In 1886, the United States Department of Agriculture ambitiously commissioned watercolour illustrations of over 3,000 fruit cultivars. In 2019, this collection was digitized. Mesmerizingly detailed, these images now tell an incredible story about the little-known talent of botanical illustrators, and how their work planted the seeds for intellectual ownership over agricultural innovations.
An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time. (Silent short, voiced in 1937 and 1996.)
Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.
A symphony of found footage scenes, each shot loosely connected to the one before.
The old bus "Tired Theodore" came into service in 1954 and operated for long periods along the line Lumparland - Mariehamn. One summer day a number of older people had gathered for a bus ride along the winding country roads in Lumparland, and to relive old memories. At the same time one of the locals, Putte Karlsson, took up a large project: rebuilding the old mill in Lumparby. The mill was owned by his grandfather, skipper and farmer in the village. Sawmills previously existed in many villages in Åland Islands but today they are no longer in use. It is a big challenge and many are skeptical that Putte will put everything to work.
An Editor recounts the diaries of a failed film production as they attempt to construct a new narrative from the remaining footage.
Ricky Tomlinson sits back in his chair and takes a fond look back at the much-loved comedy series The Royle Family, sharing his memories of playing head of the family Jim Royle and his experiences working with the show’s co-creator Caroline Aherne, who, as well as writing the show with co-star Craig Cash, also played Jim’s daughter Denise. Ricky talks about how a chance encounter helped him get the part of Jim, recounts what it was like filming some of the show’s most iconic moments, and tries to get the bottom of the origins of Jim’s famous, below-the-belt catchphrase.
Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.
Johann Lurf‘s film Endeavour slides between documentary, avant-garde film, and science-fiction. This highly singular combination of materials and techniques gives the viewer of Endeavour a feeling of flight, as the film continually evades the gravity of genres and definitive definitions. Lurf uses NASA footage from a day and a night launch of the space-shuttle that follows the booster rockets from take-off to splashdown.
Breast cancer survivors find support and friendship in a unique sport: Dragon Boat Racing.
Coming back during Winter, Alex Powell explores both the places and personal connections found in his hometown and how they've changed. “Guide to a Midwest Hometown” explores what makes the barren places at home feel sentimental and special, and the good and bad feelings that come when being back home. Inspired by "How To With John Wilson".
Multi-faceted artist Phil Niblock captures a brief moment of an interstellar communication by the Arkestra in their prime. Black turns white in a so-called negative post-process, while Niblock's camera focuses on microscopic details of hands, bodies and instruments. A brilliant tribute to the Sun King by another brilliant supra-planetary sovereign. (Eye of Sound)
Have you ever woken in the night unable to move, certain that you are not alone? This is an experimental documentary examining what happens when dreams leak into waking life. It is about what is real, what is not, and if it even matters.
Bill Fong is passionate about bowling. When he's not working at the bowling shop he's studying YouTube videos, playing 20 games a week as a member of four active leagues, and memorizing the characteristics of each of the 48 lanes at his regular bowling alley. Yet despite all of Bill's determination, he has yet to achieve his dream of going pro. One seeming ordinary night all may change for this underdog as Fong begins to get strike after strike, nearing the ever elusive 'perfect series,' a feat only achieved 21 times since 1895. The achievement would be historical, the first for Texas and the first by an Asian-American. A perfect series could be just the thing to launch Bill into the pros but will he be able to make it or buckle under the pressure?
A Thousand Words explores a daughter's relationship with her stroke-stricken father through still pictures and 8mm footage he shot while serving in Vietnam.
Edwin Debrow Jr. murdered a cab driver when he was 12. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Aldo has always felt like a being from another planet, stranded on Earth. His autism and long struggle to speak fluently alienated him from others. Now, he searches for meaning in the esoteric and for connection with people like himself.
People from different ethnic backgrounds with "difficult" names by Western standards share their experience with moving through the world with an identity that challenges others to simply just say their name. A short social docu-film by Mariam Meliksetyan, “Say My Name” is a meditation on identity, otherness, assimilation, community, and ancestral roots.
On a journey through the interior of the earth, we learn about the life and dreams of a swiss explorer who searches for caves and underground rivers in a sector marked by violence and armed conflict in Colombia. This underground labyrinth is a metaphor about a dark past, buried deep within the soul, where old war wounds heal with the infinite passage of time.
St. Joseph Fort: Principality of Pontinha, the diamond that illuminates the Atlantic Pearl.