Errol Morris’s Fast, Cheap & Out of Control interweaves the stories of four men, each driven to create eccentric worlds from their unique obsessions, all of which involve animals. There’s a lion tamer who shares his theories on the mental processes of wild animals; a topiary gardener who has devoted a lifetime to shaping bears and giraffes out of hedges and trees; a man fascinated with hairless mole rats; and an MIT scientist who has designed complex, autonomous robots that can crawl like bugs.
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Meet Brian Boland—the beloved, eccentric hot air balloonist and artist from the rural Upper Valley of Vermont.
Intimate Enemies (2000)
Life on the savannah of southern Tanzania is a study in contrast between rainy and dry seasons. When water is abundant, the wildebeest at the rivers provide food for the lion population, while the buffalo graze contentedly on the succulent grasses in the hills. The two great adversaries -- lion and buffalo -- can keep their distance. Intimate Enemies is a film about the relationship between these two great animals as a drought forces them into a titanic battle
A Farra do Circo (2013)
This documentary highlights the evolution of Brazil's Circo Voador venue from homespun artists' performance space to national cultural institution.
Lion Queen (1998)
Nakuru National Park in Kenya is rather like a reform centre for wayward youth. Take Scarface: as a young lioness with a reputation for killing sheep and cattle, she was due to be shot. Instead, she was chosen to establish a new pride in Nakuru. Wildlife film-maker Barbara Tyack chronicles the life of this special lion family with a weakness for climbing trees. Fabulous camerawork captures great chase sequences, some gory ones, and the odd romance
The Lions of Etosha (1981)
Nearly 500 lions roam the vast land of Etosha National Park in Namibia, each pride guarding territory, raising young, and feasting on prey. Filmmakers Des and Jen Bartlett spent nearly five years filming the Ombika pride, a family of 19, resulting in this 1 hour documentary. They tracked their special pride of lions to record the rivalries, loyalties, and complex animal relationships. Catch a rare glimpse into the pride system, from family interactions and shared responsibilities to raising cubs and teaching them to hunt. Watch the pride's success and failures, battles and births, and encounters with elephants and the rarely seen black rhino
Africa: The Serengeti (1994)
The equation of life on the Serengeti is simple: carnivores eat plants, herbivores eat carnivores. Africa: The Serengeti takes you on an extraordinary journey to view a spectacle few humans have ever witnessed. The Great Migration. Journey with more than two million wildebeests, zebras and antelopes in their annual 500 mile trek across the Serengeti plains
Counterparts (NaN)
Andrea and Krisztina Marics are 28-year-old identical twins with a teaching degree that have lived together since birth. They work together at a touring circus, doing joint artistic performances. After a long circus tour abroad, Andrea leaves the close relationship and ends their work together. She feels that she can succeed on her own. Krisztina still lives and works in the circus but struggles to find her place there without Andrea. After the winter tour, Krisztina has to decide if she stays at home with her sister or continues the life of a wanderer.
The Circus (2018)
Drawing upon a vast and richly visual archive and featuring a host of performers, historians and aficionados, this four-hour mini-series follows the rise and fall of the gigantic, traveling tented railroad circus and brings to life an era when Circus Day would shut down a town and its stars were among the most famous people in the country.
The Story Of An Encounter (2016)
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Kali the Lion (NaN)
Kenya's Musiara marsh is prime lion country. Lush tall grasses, scrubby brush, and an abundance of watering holes attract a vast array of big game and smaller wildlife to this lowland valley. Yet during the lean winter months, before the great migration of wildebeest and zebra, the resident lions live on the edge of starvation. Everything rides on the success or failure of a few critical hunts. The fate of the young cubs hangs in the balance as the bond that holds the pride together is stretched to the limit. Now enter the domain of Kali the lion and her pride as they face the daily challenge to survive on the African plains
Cirque du Soleil: Quidam (1999)
A young girl has already seen everything there is to see and her world has lost all meaning. Her anger shatters her world and she finds herself in the universe of QUIDAM, where she is joined by a playful companion, as well as another mysterious character who attempts to seduce her with the marvelous, the unsettling and the terrifying.
Cirque du Soleil: Alegria (2001)
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Cirque du Soleil : Saltimbanco (1997)
From the Italian 'saltare in banco' – which literally means 'to jump on a bench' – Saltimbanco explores the urban experience in all its myriad forms. Between whirlwind and lull, prowess and poetry, it takes spectators on an allegorical and acrobatic journey into the heart and soul of the modern city.
Cirque du Soleil: Varekai (2003)
Icarus is the main character of Varekai, who falls to the ground, breaking his legs as he does. He is suddenly in a strange, new world full of creatures he has never seen before. Parachuted into the shadows of a magical forest, a kaleidoscopic world populated by fantastical creatures, this young man sets off on an adventure both absurd and extraordinary.
Predator's Playground (2012)
The animals of this African spring run a deadly gauntlet to survive. The spring flows out of a sandy river bed 30km inland from the Zambezi River and is the lifeline for hundreds of animals between August and the end of November each year. But taking a drink from this water source comes at a price, as it is flanked by a cliff on either side and forms a perfect ambush alley for the two resident lion prides with one shared goal: eat as much buffalo as possible. It is the perfect place to hunt, a predator’s playground
Grey Gardens (1976)
Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith, two aging, eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, are the sole inhabitants of a Long Island estate. The women reveal themselves to be misfits with outsized, engaging personalities. Much of the conversation is centered on their pasts, as mother and daughter now rarely leave home.
Bots High (2010)
Bots High is an exciting documentary following the adventures of three high school robotics teams battling for first place at a national robotics competition in Miami, Florida. It's a no-holds-barred fight to the death with robot carnage everywhere you look. Genius inventor Will builds robots so powerful they're unstoppable...if only they don't destroy themselves first. The Mechanical Misfits are an all girls team stumbling through their first foray into combat robotics and Elizabeth and Danielle are a formidable pair looking to reign supreme during their last year of high school. Bots High follows these students as they design, build and compete at Nationals - all while surviving high school, first love and teenager procrastination. A FilmBuff Presentation.
Fakir (2019)
The feature-length documentary Fakir portrays the success of fakirism in Brazil, Latin America and France. This circus art origin show is presented and analyzed through archives that reveals the success of these presentations with their pain resistance championships and the great public presence, including politicians and government officials. Fakir spans current footage from contemporary artists who keep this art alive in performances and shows.