Since the late 1960s the guitar has been adopted and transformed by musicians across the Caucasus. Inspired by traditional genres, such as the courtly mugham and the songs and tunes of ashiq bards, guitarists have developed a unique sound, new techniques and styles of playing. Gitara traces the development of this musical subculture, following the lives of guitarists from the suburbs of Azerbaijan's capital Baku to the rural villages of Borçalı (Kvemo Kartli) in Georgia.
The Admiral: Pub, Drums and Food (2018)
A documentary short catching up with John Halsey a.k.a. Barry Wom of The Rutles
Eurovision: Everyone’s a Winner (2023)
From Liverpool's world-famous waterfront, Fleur East presents a special Top 20 Eurovision Countdown - songs that missed out on the big prize but still went on to become monster hits. Compiled by combining worldwide online streaming and viewing figures, Fleur reveals the Eurovision entries watched and listened to in their millions.
Sid & Judy (2019)
Explore the dramatic career and personal struggles of the talented and tragically short-lived entertainer Judy Garland through rare concert footage, never-heard-before voice recordings and personal photos.
Leonard Bernstein: Reflections (1978)
Leonard Bernstein discusses his Boston childhood, his musical growth at Harvard and the Curtis Institute and the influence of great masters like Reiner, Mitropoulos and Koussevitzky. He shares his feelings on the primacy of tonal music and speculates on the nature of the creative process. From Carnegie Hall, scene of his début, to the living room of his home and his private studio overlooking New York's Central Park, Reflections explores the artist's varied and colourful career.
Kubota (1982)
A film featuring architect, sculptor, and musician Nobuo Kubota in a sound-sculpture performance. From within a cage-like structure filled with traditional musical instruments and sound-making devices fashioned from ordinary objects and toys, Kubota creates an aural/visual montage of musical notes and noises. Praised by music educators as a valuable tool for teaching creativity in sound exploration and musical innovation, the film reveals the infinite percussion possibilities of simple objects and presents a portrait of a versatile performer whose imagination has led him far beyond the confines of conventional music. Directed by Jonny Silver - 1982 | 20 min
Fuzz: The Sound That Revolutionized the World (2007)
An in-depth look at the industry of noise making featuring Billy Gibbons, Jon Spencer, J. Mascis more! Fuzz... the sound that changed the world. The fuzz box: that tiny little box between the electric guitar and the amp that revolutionized rock music.
Ladies, All The Ladies (2009)
Ladies, All The Ladies is the result of Lady Lucy’s self-imposed search to meet other Ladies.
Ohio Walnuts (2023)
A feature documentary about Ohio-based artist Sparks McFly and his friends as they attempt to conceptualize, write, record, and produce a rap album over the course of just 7 days.
Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande (2024)
In the racially turbulent UK of the early 70s, a group of black musicians came together in South London with a common love of rhythms and a message of peace. Cymande – with the dove as their symbol – combined jazz, funk, soul and Caribbean grooves to form a unique sound. Despite success in the USA they faced indifference in their native Britain, becoming disillusioned and disbanding. But the music lived on, as new generations of artists imbibed and reworked their pioneering sounds in fresh ways. From Soul II Soul to De La Soul, MC Solaar to The Fugees, the Dove had spread Cymande's message far and wide, prompting their return after forty years. This is their story.
Omoiyari (2022)
Violinist and songwriter Kishi Bashi travels on a musical journey to understand WWII era Japanese Incarceration, assimilation, and what it means to be a minority in America today.
Piano Dreams (2024)
Three young prodigies and their families exploring the popular and competitive world of piano playing in China.
Letter to Hong Kong (2018)
Away from her home in Hong Kong, Vivi records her daily life as a member of Loona in a video letter to her parents.
The Way of Folk (2016)
In this brand new featurette, executive producer T Bone Burnett and the Coen brothers discuss the history of some of the songs that heard in Inside Llywin Davies and possible origin of the stories they tells, the folk movement during the 1960s and the social and cultural ideas that it represented, the authenticity and the identity of folk music and the balance between the two, the future of folk music, etc. Included with the featurette are illustrations by Drew Christie. The featurette was created exclusively for Criterion in 2015.
Shepherds of the Earth (2022)
The region of Lake Turkana, located in Kenya and Ethiopia, is considered to be “the Cradle of Humankind”. Among other finds, primate fossils from millions of years ago have been discovered in the region. But what about the region’s modern inhabitants and their relationship to their environment? Iiris Härmä, whose previous work includes the award-winning Leaving Africa, had the chance of joining Helsinki University’s researchers, Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares and Mar Cabeza, on their pre-pandemic trip to study the Daasanach people’s relationship to their environment through traditional animal tales. The researchers hope that storytelling would help to bridge the gap between people’s everyday lives and conservation efforts.
Everybody in the Place: An Incomplete History of Britain 1984-1992 (2018)
A film written and directed by Jeremy Deller which explores the social history of the UK between 1985 and 1993 through the lens of acid house and rave music. The film is based on a real-life lecture given to a class of students in London.
Electric Callboy: Tekkno - Live in Europe (2024)
A compilation of live performances from across Europe by the German electronicore band, Electric Callboy.