Social & External
While most of Ken Russell's documentaries for the BBC's Monitor arts strand focused on a single creative figure, he would also occasionally make more wide-ranging surveys of the state of a particular art. The Light Fantastic (BBC, tx. 18/12/1960) was written and presented by Ron Hitchins, a Cockney barrow boy who has long been interested in a great many dance forms, and who has recently taken up Spanish dancing. Hitchins participates in some of the dance sequences, but his main contribution is an enthusiastic commentary that helps personalise what could have been simply a disparate collection of dance footage. He's not shy about expressing likes and dislikes, being none too keen on ballroom dancing (too choreographed), rock'n'roll (too monotonous) and Morris dancing (just doesn't like it), though anything genuinely spontaneous gets a thumbs up, even if it's a room full of people dressed in black swaying to the sound of a gong.
after mourning the passing of his late wife, Bill finds the courage to travel to New York City and reconnect with his favorite mistress.
Canadas contemporary dance group La La La Human Steps performs Édouard Lock's "Human Sex" .
A quickfire portrait of the New York City ballroom scene in the ‘80s.
After celebrated careers , legendary dancers Marge Champion and Donald Saddler became friends while performing together in the Broadway Show Follies (2001) . When the show closed, they decided to rent a private studio together where they have been choreographing and rehearsing original dances ever since. They are both 90 years old. KEEP DANCING seamlessly blends 9 decades of archival film and photographs with present day footage to tell a story through dance of the passing of time and the process of aging.
A documentary following the conscious evolution of electronic music culture and the spiritual movement that has awakened within.
A documentary film that highlights two street derived dance styles, Clowning and Krumping, that came out of the low income neighborhoods of L.A.. Director David LaChapelle interviews each dance crew about how their unique dances evolved. A new and positive activity away from the drugs, guns, and gangs that ruled their neighborhood. A raw film about a growing sub-culture movements in America.
Follows the young people of Selma, Alabama's RATCo (Random Acts of Theatre Company) as they journey to New York City to share their story of hope, resilience, and overcoming.
From the rains of Japan, through threats of arrest for 'public indecency' in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 'Blond Ambition' concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the icon, from a prayer circle before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards.
Terpsichore is a captivating exploration of dance as an art form, illuminating the passion, discipline, and vulnerability that transform movement into poetry. The documentary follows three distinct yet interconnected artists: Cece Trapani, an Irish dancer; Aurora Maur, a burlesque performer; and the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC), a renowned contemporary dance ensemble. Through their stories, Terpsichore reveals the universal language of dance—one that transcends genre and speaks to the depths of human emotion. Intimate interviews and behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage offer a raw, unfiltered look at the artistry behind each performance, capturing the essence of dance as both personal expression and a bridge between artist and audience. More than a showcase of technique, Terpsichore delves into the soul of movement, celebrating its power to connect, inspire, and reveal the unspoken truths of the human spirit.
The first woman to appear in front of an Edison motion picture camera and possibly the first woman to appear in a motion picture within the United States. In the film, Carmencita is recorded going through a routine she had been performing at Koster & Bial's in New York since February 1890.
Dance educator LIN Ssu-tuan is the first professional nude model in Taiwan in the 1950s and the 1960s, the muse for painters and sculptors in the art world, and the face for photographers’ salons around the world; in the end, she reversed the dynamics of the subject vs. the object and went on to perform her first solo modern dance in 1975, turning herself from the state of passiveness to an active educator of the art of dance. LIN is over 80 years old, but she still fervently pursues her ideals and passions with her body; her path of life is indeed a book of female art history that communicates with the society in Taiwan.
In this revealing documentary, burlesque star Immodesty Blaize examines the world of British burlesque and the resurgence in its popularity.
An experimental film following a trip made by three friends in which the contrast between the agitated city of São Paulo, Brazil and the calmness of the beach leads the flow. No script. No story. Just vibes.
BYE (AJÖ), a new dance film, is choreographed and directed by acclaimed Swedish choreographer Mats Ek. " About a woman (Sylvie Guillem) who takes leave of a certain stage in her life. It is a conversation that she has with herself that leads to new experiences.
Maurice Hines -- actor, director, singer, and choreographer -- navigates the complications of show business while grieving the loss of his more famous, often estranged younger brother, tap dance legend Gregory Hines.
THEY DANCED. The documentary is about women and men who danced and helped make a lot of Rappers and Singers performance presentations exciting and unforgettable.
James Brown's legacy has influenced rap, soul, funk and R&B. But along with his huge talent, there's a dark side to Brown's success that includes stints in prison and unceasing tabloid speculation. This in-depth documentary takes a look at the meteoric highs and deep lows of Brown's career, offering some fascinating insights from the Godfather of Soul himself, as well as interview footage with Chuck D, Little Richard, Wyclef Jean and many others.
