OVID’s November Lineup: The Sarkozy Scandal, Iranian Cine-Odyssey, Eryk Rocha trifecta, Charlotte Le Bon as Niki de Saint Phalle & much more!

This November OVID presents 23 new films and 19 exclusives.

OVID presents the exclusive must-see release of Sarkozy-Gaddafi: The Scandal of All Scandals, which in light of Sarkozy’s conviction and five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy, compellingly reveals all the ins and outs of one of the most remarkable French political scandals in decades.

We stay France-bound with Niki starring Charlotte Le Bon (The White Lotus, Yves Saint Laurent), who delivers a stunning performance as the brilliant yet tormented French American painter and sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle, one of the most iconoclastic figures of the contemporary art world.

Following on from the debut of his latest film The Falling Sky last month, OVID will present three films by award-winning Brazilian filmmaker Eryk Rocha, including his drama Burning Night, an impressionistic chronicle of the nocturnal encounters of a Rio cab driver, alongside the soccer-in-the-favelas NYT Critic’s Pick Sunday Ball, a “happy marriage of rudimentary conditions and highly sophisticated filmmaking.” 

For the cinephiles, OVID presents Celluloid Underground, an “absorbing” personal essay movie from Iranian critic and film historian Ehsan Khoshbakht, who narrates the film in a style reminiscent of Mark Cousins and Werner Herzog (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian). For animation enthusiasts, we present the visually stunning Gwen and the Book of Sand from 1985.

OVID will also showcase three vintage films by Amalie R. Rothschild, a co-founder of New Day Films, including her expansive family memoir Nana, Mom and Me: “What emerges, as if in real time, is a new age of feminist self-awareness, with new artistic practices to match.” (Richard Brody, The New Yorker) 

The month begins with an election special: three days of films about electoral politics and grassroots organizing.

Full details on November’s complete lineup are below.

Image above from Jean-François Laguionie's GWEN AND THE BOOK OF SAND, premiering on OVID on November 21st.

Tuesday, November 4

Election Day Special

The Campaign
Directed by Christie Herring
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2013 | 59 min

The Campaign follows the people behind California’s historic No-on-8 campaign to defend same-sex marriage through exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, interwoven with the national history of same-sex relationship recognition since the 1950s.

“Equally poignant and inspiring, The Campaign offers fascinating insight into a pivotal moment in contemporary LGBTQ history… A complex, engaging, and deeply important film.” —Michael Borgstrom, Director, LGBTQ Research Consortium, San Diego State University

OVID EXCLUSIVE

History of a Movement
Directed by Eduardo Velasco Vásquez
EPF Media | Documentary | Mexico | 2023 | 97 min

A group of friends met during #YoSoy132, a Mexican student-led movement that emerged in 2012 to protest media bias and electoral manipulation during Enrique Peña Nieto’s presidential campaign. This movement marked a significant political awakening among youth in Mexico and laid the groundwork for subsequent protests, particularly those advocating for justice in the case of the 43 disappeared students from Ayotzinapa.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, November 5

The Mayor
Directed by Theo Rigby
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2012 | 10 min

An intimate portrait of a small-town Southern Republican Mayor and his profound and unexpected connection to a mixed-status family of Mexican immigrants. Paul Bridges, the conservative Republican Mayor of Uvalda, Georgia, speaks fluent Spanish and is connected to the Latino immigrant community in his town. After the State of Georgia adopts harsh anti-immigrant laws that make it a criminal act to drive or house undocumented people, Mayor Bridges stands up for his community and the Hernandez family, both at home and on the national stage.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Power Struggle
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2019 | 86 min

Democracy prevails when a nuclear engineer turned whistle-blower, a 93-year-old grandmother, and a scrappy new governor join forces with a dedicated array of citizen activists to accomplish a rare grassroots environmental victory in closing an aging nuclear reactor in Vermont.

“A rich story of whether grassroots democracy, in the form of citizens and local government, can triumph over entrenched, powerful interests like the nuclear energy industry. Through a story with many twists and turns, Leppzer keeps the film’s focus on the individuals caught up in the drama.” —Steve Pfarrer, Daily Hampshire Gazette

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, November 6

Sarkozy-Gaddafi: The Scandal of All Scandals
Directed by Yannick Kergoat
Icarus Films | Documentary | France | 2025 | 104 min

Filmmaker Yannick Kergoat lays out the evidence for the case that Muammar Gaddafi’s Libyan government financed Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign. Two investigative journalists from the scrappy digital news website Mediapart detail what they learned over a decade of chasing the story.  Released two days after Sarkozy was put on trial for illegal campaign financing, and in light of Sarkozy’s recent conviction, the film compellingly reveals all the ins and outs of one of the most remarkable French political scandals in decades — one with implications beyond French borders.

