Reconquest of the Useless

The Lappnor Project(en)

In the Finnish forests was an unclimbed route called the Lappnor project. It was considered to be the hardest climbing route in the world and perhaps impossible for a human. Nalle Hukkataival, a strong Finnish climber took up the challenge. It required almost four years of total commitment and his efforts were followed by hundreds of thousands of climbers around the world. When Nalle finally succeeded, it blew away the whole climbing world like nothing before. The first 9A boulder was climbed! The documentary follows Nalle's journey from the very beginning, all the way to the first ascent almost half a decade later. It captures the incredible dedication that was needed to deal with all the variables and to take that last step to open the next level of climbing.

North Bergen, North Bergen(en)

Footage shot in and around North Bergen, New Jersey presented in a minimalist series of fixed camera angles and long-takes accompanied by the ambient noise of city streets.

Celebrating the Rice Media Center(en)

Through the Fondren Fellows program, the Rice Media Center Archive Project has spent the past few months sifting through material stored at the now-defunct Rice Media Center. The team has identified several films as especially notable and will be presenting them in conjunction with documentary footage the team shot of people involved with the films. From lectures featuring Roberto Rossellini and Werner Herzog to films from former Rice students and faculty, the film presentation will tell the narrative of the Rice Media Center through the films and filmmakers that passed through its corridors.

Do Rocks Dream of Flying ?(es)

Two young documentarists travel around a forsaken island in the aftermath of a cataclysmic volcanic eruption. Their wanders lead them to the encounter of Professor Pereda, an acoustic geologist, conducting researches on geo-acoustics.

Coppola, un hombre y sus sueños(es)

Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer(de)

With exclusive behind-the-scenes access into Herzog’s everyday life, rare archive material and in-depth interviews with celebrated collaborators – including Christian Bale, Nicole Kidman, and Robert Pattinson, we are given an exciting glimpse into the work and personal life of the iconic artist.

Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor(de)

Klaus Kinski is one of the few German actors who has achieved international fame. He made headlines. And disappeared behind them. Kinski lived his parts 24/7. This film tells the story of a man who no longer could understand the difference or distinguish between fantasy and reality.

Ode To Oblivion(en)

Dream or Reality ! Two lost souls meet in strange ways through various fragments of dreamlike memories. As we delve into their complicated relationship and their story unfolds, their relationship seems to disintegrate, leaving us to wonder if it will survive this reality or dream.

Herzog: The Wrath Of Klaus(en)

A pre-fame Werner Herzog (Adam Ezagouri) is asked to share a flat with a strange new actor only known as Klaus Kinski. Herzog agrees but soon regrets his generous decision as Kinski proves to be one uncanny flatmate. Despite their disagreements, both decide to try and shoot Herzog's own version of Don Quixote, with disastrous consequences.

NIMM DIE NACHT WEG(de)

Silver Night(en)

It seemed like a typically quiet night... but the most unexpected encounter leads Chris to a difficult choice.

Thomas Sankara(en)

Captain Thomas Sankara was the leader of the Burkinabe Revolution. This film is a biographical profile of the revolutionary, the improvements he generated in his country and the new socio-political dimension he instituted in Burkina Faso.

Biker Fox(en)

Frank P. DeLarzelere III, a middle-aged car part salesman, operates as a motivational bicyclist under the pseudonym Biker Fox. He soon reveals his misunderstood personality and various complexities all while attempting to conserve local wildlife, overcome harassment by law enforcement, deal with his brash mood swings and become a public figure in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Crips: Strapped and Strong(en)

Documentary of the lives of Dutch gangsters

An American Candidate(en)

A filmmaker follows the campaign of Daniel Byington, a libertarian going up against Democratic Party House Leader Dick Gephardt in the 2002 Congressional elections. The film explores the question of the value of a two-party system.

Attack! The Battle for New Britain(en)

Actual footage by the United States Signal Corps of the landing and attack on Arawe Beach, Cape Glouster, New Britain island in 1943 in the South Pacific theatre of World War Two, and the handicaps of the wild jungle in addition to the Japanese snipers and pill-box emplacements.

Freiheit im Herzen – Lasst es uns eilig haben, menschlich zu sein(en)

Freiheit! – this is the cry that thousands of people are uniting to protest against oppression in Tehran and around the world following the death of the young Iranian woman Jina Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022. Arrested by Iranian morality police for allegedly wearing an incorrect headscarf, Amini died in custody just three days later, sparking international outrage and solidarity. The protests have reached as far as Germany, where Iranian exiles who escaped the Iranian regime in the 1970s took to the streets side by side with young second-generation German-Iranians such as Jasmin Shakeri, Pegah Ferydoni, Natalie Amiri and Enissa Amani. Together they are fighting for a free future in which Iranian society can also live without fear and in dignity.

The Last Ambassador(fa)

The Afghan ambassador in Vienna, Manizha Bakhtari, is in a bizarre situation since the Taliban took power: she represents a country whose old government fled and whose new Taliban government has no international recognition. Under increasingly difficult conditions, she decides to stand up to the Taliban and continue her courageous fight for the rights of Afghanistan's women.

Hugh MacDiarmid: Rebel Poet(en)

A profile from 1972 of celebrated Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid on the occasion of his 80th birthday. In this film he talks about his uncompromising life and the ideas and circumstances that have shaped its progress.

The Polish Pope: Nation's Farewell(pl)

Film explores the profound impact Pope John Paul II's death had on Polish society, both inside and outside of the Catholic Church.