Released on DVD as part of The Criterion Collection's "Martha Graham: Dance on Film" collection.
Over the last few decades, systematic concreting and the use of chemical products have seriously damaged the biodiversity of cities. In Strasbourg's old historic city center, on the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Mathieu Baud, in charge of the conservation of the building, watches over the remaining representatives of a rich and unsuspected wildlife. Collaborating with filmmakers Pauline Bugeon and Cédric Chambin, Mathieu embarks on an investigation to document, inventory and attempt to preserve the wild species that populate the most visited religious monument in France, the Cathedral of Strasbourg.
A historical revolutionary film depicting the struggle of peasants and the Baku proletariat against landowners and Musavatists in 1919.
Teresa is an artificial intelligence device that comes from the United States to Colombia to be tested in a real world and with a very particular family: Los Rico. Teresa arrives just at Christmas time, where between novenas, fritters and custard, she will discover deep connections with her new family.
Betty Jara reassembles the Yaguareté Commandos to exchange an imprisoned criminal for one of her own agents. A risky operation becomes even more so when she realizes they are not just fighting a drug ring but the highest spheres of power.
On October 9, 1967, the news went around the world: Argentine-Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara was dead. Shot dead in the forests of Bolivia. Half a century has passed since then, and yet Che Guevara lives on as an idol, loved, hated, glorified and marketed. The documentary approaches the seemingly immortal rebel in a very personal way and shows the brother, father, companion and man Che from an unknown, private side.
An internal battle is simmering among US Christians over whether climate change is a call to protect the Earth, the work of God to be welcomed, or does not exist at all.
A classic about an anteater who makes life rough for a colony of ants. In the ant community, the queen spreads warnings of their greatest enemy, the Anteater. "He's a menace, he's a brute, he will scoop you with his snoot." Their motto is "make him yell uncle," which they do when the anteater invades them.
Unable to move on from a breakup, Gabi, a queer Latina freelance editor, impulsively drops into an old job at an underground lap dance party, where she unexpectedly runs into a friend from her past.
Henry and Steve, two "bunkies" on the "LL" ranch, are in love with Katie, their employer's daughter. While she likes Steve the best, she feels she cannot accept him because of his craving for gambling. Cash Wilkins, a bully, insults Steve, whereat he receives a good thrashing, and Wilkins, to get even, insults Katie and steals a small revolver that she carries with her. He then sends a note to Katie, that if she wants the gun back to send Henry for it. Henry is afraid of the bully and frightenedly tells Steve that he is afraid he must lose Katie as he can never face Wilkins. Steve looks pityingly at the coward, and taking the note, goes to Wilkin's cabin, and after another thrashing, makes Wilkins write a note of apology to Katie, and a promise to leave the country forever. Steve gives the note and the girl's gun to Henry and tells him to take them to Katie. The girl never suspects and Steve, realizing that "two's company and three's a crowd," packs his clothes and leaves.
Battle in the Valley 2024 was a New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) pay-per-view held on January 13, 2024 at the San Jose Civic in San Jose, California, headlined by Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
In this Lantz Color Cartune (production number 2326), Wally Walrus, masquerading as famed orchestra leader, Sir Wally Walrus, mounts the podium to conduct the orchestra, and his troubles only end when the cartoon does, with the orchestra completely destroyed.
A Gross Misuse is a short horror film about a man named Lloyd Walker who finds himself on the brink of insanity. He was orphaned at a young age after witnessing his father commit suicide. He's been left with long-lasting trauma, and a strong drive to learn the secrets of resurrection.
In this stop-motion animated comedy, a young couple's romantic weekend getaway is interrupted by a birth control mishap.
In this Roy Rogers entry, featuring a song written by Oklahoma Governor Roy J. Turner (making him and Lousiania's Jimmie Davis and Texas' W.E. "Pappy" O'Daniel possibly the only state governors to write songs used in a western), Flying U ranch owner Sam Talbot is killed by a fall from a horse. St. Louis reporter Connie Edwards comes to check a rumor that he might have been murdered. She goes to Roy Rogers, editor of the local newspaper, and he takes her to the reading of Talbot's will. The ranch is left to Talbot's 12-year-old ward, Duke Lowery, much to the dismay of Talbot's niece, Jan Holloway. After some attempts on Duke's life, Roy finally proves that Jan, Steve McClory and coroner Jim Judnick had Talbot killed and are conspiring to do the same for Duke, making Jan the last heir.
During WW2, a group of assembled allied forces are sent to a secret nuclear bunker occupied by Nazi Germany to uncover the operations of what's been occurring there. But when they discover the bunker is infested with rabid, zombie, super-humans in a nuclear testing operation gone wrong, they must destroy every last one in hopes of survival.
Sounds as witnesses. They blurr into memories, half-dreams, it is undecided if they are real or not. A fluctuation between imagination and reality.