experiment in independent living.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Key of G
Directed by Robert Arnold
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2007 | 59 min

An award-winning documentary about disability, caregiving and interdependence. The Key of G tells the story of Gannet, a 22-year-old man with severe disabilities, as he prepares to move out of his mother’s home and into a San Francisco apartment with three musicians and artists as primary caregivers.

“Innovative… an artistic close-up of how family and friends help launch a young man with complex disabilities into his adult life.” —Kathy Martinez, Executive Director, World Institute on Disability

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, March 25

Tales of the Waria
Directed by Kathy Huang
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2013 | 56 min

Shot over three years with the local queer community serving as story consultants and film crew members, Tales of Waria provides an unprecedented look into topics rarely discussed in Western media: Indonesia, Islamic culture, and the daily life and struggles of transgender communities around the world.

“A fascinating exposé.” —The Advocate

“The beauty and honesty are heartbreaking.” —Jezebel

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wo Ai Ni Mommy
Directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal
New Day Films | USA | Documentary | 2010 | 76 min

From 2000-2008, China was the leading country for U.S. international adoptions. There are now approximately 70,000 Chinese children being raised in the United States. Wo Ai Ni Mommy explores what happens when an older Chinese girl is adopted into an American family. This film reveals the complicated gains and losses that are an inherent aspect of international, transracial adoption.

“[An] extremely moving, honest, and powerful film.” —Alvin Lin, Hyphen Magazine

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, March 26

The Captain
Directed by Robert Schwentke
With Max Hubacher, Milan Peschel, Frederick Lau
Music Box Films | Drama | Germany | 2018 | 118 min

Based on the arresting true story of the Executioner of Emsland, The Captain follows a German army deserter after he finds an abandoned Nazi captain’s uniform in the final weeks of World War II. Emboldened by the authority the uniform grants him, he amasses a band of stragglers who cede to his command despite the suspicions of some. Simultaneously a historical docudrama and sociological examination with undertones of the absurd, The Captain presents fascism as something of a game to be played by those most gullible and unscrupulous.

Critic’s Pick! “Astonishing. A harrowing World War II psychodrama.” —Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times

“Unnerving and surreal. Max Hubacher’s performance is a masterful physical feat.” —April Wolfe, The Village Voice

“Parable, historical reckoning, and pitch-black comedy. Clever and well-crafted.” —José Teodoro, Film Comment

** Special Presentation – 2017 Toronto International Film Festival

Friday, March 27

The Propagandist
Directed by Luuk Bouwman
Icarus Films | Documentary | Netherlands | 2024 | 108 min

The story of the rise and fall of Jan Tuenissen (1898-1975), the most powerful man in the Dutch film industry under the Nazis during World War II. The son of a wealthy family, Tuenissen became head of the Dutch Nazi Party’s Film Department, overseeing films on everything from the genetic superiority of Dutch cows to celebrations of Nazi leadership, later insisting he was just trying to build the local film industry. Including conversations with Tuenissen (who was briefly imprisoned after the war), Bouwman interweaves Tuenissen’s home movies, newsreels, historic and propaganda films, alongside interviews with two contemporary historians.

In an age of rising authoritarianism, The Propagandist is an engrossing study of how even those serving the most brutal regimes minimize their contributions and try to justify their actions. 

“[A] chilling portrait… A timely watch for anyone interested in how brutality and repression is justified by its perpetrators.” —Screen Daily

“This excellent documentary is about unlimited ambition, and the manipulative power of film.” —Modern Times Review

** Best Dutch Film Award, IDFA 2024

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Tuesday, March 31

The Hell of Auschwitz: Maus by Art Spiegelman
Directed by Pauline Horovitz
Icarus Films | Documentary | France | 2025 | 52 min

With humor and finesse, director Pauline Horovitz explores Art Spiegelman’s comic book masterpiece, Maus, which revolutionized the portrayal of Holocaust. First a bookstore phenomenon with a whiff of scandal, then an international bestseller awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, Maus quickly became a classic. Horovitz, who discovered in this seminal work at the age of 13 the truth that her own family stubbornly kept from her, explores her own journey as a granddaughter of survivors.

“Director Pauline Horovitz—who herself is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors—brings in other voices to explore the notion of ‘the second generation,’ those who came after the actual survivors and were subjected to either silence or denial… Powerful.” —Kevin Filipski, The Flip Side

OVID EXCLUSIVE — SVOD PREMIERE

Complete list of films premiering on OVID this month (in alphabetical order):

Anything You Want To Be, Liane Brandon (1971)
Betty Tells Her Story, Liane Brandon (1972) 
Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy, Alice Elliott (2008)
Break the Silence: Reproductive & Sexual Health Stories, Willow O’Feral & Brad Heck (2019)
Carved from the Heart, Ellen Frankenstein (1998)
Circle Up, Julie Mallozzi (2018)
El Sisi – Egypt’s New Pharaoh, Claire Billet & Nadia Blétry (2026)
Glitter & Doom, Tom Gustafson (2024)
Key of G, Robert Arnold (2007)
Looking For Robert, Richard Copans (2025)
Micro Budget, Morgan Evans (2026)
Monkey Dance, Julie Mallozzi (2004)
Scattering CJ, Andrea Kalin (2022)
Taking Root, Lisa Merton & Alan Dater (2008)
Tales of the Waria, Kathy Huang (2013)
The Captain, Robert Schwentke (2018)
The Dialogue Police, Susanna Edwards (2025)
The Flats, Alessandra Celesia (2024)
The Hell of Auschwitz: Maus by Art Spiegelman, Pauline Horovitz (2025)
The Propagandist, Luuk Bouwman (2024)
Wo Ai Ni Mommy, Stephanie Wang-Breal (2010)