A documentary telling the remarkable human story of Stephen Hawking. For the first time, the personal archives and the testimonies of his closest family reveal both the scale of Hawking's triumphs and the real cost of his disability and success.
John Ford: The Man Who Invented America (2019)
Over a 50-year career and more than a hundred movies, filmmaker John Ford (1894-1973) forged the legend of the Far West. By giving a face to the underprivileged, from humble cowboys to persecuted minorities, he revealed like no one else the great social divisions that existed and still exist in the United States. More than four decades after his death, what remains of his legacy and humanistic values in the memory of those who love his work?
Soegija (2012)
This movie follows the story of Dutch East Indies' (now Indonesia) first indigenous bishop, Albertus Soegijapranata SJ, from his inauguration until the end of Indonesia's independence war (1940-1949).
Music by Prudence (2010)
Music by Prudence tells a self-empowering story of one young woman's struggle who, together with her band, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds and, in her own voice conveys to the world that disability does not mean inability. In addition to its sheer emotional punch, Music by Prudence has become the cornerstone of an advocacy campaign and has been embraced by the UN, Human Rights Watch and the disability community as an unprecedented portrayal advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities. Prudences poignant, inspiring and irreverent message of hope has received an amazing response from press and audiences all across North America, and has won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short and several other awards as it continues drawing in more audiences.
The Hero's Journey: The World of Joseph Campbell (1987)
One of the greatest storytellers of our time, and arguably the greatest mythologist, Joseph Campbell spent most of his long, rich career explaining how ancient myths like the Hero’s Journey are relevant to modern life. In understanding the importance of myth as a vital, vibrant source of "mankind’s one great story," Campbell inspired others to embark on a quest for the meaning of myth in their own lives. This biographical portrait, filmed shortly before his death in 1987, follows Campbell’s personal quest—a pathless journey of questioning, discovery, and ultimately of delight and joy in a life to which he said, "Yes."
Louis de Funès, le rire éternel (2023)
On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the death of Louis de Funès, this documentary by Jacques Pessis pays tribute to the cult actor by retracing his career through excerpts of his greatest successes in the cinema and in the music hall, never-before-seen archives, as well as testimonies from personalities and relatives.
The Magical World of Moss (2023)
They have no roots, no seeds, no flowers, but mosses show immense survival capacities and can suspend their biological activity for long periods. Today, researchers are exploring the exceptional resistance of these archaic organisms. British ecologists have even resurrected a "zombie" moss that has been trapped in the permafrost for 1,500 years. Associated with decay and disliked in Europe, mosses are deified in Japan. With 25,000 species worldwide, bryophytes - their scientific name - are the seat of real ecosystems, and can develop in inhospitable landscapes, through an extravagant reproduction cycle.
Music by John Williams (2024)
His unforgettable scores are an essential part of some of the most beloved movies of our time, over a career that spans decades. See and hear maestro John Williams' own story, with insights from filmmakers, musicians, and others he has inspired, complete with rare behind-the-scenes looks at the making of movie history.
Magnus (2016)
From a young age Magnus Carlsen had aspirations of becoming a champion chess player. While many players seek out an intensely rigid environment to hone their skills, Magnus’ brilliance shines brightest when surrounded by his loving and supportive family. Through an extensive amount of archival footage and home movies, director Benjamin Ree reveals this young man’s unusual and rapid trajectory to the pinnacle of the chess world. This film allows the audience to not only peek inside this isolated community but also witness the maturation of a modern genius.
Chez Frida Kahlo (2011)
A place of pleasure and pain, creation and separation, Frida Kahlo's home, known as "La Maison Bleue", was the scene of one of the most singular adventures of the 20th century. In the 1930s, while Europe was being torn apart, Frida Kahlo welcomed painters, actresses, writers, photographers and revolutionaries: from Diego Rivera, the great Mexican painter and Frida's fickle husband, to Leon Trotsky in exile, via André Breton, who dreamed of Mexico as the land of "real surrealism".
Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock (2017)
A reckless joyride into the darkest corners of popular music that delves deep into the mind of Mick Rock, the genius photographer who immortalized the seventies and the rise to rock stardom of many legendary musicians.
20 Moves (2016)
20 Moves is the story of how the best-selling puzzle toy came to market and the impact it had on the world around it. Tom Kremer stumbled upon an unwanted, unpatented puzzle game at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in 1979. It had been invented in Hungary in 1974 by Professor Erno Rubik who used it as a pedagogical aid for his architecture students and would go on to be played with by 1/5th of the world's population. We explore the cube's story - from its creation behind the Iron Curtain to the role it played in the fall of communism and the creation of free market trading in the former communist nations. We show how the cube was brought to the west - how it was introduced and marketed and what caused it to be the biggest fad of the 1980's. The cube would go on to symbolize an entire generation like nothing before it. The many faces, layers, and sides of 20 Moves is exactly like the cube. With each act our audience discovers another twist, another turn, another solve in the history of the Cube.
Manto Mavrogenous (1971)
In Vienna 1820, the Manto Mavrogenous encounters a group of Greek students and talk of revolution to be made. Returning to Greece uncle of the initiates at Friendly Society. Madonna sells its dowry and equip their ships and army to help the revolution. Meet the founder of the Friendly Society, Dimitrios Ypsilanti, and builds relationships with him but encounters the objections of the political leaders of the struggle and particularly of Ioannis Kolettis who fears the two young people like to be the first king of the new nation. To break up the uses of beautiful paintings Niki monk who just came from Paris.
Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee (1993)
Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee exposes the truth behind Lee's death and the cover-up that ensued.
Hitler and the Apostles of Evil (2016)
This portrait that goes against the grain depicts the Führer as a lazy, isolated leader, cut off from reality, incapable of governing without his "apostles". They are Hitler's essential ministers, advisers, rivals, courtiers. They hate each other, and the Führer puts them in competition, often to get the worst out of them. The portraits of Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler, Joseph Goebbels, Albert Speer but also Rudolf Hoess, the commandant of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, and Doctor Joseph Mengele trace the rivalries, hatreds and predations that punctuate the entire frightening epic of Nazism. This documentary is composed of a selection of archive images and testimonies from descendants and specialists of this period.
Lev Tolstoy (1984)
The film consists of two parts: “Insomnia” and “Departure”. We shall meet Lev Tolstoy in the final years of his life at Yasnaya Polyana. We shall see him surrounded by his family, friends, acquaintances and absolute strangers who were coming to the great man and artist from all over the world. We shall hear “the voice of his thoughts”. In his sleepless nights, we shall follow his memory of the happy youthful years and the crucial, hard ones. We shall witness Tolstoy’s tragic departure from Yasnaya Polyana and his death at an obscure little station of Astapovo.
The Treasure of His Youth: The Photographs of Paolo Di Paolo (2021)
The life of the legendary Italian photojournalist Paolo Di Paolo through his photographs, which capture the essence of a fascinating and turbulent Italy, the one inhabited by Anna Magnani and Pier Paolo Pasolini, a country that no longer exists.
ABBA: Against the Odds (2024)
This year marks the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s iconic Eurovision victory, a milestone that calls for a celebratory cinematic tribute fitting for the ultimate pop band. ‘ABBA: Against the Odds’ unveils the epic journey of ABBA’s rise to global fame. Starting with the moment they won Eurovision, it tells the story of how they overcame critical backlash, societal attitudes and marital break-up to deliver their ground-breaking music and prove themselves as a live act.