An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time. (Silent short, voiced in 1937 and 1996.)
Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory (1895)
Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.
Scars Of Nanking (2017)
During the brutal invasion of China in 1937 by Imperial Japanese forces, tens of thousands of civilians and prisoners of war are murdered and women raped in what is known simply as "The Rape of Nanking." This docudrama is a stirring account of a small band of courageous American missionaries who choose to stay in Nanking to try and protect a quarter million vulnerable Chinese civilians who are trapped in a city ruled by a savage, out of control army. Their stories are brought vividly to life through actual real-time letters and diaries as they bear witness to one of the worst wartime atrocities in history.
Pontevedra, cuna de Colón (1927)
Speculative historical essay defending the theory, sustained by Spanish historian Celso García de la Riega (1844-1914) and his followers, that the famous explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was born in a small village near the city of Pontevedra, in the region of Galicia, Spain. (A new version was released in 1930.)
Night and Fog (1956)
Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.
Scarpette bianche (1997)
RAI documentary filmed in 1996 about Angola, whose people, after more than ten years of anti-colonial struggle and twenty of civil war, still suffer due to the amount of active landmines scattered all over the country.
Roadliners (2015)
Roadliners is a film about inspiration and craft, and the uncelebrated typographers of the road. With filmmakers Pretend Lovers we documented a day in the life of Glasgow roadliner Thomas ‘Tam’ Lilley. While looking for inspiration for O Street’s new brand we stumbled on a typographer whose work was uniquely relevant to our company—one whose work embodied the values we hold dear: honesty, beauty, humility, and intelligence.
Bodybuilding (1984)
Games with muscles, games with power, SM games. The naked body employed as a prop. Perceptions of one's own body are the focus of Body-building, and it leaves the good-girl role far behind, sometimes in striking poses, sometimes in martial dress.
Joe's Violin (2016)
A 91-year-old Polish Holocaust survivor donates his violin of 70 years to a local instrument drive, changing the life of a 12-year-old schoolgirl from the nation’s poorest congressional district, and unexpectedly, his own.
On the Road (2022)
Son and father are driving on the highway. The son keeps asking questions until he finally notices the changes in his father's body. The dialogue in the animation is taken from a recording of a real conversation between the filmmaker and his father.
A Room Nearby (2003)
Paul Fierlinger's unique animation captures five individuals from diverse backgrounds as they describe their bouts with loneliness, its challenges and benefits.
Daughters of Chibok (2019)
On April 14, 2014, the sleepy agrarian town of Chibok, in the North East zone of Nigeria, was thrust into the global spotlight when the terrorist group Boko Haram stormed the community at night and abducted 276 teenage schoolgirls from their dormitories. Daughters of Chibok deals with the aftermath of the kidnappings, and explores topical global issues of gender rights and the right to education.
Hard Lovin' Woman (2016)
Documentary short that explores the sacrifices acclaimed actress Juliette Lewis makes to pursue her first love, music.
Homeland (2015)
A young woman escapes the war in Syria and ends up in the forest in Sweden. Listening to music is a way for her to survive and bring her back, in dreams and memories, to her homeland.
Sanierung im Berliner Wedding - Ein Erfahrungsbericht (1975)
People tell what difficulties you might encounter when you want to renovate an apartment in Berlin.
En nous (2022)
Ten years ago, the paths of Abou, Laura, Cadiatou and Jacques have crossed Emmanuelle’s. She was their French teacher at a high school in Marseille. Together they took part in a film, Children of the Princess of Cleves, in which, while analyzing the classic text, they expressed their hopes, dreams, and fears. In En Nous, the director re-connects with the protagonists : memories blend with stories of their lives and the daily obstacles they must overcome whilst trying not to lose hope. Now, the sentence of the Princess of Cleves rings poignantly true: “I know nothing can be more difficult than what I undertake”.
When the Pie Was Opened (1941)
Surrealism, avant-garde sound montage, and irreverent wit might be the last thing you'd expect from a government-sponsored film about wartime cookery. But director, artist, animator and all-round firework of a man Len Lye specialised in the unexpected. A simple tale of a mother cheering up her daughter with a pie from her rationing-stricken pantry (interestingly the war is never directly referred to) is skilfully crafted into a work of real artistic depth, while retaining an unpretentious charm.
The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1897)
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.