A documentary that uncovers the careers of a population of entertainers never heard from before: Black actors in Italian cinema. With modern day interviews and archival footage, the documentary discloses the personal struggles and triumphs that classic Afro-Italian, African-American and Afro-descendant actors faced in the Italian film industry, while mirroring their struggles with those of contemporary actors who are working diligently to find respectable, significant, and non-stereotypical roles, but are often unable to do so. Blaxploitalian is more than an unveiling of a troubled history; it is a call-to-action for increased diversity in international cinema through the stories of these artists in an effort to reflect the modern and racially diverse Italy.
Self
Self
French film critic Michel Ciment interviews Billy Wilder about his life and filmmaking.
Climb aboard the illustrious Bernina Express for a festive ride through spectacular Alpine landscapes, taking in snow-covered peaks, architectural wonders, and majestic glaciers.
Forza Jannik pulls the curtains back on the tennis renaissance taking place in Italy. This isn't just a story about tennis; it's a tale of national pride, of young athletes against the odds, and of a country's relentless quest to dominate the sport.
The epic story of how the film The African Queen (1951), directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, was shot on real African locations, barely overcoming all kinds of hardships and disasters.
A recreation of the interview with Stanley Kubrick that Playboy magazine published in its September 1968 issue and that has become essential when approaching the reflections and theories that led the director to shoot one of his masterpieces.
A featurette (most likely shot for American television) about the Spaghetti Western genre during the late 60's and how it had affected Italy at that particular point in time. Contains behind-the-scenes footage from the films "Il Grande Silenzio" "Vado, Vedo e Sparo" "Ammazza Tutti e Torna Solo" and "Corri, Uomo, Corri" and interviews with their directors and cast.
A look at the parallel lives of Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler and how they crossed with the creation of the film “The Great Dictator,” released in 1940.
Highlighting one of the most innovative American directors, this film reveals the path traveled by the auteur from his small-town Texas roots to his warm reception on the awards circuit. Long before he directed Boyhood, Richard Linklater’s intense desire to create fueled his work outside the Hollywood system. Rather than leave Texas, he chose to collaborate with like-minded artists crafting modest, low-budget films in a DIY style. His ability to showcase realistic characters and tell honest stories was evident from his films, and others soon took notice of his raw talent.
Isabelle Huppert is one of the most famous French actresses. In this portrait she reflects in voice over on her movies and her craft. She seems to like characters that are neurotic, dramatic and even dangerous. Huppert considers every character a means to discover things about herself.
This gripping, atmospheric documentary recounts the infamous trial, conviction and eventual acquittal of Seattle native Amanda Knox for the 2007 murder of a British exchange student in Italy.
A documentary short detailing the life of Italians living on the Po River in the 1940s.
In 1967, Cuban documentary filmmaker Octavio Cortazar followed a projectionist whose mission was to show moving pictures to rural communities for the first time. Cortazar’s short film documents one audience’s response to its first film: Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times.
Girlfriend in a Coma is a documentary that exposes the dire situation of Italian politics and the process of economic and social decline the country has suffered during the last two decades, treating the decline as a warning of what might happen elsewhere in the West. The decline has occurred amid a collapse of moral values and the victory of “Mala Italia” over “Buona Italia”. It has been lauded as being ground-breaking in its creative combination of animation, interviews and hard facts, and has caused fierce controversy in Italy.
King of Horror, legendary actor, scriptwriter and director, Paul Naschy is regarded as the Spanish Lon Chaney and the most prolific filmmaker dedicated to the fantastic cinema in Spain.
"Ni Muy Muy, Ni Tan Tan, Simplemente, Tin Tan. Tin Tan was one of the greatest comdedian-actors in the history of Mexican Cinema. He began his film career during the early years of what became the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. Throughout the majority of his movies he plays the character of a pachuco; the Chicano/Mexicano in zoot suit, throwing out the tirili phrases and words, and jammin the jitty-bug. With the style and the slang down to a tee, he was picked up in Cd. Juarez Chihuahua by an acting troupe. Touring extensively through-out Mexico with the troupe landed him in Mexico City with film contracts. It was in those films that Tin Tan exposed the image of the pachuco, which Mexican Youth adopted. From the desert border-towns of Juarez y El Paso the style took off in various parts of the country, most notably in Mexico City
Singer-songwriter Vinicio Capossela's journey through Irpinia, telling stories related to music and tradition
Italy, 1970. An increasing legion of harmless warriors begins a peaceful struggle for sexual freedom through pornography, shaking and shocking religious authorities and conservative political institutions. They are ironic, happy, crazy. They are dreamers, defenders of definitive communion between body and soul. But they were censored and humiliated. They were mistreated and arrested for demanding loud a new cultural renaissance.
A portrait of legendary filmmaker Nicholas Ray while he is working as a film professor at a college in upstate New York.
Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered film content. No longer portrayed as virgins or vamps, the liberated female of the pre-code films had dimensions. Good girls had lovers and babies and held down jobs, while the bad girls were cast in a sympathetic light. And they did it all without apology.