With a steadfast belief in the Second Coming of Christ, evangelical political powers have become heavily involved in shaping American foreign policy towards Israel and the Middle East. The film delves into the relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the controversial decision to move the United States Embassy to Jerusalem and plans to annex the West Bank.

Evangelical Christians cite these events as a necessary step toward the coming apocalypse because they believe that the Jewish people’s establishment in the Holy Land is essential to God’s plan for the End-Times. The film takes a deep-dive into the unusual bond between these bedfellows and the entanglement of politics and religion.

Determination and faith, with the solid foundation of his own little family at home, gave him the strength to face the uphill battle. His upbringing in Mormonism taught him at an early age to love. How fitting that he wanted to set the stage for LOVELOUD in Utah where his Mormon roots were established. His open communication with people at the church seemed quite promising to help change the firm rules of the Mormon church. Would it be enough? Believer is a documentary of that very journey.

Directed by Alex Gibney, the documentary is an adaptation of Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief, a 2013 book written by Pulitzer-Prize winning author Lawrence Wright. The film follows several former Scientologists, detailing their ascent into Scientology before describing what happens to these members as they try to leave the church. The audience is shown how celebrities are pulled toward Scientology and what their roles mean for the rest of the church.

Going Clear is eye-opening and informative, offering a glimpse inside an organisation that often seems larger than life.

Maxwell first seeks to listen to the members of his road trip group and understand their point of view. He finds that they believe that dinosaurs coexisted with humans and that evolution is a lie that seeks to discredit the existence of God. Maxwell presents these creationists with scientific experts during the trip and seeks to challenge their closely held religious beliefs. The debate amongst the group goes through emotional highs and lows during the journey.

Despite other Amish being reluctant to be filmed, they eventually permit the camera crew to record their daily lives as well. Aspects of day-to-day living are shown such as cooking, cleaning, going to church, and family time. This new willingness to open up to technology and change unveils that the Amish community is attempting to become more accepting towards outsiders.

The film explores issues around Islam as a faith and how it is perceived around the world. Presenter Rageh Omaar makes the journey to the place of Muhammad’s birth in Mecca to get a feel of the prophet’s humble beginnings, his philosophy, and the factors that shaped his life. It talks at length about Muhammad’s struggles with prophethood and divine revelations, his relocation to Medina to escape religious persecution, the writing of the first Islamic constitution, and his bloodless conquest of Mecca after a series of armed conflicts.

The Life of Muhammad also examines the role of Islam in today’s word, look at its stance on important issues such as money, charity, women’s rights, social equality, and war through the eyes of its followers.

Since Theroux’s last visit, several members of the Phelps family have left the church. He meets two such women and learns their decision has led them to being disowned by their parents. He also looks into how current church members reacted to his last documentary, hoping to better understand them and their intolerant ideology.

The documentary offers a background to the church’s activities and their leader Fred Phelps, who believed he was chosen by God to ‘preach his message of hate’. The Snyder v. Phelps Supreme Court Case, brought about by the father of a US soldier killed in Iraq whose funeral the church members had picketed, serves as a background to the film, with the members’ reaction to the ruling being recorded to chilling effect.

Scientology is seeped in mystery and cloaked with silence and yet since the early 1950’s when it was founded by L. Ron Hubbard, it has remained as one of the most controversial religious sects in the world. For decades it has been the target of criticism and scorn but what really goes on behind their closed doors?

The Secrets of Scientology is an in-depth investigative look into the hidden world of Scientology and features interviews with leading high ranking members of the group who bare all for the first time. The film depicts aspects of the inner workings of the church which reveal its cult-like practices and offers a rarely seen glimpse into one of the most fascinating and powerful religious organizations known today.

Born into the royal family of a small kingdom in Southeast Asia in the 6th century BC, Siddhartha sought to find out the meaning of life and end the cycle if suffering. He later attained Enlightenment after a period of intense meditation while sitting under a fig tree. He decided to share the sense of serenity he attained with the world, believing others could also attaining it, thereby inspiring a long-standing and revered philosophy that continues to influence many people even today.

The Buddha documentary features interviews with contemporary Buddhists including His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.S. Merwin, as well as artwork stretching over two millennia that depict the Buddha’s life in rich and splendid detail.

However, after paying almost a quarter of a million dollars in ‘fees’ to Scientology, Reaiche started questioning the church’s dogma and its activities. As a result, he was quickly expelled from the church and prohibited from having with his wife and children.

Thus, underneath the appealing facade of celebrity endorsements and self-empowerment, Scientology: The Ex-Files arguably proves that Scientology represents a troubling culture of brainwash tactics, physical and psychological abuse, and painstaking indoctrination.