The Lot of Fun: Hollywood’s Fun Factory

Les dents de la mer: Un succès monstre(fr)

In the summer of 1975, the young director Steven Spielberg set new standards for cinema worldwide with an oversized shark bite, a plastic shark fin and an unmistakable two-note main theme composed by John Williams. With the horror from the deep, a man-eating, gigantic great white shark, the film of the same name became a similarly traumatic reference as Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho": it triggered lasting primal fears across generations. On the beaches of the world, there was clearly a "before" and an "after". Steven Spielberg, who was only 28 at the time, not only set new standards for the thriller genre, but also hid his biting criticism of US capitalism in the 1970s behind it.

Daughter of the Crater(fr)

A woman with a deep love of the land, Yolande Simard Perrault sees her life as having been shaped by a planetary upheaval in Charlevoix, Quebec, millions of years ago. As enduring as the Canadian Shield, she’s a woman of strength and spirit, a child of the crater left by the meteor’s impact. This documentary portrays a determined woman who’s the reflection of a land created on an immense scale. She was the creative and life partner of filmmaker Pierre Perrault, who gave up everything to be by her side. The film charts the influence of her unquenchable dreams and her contribution to the building of a people’s collective memory. In a stream of images and words, Simard Perrault recounts the splendours of the landscape and the people who shaped it. Generous and boundless, she embarks on a quest for identity that nurtures and perpetuates the oeuvre of the man who breathed new life into Quebec cinema.

End of the Commune?(de)

A documentary about Fassbinder and the early years of the legendary Antiteater, the group he was a member/leader of. You can here see and hear some of the actors he was going to use in his movies for the next years. The movie shows rehearsals for his play "The Coffeehouse," which also became a television movie, and you can watch unique footage from the 19th Film Festival in Berlin (1969) where "Love is Colder Than Death" was shown. As told in this documentary, his first feature movie was given a cold shoulder by many of the journalists and visitors at the festival. You can in "End of the Commune" watch Fassbinder and actor Ulli Lommel walk out on stage after the opening of "Love is Colder Than Death,” while a man in the audience is shouting "Out with the director!” In this documentary, Fassbinder also talks a lot about his father, who was a respectable doctor.

The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga(es)

Japan, 1954. A legend emerges from the ashes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, devastated by atomic bombs in 1945. The creature's name is Godzilla. The film that tells its story is the first of kaiju eiga, the giant monster movies.

Edgar Morin, chronique d'un regard(fr)

Cinecittà, de Mussolini à la Dolce Vita(fr)

Cinecitta is today known as the center of the Italian film industry. But there is a dark past. The film city was solemnly inaugurated in 1937 by Mussolini. Here, propaganda films would be produced to strengthen the dictator's position.

VHS Revolution(fr)

Using testimonies by pioneers and witnesses of the times, delve into the feverish visual culture the media generated – with far-fetched examples of canine television games, seduction manuals, aerobics class while holding a baby, among others.

The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?(en)

The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened? feature film documents the process of development of the ill fated "Superman Lives" movie, that was to be directed by Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage as the man of steel himself, Superman. The project went through years of development before the plug was pulled, and this documentary interviews the major filmmakers: Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, Jon Peters, Dan Gilroy, Colleen Atwood, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and many many more.

Zombies in the Sugar Cane Field: The Documentary(es)

Tucumán, Argentina, 1965. Three years before George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead was released, director Ofelio Linares Montt shot Zombies in the Sugar Cane Field, which turned out to be both a horror film and a political statement. It was a success in the US, but could not be shown in Argentina due to Juan Carlos Onganía's dictatorship, and was eventually lost. Writer and researcher Luciano Saracino embarks on the search for the origins of this cursed work.

Citizen B(fr)

Documentary on Ciby 2000, the French film production company founded by Francis Bouygues in 1990.

The Rebellious Olivia de Havilland(fr)

The legendary British-American actress Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020), who conquered Hollywood in the thirties, challenged the film industry when, in 1943, she took on the all-powerful producer Jack Warner in court, forever changing the ruthless working conditions that restricted the essential rights and freedom of artists.

Cartoons Go To War(en)

This remarkable documentary dedicates itself to an extraordinary chapter of the second World War – the psychological warfare of the USA. America’s trusted cartoon darlings from the studios of Warner Bros., Paramount, and the “big animals” of the Disney family were supposed to give courage to the people at the homefront, to educate them, but also to simultaneously entertain them. Out of this mixture grew a genre of its own kind – political cartoons. Insightful Interviews with the animators and producers from back then elucidate in an amusing and astonishing way under which bizarre circumstances these films partially came into existence.

Lost in La Mancha(en)

Fulton and Pepe's 2000 documentary captures Terry Gilliam's attempt to get The Man Who Killed Don Quixote off the ground. Back injuries, freakish storms, and more zoom in to sabotage the project.

Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman(en)

The history of the comic book superhero, Superman, in his various media incarnations.

A Cast of Characters: My Wife's Relations(en)

The actors in My Wife's Relations (1922) are discussed in this documentary.

The Blade Runner Phenomenon(de)

Ridley Scott's cult film Blade Runner, based on a novel by Philip K. Dick and released in 1982, is one of the most influential science fiction films ever made. Its depiction of Los Angeles in the year 2019 is oppressively prophetic: climate catastrophe, increasing public surveillance, powerful monopolistic corporations, highly evolved artificial intelligence; a fantastic vision of the future world that has become a frightening reality.

You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story(en)

Jack L. Warner, Harry Warner, Albert Warner and Sam Warner were siblings who were born in Poland and emigrated to Canada near the turn of the century. In 1903, the brothers entered the budding motion picture business. In time, the Warner Brothers moved into film production and would open their own studio in 1923.