“This understated and effective documentary, faithfully retraces [Mediapart’s] solid investigation. With, as a bonus, a gripping suspense.” —Télérama

“Powerful. Must be seen!” —Allociné

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, November 7

The Time it Takes
Directed by Francesca Comencini
With Fabrizio Gifuni, Romana Maggiora Vergano
Distrib Films | Drama | Italy, France | 2024 | 110 min

During the Years of Lead, a father and daughter share a passion for cinema. The film pays homage to the director’s father Luigi Comencini – the Italian master who made the Oscar-nominated Cinema Italiano classic Bread, Love and Dreams with Gina Lollobrigida and Vittorio De Sica, and is set during Comencini’s shooting of the 1972 miniseries The Adventures of Pinocchio. 

The Time It Takes earned six Donatello Award nominations, and ​​Romana Maggiora Vergano, who plays the adult Francesca, won the Pasinetti Award for best actress at its Venice Film Festival debut. 

“A poignant glimpse into the enduring influences of family… the film endures as a moving memoir of personal joys and trials, as well as cultural lineages that continue inspiring new works.” —Gazettely

“A deeply moving exploration of a father’s love.” —Q.V. Hough, Vague Visages

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tuesday, November 11

Hunting in Wartime
Directed by Samantha Farinella
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2016 | 66 min

Hunting in Wartime profiles Tlingit veterans from Hoonah, Alaska who saw combat during the Vietnam War. The veterans talk about surviving trauma, relating to Vietnamese communities, readjusting to civilian life, and serving a government that systematically oppresses native people. Their stories give a human face to the combat soldier and show the lasting effects of war on individuals, families, and communities.

“A powerful and disturbing look at what happens to peaceful men, for whom hunting is key to their community’s survival, when their aim is repurposed in service of a murderous war.” —Stuart Ewen, Distinguished Professor, Department of Film & Media Studies, Hunter College

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Safe Haven
Directed by Lisa Molomot & Alison Mountz
New Day Films | Documentary | Canada | 2020 | 80 min

Safe Haven weaves together powerful stories of U.S. war resisters who sought refuge in Canada during wars in Vietnam and Iraq. This award-winning film shows how Vietnam-era resisters participated in a movement to support the younger generation of U.S. soldiers. Safe Haven exposes the realities and myths of Canada as a refuge.

“A brilliant and timely contribution to historical understanding of American responses to war… reveals the human face of the tensions at stake when a country goes to war.” —Rachel Silvey, Professor, Department of Geography, University of Toronto

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, November 13

Pastorale 1943
Directed by Wim Verstappen
With Sylvia Kristel, Rutger Hauer, Renée Soutendijk, Frederik de Groot
MVD | Drama | Netherlands | 1978 | 125 min

A small group of badly organized villagers become unlikely heroes of the Dutch Resistance by undertaking a series of dangerous espionage activities against the Nazis in this acclaimed war drama. Starring Sylvia Kristel (Emmanuelle), Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner), and Renée Soutendijk (The Fourth Man), Wim Verstappen’s Pastorale 1943 was also the Dutch entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy Awards.

“A profoundly human, subtle and somber work that reflects the confusion and danger that war thrives on.” —Peter Verstraten, Professor, Film Studies, Leiden University

Friday, November 14

Conversations with Willard Van Dyke
Directed by Amalie R. Rothschild
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 1981 | 59 min

In 1935 photographer Willard Van Dyke moved to New York with the belief that films “could change the world” and began a new career as a filmmaker. His images of cottonfields and industrial towns, and his portraits of unemployed factory workers, have become timeless examples of cinematic art. This candid portrait of a distinguished and outspoken man explores the dilemma of anyone with a social conscience who must face the harsh realities of earning a living while retaining their integrity.

“Urbane and fascinating.” —Sheila Benson, The Los Angeles Times

“A vivid reminder of a vital era of American photography and film history.” —Judy Stone, San Francisco Chronicle

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Nana, Mom and Me
Directed by Amalie R. Rothschild
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 1974 | 47 min

Using photographs, old home movies and direct interviews Amalie R. Rothschild explores the mother-daughter ties in 3 generations of her own family and in the process explores the classic female problem faced by her artist mother: the conflict between work and children—the necessary compromises, the incumbent anxieties.

“Turns a family memoir into an exploration of social history… What emerges, as if in real time, is a new age of feminist self-awareness, with new artistic practices to match.” —Richard Brody, The New Yorker

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Woo Who? May Wilson
Directed by Amalie R. Rothschild
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 1970 | 33 min

When her husband informs her, after 40 years of marriage, that his future plans no longer include her, May Wilson, age 60, moves to New York City and discovers an independent life of her own for the first time in which art, once a mere hobby, becomes central to her life.

