The Thought Of Art(2017)

Fuck(en)

A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

McQueen(en)

Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.

Frida(en)

An intimately raw and magical journey through the life, mind, and heart of iconic artist Frida Kahlo. Told through her own words for the very first time — drawn from her diary, revealing letters, essays, and print interviews — and brought vividly to life by lyrical animation inspired by her unforgettable artwork.

Tupac: Resurrection(en)

Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop MCs of all time.

LA Originals(en)

Photographer Estevan Oriol and artist Mister Cartoon turned their Chicano roots into gritty art, impacting street culture, hip hop and beyond.

Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me(en)

After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.

A Decade Under the Influence(en)

A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.

Listen to Me Marlon(en)

With exclusive access to his extraordinary unseen and unheard personal archive including hundreds of hours of audio recorded over the course of his life, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career as an actor and his extraordinary life away from the stage and screen with Brando himself as your guide, the film will fully explore the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely from Marlon's perspective, entirely in his own voice. No talking heads, no interviewees, just Brando on Brando and life.

Audrey(en)

An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).

Stans(en)

A revealing, edgy, and disarmingly personal journey into the world of superfandom, told through the lens of one of the world's most iconic and enduring artists, Eminem, and the fans that worship him.

Gilbert(en)

The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.

Shawn Mendes: In Wonder(en)

A portrait of singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes' life, chronicling the past few years of his rise and journey.

Welcome to Chechnya(en)

This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.

Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski(en)

Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.

The Velvet Underground(en)

Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.

Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.(en)

Drawn from a never before seen cache of personal footage spanning decades, this is an intimate portrait of the Sri Lankan artist and musician who continues to shatter conventions.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind(en)

Hellbent on taking over Earthrealm, Kano viciously attacks town after town with the aid of three cold-blooded Black Dragon mercenaries. Those who don’t submit are annihilated but one young man won’t bend the knee to Kano: Kenshi.

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese(en)

Part documentary, part concert film, part fever dream, this film captures the troubled spirit of America in 1975 and the joyous music that Dylan performed during the fall of that year.

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me(en)

From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.

Lemonade(en)

The second "visual album" (a collection of short films) by Beyoncé, this time around she takes a piercing look at racial issues and feminist concepts through a sexualized, satirical, and solemn tone.

The Curious World of Hieronymus Bosch(en)

Exhibition on Screen's latest release celebrates the life and masterpieces of Hieronymus Bosch brought together from around the world to his hometown in the Netherlands as a one-off exhibition. With exclusive access to the gallery and the show, this stunning film explores this mysterious, curious, medieval painter who continues to inspire today's creative geniuses. Over 420,000 people flocked to the exhibition to marvel at Bosch's bizarre creations but now, audiences can enjoy a front row seat at Bosch's extraordinary homecoming from the comfort of their own home anywhere in the world. Expert insights from curators and leading cultural critics explore the inspiration behind Bosch's strange and unsettling works. Close-up views of the curiosities allow viewers to appreciate the detail of his paintings like never before. Bosch's legendary altarpieces, which have long been divided among museums, were brought back together for the exhibition and feature in the film.

Gray Matters(en)

Gray Matters explores the long, fascinating life and complicated career of architect and designer Eileen Gray, whose uncompromising vision defined and defied the practice of modernism in decoration, design and architecture. Making a reputation with her traditional lacquer work in the first decade of the 20th century, she became a critically acclaimed and sought after designer and decorator in the next before reinventing herself as an architect, a field in which she laboured largely in obscurity. Apart from the accolades that greeted her first building –persistently and perversely credited to her mentor–her pioneering work was done quietly, privately and to her own specifications. But she lived long enough (98) to be re-discovered and acclaimed. Today, with her work commanding extraordinary prices and attention, her legacy, like its creator, remains elusive, contested and compelling.

Fall 2(en)

Bas Jan Ader rides his bike into a canal in Amsterdam.

I'm Too Sad to Tell You(en)

This short film is part of a mixed media artwork of the same name, which also included postcards of Ader crying, sent to friends of his, with the title of the work as a caption. The film was initially ten minutes long, and included Ader rubbing his eyes to produce the tears, but was cut down to three and a half minutes. This shorter version captures Ader at his most anguished. His face is framed closely. There is no introduction or conclusion, no reason given and no relief from the anguish that is presented.

There Are No Fakes(en)

Norval Morrisseau was the first Indigenous Canadian artist to be taken seriously in the art world. By the turn of this century his work commanded tens of thousands of dollars. So when Barenaked Ladies keyboardist Kevin Hearn learned his prized painting was a forgery, he sued. But as Jamie Kastner's doc reveals, there was a cottage industry in fake Morrisseaus, an industry that flourished unchecked for years, feeding on greed, exploitation, racism and contempt.

Pop Goes the Easel(en)

Pop Goes the Easel was Ken Russell’s first full-length documentary for the BBC’s arts series Monitor. It focused on 4 British Pop Artists - Peter Blake, Peter Philips, Pauline Boty and Derek Boshier.

