Story Riders

Fall 2

Bas Jan Ader rides his bike into a canal in Amsterdam.

Costa Natura - Naked Village

Documentary on the life of naturists on a resort in Spain.

The Glass

Riverboom

In the year following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, young journalist Claude Baechtold finds himself in the war zone of Afghanistan. Not entirely voluntarily, the avowed anti-militarist is dragged by two fearless reporters on a round trip through the entire country.

Paris, the Mystery of the Disappeared Palace

In the heart of Paris, an entire palace has disappeared. It was the very first residence of the kings of France. Long before Versailles, long before the Louvre, the Palais de la Cité stood on the most prestigious island in Paris, the historic cradle of France, facing Notre-Dame. So majestic in the Middle Ages, this palace has become a ghost of history. Over the centuries, this architectural masterpiece has almost completely disappeared. A trio of experts will resurrect it in 3D. Using science and unprecedented excavations, they will track down the pieces of the puzzle to reconstruct it at its peak in the 14th century, and bring back to life those who inhabited it. From the Romans to the Vikings, from Saint Louis to the cursed kings, all have left clues of this 'Versailles of the Middle Ages'.

Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul

An insider's account of Jack Warner, a founding father of the American film industry. This feature length documentary provides the rags to riches story of the man whose studio - Warner Bros - created many of Hollywood's most classic films. Includes extensive interviews with family members and friends, film clips, rare home movies and unique location footage.

Nothing Changes: Art for Hank's Sake

How far would you go to pursue your passion? At 87 years old, Hank Virgona commutes to his Union Square studio six days a week and makes art. Despite poor health, cancer, lack of revenue and obscurity as an artist, Hank is unrelenting in his quest to understand how life and art are the same.

Haida Gwaii: Restoring the Balance

The conflict over forestry operations on Lyell Island in 1985 was a major milestone in the history of the re-emergence of the Haida Nation. It was a turning point for the Haida and management of their natural resources.

In the Theatre of the Gogs

A contemplation of art and adventure in the southern wilds of New Zealand by both a landscape photographer and an adventure filmmaker. This film is the unexpected result of their two unique perspectives.

Full Metal Village

The film describes the microcosmos of the small village Wacken and shows the clash of the cultures, before and during the biggest heavy metal festival in Europe.

The Sophisticated Misfit

The Sophisticated Misfit is a long-awaited must-have for fans of the artist Shag and Tiki culture alike. This documentary traces the artist’s roots growing up in Hawaii, his artistic journey in college, his early work designing album covers, to his modern-day role as an art-world phenom. In addition to exclusive footage of Shag painting in his home studio, the film features intimate interviews with the artist, his family, artistic influences, tiki-philes, celebrity collectors, and fans.

Francis Bacon: A Brush with Violence

In this unique, compelling film, those who knew him speak freely, some for the first time, to reveal the many mysteries of Francis Bacon.

Diffusion

An experimental short film about the depressive scenery of Eastern European winter

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

Meeting Sebastião Salgado

Part activist and part globe trekking photographer, Sebastião Salgado is most famous for recording the migration of people and culture around the world. In this extensive conversation, Sebastiao Salgado revisits his adventurous career via the breathtaking images he captured.

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Larisa

Elem Klimov's documentary ode to his wife, director Larisa Shepitko, who was killed in an auto wreck.

A.B.

A documentary-style capturing of the life of Ab, a young struggling artist trying to find her way, all while dealing with unwanted company.

I Want to See

July 2006. Another war breaks out in Lebanon. The directors decide to follow a movie star, Catherine Deneuve and a friend, actor and artist Rabih Mroue;, on the roads of South Lebanon. Together, they will drive through the regions devastated by the conflict. It is the beginning of an unpredictable, unexpected adventure...

Orphan

A young woman moves to Paris and has a brush with disaster. Grown-up at last, an accomplished woman thought she was safe from her own past. Gradually, these characters come together to form a single heroine.

Honeydew

Strange cravings and hallucinations befall a young couple after seeking shelter in the home of an aging farmer and her peculiar son.

Garden of Evil

A trio of American adventurers marooned in rural Mexico are recruited by a beautiful woman to rescue her husband from Apaches.

Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock

A reckless joyride into the darkest corners of popular music that delves deep into the mind of Mick Rock, the genius photographer who immortalized the seventies and the rise to rock stardom of many legendary musicians.

Murders in the Zoo

Dr. Gorman is a millionaire adventurer, traveling the world in search of dangerous game. His bored, beautiful, much younger wife entertains herself in the arms of other men. In turn, Gorman uses his animals to kill these men. When a New York City zoo suggests a fundraising gala, Gorman sees a prime opportunity to dispatch the dashing Roger and anyone else who might cross him.

