Mysterium Gotik - Als die Kathedralen in den Himmel wuchsen(2021)

Keith Haring: The Message(en)

Keith Haring: The Message was released in conjunction with the Keith Haring retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. Directed by famed designer, Madonna stylist and Haring confidante Maripol, The Message goes pretty deep into both the artist and the city and times he’ll forever be identified with: New York City, circa the 1980s. The focus, as the title indicates, is upon the “struggles that animated” Keith Haring’s work, his activism – in a word, his “message.”

Hello My Name Is: German Graffiti(de)

Graffiti is variegated. As much variety as the styles does have the people doing it. Still one thing connects them all – the love of their art. From illegal street and train graffiti over classical style writing and time-consuming Murals till events, exhibitions, photography and media. Through 15 short profiles you will be introduced to some of the greatest and most outstanding players of the German scene. They give insights into their work and talk about their motivation. Every part represents an important aspect of the scene, while every protagonist was chosen because of its special history, orientation, technique and style. LIFE uses climbing equipment to reach places nobody else can reach.

Marepe(pt)

Marepe, an artist from Bahia, produces art with anything he comes across in the town he lives in, Santo Antônio de Jesus. Packs of cigarettes, coconut palms, walls, and memories taken from the streets, go into putting together a personal archeology for this young artist.

Closeness to the Land(en)

In 2020, just as the pandemic was beginning, Gazala purchased land in western Ohio, on which sits a disused school building. This site allowed her to explore her complex relationship with “the land.” As the daughter of displaced indigenous Palestinians, she attempts to form a proxy bond with the earth, on ground that was stolen from the displaced indigenous Shawnee people. Closeness to the Land is video footage of hand-painted text signs that translate the word الأرض (ard) into six English words, displayed performatively in multiple locations to capture the now-invisible nature of indigenous culture in Ohio. These signs were installed on the old schoolhouse in early 2021.

The Arc de Triomphe: A Nation's Passion(fr)

The pride of Napoleon's victories, the Arc de Triomphe, whose first stone was laid in 1806 at the top of the Champs-Élysées, is, along with the Eiffel Tower, one of the most visited monuments in the French capital. Wanted by an emperor, inaugurated under the reign of a king (Louis-Philippe) and sanctuarized by the Republic, this patriotic temple polarizes the passions of a whole nation. A historical portrait before "packaging", which teems with anecdotes and unsuspected details.

Michael Palin In Wyeth's World(en)

Michael Palin heads for rural Pennsylvania and Maine to explore the extraordinary life and work of one of America's most popular and controversial painters, Andrew Wyeth. Fascinated by his iconic painting Christina's World, Palin goes in search of the real life stories that inspired this and Wyeth's other depictions of the American landscape and its hard grafting inhabitants. Tracking down the farmers, friends and family featured in Wyeth's magically real work, Palin builds a picture of an eccentric, enigmatic and driven painter. He also gets a rare interview with Helga, the woman who put Wyeth back in the headlines when the press discovered he had been painting her nude, compulsively but secretly for 15 years.

Bridget Riley: Painting the Line(en)

With exclusive behind-the-scenes access, seldom-seen footage from the archives and a rare interview with Kirsty Wark, this is the story of a true visionary of British art.

Brief City(en)

Styles of architecture used in the 1951 South Bank Exhibition, London.

James Hoffmann World Barista Championship 2007(en)

Original documentation of the submission of the British Coffee Industry legend at the 2007 World Barista Championship Finals.

Maria: Don't Forget I Come From the Tropics(pt)

An examination of the relationship between the life and art of Maria Martins, now recognized as one of the greatest Brazilian sculptors, in addition to her engravings and texts. The film reveals the greatness of her work and her boldness when dealing directly with the feminine perspective of sexuality, a transgression that led to attacks by Brazilian critics. In parallel, her life as the wife of an important diplomat and her connection to Marcel Duchamp, in a relationship of mutual collaboration between the two artists.

