Background(1973)

Torture Money(en)

In this MGM Crime Does Not Pay series short, police go after a fraud operation that stages automobile accidents to collect insurance money.

Muxˣ(de)

Mux spent many years in a coma in a clinic with a constant stream of television. But at least he survived a serious car accident! Now he has woken up, and he has a plan: during his time in hospital, he came up with the idea of a fairer society. From now on, Mux sees it as his task to save the world from neoliberalism and goes to France, the motherland of revolutions, with his long-term nurse Karsten and a self-written manifesto.

Strange Object(en)

An archival investigation into the imperial image-making of the RAF ‘Z Unit’, which determined the destruction of human, animal and cultural life across Somaliland, as well as Africa and Asia.

Smash TV - Skinemax(en)

Skinemax is Koyaanisqatsi for a generation raised on late night television and B-movie VHS tapes. It's long form entertainment for short attention spans. An hour long VJ odyssey, it will move your body and warp your mind. A nostalgic look back at a half remembered childhood growing up in the 80s and early 90s, Skinemax takes a close look at the culture of that era. The images that motivated, delighted, and terrified us on the silver screen, set to propulsive modern music that pines for a simpler time.

Garden of the Dead(en)

Convicts on a chain gang sniff formaldehyde fumes to get high. They attempt a prison break and are shot down by the guards. After being buried, they rise from the dead, killing all in their path with shovels and hoes.

The Peasants(az)

A historical revolutionary film depicting the struggle of peasants and the Baku proletariat against landowners and Musavatists in 1919.

Collage(fr)

Considerations on collage as a cognitive act in artists’ cinema. A pedagogical film adrift: 35mm photographs and other materials collected over the last fifteen years by artist Stefano Miraglia meet a text written by Baptiste Jopeck and the voice of Margaux Guillemard.

Shadows(pl)

During the Second World War, tens of thousands of blonde, blue-eyed Polish children were snatched from their parents and given to German families. Lebensborn was part of Hitler's plan to expand the Aryan master race within the Third Reich. Eight-year old Jerzy returns home at the end of the war to a joyful reunion with his long-lost mother and grandfather. But problems arise as he is taunted by his peers and, longing for his missing father, burns with resentment for his new communist stepfather.

Awakening(cn)

A famous "feng shui" master (fortune teller) gets a wake-up call when a distraught ex-customer threatens to expose him as a fraud.

Dependence(ja)

Hayato comes back to his home village after father breaks his legs and cannot walk anymore. He brings his wife Ami along with him, who had a miscarriage and has been dysfunctional and depressed ever since. Hayato hangs with his old friends and enjoys the life of the village, but Ami is a city girl and is growing lonelier. She finds comfort in the arms of Hayato's father. It's not long before everybody in the small village is aware of their relationship... except Hayato... A drama about betrayal and the illogical nature of love and happiness.

Suerte te dé Dios(es)

Two construction workers discover a stash of gold coins hidden in the walls of a building they're demolishing.

Paths of the Soul(bo)

Eleven Tibetans prostrate themselves every few steps during a 1,200-mile pilgrimage that lasts for seven months.

Venganza gaucha(es)

Gunpowder(ru)

At the end of September 1941, Soviet artillery troops in besieged Leningrad realize that pretty soon they will fire their last shot, and after that the defense of the city will be doomed. The film is based on a true event: a small group of fearless soldiers transported a large supply of gunpowder through enemy lines to Leningrad.

When New Year Comes on Shabbat(en)

A cinematic collage about people caught between two worlds. An empathetic look at a physical journey and the melodramas of a journey that is spiritual. Nikita Pavlov emigrated from Russia to Israel because he always wanted to experience life in another country. Street protests, political activism, and his daughters first steps are captured without any chronological context, separated only by Pavlovs thoughts and ideas. A cinematic diary that attempts to piece together a hypothetical picture of the filmmakers future.

The Return(zh)

A sweet potato, on the way back...

Skin of a Mandarin(et)

The film delicately follows 25-year-old Anna, whose mother has died suddenly. She wants to send her Orthodox mother on her last journey according to customs, but she runs into bureaucratic rules that do not allow Anna to dress her departed mother herself. This conflict brings her together with Maria, a 45-year-old funeral home worker, who in this story represents the hidden fears of death and grief on a deep emotional level.

Undone(en)

It is a remarkable story of personal endeavour following professional surfer, Laura Enever who leaves a comfortable place on the WSL Championship Tour to explore the unpredictable world of big-wave surfing.

Morozko(ru)

Based on the Russian fairy tale Father Frost.

Suck It Up Buttercup(en)

A former honor student spirals down the deep, dark hole of an addiction to prescription pills.

Bambi Meets Godzilla(en)

In this Epic Crossover between Godzilla and Bambi only one will come out on top? Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2009.