“A disarming head-on study of a disarming, candid woman… As we see her here, this earthy soul is a person definitely worth knowing.” —Howard Thompson, The New York Times

“May Wilson is the heroine of a true story of liberation and a beacon not only to our growing up but to our growing old.” —Molly Haskell, The Village Voice

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, November 19

The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery
Directed by Thomas Lindsey Haskin
Narrated by J.K. Simmons
The Film Sales Company | Documentary | USA | 2024 | 90 min

Discover the mystery of the Great Lakes. Sportsmen, nature lovers and environmentalists were all perplexed as the fish in the Great Lakes all began to disappear with no scientific explanation. It wasn’t overfishing; it wasn’t pollution; it wasn’t climate change. Finally, a mystery with an answer.

Raid on the Atlantic
Directed by Nicolas Van Ingen
AndanaFilms | Documentary | France | 2023 | 52 min

West African waters have one of the richest fish stocks in the world. This has been a blessing for the people of the region. Since the 1980s, foreign powers have rushed to profit from this rich fish stock; their industrial vessels have been overfishing these waters and plundering the resources. Raid on the Atlantic takes us to Senegal and dives into the reality of those who face and embody the fight against the plundering of West African waters. In parallel, it brings experts together to shed light on what is behind this phenomenon, who is leading it and what are its implications on a local and global scale.

Thursday, November 20

Celluloid Underground
Directed by Ehsan Khoshbakht
Impronta Films | Documentary | UK, Iran | 2023 | 80 min

This poetic, dexterous film manifests Ehsan Khoshbakht’s intense and multifaceted relationship to cinema. Director Khoshbakht weaves his own story alongside Ahmad Jorghanian — two underground cinephiles for whom films provided respite against oppression.

“The passion of cinephilia is the subject of this absorbing personal essay movie from Iranian critic and film historian Ehsan Khoshbakht, now co-director of the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival in Bologna, Italy, who narrates the film in a style that reminded me a little of Mark Cousins and also perhaps Werner Herzog.” —Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“Fascinating, melancholy… a mix of evocative filmed archive footage (featuring baby Ehsan in his firebrand university days) and a carefully-stitched patchwork of film excerpts, pulled primarily from the little-seen work by pre-revolutionary Iranian filmmakers.” —David Jenkins, Little White Lies 

Friday, November 21

4K Restoration

Gwen and the Book of Sand    
Directed by Jean-François Laguionie
Deaf Crocodile / MVD | Animation | France | 1985 | 64 min

French director Jean-François Laguionie’s hauntingly poetic animated feature of life after the apocalypse follows teenage heroine, Gwen (voiced by Lorella Di Cicco) on an epic journey across endless sands. A sublime and breathtaking masterpiece of world animation, painted in remarkable gouache images, the film is on par with René Laloux’s Fantasic Planet, Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Mamoru Oshii’s Angel’s Egg as a visually stunning and truly otherworldly experience, interwoven with surreal and dreamlike moments.

“Fascinating… stunning… a testament to the power of something crafted by hand. The film is brief, yet it lingers in your mind with numerous thrilling sequences and unparalleled artistry on display.” —Geek Vibes Nation

Tuesday, November 25

On the Edge
Directed by Nicolas Peduzzi
Lightdox | Documentary | 2023 | France | 93 min

Jamal Abdel Kader is the only psychiatrist in a 400-bed state hospital on the outskirts of Paris. Dedicated to his patients, he does his utmost to soothe their pain, to listen to their words, to protect them from their own demons. However, the public health service is doing badly. There isn’t enough time, the caregivers are under severe strain as the institution is understaffed and underfunded. Yet Jamal and his colleagues keep striving to fulfill their mission: to heal bodies and souls.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, November 26

Burning Night
Directed by Eryk Rocha 
With Fabrício Boliveira, Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha, Bárbara Colen, Inés Estévez
FiGA Films | Drama | Brazil, France, Argentina | 2019 | 98 min

Eryk Rocha’s edgy, impressionistic chronicle of the nocturnal encounters of a Rio cab driver vividly captures the strange unpredictability of a rapidly changing world. Down on his luck and recently divorced, Paulo mostly works nights. In addition to his encounters with a colorful variety of customers, he must cope with loneliness, fatigue and new faces in his life.

