What the World Needs Now: Words by Hal David(2019)

Concert for George(en)

As a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his passing, The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 . Organized by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and son, Dhani, and arranged under the musical direction of Eric Clapton and Jeff Lynne. A benefit for Harrison's Material World Charitable Foundation, the all-star concert took place on the day of the first anniversary of his death. Proceeds from the film also went to the Material World Charitable Foundation. The film was shot using discreet cameras from over twelve locations.

Chopin: The Women Behind the Music(en)

Documentary about the life of the great pianist and composer Chopin and the story of the women whose voices inspired his music. It is undeniable that Chopin revolutionised the nature of music composed for the piano both technically and emotionally. What is less well known is that the actual musical instrument that provided his greatest source of inspiration was the female voice.

The Cook Who Changed Our Lives(en)

Anna Del Conte is The Cook Who Changed Our Lives and the instrumental force in leading Britain beyond the land of spaghetti bolognese and tinned ravioli. Featuring and narrated by Nigella Lawson, Anna’s most ardent advocate, and starring a cast of familiar faces including: Giorgio Locatelli, Antonio Carluccio, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Prue Leith and Tom Parker Bowles, this film reveals how a Milanese cook, now 91, changed Britain’s attitude to Italian food at a time when we could only buy olive oil in Soho or the chemist. Infused with cherished recipes, revealing archive and personal testimony, The Cook Who Changed Our Lives time travels through Britain’s social history to reveal how we experienced and enjoyed our first taste of Italian food.

Music by John Williams(en)

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.

Frank Zappa: Music In Review(en)

Idiosyncratic composer, unique musician and ground-breaking film director…..Frank Zappa packed more into his short lifetime than most men would manage in two. His restless, challenging, creative spirit meant that he never stood still during a career that bought huge critical and commercial success – Zappa sold more than 60 million albums both as a solo artist and with the Mothers of Invention. The life and work of Frank Zappa are examined in this superb new critical review, which features new in-depth interviews with industry insiders, rock journalists and respected critics plus highlights from the songs that re-drew the face of rock music.

No Turning Back: Scoring Silent Running(en)

Film Music Historian Jeff Bond discusses how the music for 'Silent Running' was created.

SIMON! The Joy of Conducting(de)

“As I child, I always had music in my head. I thought everybody did,” the legendary conductor Sir Simon Rattle recalls. His charming and humorous reflections on the unifying magic of conducting are complemented by interviews with well-known contemporaries and accompanied by thrilling concert footage. His music is a joy to all those who listen to it!

Hommage national à Jean-Paul Belmondo(fr)

A ceremony celebrated in the courtyard of the Invalides, in the presence of the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, members of the Government, the actor's family and many personalities from entertainment and sport.

Leoš Janáček(cs)

Facing the Music(en)

Anne Boyd, one of Australia's leading contemporary composers, teaches music at the publicly funded University of Sydney. This documentary chronicles a year in the life of an academic department that's under the financial gun.

Bilder, die man hören kann(de)

A portrait of the film-composer David Raksin, made for German television. Released in 1994.

Leonard Bernstein: A Genius Divided(de)

One of the first US born conductors to receive worldwide fame, Leonard Bernstein is an exceptional composer and certainly not only due to The West Side Story. Instead of concentrating exclusively on his most famous work, Thomas von Steinaecker sets out to paint a complete picture of Bernstein. Thus, the documentary focusses on the American’s less known later works and on three compositions in particular: his Mass, the musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the great final opera A Quiet Place. The film paints a vivid picture of the multitalented Bernstein, struggling with his role as composer and conductor, tackling the tension between successes and flops, between the politics of his time and his own liberal humanitarian claim. It looks back on Bernstein’s major achievements, such as his acclaimed conducting of Mahler and his involvement in the Young People’s Concerts, and it shows Bernstein’s work with young aspiring musicians as well as his political commitment.

John Cage: I Have Nothing to Say and I Am Saying It(en)

This 56-minute documentary on America's most controversial and unique composer manages to cover a great many aspects of Cage's work and thought. His love for mushrooms, his Zen beliefs and use of the I Ching, and basic bio details are all explained intelligently and dynamically. Black Mountain, Buckminster Fuller, Rauschenberg, Duchamp are mentioned. Yoko Ono, John Rockwell, Laurie Anderson, Richard Kostelanetz make appearances. Fascinating performance sequences include Margaret Leng-Tan performing on prepared piano, Merce Cunningham and company, and performances of Credo In Us, Water Music, and Third Construction. Demystifies the man who made music from silence, from all sounds, from life.

Quicksand(en)

"A week before he passed away, my grandfather shared with me his former aspirations of becoming a filmmaker. After many trials, a narrow escape from the Nazis and immigration to the United States, the dream slowly but surely came true. surely passed out. After his passing, I discovered a treasure trove of dust-covered 8mm film archives that had apparently not been seen by anyone for at least a generation. Mesmerized, what unfolded before me was something something most people, myself included, had never seen before: the development and complete decline of the human body and mind. Motivated by my grandfather's unrealized cinematic dreams, I decided to reconstruct a film that he had already made involuntarily." Lance Oppenheim

Eric Satie: Reloaded(en)

In 2025, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the death of Erik Satie, father of minimalist music. His texts, brimming with humor and despair, and rare archives of his fellow travelers, tell the story of a man filled with doubt, a composer ferociously ahead of his time. His pieces continue to inspire even the most avant-garde artists.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda(ja)

Oscar winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto weaves man-made and natural sounds together in his works. His anti-nuclear activism grew after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, and his career only paused after a 2014 cancer diagnosis.

mm 49: Vivian Fine Marathon!(en)

"mm"s are m(usic(ian's))m(eetings) mostly held at the Who Unit? in Pittsburgh as a 21st century salon of sorts where formal interests can be broached casually. Attendees delight in sharing their sometimes obscure & sometimes popular musical (& otherwise) loves. For mm 49 (in the 37th month of "mm"'s history) a marathon listening party celebrating the music of Vivian Fine was decided upon. Fine was a dedicated composer who produced a variety of work over a 70 year career. This movie, of course, is not an imitation of Ken Burns style documentary movie-making. Instead, I gleefully mix the casualness & lively uninhibited conversation of mms with the formal exactitude of Fine's music. I hope you enjoy it as an upstanding example of Punk Classical. "Bah to the Bourgeoisie"! Note that I'm starting to disappear in this movie - will you miss me when I'm gone? This is my 111th feature & my 404th movie.

Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee(en)

Filmed in part in front of a live audience at The New Amsterdam Theater in New York City, this Stan Lee tribute takes viewers on an action-packed journey throughout the life of Lee and across the Marvel Universe, sharing never-before-seen interviews and archive footage with Lee himself from deep within the Marvel and ABC News archives.

Django & Django: Sergio Corbucci Unchained(en)

A tribute to Italian filmmaker Sergio Corbucci (1926-90), presented by American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.

Vivement Truffaut(fr)

A tribute to the late, great French director Francois Truffaut, this documentary was undoubtedly named after his last movie, Vivement Dimanche!, released in 1983. Included in this overview of Truffaut's contribution to filmmaking are clips from 14 of his movies arranged according to the themes he favored. These include childhood, literature, the cinema itself, romance, marriage, and death.