Shifting subtly between figuration and abstraction, with Rothko-esque golds and reds, the hypnotic En Traversée by prolific and steadfastly DIY filmmaker Vadim Kostrov evokes the poetry of dislocation by way of a world in motion.
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A documentary about the sea and memory. Its movement is its form. Its strength.
A 16mm archive from 1964 intervened as an emotional diary during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic is the basis of this film, reinterpreted in the montage of the sound design, in which the images are reinterpreted, emphasizing the soundscape of the protests from 2020 to 2023 in the streets of Cajamarca, Cusco and Lima, three regions of Peru, questioning the constant political and social crisis.
"Slaughter" is an experimental short film that delves into the archival and historical footage of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, depicting a symbolic narrative surrounding the ritualistic act of animal sacrifice, known as "Besmel." It serves as an allegorical representation of a nation's sacrifice amidst the backdrop of political transformations.
Welcome to the funbubble! Over 2 hours of bizarre entertainment. Meet Shaye Saint John, former supermodel who now has no arms or legs and her special friend Kiki (a burnt doll). This series of shorts documents the daily collision of Shaye's glamorous fantasies with the realities of the physical limitations of her everyday life. These films with their juxtaposition of child-like imagery can be genuinely disturbing without a hint of blood, violence, nudity, cursing, or off-color subject matter of any sort. Watching Shaye do her schtick is akin to watching a segment of one of John Waters' early flicks. There is no question about the fine line between maddness and genius here -- it's madness, plain and simple, dizzying in its detachment to reality. Depending on your outlook, Shaye Saint John is either a true testimony to the power of art to rise above adversity or these films are hidden footage from a ward for the criminally insane!
A silent city symphony, projected from gorgeous black and white 16mm film. Materia vibrante lets the resonating frequencies of the urban environment create the inaudible hum that keeps the engines of society running, absent of the inhabitants running around like little ants toiling away.
Two layers of mesh overlap on the left. One rotates over the course of a day, its speed shifting gradually. On the right, a single mesh remains still. Digital interference is continuously superimposed onto the physical rotation. Where no rotation occurs, motion persists through digital interference alone. Under different conditions, the two images arrive at similar shimmering forms. The sound drifts with the sky. Tremolo. Pulse.
How do German couples communicate in private? What are they arguing about? Is the way to a man’s heart really through his stomach? This docu-fictional hybrid production discusses such questions with the help of authentic interview snippets that were edited under the staged plot. We get an insight into the life of an animal couple, who experience typical everyday situations on behalf of us humans. At first, our fox is emotionally contained, while the penguin lady may get wild as hell. With a wink, the filmmakers hold up a mirror to the audience in the cinema.
Through interspersed conversation and prose, this experimental documentary follows a poet and a neuroscientist as they explore the definition of love, what it means, and why it matters.
Over 32 years of archives, patterns emerge and stare back. Will they shape the films I'm trying to make – or haunt their edges?
A documentary about three different physical media shop owners "nerding out" about the media that their store specializes in and their thoughts on how one day physical media may become obsolete.
Six million tons, suspended by the slightest gesture. Mother of the World presents a series of brief vignettes of Cairo just prior to the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. These fragmented scenes choreograph class structure and foreign influence into an intimate, poetic view of a nation about to change.
GIRI CHIT tells a tale of the subtle trace of irreconcilable worlds. A worker driving a mobile sweeper in hypnotic circles across an already immaculate surface. The high drama of cosplay aficionados clamoring to be seen. A cast of thousands toiling hundreds of feet above the street. Giri translates as ‘duty’ in Japanese, but the concept is in fact far more complicated. Giri is a sort of interpersonal political capital that informs careers, family relations, and much more. Its presence and flow is palpable in Japan, where this film was shot. A “giri chit” then may be a hypothetical voucher for this intangible flow (with a tip of the cap to Thomas Pynchon’s “Vineland”). Selected Screenings and Awards: DaVinci Film Festival (Best Experimental Film), Chicago Underground Film Festival, Athens International Film and Video Festival, Dallas Videofest, ICDOCS Film Festival, NewFilmmakers at Anthology Film Archives, Oxford Film Festival, Director’s Lounge Berlin
Samba, Popping, and Jazz. Through these dance styles and documentary interviews, Bodies That Tell Stories seeks to discuss the standardization and whitening of dances that had their roots in Black people.
In the summer of 1900, the first film camera was purchased by Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar for Iran, and immediately the first Iranian moving images were captured by this camera. These images, in an obsessive manner, have embodied the mesmerized gaze of people. In the span of 79 years since the purchase of this camera, Iran has undergone two revolutions and two coups, and throughout all these moments, the camera has been present as the recorder of people's mesmerized gazes. These mesmerized gazes are in a way as if they are the ones looking at us, not the other way around. It seems like these gazes are trying to convey something, but what? No one knows. Now, we gaze at those who have gazed at us from a distant time.
Letter to L.Y is Stephanie Mavi Garcia Panclas' second experimental film for their class. The film surrounds the feeling of nostalgia shown through the layering of video.
A short study on our relationship with natural landscapes, the evolution of spaces and the memories they hold
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.