Childhood in Art

Postmodernism: The Substance of Style(en)

This film features some of the most important living Postmodern practitioners, Charles Jencks, Robert A M Stern and Sir Terry Farrell among them, and asks them how and why Postmodernism came about, and what it means to be Postmodern. This film was originally made for the V&A exhibition 'Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970 - 1990'.

I Am Gentrification. Confessions of a Scoundrel(de)

Is the city of Zurich suffering from ‘density stress’? What is it like to live in mega cities such as São Paulo, Mexico City and Tiflis? Filmmaker Thomas Haemmerli broaches the topics of city development, architecture, density, housing market, xenophobia and gentrification from an autobiographical perspective. The path of his life has led him from a childhood in the villa district of Zürichberg, through his teenage years as squatter to flat shares, yuppie apartments and finally second homes in various cities. Only recently having become a dad, he plans to further enhance Zurich’s price appreciation by purchasing a huge, extended city apartment… This multifaceted essay not only humorously questions the filmmaker’s decisions, but also those of the right-wing conservatives, who are afraid of losing their space to immigrants, and the political left, who fail to embrace modern-age architecture.

Paul Tomkowicz: Street Railway Switchman(en)

In this film, Paul Tomkowicz, Polish-born Canadian, talks about his job and his life in Canada. He compares his new life in the city of Winnipeg to the life he knew in Poland, marvelling at the freedom Canadians enjoy. In winter the rail-switches on streetcar tracks in Winnipeg froze and jammed with freezing mud and snow. Keeping them clean, whatever the weather, was the job of the switchman.

Raqs-e-Inquilab(en)

The film interweaves the personal narratives of four Kashmiri artists, three of whom - Syed Mujtaba Rizvi, Hina Arif and Zeeshan Jaipuri - are children of the conflict, their impressionable adolescent years years landing right in the middle of the region's most violent period in the 90s. The fourth character, renowned painter and art teacher Masood Hussain, grew up in a time of relative peace before becoming witness to Kashmir's tragic transformation. While their individual traumas are unique, they are connected by their pursuit to process this splintered world through unfiltered artistic expression.

Blix Not Bombs(sv)

When the world was on fire, they called Hans Blix. This is how the Swedish diplomat is introduced in ‘Blix Not Bombs’. And if there is one fire he is particularly associated with, it is the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Prior to the invasion, Blix led the delegation of UN officials to find out whether weapons of mass destruction were present in Iraq. And it is the invasion and its consequences that we get Blix’s formidably insightful analysis of in a thorough and honest conversation with director Greta Stocklassa. Few others understand the complexities of international politics on the world stage like Blix, and none can explain it with his intellectual elegance. But Stocklassa’s film is also a portrait of the man himself, now an elderly gentleman, writing his memoirs, walking with a cane and watching birds through the window of his apartment. His outlook and commitment is as urgent as ever, as Blix takes stock of the invasion of Iraq and the state of the world today.

Arbeiten bis ins Grab?(de)

The Eye That Hears(fa)

A night with Bahman Mohasses famous Iranian Painter

Drawing the Line: A Portrait of Keith Haring(en)

Short documentary about artist Keith Haring, detailing his involvement in the New York City graffiti subculture, his opening of the Pop Shop, and the social commentary present in his paintings and drawings.

Tawai: A Voice from the Forest(en)

Explorer Bruce Parry visits nomadic tribes in Borneo and the Amazon in hope to better understand humanity's changing relationship with the world around us.

Constable: A Country Rebel(en)

The Haywain by John Constable is such a comfortingly familiar image of rural Britain that it is difficult to believe it was ever regarded as a revolutionary painting, but in this film, made in conjunction with a landmark exhibition at the V&A, Alastair Sooke discovers that Constable was painting in a way that was completely new and groundbreaking at the time. Through experimentation and innovation, he managed to make a sublime art from humble things and, though he struggled in his own country during his lifetime, his genius was surprisingly widely admired in France.

La Dernière Meute(fr)

On December 21, Nicolas Vanier will set off with his pack on a new expedition called L’Odyssée sauvage (The Wild Odyssey). He will travel nearly 6,000 kilometers to connect the Pacific Ocean to Lake Baikal, crossing Manchuria, Mongolia, and part of southern Siberia. The documentary follows the preparations for this journey.

Charcot: Secret Poles(fr)

The adventures and exploits of Jean-Baptiste Charcot (1867-1936), an intrepid scientist and explorer who laid the foundations of modern oceanography.

Will Work For Free(en)

The film explores the potential for automation in every sector of employment and questions the integrity of our methods of resource distribution going into the future.

Disobedience(en)

Disobedience tells the David vs. Goliath tale of front line leaders battling for a livable world. Filmed in the Philippines, Turkey, Germany, Canada, Cambodia and the United States, it weaves together these riveting stories with insights from the most renowned voices on social justice and climate. Disobedience is personal, passionate and powerful - the stakes could not be higher, nor the mission more critical.

Too Black to Be French?(fr)

Approximately, because so-called "ethnic" statistics are prohibited, there are an estimated 3.3 million black French citizens. Distant descendants of slaves from the Caribbean or "indigenous" peoples from the French colonial empire in Africa, they constitute a minority that is often discriminated against. Isabelle Boni-Claverie, a mixed-race woman raised in the affluent neighborhoods of Paris, daughter of an Ivorian politician and granddaughter of Alphonse Boni, a Black man who became a magistrate of the French Republic in the 1930s, examines what is blocking the social advancement of Black French people and the full recognition of their citizenship.

I Needed Color(en)

Jim Carrey exhibits his talent as a painter and reflects on the value and power of art.

That Kid(fr)

A group of educators led by Fernand Deligny are working to create contact with autistic children in a hamlet of the Cevennes.

Johnny par Laeticia(fr)

The Beksińskis. A Sound and Picture Album(pl)

Painter Zdzisław Beksiński, his wife Zofia and their son Tomasz, a well-known radio journalist and translator, were a typical and unconventional family, both at the same time. One of the father’s obsessions was filming himself and his family members. Using archival footage only, shot primarily by Zdzisław, as well many other materials, which have not been presented anywhere so far, the film tells a tragic story of the Beksińskis that has never ceased to fascinate Polish filmmakers.

Mondongo II: Portrait of Mondongo(es)

“This is a film about the end of a friendship. It wasn’t meant to be. Fifteen years ago, they painted my portrait.” (Mariano Llinás)