The Whisper of Ziggurat: Untold Secrets of Elamite Civilization(en)

5000 years ago the ancient Elamites established a glorious civilization that lasted about three millennia. They created marvelous works in architecture and craftsmanship. These works of art depict the lifestyle, thoughts, and beliefs of the Elamites.

Tadao Ando(en)

Tadao Ando, a self-taught architect, proposes an international architecture that he believes can only be conceived by someone Japanese. His architecture mixes Piranesian drama with contemplative spaces in urban complexes, residences and chapels. This film presents the formative years of his impressive career before he embarked on projects in Europe and the United States.

How Do You See Me?(pt)

How Do You See Me? is a Brazilian documentary feature that entwines both experienced actors and beginners to explore the hardships and the happiness that are inherent to the job when detached from the glam and glitz of the gossip industry, creating a diverse and comprehensive mosaic of what it means to be an actor in Brazil, a country so full of contradictions. The film brings forward a reality that the masses usually don't get to know: the men and women moved by a deep passion for acting and touching people. With Julio Adrião, Matheus Nachtergaele, José Celso Martinez, Cássia Kis, Nanda Costa, Babu Santana, Luciano Vidigal and Letícia Sabatella, among others.

Soviet Bus Stops(en)

“There’s a bus stop I want to photograph.” This may sound like a parody of an esoteric festival film, but Canadian Christopher Herwig’s photography project is entirely in earnest, and likely you will be won over by his passion for this unusual subject within the first five minutes. Soviet architecture of the 1960s and 70s was by and large utilitarian, regimented, and mass-produced. Yet the bus stops Herwig discovers on his journeys criss-crossing the vast former Soviet Bloc are something else entirely: whimsical, eccentric, flamboyantly artistic, audacious, colourful. They speak of individualism and locality, concepts anathema to the Communist doctrine. Herwig wants to know how this came to pass and tracks down some of the original unsung designers, but above all he wants to capture these exceptional roadside way stations on film before they disappear.

The Flood(en)

The decision to move to Holland doesn't sound like a wise idea. Why move to a country that could be flooded at any moment? For the last 25 years, the political climate has shifted. The public debate on migration has become harsher, more heated, and polarized. What would have been considered right-wing xenophobia back then, is now considered mainstream. Populists simplify complex realities into good and evil, victims and perpetrators: ‘us’ versus ‘them’. Their rhetoric often consists of dehumanizing words and metaphors. One of these is ‘water’. In reality, water is not an immediate threat to the average Dutch person; but it is a huge threat to the thousands trying to reach the Netherlands. People trying to survive the Mediterranean Sea in rubber boats. Trying to survive winter on the Aegean coast in primitive tents. To them, water really is deadly.

Cern and the Sense of Beauty(it)

An exploration of the link between science and beauty through the work of scientists at CERN, in Geneva.

The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright(en)

Documentary on the work of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture.

Charlélie - Les Statuts de sa Liberté(fr)

Being Kae Tempest(en)

Poet, rapper, playwright and recording artist Kae Tempest is one of the most viscerally exciting artists working in Britain today. They are the youngest ever recipient of the prestigious Ted Hughes prize and have been nominated for both the Brit and Mercury music awards. Tempest has always found support and respect within the queer art scenes, a place close to their heart. In July 2020, they came out as non-binary, announcing that they would publish and perform under the name Kae. This film delves deep into their creative process and gains rare, intimate insights into Kae’s life throughout a period of profound personal and artistic change.

A Long Way Home(en)

A Long Way Home takes us on a fascinating journey into both the grim days of recent Chinese history and the dazzling cultural scene in present-day China. The film centers around five of the most significant representatives of contemporary Chinese counterculture: the visual artists the Gao Brothers, the choreographer and dancer Wen Hui, the animation artist Pi San and the poet Ye Fu. With bravery and subversive wit, they each shed light on the social problems in their country. In doing so, the film poses universal questions that ultimately concern us all: which values determine our cultural identity and in what kind of world do we want to live.