Kryptonite

The Puppeteer(en)

The Puppeteer is a powerful, moving glimpse into the art of puppetry and the passion of a brilliant artist. The film treats viewers to Igor's street corner magic and following a dramatic turn of events, leaves us to reflect on life, art and the pursuit of dreams.

Still from Afar(nl)

For months Eva Van Tongeren maintains a correspondence with the convicted and incarcerated paedophile Thomas. With a voice-over she reflects upon his thoughts and how their atrociousness resonates through her daily life. Despite her unchanging incomprehension she seeks the limits of her empathy and tries to find ways to deal with such a loaded subject. As it proves to be impossible to make a connection she looks for something that does bind them. This brings her to the American landscape surrounding Death Valley, a place Thomas always wanted to visit. The filmmaker sends him fragments of quiet landscapes and memories that will never be his.

School of Hope(ar)

In the vast expanse of desert East of Atlas Mountains in Morocco, seasonal rain and snow once supported livestock, but now the drought seems to never end. Hardly a blade of grass can be seen, and families travel miles on foot to get water from a muddy hole in the ground. Yet the children willingly ride donkeys and bicycles or walk for miles across rocks to a "school of hope" built of clay. Following both the students and the teachers in the Oulad Boukais Tribe's community school for over three years, SCHOOL OF HOPE shows students Mohamed, Miloud, Fatima, and their classmates, responding with childish glee to the school's altruistic young teacher, Mohamed. Each child faces individual obstacles - supporting their aging parents; avoiding restrictions from relatives based on traditional gender roles - while their young teacher makes do in a house with no electricity or water.

The Way We Wait(ko)

Desperately building against the inevitability of time, a restless young woman is awaiting another upcoming loss. But maybe more important things never seem to be told. Soon after the director moves into her 22nd house, she gets a phone call that her Grandma, who lives far away, is in a critical condition. Elsewhere, a huge apartment made of sand is being constructed as the tide rolls in, while she belatedly tries to build a relationship with her Gran. As the camera sensitively observes how we wait for the upcoming days, the film embraces the fragility of life, full of uncertainty.

James Baldwin Abroad(en)

Showcasing three short films by American writer James Baldwin, wherein he muses about race, sexuality and civil rights, among other topics, in Istanbul, Paris and Great Britain.

Ganga(fr)

Documentary on the river Ganges.

The Study Of Groundhogs: A Real Life Look At Marmots(en)

The short documentary visits the groundhog research center in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. It was made for Sony Home Entertainment's 15th anniversary edition DVD release of the 1993 film, "Groundhog Day." It was filmed on location at the silver mining ghost town of Gothic, Colorado, near Crested Butte. The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory has been located there since its founding in 1928.

Mild Madness, Lasting Lunacy(fr)

This walk in the daily life of several psychiatric institutions, allows us to meet extraordinary people who let us enter their privacy.

Big Bill Blues(fr)

This is the only film about Big Bill Broonzy, you can see him playing the blues in a Brussels cellar.

heroes(en)

Displaying the faces and voices of transgender youth, the documentary short shows the authenticity of queer and trans people living in Toronto, while simultaneously discussing the struggles for self-acceptance that people who do not conform to cisgender and heteronormative ideals of gender face. Andy Nguyen, trans director and film student, captures his trans friends in their natural state on 16mm film shot on a Bolex h16 camera. Accompanied by narration written and recited by Salem Rao, this film represents that trans people exist and this is what we look like. Regardless of the obvious everyday transphobia, trans people find community and uniqueness within each other and themselves.

ENDOMIC(en)

An exhaustive meta-analytic review documenting a mysterious ’women’s issue’, otherwise known as endometriosis.

An Intervention(en)

Chelsea Bledsoe and her husband Graig throw a surprise intervention for her old high school boyfriend, Henry, with a mismatched group of acquaintances from back in the day to fill out the guest list.

A House on The Prairie(en)

This documentary describes the unfortunate legacy of the lone house on the prairie, an example of a dwelling entirely unsuited for the harsh winter or summer. We meet some builders and homeowners experimenting with more energy-efficient designs, such as the dome, the underground house and a ranch with wind, solar energy and methane gas from animal waste.

Lake(en)

Lake gazes down at a still body of water from a birds-eye view, while a group of artists peacefully float in and out of the frame or work to stay at the surface. As they glide farther away and draw closer together, they reach out in collective queer and desirous exchanges — holding hands, drifting over and under their neighbors, making space, taking care of each other with a casual, gentle intimacy while they come together as individual parts of a whole. The video reflects on notions of togetherness and feminist theorist Silvia Federici’s call to “reconnect what capitalism has divided: our relation with nature, with others, and our bodies.”

Jeff Koons(en)

Jeff Koons is a MOCA commissioned mini-documentary on the career of artist Jeff Koons, directed by Oscar Boyson.

Town Business(en)

After a "diplomatic mission" into a neighboring town Kell returns to his town to see that his not so bright team of idiots have screwed up everything.

Our Cinema(ru)

The Star(sk)

A documentary on Jan Slovak, a 55-year-old welder, who fell in love with acting. His desire began, when he got the lead role in a theatrical adaptation of the worst movie of all time, Plan 9 From Outer Space by Ed Wood Jr. The passion for theater became his destiny.

Martha(en)

Documentary of Daniel Schubert's grandmother, Martha Katz, a Holocaust survivor.

Feel Like Going Home(en)

Documentary about Transylvanian Saxons.