Joe McKenna is one of the most influential stylists in the world. From the beginning of the 1980s, he struck up a great friendship with Azzedine Alaïa, and they continued to work together for many years. Thanks to their mutual understanding and trust, Joe McKenna was able to obtain the rare privilege of entering the studio and the couturier’s workshops with his camera. He paints an intimate and endearing portrait of Alaïa, punctuated by interviews with Nicolas Ghesquiere, Carlyne Cerf, Naomi Campbell and Grace Coddington, among others
Land Without Bread (1933)
An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time. (Silent short, voiced in 1937 and 1996.)
Feeler (2016)
16mm film by Paul Clipson, and music by Sarah Davachi. Filmed in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Brisbane, Krakow, Sidney, Portland, Napa, Oakland and San Francisco.
Terrorists in Retirement (1985)
Not just another documentary on the French resistance movement, this film focuses on one particular group of underground fighters in France: those from Eastern Europe. Many were Jews and all had fled their native countries before the war broke out. They were among the most staunch and fearless enemies of fascism, as shown here in personal interviews and memoirs of war-time experiences. But the most famous of these immigrants were 23 who were rounded up among several hundred Parisians in 1943, tried for their activities, and executed -- all were immigrants under the leadership of the Armenian poet Manouchian. After their execution, Paris was papered with posters decrying these 23 martyrs as "foreign communists."
Open Streets (2024)
A feature-length documentary about graffiti and street art with AXE, C215, CES53, CLOZE, DASIC, DOES, DRE/EARTH CRUSHER, GURS, HENDRIK ECB BEIKIRCH, LOGEK, NEVER, ONETON, SCAN, SEAZ, SEN2, SERAK, TECK.
All Light, Everywhere (2021)
Filmmaker Theo Anthony offers a far-ranging look at the biases in how people see things, focusing on the recorded image.
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound (1940)
This short documentary, presented and directed by MGM sound engineer Douglas Shearer, goes behind the scenes to look at how the sound portion of a talking picture is created.
The Ax Fight (1975)
The Ax Fight (1975) is an ethnographic film by anthropologist and filmmaker Tim Asch and anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon about a conflict in a Yanomami village called Mishimishimabowei-teri, in southern Venezuela. It is best known as an iconic and idiosyncratic ethnographic film about the Yanomamo and is frequently shown in classroom settings.
Lake (2019)
Lake gazes down at a still body of water from a birds-eye view, while a group of artists peacefully float in and out of the frame or work to stay at the surface. As they glide farther away and draw closer together, they reach out in collective queer and desirous exchanges — holding hands, drifting over and under their neighbors, making space, taking care of each other with a casual, gentle intimacy while they come together as individual parts of a whole. The video reflects on notions of togetherness and feminist theorist Silvia Federici’s call to “reconnect what capitalism has divided: our relation with nature, with others, and our bodies.”
A Bee's Diary (2020)
Bees are one of the most important species on the planet. A look at the trials and tribulations of two particular honeybees over two years from birth to death.
Locked In (2018)
As a young girl Victoria Arlen truly had the world ahead of her. But at the age of 11, she began to suffer from an illness that baffled her doctors and kept Victoria locked in her own body.
Destination Dune (1984)
A short documentary that was originally produced to promote the film at conventions and publicity events in the lead-up to its release.
Hymn of the Nations (1944)
Hymn of the Nations, originally titled Arturo Toscanini: Hymn of the Nations, is a 1944 film directed by Alexander Hammid, which features the "Inno delle nazioni," a patriotic work for tenor soloist, chorus, and orchestra, composed by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi in the early 1860s. (For this musical work, Verdi utilized the national anthems of several European nations.) In December 1943, Arturo Toscanini filmed a performance of this music for inclusion in an Office of War Information documentary about the role of Italian-Americans in aiding the Allies during World War II. Toscanini added a bridge passage to include arrangements of "The Star-Spangled Banner" for the United States and "The Internationale" for the Soviet Union and the Italian partisans. Joining Toscanini in the filmed performance in NBC Studio 8-H, were tenor Jan Peerce, the Westminster Choir, and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.
Give Us the Earth! (1947)
This "Theater of Life" documentary was produced in cooperation with the International Committee, YMCA. It focuses on the work of Dr. Spencer Hatch, as he shows residents of small Mexican villages how to make their land better able to grow food and make them more independent.
1001 Cuts (2024)
The daughters of Title IX discover that pervasive gender-based stereotypes and discrimination persist within the high stakes professional world of surgery - a workplace designed for and and still controlled by men. Since 2003, half of medical students in the US have been women. Women remain in the minority in most surgical fields but their proportion is increasing. Leadership and culture in surgery remain disproportionately and persistently male despite ample evidence that women are just as good (and possibly better) at delivering care. Systemic barriers to success for women surgeons must be confronted and addressed for the surgical workforce to stay healthy and for patients to stay safe. We’ve interviewed dozens of surgeons who are women about their experiences, hopes, dreams and careers. This is a group of extraordinarily dedicated physicians who work every day to improve the health and lives of others despite untold challenges.
The Test (2023)
A Ghanaian maintenance technician at a Virginia retirement community dreams of becoming an American citizen to provide a better life for his family. With their future at stake, he enlists the help of two elderly residents to prepare for the biggest test of his life: the US Citizenship exam.