The Art Director(en)

A film's art director is in charge of the set, from conception to construction to furnishing. This short film walks the viewer through art directors' responsibilities and the demands on their talents. They read a script carefully and design a set to capture the time and place, the social strata, and the mood. They must be scholars of the history of architecture, furnishings, and fashion. They choose the colors on a set in anticipation of the lighting and the mood. Their work also sets styles, from Art Deco in the 20's to 30s modernism. Then it's on to the next project. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Chicken Real(en)

One of Les Blank's industrial films, which follows a Holly Farms "broiler" chicken from factory incubation to the county fair barbecue pit. A hilarious, disturbing and surreal look at a large-scale chicken farm producing 156 million chickens a year! Film includes lots of chicken songs and music recorded live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

Seeing Them Through(en)

Documentary short film reporting on the activities of the American Red Cross and the useage made of contributed funds for the previous year. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Things to Come(en)

A vibrant animation by Patricia Marx. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2000.

How to Bridge a Gorge(en)

An instructional video that teaches, through stop-motion animation, how to build a bridge over a gorge that can hold heavy military equipment. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2004.

Dear Janice(en)

Beckett cycles through a limited number of drawings, but adds new information to each drawing every time we see it, giving the sense of a world that is infinitely rich and also obviously contained tightly within the edges of the paper. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with iotaCenter and National Film Preservation Foundation in 2007.

Angels of Mercy(en)

Short film in support of the Red Cross showing civilian volunteers'work, radio and movie personalities at a fund-raising gala and encouraging recruitment. Deanna Durbin performs a song dedicated to the nurses. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Wonderland of California(en)

Short film made up of various clips showcasing the Cinecolor process, including a visit to a Marx Brothers film set. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation.

The Costume Designer(en)

This short focuses on the job of the costume designer in the production of motion pictures. The costume designer must design clothing that is correct for the film historically and geographically, and must be appropriate for the mood of the individual scene. We see famed costume designer Edith Head at work on a production. The Costume Designer was part of The Industry Film Project, a twelve-part series produced by the film studios and the Academy. Each series episode was produced to inform the public on a specific facet of the motion picture industry. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Andrey Svislotskiy(xx)

This animated short focuses on the lives of three eccentric people living on a farm in the Ukrainian countryside. Told in a non-linear, stream of consciousness style, the film depicts the deceitful relationship between a master and his two servants. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.

California's Golden Beginning(en)

A description and enactment of the discovery of gold by James Marshall, and the role played by John Sutter. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

Bowl, Garden, Theatre, Marble Game(en)

An animated short consisting of 4 segments: bowl, garden, theatre, marble game. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Harvard Film Archive in 2015.

Whitney Commercial(en)

Commissioned by David Bienstock, creator of the New American Film Series at the Whitney Museum of Art to raise funds for the second season of the series. The film was projected at the end of each program and a box to receive donations was placed at the exit of the theater. Whitney Commercial ran for two or three years until the Museum agreed to sponsor the series on its own which has continued to the present season. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.

Appointment in Tokyo(en)

Produced by the Army Pictorial Service, Signal Corps, with the cooperation of the Army Air Forces and the United States Navy, and released by Warner Bros. for the War Activities Committee shortly after the surrender of Japan. Follow General Douglas MacArthur and his men from their exile from the Philippines in early 1942, through the signing of the instrument of surrender on the USS Missouri on September 1, 1945. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

Kid City(en)

Documentarian Jon Boorstin follows architect Frank Gehry and his sister, Doreen Gehry Nelson, as they attempt a new method of teaching elementary school children in Los Angeles. With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the siblings work together on a pilot program of “design-based learning” that would restructure the typical classroom curriculum, replacing rote math or civics lessons with an imaginary city designed and built entirely by the students themselves. Restored in 2018 by the Academy Film Archive.

People Who Make Things(en)

A portrait of three Los Angeles area residents who create things with their hands. Angelo Austin decorates wedding cakes; Dean Jeffries designs, manufactures, and paints custom cars; and Pamela Weir-Quiton creates wooden dolls. Restored by the Academy Film Archive in 2016.

Between East and West(de)

Short by Stuart Schulberg. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

One Hand Don't Clap(en)

Kavery Kaul’s engaging documentary traces the history of calypso and soca music from their birth in the African-East Indian traditions of Trinidad and Tobago through its worldwide diaspora, including its popularization in the 1950s by Harry Belafonte and the new independent distribution networks that arose to serve the expatriate community in the 1980s. North American restoration premiere at To Save and Project: The 19th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation on January 27 and 31, 2023. Digital restoration by the Academy Film Archive and the Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television; courtesy of Riverfilms.

It's Up To You(de)

A historical film contrasting the two Germanies – the good and the evil – which struggled for power between the two world wars.