When Tomoko finds some messages for a 'Mr Smith' on a lost mobile phone, she finds herself on an 'Alice in Wonderland' journey through Tokyo's boulevards and back alleys. From the tyranny of symmetry in soaring office blocks - to buildings that look like space-ships, this creative documentary shows us the city's soul.
Algeria from Above (2015)
Algeria from above is the first documentary made entirely from the sky on Algeria. Through the eye of the famous Yann Arthus-Bertrand this documentary vividly depicts this great country, and its vibrant cultural and natural treasures. From North to South and from West to East, it shows us the entirety of Algeria, lives in the large hectic coastal cities, Atlas mountains, oases of the Sahara or gentle hills of the Sahel. With a rich past that seems to have crossed all civilizations, and a territory where all natural environments amalgamate, Algeria appears here in all its diversity and its unity.
Ver Viver Reviver (2007)
In September 2007 Júlio Bressane goes to Ferrara. In the cemetery of the Italian city he ends up making two movies.
Educating Julie (1984)
Julie is an English student assigned to write a paper about "nudity in the 80s". A bit overwhelmed at first she takes on the project by visiting a nudist camping with her boyfriend. But while she learns about nudity and nudism, her boyfriend struggles to keep up.
An Uncountable Number of Threads (2023)
Travel films have an established format with their own conventions, history and baggage. It is a medium that has all too often sought to control, define and dictate perceptions of ”other” places. Comprised of footage shot while travelling on group excursions across Russia in 2019, An Uncountable Number of Threads is an attempt to draw out the ethical restrictions of a travelogue, while questioning how (and why) to make one. At times there is an awkward tourist-gaze, aware of its outsider position. But as a self-reflexive work that considers its own creation, it ultimately unravels, as the artist rationalises themselves out of a particular way of working, inviting the viewer into their uncertainty.
Suva: 'Pride of Fiji' (1940)
James A. FitzPatrick takes a tour of the Fiji Islands. The short depicts the different types of natives that inhabit the islands, and shows villages that have not been changed in architecture for centuries. There are ceremonial dances, and FitzPatrick politically-correctly describes the rule of the islands under the British government.
Visit to a Foreign Country (1962)
They come in high-powered convertibles, with cameras and curiosity, to look at French Canada and French-Canadians. Their usual objective is Québec City, where they can soak up a bit of French culture without a trip to France. With an eye for humour, VISIT TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY shows the people of Québec taking a look at American tourists who have come to Québec to take a look at them.
The Coach Travellers (1965)
Coach passengers give their reasons for preferring that type of transport. A group of ramblers visit the Welsh mountains; an angler and his family spend a peaceful day by a country river; a family goes to the seaside; some students visit Oxford during a music festival.
The World's Most Famous Train (2015)
During its nine-month-long season, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express makes over 60 journeys, covering 150,000 kilometres, with the majority of trips between London and Venice. The train is comprised of 17 unique 1920s carriages that have transported a host of elite individuals across Italy, Switzerland, and Turkey for more than a century. This documentary follows the stories of the staff and passengers as the train makes its way across Europe, with some customers having paid more than £2,000 for the privilege.
The Re-Up (2012)
A backstage and on-stage look at Nicki Minaj's career during the Pink Friday Tour, festivals, and more.
When the Road Ends (2020)
Growing up in poverty as a child, Dylan dreamt of travelling the world on a motorcycle. Many years later he broke the shackles of a normal life and took to the road. After journeying 200,000km across four continents, the road from Panama to Colombia comes to an end, swallowed up by an impenetrable jungle. Dylan has no choice but to take to the sea, building a raft powered by his motorcycle engine in the hope of reaching Colombia's road network 700km away. He must brave strong ocean currents and storm batterings in his journey from Central to South America.—Journeyman Pictures
The Nile (1965)
1960s Egyptian documentary showing scenes of local life along the banks of the River Nile, with narration by Salah Jahin
Cheddar (1916)
Pure tranquillity in rural Somerset, a world away from the war raging on the continent.
Smudge (2005)
This short documentary follows three Indigenous women as they practice ancestral forms of worship: drumming, singing, and using sweetgrass. These ancient spiritual traditions may at first seem at odds with urban life, but to Indigenous people in Canada who are used to praying in natural settings, the whole world is sacred space.
Atomic Pilgrimage: Ghost Towns, Nuclear Relics, and Lost Civilizations on the Road to the Trinity Site (2019)
A 40-day, 40-night road trip to the Trinity Site—where the first atomic bomb was detonated in the summer of 1945—covering many other atomic destinations and driving deep into the natural and social history of the American southwest.
Java Journey (1939)
This Technicolor portrait of Jakarta was filmed when it was called Batavia and formed part of the Dutch East Indies colonial empire. The film portrays the daily life of citizens and the relaxed atmosphere that prevailed at the time. We see Batavia's Amsterdam Gate, built by the Dutch around 1664, along with the strong influence of Dutch architecture upon other buildings, streets and waterways.
Double Barrel (2016)
Double Barrel follows surf and travel journalist Angie Takanami’s journey to Peru to document Peruvian surf guide Harold Koechlin’s dream of protecting Peru’s world-class surf breaks. After a chance meeting, the two compared tales of living through natural and human-inflicted disasters, and their dreams for sustainable surf development and tourism. Focussed in the oil-dominated town of Lobitos, Harold is working together with the local and international community and is determined to preserve the locals’ right to a clean ocean and environment to give towns like Lobitos a more sustainable future.
Tokyo Uber Blues (2021)
Director Taku Aoyagi, who has lost his job in his hometown of Yamanashi, goes to Tokyo without knowing right or left and starts delivering goods on his bicycle. What gradually came to light under the state of emergency was the real problem of modern Japan that was revealed by the corona wreck. The people he met in the city where the director himself ran around as a bicycle deliveryman. What does it mean to work? What does it mean to live a new life? A documentary film that "delivers" from a realistic experience and perspective is born.
Speechless: The Polar Realm (2015)
Beautifully filmed by New Zealand nature photographer Richard Sidey over the past decade around the polar regions, Speechless: The Polar Realm is a visual meditation of light, life, loss and wonder at the ends of the globe. This is the second film in Sidey’s non-verbal trilogy which is comprised of: - Landscapes at the World’s Ends (2010) - Speechless: The Polar Realm (2015) - Elementa (2020)
Mergui (2018)
Using nature shots with narration and a musical score, this documentary tells the story about the Moken, Myanmar's last sea nomads.
Young Man on the Bar Masturbating with Rage and Nerve (2015)
Dance and prostitution play the same role for Cristhian’s body. Virtuosity, desire, technique, and sex intertwine, granting coherence to a way of life that offers many answers to few questions. A leitmotiv that reconciles opposites and contradictions. Answers that are sometimes painful, like all truths.