Hard Bargaining: Museums Face Claims for Return of Artefacts(2011)

Etched in Bone(en)

Drawing on original footage from National Geographic, Etched in Bone explores the impact of one notorious bone theft by a member of the 1948 American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land. Hundred of bones were stolen and deposited in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, until it became known to Arnhem elders in the late 1990s. The return of the sacred artefacts was called for, resulting in a tense standoff between indigenous tribespeople and the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian.

Leninland(ru)

At the peak of Perestroika, in 1987, in the village of Gorki, where Lenin spent his last years, after a long construction, the last and most grandiose museum of the Leader was opened. Soon after the opening, the ideology changed, and the flow of pilgrims gradually dried up. Despite this, the museum still works and the management is looking for ways to attract visitors. Faithful to the Lenin keepers of the museum as they can resist the onset of commercialization. The film tells about the modern life of this amazing museum-reserve and its employees.

Another Man’s Treasure(en)

One man's hat is another man's treasure when it comes to the importance and significance of saving items of historic value.

Pavements(en)

'90s indie-rock band Pavement reunites for their sold-out 2022 tour. But as preparations get underway, surreal tributes emerge: an off-Broadway musical adaptation of their songs, a museum devoted entirely to the band’s legacy, and a shamelessly awards-baiting Hollywood biopic.

Mon Paradis - Der Winterpalast(en)

A portrait of five St. Petersburgians and their connection to The Hermitage.

Religulous(en)

Commentator-comic Bill Maher plays devil's advocate with religion as he talks to believers about their faith. Traveling around the world, Maher examines the tenets of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and raises questions about homosexuality, proof of Christ's existence, Jewish Sabbath laws, violent Muslim extremists.

Portrait of a Goan Collector(en)

For over 30 years a man termed as a mad man, comes to light as his passionate work of collecting artifacts gathers momentum and gains the title of a museum. The film trails through the struggles of Victor Hugo Gomes, a Collector from India-Goa, and how he perceives to leave behind his collection.

Leftovers(en)

A manufactured memory.

The New Rijksmuseum(nl)

A documentary about the fascinating and complicated process of the rebuilding of Holland's most famous museum, The Rijksmuseum. The film shows the people behind the scenes during the years of demolition, restoration, and political and financial debate. We witness their efforts, joys and struggles with one goal in common: the love of art.

Museums. Unoccupied(uk)

The story is not only about Ukrainian museums during a full-scale war, but about the survival of our culture in general. The occupiers are trying to destroy it and steal it, but thanks to museum workers, it is not only being protected, but also multiplied.

'Orsay(pt)

Volver a Volver(es)

The Sykora family are only four people out of millions of Venezuelans that have recently escaped their collapsing country. They land in the Czech Republic, the country where Grandpa Jan was born, but also a place utterly strange to them. In a matter of months their savings have almost gone and job seeking becomes a nightmare. Again, the dream of just having a normal life starts to vanish. Will the family manage not to crumble along the way?

Reunion(fr)

Live footage from concentration camps after the liberation, and the complex transport and lodging of masses of prisoners of war and other deported people back to their home countries, at the end of World War II. A 45min 35mm print also exists (shown at Cinémathèque française in 2023).

The Vatican Museums(en)

Originally produced in 1997 on the threshold of the Third Millennium of the Christian Era, and in celebration of the Jubilee of the Year of Our Lord 2000, The Vatican Museums was the culmination of three years of research and filming, the collaboration of thirty-two scholars and historians from around the world, a crew of forty directors of photography, operators, and lighting technicians, state-of-the-art digital cinematography, lighting, animation, and computerized editing, and the work of a famous composer with original performances by master musicians. Now available on DVD for the first time, this historic three-disc collection features seven hours of magnificent documentary film that illuminates and chronicles the great journey of the human spirit. Here then is the world's most spectacular and sacred repository of art, history, and faith.

Embassy of the Free Mind(en)

UNESCO Memory of the World: Explore the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica’s new home with 25,000+ rare books on alchemy, hermetica & mysticism at the Embassy of the Free Mind museum, set in Amsterdam’s historic canal mansion, the House with the Heads.

Dinolandia(es)

A mechanic discovers the fossil of a huge carnivorous dinosaur, unleashing a war between scientists, mayors and neighboring towns to keep “the biggest dinosaur in the world.” Among bone thefts, replicas and a mayor obsessed with creating Dinolandia, anything goes when it comes to surviving.

Vaciar el museo(es)

Where(zh)

The ninth opus of his Walker Films series, which was shot at Centre Pompidou.

The Painter's Voice(en)

Paintings conservators at the Getty Center reveal details of their craft as they restore two large paintings by French master Jean-Baptiste Oudry.

Musei Vaticani 3D(it)

An extraordinary voyage of discovery to see the most impressive collection of works of art built up over two thousand years of history. VATICAN MUSEUMS 3D, a SKY production in collaboration with the Vatican Museums Directorate, for the very first time brings Ultra HD 4K/3D film cameras inside the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, to show the masterpieces in these collections as they have never been seen before.