Last Men in Aleppo

A searing example of boots-on-the-ground reportage follows the efforts of the internationally recognized White Helmets, an organization consisting of ordinary citizens who are the first to rush towards military strikes and attacks in the hope of saving lives. Incorporating moments of both heart-pounding suspense and improbable beauty, the documentary draws us into the lives of three of its founders — Khaled, Subhi, and Mahmoud — as they grapple with the chaos around them and struggle with an ever-present dilemma: do they flee or stay and fight for their country?

Give Me Liberty

When a riot breaks out in Milwaukee, America's most segregated city, medical transport driver Vic is torn between his promise to get a group of elderly Russians to a funeral and his desire to help Tracy, a young black woman with ALS.

Blood

Diego's job is counting people as they enter a large government building. After work, he and his wife Blanca lie on the couch...

Buster Keaton: The Genius Destroyed by Hollywood

In 1926, Buster Keaton was at the peak of his glory and wealth. By 1933, he had reached rock bottom. How, in the space of a few years, did this uncontested genius of silent films, go from the status of being a widely-worshipped star to an alcoholic and solitary fallen idol? With a spotlight on the 7 years during which his life changed, using extracts of Keaton’s films as magnifying mirrors, the documentary recounts the dramatic life of this creative genius and the Hollywood studios.

Gon, the Little Fox

When Gon, a playful orphaned fox, finds that young Hyoju has lost his mother, he tries to comfort him and make amends for his own earlier mischiefs by secretly bringing small gifts to the boy every day. But Hyoju doesn't realize who is behind the anonymous gifts, and the two are headed for a heartbreaking climax. Original Story by Niimi Nankichi

My Italy

A director and his assistant are traveling around Europe to seek financing for a film with and about four international artists: Polish Krzysztof Bednarski, Danish Thorsten Kirchhoff, American Mark Kostabi and Malaysian H.H. Lim; all of them stars from the world of art and in love with Italy. Hilarious and quirky, we follow the carnival of madness around the Italian countryside.

The Road Becomes What You Leave

The Road Becomes What You Leave is a meditative documentary following the band Magnolia Electric Co. as they travel across the prairies of Canada.

Guanabacoa: Chronicle of My Family

A pioneer in the genre of autobiographical documentaries, this film made by the renowned Cuban director Sara Gómez explores her family roots to offer a family portrait through photos, popular music, and women’s tales. It is also a powerful document of an age and a way of living: that of middle- or upper-class black families in Cuba, meeting in exclusive bars just before the Cuban Revolution.

The Path of Glory

The Tangfani Pump House (Tangfani Oil Transfer Center), which was bombed several times during the Iran-Iraq War and then rebuilt, was once again targeted by Iraqi aircraft when it was opened and severely damaged. The National Oil Company officials believe that the only way to restart this important pump house, which is responsible for delivering crude oil to the country's three major refineries, is to move it underground. Specialists and workers, dressed as nomads, begin working underground, and Engineer Yeganeh is called to the area to direct the operation. In the meantime, several Iraqi regime spies, seeing the apparent halt in the reconstruction of the previous pump house, become suspicious of the movements and send one of their men to obtain information from Engineer Yeganeh through threats...

Menarche

In a Brazilian village infested with piranhas, Nanã and Mel are fast growing into adolescence as they dream of ways of protecting themselves against a seemingly inescapable violence. When a mysterious body appears tangled in a fisherman's net, they learn what might be their ultimate protection.

Fiancés on the Bridge

A subtitle warns, "beware of dark sunglasses." Anna and her lover, whose looks in bowler and bow tie are reminiscent of a young Buster Keaton, kiss chastely on a bridge overlooking the Seine. He dons sunglasses and waves as she runs down a stairway to the river's edge, then watches in horror as she's knocked flat and loaded into the back of a hearse. In vain, he gives chase. Disconsolate, he buys a large funeral wreath and a handkerchief from sympathetic vendors. He removes the glasses to wipe his eyes and realizes they are the cause of all his woe. He replays the farewell without the glasses.

Kubrick by Kubrick

A rare and transcendent journey into the life and films of the legendary Stanley Kubrick like we've never seen before, featuring a treasure trove of unearthed interview recordings from the master himself.

Women Reply

What does being a woman really mean? How do women live the status society reserves for them? A group of women, beautiful or not, young or not, gifted with motherly instinct or not, answer before Agnès Varda's camera.

Lover for a Day

After a bad breakup, a college-aged Parisian moves into her father's flat only to discover that he is living with his new girlfriend - a young woman her age.

Hidden Man

A martial arts-infused spy thriller set in 1937 Beijing. A time when China was lurching between revolution, prosperity, and chaos.