James R | On 05, May 2016

The UK may be debating whether to leave the EU, but when it comes to streaming entertainment, we’ve never got on better with our continental cousins: while All 4 is releasing foreign-language TV on its VOD channel Walter Presents from across Europe, Walk This Way, an EU-subsidised scheme, continues to bring films straight to UK VOD.

After a successful first edition in 2015, which saw some 280 multi-territorial releases, and a collection of noir, thriller and superhero films in March, Walk This Way returns for another round – this time, documentaries.

The VOD distribution program, bringing films to platforms such as iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Filmin, Flimmit, Universciné and more, has selected a new array of non-fiction films – aiming to give viewers the opportunity to understand the world a little better.

Here’s a rundown of the new releases:

As Time Goes By in Shanghai

Described as a Buena Vista Social Club set in China, Uli Gaulke’s German documentary dives into the story of Shanghai’s Peace Old Jazz Band, a jazz band with members aged between 65 and 87 who have struggled all their lives against China’s many oppressive faces, longing for international success which is imminent. The film is available in Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Forget Me Not

Old age is at the centre of this personal story from German filmmaker David Sieveking. The director paints a portrait of his mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, and the consequences of such a thing on a family – even a very special one born from open relationships forged during the student movement of the 1960s. Awarded in Locarno Critics Week, the film is available in Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Energized

Austrian filmmaker Hubert Canaval poses a difficult question in this film: how can we continue to use energy derived from oil and gas without destroying the world around us? An insightful documentary about the energy sector and its relationship with climate change and the future of our planet. Viewers from Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom will be able to watch the film.

Population Boom

The future of Earth is also placed under the microscope by Austrian director Werner Boote. Is the world overpopulated? Are dwindling resources, mountains of toxic waste, hunger and climate change the results of overpopulation? A smart and intelligent documentary that addresses the consequences of demographic growth, the film is available in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

CERN

Science is also the focal point of documentary CERN by Austrian director Nikolaus Geyrhaulter, who meets the people who created the Large Hadron Collider, trying to grasp the meaning behind the aims of the Swiss research centre, where scientists try to recreate the Big Bang. The film is available in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

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