Le phénomène Godlywood : quand l'Église fait son cinéma !(fr)

Sherlock Jr.: Tour of Filming Locations(en)

This visual essay by John Bengtson, author of Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton, reveals the locations where Keaton's 1924 comedy feature Sherlock Jr. was filmed in Hollywood and Orange County.

Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace(en)

Celebrating the splendor and grandeur of the great cinemas of the United States, built when movies were the acme of entertainment and the stories were larger than life, as were the venues designed to show them. The film also tracks the eventual decline of the palaces, through to today’s current preservation efforts. A tribute to America’s great art form and the great monuments created for audiences to enjoy them in.

Main Krishna Hoon(hi)

In answer to an orphan boy's prayers, the divine Lord Krishna comes to Earth, befriends the boy, and helps him find a loving family.

War(en)

In the gray dawn of an October day, as the inhabitants of a village street in Tripoli are engaged in the enjoyment of their several pursuits of life, an Arab rushes upon the peaceful scene, announcing that Italy has declared war against Turkey and that the Italian warships are now in the harbor, shelling the city.

Crows Zero II(ja)

Genji and his victorious G.P.S. alliance find themselves facing down a new challenge by the students of Hosen Academy, feared by everyone as 'The Army of Killers.' The two schools, in fact, have a history of bad blood between them. And the simmering embers of hatred are about to flare up again, burning away any last remnants of the truce they had so rigorously observed until now.

Man(en)

A worn-out, aging shearer who once rained king of the high country, gets on the gear to keep up his numbers. But when the drugs take over he must learn what it really means to be a man, before he loses so much more than his country pride -- MAN.

Palkó Csinom(en)

The musical adventure film goes back to the early eighteenth century, the times of the battles between the Hungarian insurrectionists and the pro-Austrians. Palkó and Jankó are about to join the insurrectionist army when they clash with a pro-Austrian troop. Jankó is captured and put in Count Koháry's prison.

12(tl)

Anton and Erika started out as friends for five years and got into a romantic relationship for seven years. Anton is a commercial director while Erika is a former band member and becomes his stay-at-home partner. The day finally comes when he asks her to marry him.

Flow(xx)

A turbulent day in a life, painted by air.

Penguin Girl(zh)

Moon loves penguins. Her lifelong ambition is to study penguins in Antarctica. She believes she’ll meet her destined mate just like penguins do. One day, Moon runs into Adley, a guy in a penguin suit fortuitously making penguin courtship gestures at her. She believes the penguin-scented Adley is her fate. As they spend time together, Adley is moved by Moon's genuineness and passion. Just when their relationship has made some progress, Moon is recommended for an exchange program to the UK, throwing Moon into a dilemma between pursuing love and her dream.

A Boy Called Po(en)

A recently widowed, now single father struggles to raise his sixth-grade son with autism. The pressure of his job and coping with the loss of his wife proves to push him nearly to the breaking point.

Maine-Ocean Express(fr)

"Maine-Ocean" is the name of a train that rides from Paris to Saint-Nazaire (near the ocean). In that train, Dejanira, a Brazilian, has a brush with the two ticket inspectors. Mimi, another traveler and also a lawyer, helps her. The four of them will meet together later and live a few shifted adventures with a strange-speaking sailor (Mimi's client).

On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Legend(en)

Part one of On the Trail of Bigfoot. Journey back through the history of one of America's last great mysteries in this new documentary from Small Town Monsters (The Mothman of Point Pleasant, The Bray Road Beast) and director, Seth Breedlove. Join researchers, investigators and historians as they uncover the story behind centuries-old mystery; the creature known as Bigfoot.

Captive Factory Girls: The Violation(ja)

Natsumi (Ai Takeuchi) is forced to work in a steel factory in order to pay off a debt, a factory notorious for employing women with "dark pasts" as slave labor. Tsukada, Chief of Security places Natsumi in a team of four women led by Atsuko(Nagisa Umeno). When one worker fails to follow instructions, Tsukada rapes her, and Natsumi is next on his list. Natsumi tries to fight the insanity, but is hindered by managing director Hideko and factory president Kamiyama. It is up to Natsumi to take on the evildoings of the factory.

The Death of Mr. Fawkes(en)

A young woman, after her fiancée’s death, cannot understand her feelings about the socially-motivated engagement’s end. Parents apathetic, cousin overwhelmingly sympathetic, only a reemerging suitor’s advances allow her to understand— what she feels is grief.

Hello(gu)

During one of their night stays, three college teens play a silly prank where they randomly call people and tell them that they know who that person is and what they have done. What will happen when things take a dangerous turn?

Maintenance(de)

Two people are waiting together for each other. Their flat waits with them and for them. Together they are living side by side. Someone is coming, someone is leaving, the flat stays where it is.

Terror on the Midway(en)

When things go wrong at the circus, it's up to Superman to stop the escaped animals.

F.O.T.O.G.R.A.F.(ru)

A short film based on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fictional universe, combining the “Picnic to the curb” of the Strugatsky brothers, “Stalker” by Andrei Tarkovsky and the “Exclusion Zone” location around the Chernobyl NPP. According to the scenario, an agent of the peacekeeping forces, nicknamed "The Photographer", arrives in the Zone to prevent a global scale catastrophe, which could be caused by an experiment that went out of control at a scientific lab.

Hydro-Puzzle(pl)

Warsaw is mysteriously running out of water during the summer heat wave. This mystery can only be solved by a Polish superhero known as As.

Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters(en)

Lieutenant Hornblower and his shipmates are sent to accompany a doomed royalist invasion of revolutionary France.

Six: Inside(en)

Delves deep into the anxiety, thrill and uncertainty of six aspiring animation artists as they are plunged into the twelve-week trial-by-fire that is the NFB's Hothouse for animation filmmakers.