“A poignant and persuasive piece about loneliness, survival, and the quest for reinvention.” —Donna Kelly, Frankly My Dear UK

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Sunday Ball
Directed by Eryk Rocha
Aruac Filmes | Documentary | Brazil | 2014 | 71 min

In the favela of Rio de Janeiro’s Sampaio neighborhood, the annual soccer championship is played with pride and passion that rivals the major leagues. At an ordinary football field in Rio de Janeiro’s Sampaio neighborhood—close to the Maracana Stadium, where the 2014 World Cup final was held—an annual favela soccer championship takes place among a league of 14 teams.

NYT Critic’s Pick! “A happy marriage of rudimentary conditions and highly sophisticated filmmaking, Eryk Rocha’s passionate documentary Sunday Ball dives into an amateur soccer game in the Brazilian slums and barely comes up for air.” —Jeanette Catsoulis, The New York Times

“Refreshingly free of the tired human-interest personality profiles that afflict sports documentaries on both the big and small screens, director Eryk Rocha has created an impressionistic, visually stunning cinematic essay about a non-professional, championship soccer match between two teams representing Brazilian favelas.” —Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Edna
Directed by Eryk Rocha
Aruac Filmes | Documentary | Brazil | 2021 | 60 min

On the edge of the Transbrasiliana highway, Edna lives in a land in ruins, built on massacres. Raised only by her mother, she experiences the marks of a “war that never ends” – a war for land. Woven from Edna’s memory and her diary entitled “Story of My Life”. Brand new title from Eryk Rocha, director of “Cinema Novo” awarded with Golden Eye for Best Documentary in Cannes 2016.

** World Premiere: Visions du Reel 2021

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, November 27

Niki   
Directed by Céline Sallette
With Charlotte Le Bon, John Robinson
Distrib Films | Drama | France | 2022 | 99 min

The debut feature of actor-turned-director Céline Sallette, Niki is a vibrant portrait of French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle (Charlotte Le Bon, star of The White Lotus), one of the most iconoclastic figures of the contemporary art world who defied convention and transformed her deep psychological wounds into creativity and artistic reinvention.

** Cannes Film Festival – Un Certain Regard

“A raw, emotional performance from Charlotte Le Bon dominates a film that gradually reveals the way in which art becomes a way of conquering trauma and finding a voice for this ground-breaking mid-century sculptor.” —Allan Hunter, Screen International

“Charlotte Le Bon delivers a tour-de-force performance that does justice to the woman behind the art.” —Gazettely

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, November 28

Garçonnières  
Directed by Céline Pernet
Lightdox | Documentary | 2022 | Switzerland | 90 min

After three years and 476 matches with men on dating applications, and a certain number of “short relationships that were as nice as they were brief”, director and anthropologist Céline Pernet decides to take the time to investigate her relationship with the men of her generation. She brings together around thirty men aged 30 to 45 years old, questioning them about their love lives in a quest as personal as it is societal.

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Happy Pills
Directed by Arnaud Robert, Paolo Woods
Lightdox | Documentary | Switzerland | 2022 | 94 min

The pharmaceutical industry is developing entire classes of drugs (anxiolytics, antidepressants, sleeping pills, opioids) that promise their consumers, if not happiness, at least some peace. In Switzerland, Israel, France, Peru, Niger or the United States, the documentary follows six characters who each need chemistry to lead what they see as a better life.

“A film that does not present a gallery of monsters, but holds up a mirror to our society and to the spectators.” —Antonino Galofaro, Le Temps

OVID EXCLUSIVE

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

Burning Night, Eryk Rocha (2019) 
Celluloid Underground, Ehsan Khoshbakht (2023) 
Conversations with Willard Van Dyke, Amalie R. Rothschild (1981)
Edna, Eryk Rocha (2021)
Garçonnières, Céline Pernet (2022) 
Gwen and the Book of Sand, Jean-François Laguionie (1985)
Happy Pills, Arnaud Robert, Paolo Woods (2022) 
History of a Movement, Eduardo Velasco Vásquez (2023)
Hunting in Wartime, Samantha Farinella (2016)
Nana, Mom and Me, Amalie R. Rothschild (1974)
Niki, Céline Sallette (2022) 
On the Edge, Nicolas Peduzzi (2023) 
Pastorale 1943, Wim Verstappen (1978) 
Power Struggle, Robbie Leppzer (2019)
Raid on the Atlantic, Nicolas Van Ingen (2023) 
The Campaign, Christie Herring (2013)
The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery, Thomas Lindsey Haskin (2024)  
The Mayor, Theo Rigby (2012) 
The Time it Takes, Francesca Comencini (2024)
Sarkozy-Gaddafi: The Scandal of All Scandals, Yannick Kergoat (2025) 
Safe Haven, Lisa Molomot & Alison Mountz (2020)
Sunday Ball, Eryk Rocha (2014) 
Woo Who? May Wilson, Amalie R. Rothschild (1970)