The Real Beauty and the Beast

It's a condition known as "hypertrichosis" or "Ambras Syndrome," but in the 1500s it would transform one man into a national sensation and iconic fairy-tale character. His name: Petrus Gonsalvus, more commonly known today as the hairy hero of Beauty and the Beast.

I Walked with a Werewolf

Academy Award winning make-up artist Rick Baker reflects on An American Werewolf In London and The Wolfman.

Run Wrake's Guide to Animation

Run Wrake is an English filmmaker, animation director, and music video director. He studied graphic design at Chelsea College of Arts before completing a master's degree in animation at the Royal College of Art in London. In this interview for the BBC's Channel 4, he describes some of his films, their inception, and their production. He also comments on technological and cultural developments that have changed how animated films are produced and perceived.

Zero Bagget

Babylon

After the insurrection erupted in Libya in the spring of 2012, more than a million people flocked to neighboring Tunisia in search of a safe haven from the escalating violence. When a massive refugee camp was hastily constructed near the Ras Jdir border checkpoint in Tunisia, a trio of filmmakers carried their cameras in and began filming with no agenda. This on-the-fly chronicle of the camp's installation, operation, and dismantling captures a postmodern Babel complete with a multinational population of displaced folk, a regime of humanitarian aid workers, and international media that broadcasts its “image” to the world. Visually stunning and refreshingly undogmatic, Babylon reveals a rarely seen aspect of the Arab Spring.

Bomarsund 1854 - The Baltic Theatre

Bomarsund 1854 tells the story of two humanists, whose actions during the Crimean War prevented bloodshed. They are the British hydrographer, Bartholomew James Sulivan, and the Russian commandant, Jacov Andreyevitch Bodisco, two men who fought on opposite sides in the war. It also traces the rise and fall of the multi-cultural community of Bomarsund. The small island of Åland, located in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland, played a significant role in the war that raged during 1854, originally called the Oriental War and partially fought in Northern Europe. The Baltic campaigns became the forgotten theatre of the Crimean War. The attention awarded events elsewhere has overshadowed the significance of this theatre, which lay close to the Russian capital of St Petersburg.

The Persuaders

PBS Frontline takes an in-depth look at the multibillion-dollar "persuasion industries" of advertising and public relations and how marketers have developed new ways of integrating their messages deeper into the fabric of our lives. Through sophisticated market research methods to better understand consumers and by turning to the little-understood techniques of public relations to make sure their messages come from sources we trust, marketers are crafting messages that resonate with an increasingly cynical public.

Polanski Meets Macbeth

A 1971 documentary by Frank Simon featuring rare footage of the film’s cast and crew at work.

Lennon or McCartney

550 artists were interviewed over ten years. At some point during those interviews, they were asked a question and told to answer with one word only. Some stuck to one, some said more, some answered quickly, some thought it through, and some didn't answer at all. That question… Lennon or McCartney?

Toil And Trouble: Making 'Macbeth'

A new documentary on the Criterion Collection edition of Roman Polanski's 1971 adaptation of Macbeth featuring interviews with the director, producer Andrew Braunsberg, assistant executive producer Victor Lownes, and actors Francesca Annis and Martin Shaw.

Interview With A Murderer

A famed criminologist reexamines the evidence in this powerful interview with murderer Bert Spencer, suspected in the killing a paperboy in 1978.

The Vampire Princess

Introduces the theory of the Viennese media scholar Rainer Maria Köppl that Bram Stoker was indirectly inspired by the figure of Princess Eleonore zu Schwarzenberg.

The Black Belt

In September 2015, the state of Alabama closed 31 Department of Motor Vehicles offices, disproportionately affecting African-American communities and their ability to register to vote. A band-aid solution in the form of a pop-up mobile voter registration unit is quickly dispatched. It's so disorganized and unprofessional it could be a comedy skit—if it weren't so infuriatingly disrespectful.

UFO Syndrome

A documentary exploring the existence of UFOs and the possible visit of aliens to Earth at sometime in the past

Joseph Smith: The Modern Prophets

With a divine answer to a humble prayer at age 14, Joseph Smith began to fulfill his inspired mission. He translated the ancient Book of Mormon and restored the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. Many flocked to the American frontier to worship with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, lead by the Prophet Joseph's dynamic and courageous example. Unstopped by his martyrdom at age 38, Joseph's legacy continues today in the dedicated lives of Saints throughout the world who still sing "praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!"

Veni Bici Sushi: A Bicycle Journey

Veni Bici Sushi is the story of a journey through beautiful places and countryside in Italy, Japan and England. It is a journey through some of the world's most beautiful places.

Political Animals

The story of four pioneering lesbian politicians and the battles they fought to pass a wide range of anti-discrimination laws.

Only Blockbusters Left Alive: Monopolizing Film Distribution in Turkey

Turkish film industry has been experiencing a breakthrough in the last ten years. According to 2015 figures, there is a bold uptrend in terms of viewers and film production. Yet without any regulations at work, this growth only made injustices in distribution bigger. While a single cinema chain controls more then 50% of the market, it also started to control distribution and production. In this monopolized environment, there seems to be no country for independent production. With the guidance of producers, distributors, and economists, the film traces the distortion created by the bad economy that has become an obstacle for freedom of choice.

Attention!

A 32-year-old PhD candidate Onur finds himself in a dilemma whereby he needs to make a decision between doing paid military service and serving the army for 6 months. Throughout this decision making process Onur not only questions the ethical and political aspects of the choice he will make, but also the compulsory military system in his country. He has only 2 months to decide. Will he go or pay?

Stony Paths

Stony Paths is the story of a walk across Anatolia. Arnaud Khayadjanian starts a trek in Turkey, on the land of his forefathers who survived the Armenian Genocide. Starting from a painting, from encounters and from accounts by his relatives, he goes on exploring the little known issue of the Righteous, all these anonymous people who saved lives in 1915.