Social & External
The people behind it
Tracing the faded time of those who once turned the pages Chŏng Yagyong(1762-1836)’s Chil Shil Gwan Hwa Seol (On Viewing Paintings from the Dark Chamber). In a dark room of their own, they steep tea, mend fragments with thread, and enfold them in bojagi cloth—crafting a cinema that was unseen.
From cradle to grave. A travelogue in the vein of the early super 8 films by Derek Jarman and Mark Jenkin, and the rambling grimoires of Ithell Colquhoun, retracing the primal journey of the early Holocene mystics of the Guernsey bailiwick.
In what could be considered a follow up to Al Qasimi’s 2020 work Mother of Fire, she once again invokes the figure of the jinn (spirits in Islamic mythology) to explore the ghosts of British imperialism in the UAE. As its spectre lingers on the horizon, two teenage girls seek to liberate a pirate damned to spend purgatory on a site now being developed into a hotel. Originally commissioned for Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present, Al Qasimi entangles historical narratives with contemporary notions of piracy. In examining how it has been historically and culturally represented, new perspectives of old mythographies come into focus. (Myriam Mouflih)
A short experimental documentary that interrogates how the modernization of parks and playgrounds in Long Branch (a neighbourhood in South Etobicoke in Toronto, Canada) both reflects and contributes to the overall rise in the cost of living in the area by exploring children's relationships to the community spaces around them. The film includes footage from four local parks and playgrounds, personal archival materials, interviews with five South Etobicoke locals, and an art-based workshop at a local junior middle school.
A short philosophical satire that wanders between the absurd and the profound. From a silent bed stare to a prophetic lentil, Cryptex explores the rituals of modern existentialism — one cup of coffee and one book at a time.
In this anxious and hectic time, Happy Life explores those unusual outlets that soothe the turmoil of the body and mind. In a meditative journey through these analgesic places, this documentary essay paints a portrait of a society in seek of meaning and relief.
Elena, a vegetarian working in a butcher's shop, tells us from her workplace the story of the 'super pigs', a plague of hybrid pigs descended from wild boars and domestic pigs, which are invading the United States and Canada.
A short film that follows key figures of the London kink scene on an exploration into BDSM and the notorious fetish event Klub Verboten. The film touches upon themes of psychology, trauma, LGBTQ+ rights and black representation.
A quasi-documentary look at how certain things fit together. This film embraces an unhurried tempo.
A spate of robberies in Southern California schools had an oddly specific target: tubas. In this work of creative nonfiction, d/Deaf first-time feature director Alison O’Daniel presents the impact of these crimes from an unexpected angle. The film unfolds mimicking a game of telephone, where sound’s feeble transmissibility is proven as the story bends and weaves to human interpretation and miscommunication. The result is a stunning contribution to cinematic language. O’Daniel has developed a syntax of deafness that offers a complex, overlaid, surprising new texture, which offers a dimensional experience of deafness and reorients the audience auditorily in an unfamiliar and exhilarating way.
They pass each other everyday, obscured by the crowds. They will always be there, always crossing paths, alone.
Arktis is a poetic approach to the bizarre landscape of ice, rock, and water; a journey to the arctic ocean and surroundings, with images and sounds. Seventy one-second scenes of the arctic serve as the original material, which is then transformed in its texture, time lapse, color and light qualities to create a material reminiscent of landscape painting. The sound collage uses fragments from sounds of nature and samples from a piece of music for violin and song, which are also transformed in a manner similar to that of the visual pictures. (Jürgen Reble)
Foreign Names focuses on the worker displacement in a compilation of video clips from Aroma, a coffee shop chain. Ben-Ner’s video shows counter staff at the coffee shops yelling nonsensical English “names,” fabricated and given to them by the artist. The texts edited together become a lament of the waiters’ disappearance and the state of workers today.
A swimming study of paisley patterns traces this decorative motif from its origins in Persian weavings to appearances Irish quilting and American Counterculture. Extending on the stroboscopic tradition of anti-animation, this short material study fixates upon discarded materials to examine the decorative and its relationship to the cycles of industry and evolving modes of production. - Jodie Mack
Landscapes change with time; people don't. I try to expose the solipsism of lower Appalachian life in this day and age.
Ten years after the death of iconic French filmmaker, Chris Marker. A filmmaker, hoping to rediscover that unique sensibility against the uncertainty of the new century, returns to the places synonymous with those incomparable and unforgettable films-- From the cat cemetery of Sans Soleil, to the mausoleum of The Last Bolshevik; The caves of Level Five to the rooftops of The Case of the Grinning Cat. A biographical portrait of one of the 20th century's greatest and most misunderstood filmmakers.
A short structural film that questions the reality we live in under capitalism through various images of Paris, Edinburgh, and Disneyland.
A documentary about a person who cleans his room with a vacuum cleaner, filled with disasters and mishaps.
An atmospheric essay, which is an alternative version of Count Dracula, a film directed by Jess Franco in 1970; a ghostly narration between fiction and reality.
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
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 documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
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.
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.
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
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.
Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman discuss their characters Mera and Atlanna.
Martin Scorsese spends an evening with larger-than-life raconteur Steven Prince—a former drug addict, road manager for Neil Diamond, and actor—as he recounts stories from his colorful life.
Performance artist Marina Abramovic prepares for a major retrospective of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Follow the evolution of the 'Halloween' movies over the past twenty-five years. It examines why the films are so popular and revisits many of the original locations used in the films - seeing the effects on the local community. For the first time, cast, crew, critics and fans join together in the ultimate 'Halloween' retrospective.
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.
