Documentary that follows the lives of two pirates and their community on the Somali coastline; what are the incentives of the pirates, why did they become pirates, how did they grow up in a country with political chaos, war and extreme poverty? The narrative structure is built around two interweaving story-lines; one depicting the "present", the daily lives of the pirates and their community, and the second in the "past", revealing through epic animation, the unfolding of a recent hijacking.
Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority (2008)
In 1965, Patsy Takemoto Mink became the first woman of color in the United States Congress. Seven years later, she ran for the US presidency and was the driving force behind Title IX, the landmark legislation that transformed women’s opportunities in higher education and athletics.
Franz Schubert's Last Three Piano Sonatas (1989)
Alfred Brendel, one of the greatest of all pianists, plays and reflects on Franz Schubert’s last three piano sonatas. As he points out, Schubert can’t have known that he was soon to die, so they probably do not embody the air of resignation and finality future generations have sentimentally insisted they bear. They were however long neglected, all but forgotten, and only in more recent times have they come to be treasured and performed. The repose and wisdom of the maestro, together with the patient observation of one who is no stranger to the idea of the irrevocably lost, of the erasures of history, and of the value of fragile objects passed carefully from generation to generation, is a joy.
My Millennial Life (2016)
My Millennial Life is an intimate and entertaining observational documentary, featuring five dynamic 20-somethings. Set against the backdrop of underemployment, high unemployment, and uncertainty, the film presents the subjects' longings, challenges and dreams to make a mark in the world.
Ancestral Voices (2011)
An educational documentary spanning two continents, opening up a much-needed debate about traditional African spiritual systems; their cosmologies, ideologies and underlying ethical principles. Modern science no longer refutes the origins of mankind being in Africa and similarities in the cosmological ideologies of African esoteric systems with those found many established world religions today, suggest that it was not only people that migrated, but also concepts and themes that then provided bedrock for the formation of other systems of belief.
Max Cooper: Penrose Tiling (2019)
In 1974, the mathematician Penrose discovered pairs of tiles that form an infinite plane without repeating patterns. Inspired by this, Max Cooper uses a rhythm fragment of one instrument to compose a percussion ensemble without a single identical loop. Jessica In contributes animated tile ornaments without symmetries that are reminiscent of a mandala and visualise the idea of infinity.
My Ancestors Were Rogues and Murderers (2005)
An exploration of the unique culture of Newfoundland's outports, the film revisits the PR coup that launched the animal rights movement onto the international stage: the 1977 Newfoundland visit, orchestrated by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, of French actress turned animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot to protest the area's ancestral sealing activities. Soon, inhabitants of the island's northern outports we're being introduced to the world as the epitome of brutality.
Georgia O'Keeffe (1977)
Georgia O'Keeffe appears on camera for the first time to talk candidly about her work and her life in this 1977 documentary.
Gertrude Stein: When You See This, Remember Me (1970)
The thoughts, words, and compelling presence of Gertrude Stein flows richly through this portrait of the author's Paris years from 1905 through the 1930s.
Mary Cassatt: Impressionist From Philadelphia (1977)
This documentary portrait is the first to celebrate the only American member of the French Impressionist school and the first American woman to become a famous painter. 'Mary Cassatt Impressionist From Philadelphia' is not only a biography of the artist’s life and work; the film sees both in the context of the status of the woman painter in Victorian America in the second half of the 19th century.
Scott Joplin: King of Ragtime Composers (1977)
A short 1977 documentary about the originator of the ragtime rhythm.
Coming to Know (1976)
Two young women discuss how they discovered their interest in women. In a straightforward, candid manner, they relate early experiences through which they became aware of being gay. A short 1976 film.
Birth and Death (1968)
This cinema-verite-style documentary interweaves the pregnancy and childbirth of a young woman with the lingering death of a cancer patient to comment on the celebration and tragedy of existence. The tenderness and intimacy of the young couple, and the mystery of birth are contrasted with the dignity of a man who faces his death without deception.
Factory (1970)
A cinema verite study of the world of the blue-collar worker and the economic and psychological bind in which he is caught.
Meredith Monk (1994)
Profile of choreographer, composer and performer Meredith Monk, recorded on location in her home base, New York City. Monk discusses some ideas underlying her work: her attraction to the eloquence of the human voice, and the direct communication made possible by the abstract qualities of music; her emphasis on the poetic rather than the political; her belief in the power of images; her willingness to take risks. She describes her experiences in working in different media, such as audio recordings, films, and videos, and the challenge of weaving them together.
Susana (1980)
This short film is an autobiographical portrait of a young Argentine lesbian growing up in a homophobic environment.
Lena (2021)
Follows the story of the beloved and internationally acclaimed Swedish actress Lena Nyman, based on 17 paper bags with diaries that she left behind.
Nose and Tina (1980)
The unusual story of Nose and Tina, 2 people in love. He is employed as a brakeman, she as a sex worker.
Local Dive (2000)
A socially awkward girl uses the local swimming pool as a wormhole into fantasy. She dives underwater where she imagines herself as a marine creature, alternately graceful and predatory. (As described by Simon Sellars, 2008) Created as part of the SBS series "Swim Between the Flags" in 2002.
The Women Who Run Hollywood (2016)
The first talkie was directed by Alice Guy, the first color film was produced by Lois Weber, who directed more than 300 films over 10 years. Frances Marion wrote screenplays for the Hollywood Star Mary Pickford and won two Oscars, Dorothy Arzner was the most powerful film director in Hollywood. And what do all of them have in common? They are all women and they have all been forgotten. Incredibly, it also took until 2010 for the first woman, Kathryn Bigelow, to win the Oscar for Best Director. Even if underrepresented women have always played a big part in Hollywood and it is this part of the film history left untold that this documentary sets out to uncover.