Shape of a Surface

Late Night Talks with Mother(cs)

Taking a cue from Franz Kafka's "Letter to My Father," this highly personal film follows Czech director Jan Nemec as he attempts to engage in a dialogue with his deceased mother. While alive, Nemec's mother had a troubled relationship with her son; this rumination seems to be Nemec's public platform for coming to terms with unresolved familial issues. The director embellishes his film by linking personal events with 20th century history.

The Tin Woodman's Home Movie #2: California Poppy Reserve, Antelope Valley(en)

A three-dimensional narrative enacted at the California Poppy Reserve. It’s part of Mike Plante's Lunchfilm series of commissioned shorts (made for the cost of a lunch between Plante and filmmakers, Naomi Uman and Lee Lynch).

Joseph Cornell: Worlds in a Box(en)

This is a 1991 documentary film about the legendary artist and filmmaker, Joseph Cornell, who made those magnificent and strange collage boxes. He was also one of our great experimental filmmakers and once apparently made Salvador Dali extremely jealous at a screening of his masterpiece, Rose Hobart. In this film we get to hear people like Susan Sontag, Stan Brakhage, and Tony Curtis talk about their friendships with the artist. It turns out that Curtis was quite a collector and he seemed to have a very deep understanding of what Cornell was doing in his work.

The District(hu)

In an effort to end family feuding, a young gypsy travels back in time to kill mammoths to ensure Hungary becomes rich by killing mammoths in order to create a massive oil reservoir. Things don't go entirely according to plan...

Faith Like Potatoes(en)

Frank Rautenbach leads a strong cast as Angus Buchan, a Zambian farmer of Scottish heritage, who leaves his farm in the midst of political unrest and racially charged land reclaims and travels south with his family to start a better life in KwaZulu Natal,South Africa.

Untitled #1(xx)

A young girl’s fiery dance, accidentally caught on 16 mm film in the street. The viewer is confronted by the sacrificial and the passionate, the strong and the fragile, the fleeting and the eternal. These are the faces of femininity.

Champion(en)

In the supercharged world of dirt track racing, a single mistake causes the lives of two men to change forever. One must fight for his family, the other must fight to forgive.

Anatomy of a moth(es)

3 versos para a morte(pt)

The Moment After(en)

In the twinkling of an eye, a mass disappearance has occurred. Moments after the turmoil and confusion, the FBI is called in to investigate and locate the missing persons. For Agent Adam Riley (David White), it is personal. For Agent Charles Baker (Kevin Downes), it doesn't matter, it's just a job.

Men Boxing(xx)

Experimental film fragment made with the Edison-Dickson-Heise experimental horizontal-feed kinetograph camera and viewer, using 3/4-inch wide film.

Luz Marina(en)

A reality show star leaves her family's TV show fame and unknowingly joins a supernatural cult.

Minot, North Dakota(en)

The town Minot is home to a U.S. Air Force base that guards 150 nuclear missiles buried in northern North Dakota. The weapons of mass destruction placed there 50 years ago are still targeted at Russia. Minot, North Dakota portrays an American landscape where people live with nuclear bombs in their backyard.

The Miracle Maker(en)

A mother and father in search of help for their sick daughter cross paths with an extraordinary carpenter named Jesus, who has devoted his life to spreading God's word. An amazing miracle brings to light the true meaning of Christ, and the sacrifices he endured for the deliverance of mankind. A compelling story of faith, trust, and devotion.

Empire of Silver(zh)

In 1899, Lord Kang must decide which of his three sons will take over his family's Chinese banking empire. When circumstances dictate that he appoint his unreliable youngest son, family bonds are pushed to the limit as father and son clash in a climate of political turmoil. Winner of the Special Jury Award at the 2009 Shanghai International Film Festival.

The Gospel of John(en)

A word for word depiction of the life of Jesus Christ from the Good News Translation Bible as recorded in the Gospel of John.

Bullet in the Head(es)

Ion is a seemingly normal guy whose life goes by without a hitch. A phone call; a meeting with a friend; small, unimportant everyday situations. One day he gets into a car with two other people. They cross the border between Spain and France. The next morning, their lives will change forever.

HoLy Cycles(en)

Steadily reading while/becomes treading into murky waters.

Miles Between Us(en)

A father and daughter who have been estranged by divorce for twelve years find themselves on a trip across the country that becomes a more complicated journey than they imagined. It's a story of pain, hope, healing, and redemption.

John Hus(en)

A faithful recounting of the ministry, trial and martyrdom of the fifteenth century Bohemian priest John Hus, who built on the reforms of John Wycliffe, taught the Bible in the vernacular and who influenced Martin Luther a century later.