Besieged by cancer and nearing the end, the genius Argentine-Brazilian filmmaker Héctor Babenco (1946-2016) asks Bárbara Paz, his wife, for one last wish: to be the protagonist of his own death.
Frank Lloyd Wright: Phoenix From the Ashes (2020)
A portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), a genius of modern architecture, whose life passed between glory, scandal and tragedy.
The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896)
A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.
The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy (2013)
This feature-length documentary delves into the trilogy, opening with the inspiration and vision for the new Batman films and inching its way toward the Rises finale and the culmination of nearly a decade of creative blood, sweat and tears. Candid, thoughtful and extensive, and comprised of revealing behind-the-scenes footage, countless interviews, audition tapes (with Christian Bale and Cillian Murphy doning the cape and cowl), and a narrative grip and momentum all its own, it leaves no stone unturned.
Au-delà des mots, le cinéma de Joachim Lafosse (2016)
An episode of Cinéastes d'aujourd'hui, a series of director portraits by the Francophone Community. Lafosse had then just completed Les Chevaliers blancs.
Come With Me to the Cinema – The Gregors (2022)
From the 1950s onwards, Erika and Ulrich Gregor brought countless film historical milestones to Berlin and shaped cinema discourse in post-war Germany. A look at the life and work of the couple without whom Arsenal and the Forum wouldn’t exist.
Alice Guy, the First Female Filmmaker (2021)
Who, apart from moviegoers, knows Alice Guy (1873-1968) today? However, she was the first woman behind the camera and the first female director and producer of fiction films in history.
When My Time Comes (2020)
Spurred on by the death of her husband, Peabody-award winning NPR journalist Diane Rehm crosses the country to investigate the right-to-die movement in America.
The Gulag Archipelago: The Book That Changed Russian History (2023)
The story of Russian writer and Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) and his masterpiece, The Gulag Archipelago, published in Paris in 1973, which forever shook the very foundations of communist ideology.
María Casares, a muller que viviu mil vidas (2023)
A portrait of the Spanish actress María Casares (1922-96).
Becoming Al Pacino (2022)
A journey through the meteoric rise and tempestuous story of the legendary American actor Al Pacino, from the Bronx of New York to worldwide stardom.
40 Days to Learn Film (2020)
For just forty days, filmmaker and writer Mark Cousins embarks on a peculiar journey in order to explore topics as the passion for cinema and certain aspects related to making films as style, ideas, emotions and practicalities; an ambitious exploration of the universal language of cinema by analyzing pieces of work that cross every artistic and cultural boundaries.
Mifune: The Last Samurai (2016)
An account of the life and work of legendary Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-97), the most prominent actor of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.
Louis de Funès Forever (2013)
A moving and very funny portrait of the personal and professional life of the magnificent French comedian Louis de Funès (1914-83), as well as a detailed analysis of his masterful acting technique.
Auge in Auge - Eine deutsche Filmgeschichte (2008)
This is not merely another film about cinema history; it is a film about the love of cinema, a journey of discovery through over a century of German film history. Ten people working in film today remember their favourite films of yesteryear.
La importancia de llamarse Ernesto y la gilipollez de llamarse Eric (2023)
He was born in Granada, the only city in the world with an explosive name. At the age of ten he joined the Falange because he wanted to play the drum. His biggest musical influences have been Holy Week and his first host, the one he was given at birth. It was produced at the age of sixteen. A little later he began using drugs to escape. he should have died before thirty. For forty years he has hit the drums as life has hit him, with all his might.
Pornotropic (2020)
When French writer Marguerite Duras (1914-96) published her novel The Sea Wall in 1950, she came very close to winning the prestigious Prix Goncourt. Meanwhile, in Indochina, France was suffering its first military defeats in its war against the Việt Minh, the rebel movement for independence.
MCAINE: An Anagram of Cinema (2023)
Legendary British actor Michael Caine, who began his brilliant career on stage during the 1950s, talks about his private life, his work in film and the books he has written.