Francis Bacon: A Brush with Violence(en)

In this unique, compelling film, those who knew him speak freely, some for the first time, to reveal the many mysteries of Francis Bacon.

Katolícka moderna(sk)

Picturesque Patzcuaro(en)

Lake Patzcuaro, located 230 miles west of Mexico City, is one of the highest and most picturesque bodies of water in Mexico. The heritage of the indigenous peoples of the area, the Tarascans, still prevails, such as the production of lacquer-ware handicrafts, and the means of hunting and fishing, the latter which uses nets shaped like large butterfly wings. Although most current day Tarascans are Roman Catholic, they have not totally abandoned their indigenous pagan gods. On Janitzio, one of the many islands in the lake, stands a large statue commemorating José María Morelos, a prominent figure in Mexican liberation and a great benefactor to the Tarascans. Janitzio is also the inspiration for many famous paintings. The town of Tzintzuntzan just inland from the lake's shore acts as the regional center for the market and for festivals.

Oaxaca - Zwischen Rebellion und Utopie(en)

Naked(en)

Three life models pose naked for an artist. They are Kate Dunne, Dylan Jon Matthews, and Izabella Linuza. We see them pose naked as the artist draws and paints them. They tell us about how they got into life modeling, what it feels like to stand naked in front of strangers, body image, and sexual issues. We explore the ancient and mysterious relationship between the artist and the life model. At the end, Dylan draws Kate and Izabella naked. Then Kate and Izabella draw Dylan naked. We demonstrate the similarities and differences between the male gaze and the female gaze.

Memories of Origin: Hiroshi Sugimoto(ja)

This documentary follows 200 days in the life of contemporary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto— a leading presence in the world of modern art. He is the winner of many prestigious awards and his photographs are sold for millions of yen at overseas auctions. The film shows the sites of the Architecture series shot in southern France, the huge installation art work at 17th Biennale of Sydney, his new work Mathematics at Provence, his art studio while working on Lightning Fields, and more. It thoroughly pursues the question Sugimoto's works pose - "living in modern times, what are these works trying to tell us?" A thrilling look into the world of Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Frida Kahlo & Tina Modotti(en)

An unconventional portrait of painter Frida Kahlo and photographer Tina Modotti. Simple in style but complex in its analysis, it explores the divergent themes and styles of two contemporary and radical women artists working in the upheaval of the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution.

Viacrucis Migrante(es)

A documentary film about men, women, and children fleeing northward from the existential threats in their home countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. They embark on a perilous journey with an uncertain outcome. Shortly after crossing the southern Mexican border, they find shelter with people who want to help them survive the ordeal of the at least 1,700-kilometer journey to the US.

Bone Wind Fire(en)

A journey into the hearts, minds and eyes of Georgia O’Keeffe, Emily Carr and Frida Kahlo - three of the 20th century’s most remarkable artists.

Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers(en)

200 years after its opening and a century after acquiring its first Van Gogh works, the National Gallery is hosting the UK’s biggest ever Van Gogh exhibition. Van Gogh is not only one of the most beloved artists of all time, but perhaps the most misunderstood. This film is a chance to reexamine and better understand this iconic artist. Focusing on his unique creative process, Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers explores the artist’s years in the south of France, where he revolutionised his style. Van Gogh became consumed with a passion for storytelling in his art, turning the world around him into vibrant, idealised spaces and symbolic characters.

Bomb It(en)

Through interviews and guerilla footage of graffiti writers in action on five continents, the documentary tells the story of graffiti from its origins in prehistoric cave paintings thru its notorious explosion in New York City during the 70’s and 80’s, then follows the flames as they paint the globe.

Earth/Art(it)

Art has always investigated nature and man's connection with the world. Several contemporary artists have questioned the issues of climate change and environmental sustainability and have tried to amplify our ecological consciousness. Through the testimonies of artists of different generations such as Olafur Eliasson, Christo, Michelangelo Pistoletto and the gaze of critics such as Germano Celant and Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, we retrace some of the most significant works.

Ashes and Snow(en)

Ashes and Snow, a film by Gregory Colbert, uses both still and movie cameras to explore extraordinary interactions between humans and animals. The 60-minute feature is a poetic narrative rather than a documentary. It aims to lift the natural and artificial barriers between humans and other species, dissolving the distance that exists between them.

Traces: The Kabul Museum 1988(ja)

The Kabul National Museum, once known as the "face of Afghanistan," was destroyed in 1993. We filmed the most important cultural treasures of the still-intact museum in 1988: ancient Greco-Roman art and antiquitied of Hellenistic civilization, as well as Buddhist sculpture that was said to have mythology--the art of Gandhara, Bamiyan, and Shotorak among them. After the fall of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in 1992, some seventy percent of the contents of the museum was destroyed, stolen, or smuggled overseas to Japan and other countries. The movement to return these items is also touched upon. The footage in this video represents that only film documentation of the Kabul Museum ever made.