In a hidden place, the daily routine of a retirement home unfolds as time seems to stand still. The penciled residents come to life on paper. Some are active, others rest or follow a fixed schedule that repeats each day: medication, meals, games… Around them, machines are flashing, caregivers are busy and crucifixes remind them of the death that lies in wait. Time fades away and a forest stretches out nearby.
This documentary is an informal portrait of the great modern composer Igor Stravinsky. Proudly American, though still very much an Old World figure with a long and alert memory for people and events in music, literature and art, Stravinsky is depicted here conducting the CBC Symphony Orchestra in a recording of his Symphony of Psalms.
An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time. (Silent short, voiced in 1937 and 1996.)
Like the best USIA films, The Wall distills political events into an emotionally clear and compelling ideological "story". In 1962 Walter de Hoog gathered footage from U.S. and German newsreel sources and crafted this taut short film about the first year of the Berlin Wall. Straightforward, keenly balanced narration portrays Berliners as "accepting the wall but never resigned to it". The extraordinary footage of the first escapes was propaganda enough-- His challenge was to make the politics human.
A farming community gathers on a plateau on the border of three regions for the funeral of traditional agriculture. It’s a film to ward off the disappearance of a millenary culture.
Multi-faceted artist Phil Niblock captures a brief moment of an interstellar communication by the Arkestra in their prime. Black turns white in a so-called negative post-process, while Niblock's camera focuses on microscopic details of hands, bodies and instruments. A brilliant tribute to the Sun King by another brilliant supra-planetary sovereign. (Eye of Sound)
Short documentary presents a high-tension soccer match from the perspective of an ever-vigilant referee.
A rare "inside" view of a motorcycle club in Toronto, one of the network of such fraternal groups in the large centers across North America. The names they adopt (Satan's Choice is only one) are as individual as their special ethics and views of life, all freely expressed in this film.
Employing experimental techniques, Emshwiller magically moved through a collection of objects and artifacts in order to capture the spirit of George Dumpson and his backyard museum.
First it's paint bombs, followed hard by riots. Tweets proclaim what is to be done. Resistance is everywhere. Something has to give. Two young activists meet amid turbulent events. They dance. The city belongs to them.
The theme of death is heavily interwoven in Smolder’s surreal salute to Belgian painter Antoine Wiertz, a Hieronymus Bosch-type artist whose work centered on humans in various stages in torment, as depicted in expansive canvases with gore galore. Smolders has basically taken a standard documentary and chopped it up, using quotes from the long-dead artist, and periodic statements by a historian (Smolders) filling in a few bits of Wiertz’ life.
This documentary is a true tribute to the Percheron, the superb draft horse. We talk about its origins, its characteristic traits, its performance in competitions and its value on the farm or for the heavy draft service in the cities.
This documentary goes deeper into the life of Jozef Peeters his family. Godelieve is also central to this documentary. Thanks to her, the apartment can be visited.
The preservation and development of traditional folk crafts is in the hands of skilled individuals... Wicker Beauty presents portraits of those creators from among the holders of the title Bearer of the tradition of folk crafts, for whom the basic working material is various natural weaves. We will show baskets woven from pine bark, tying birch brooms or traditional products from willow wicker and also from pedig, which is a material obtained from tropical liana in Southeast Asia. The five award-winning manufacturers continue the legacy of old basket makers and, together with their families, maintain a tradition in their home workshops that continues from generation to generation.
An observational portrait of the California Chinese community through the eyes of a Chinese restaurant in Monterey Park and an LA-based recent graduate trying to navigate the difficulties of the Covid-19 pandemic.
From June 2021 to June 2022, Justin "Jastun" Bland records whatever that is in front of him. He presents an abstract montage of collected videos varying from onscreen recordings to filming special, intimate & mundane in-real-life moments. This short captures our daily routines in life and how we choose to spontaneously record them.
Three young people circulate in different mobility categories. The newly emancipated city goes through its everyday experiences.
Footage of Québec City locations and the artwork of well-known Quebec animator Frédéric Back are used to tell the tale of Champlain’s life in New France – from his first explorations and settlement to his death in 1635.
Produced for the "Little Nicky" Special Edition DVD.