A gifted nation...

Flavio Paolucci. From Guelmim to Biasca(it)

In 2022, an exhibition on the Swiss painter-sculptor Flavio Paolucci was planned in a German museum. The museum had reserved a white wall on which the artist was to create a work. Everything was ready, but the pandemic prevented the 88-year-old artist from travelling. So Flavio Paolucci had the idea of creating this mural in his studio and then destroying it.

Encruzilhadas do Som(pt)

The documentary adresses the meaning of music and the musical diversity present in Umbanda (a Brazilian religion with afroindigenous roots). With interviews with four umbandistas from Fortaleza - Ceará, Crossroads of the Sound pays reverence to the enchanted dimension where the sounds cross each other to make the spirits dance.

It Takes a Circus(en)

Eighteen-year-old Aaliyah flies on aerial silks. Her 16-year-old cousin Bre twirls on hoops. They dream of escaping the violence that marred their young lives. Their possible ticket out is the after-school program Trenton Circus Squad. Now that Covid-19 has changed everything, will the circus and the girls’ dreams survive?

Three Days in Auschwitz(en)

The director’s mother, Mirka Mora, avoided Auschwitz by one day. On his father’s side many perished in the Holocaust. These facts triggered three visits to Auschwitz by Mora from 2010 to 2014 in an effort to understand and remember.

The Elephant Will Never Forget(en)

A fond farewell to London's trams - whose peculiarly endearing qualities were discovered only at the threat of their disappearance.

Tango(de)

A brief history of the emergence and artistic innovations of tango in 19th-century Argentina and Europe. The film offers a mosaic of tango melodies, art works, dance performances, historical footage, photographs of Buenos Aires at the turn of the 20th century, and texts by Celedonio Flores and Enrique Santos Discépolo.

Thoughts and Visions of a Severed Head(fr)

The theme of death is heavily interwoven in Smolder’s surreal salute to Belgian painter Antoine Wiertz, a Hieronymus Bosch-type artist whose work centered on humans in various stages in torment, as depicted in expansive canvases with gore galore. Smolders has basically taken a standard documentary and chopped it up, using quotes from the long-dead artist, and periodic statements by a historian (Smolders) filling in a few bits of Wiertz’ life.

Summit Fever(en)

Along this goal to ski all fifty of "The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America", there lies a few cruxes. A few lines that stand out as the ultimate test for skiers. Lines that have seen one, maybe two, ski descents in history. One such mountain that is on that list is Mt. St. Elias in Alaska. Mt. St. Elias is a mythical, foreboding peak that jumps straight out of the ocean, 18,008 feet into the sky. It's renowned for violent storms that come straight off the northern pacific and slam into its icy steeps. It is unknown how many people have ever stood on the summit, but it is known that most people that try, fail. In May of 2021, Cody Townsend, Dan Corn, Nick Russell and cinematographer Bjarne Salen set out to climb and ski this Alaskan beast. This is the tale of their adventure.

Lucian Freud: Portraits(en)

Filmmaker Jake Auerbach decides to offer a description of his friend Lucian Freud that's more truthful than the common media image by asking a number of people who have sat for Freud's portraits to share their experiences with the camera. They include several of Freud's friends and daughters, and the film becomes a depiction not only of his art, but also his private persona. Lucian Freud does not appear, with the exception of a brief shot at the end of the film.

Ich. Immendorff(de)

Documentary film about the painter and sculptor Jörg Immendorff who ranks among the most important German artists. The filmmakers accompanied Immendorff over a period of two years – until his death in May 2007. The artist had been living for nine years knowing that he was terminally ill with ALS. The film shows how Immendorff continued to work with unabated energy and how he tried not to let himself be restrained by his deteriorating health.

One Man Makes the Difference(sr)

Vladan Vasev aka VaXz, is a lover of basketball and all kinds of team sports from Bosilegrad, who completely single-handedly restored faith in the hardcore music scene in Serbia. When the performers on stage noticed his jumps and the way of dancing specific to hardcore music and inquired about the most loyal member of their audience, they learned an incredible story. In order to attend the concert, VaXz travels from Bosilegrad to Belgrade sometimes up to ten hours, and then returns, sometimes immediately after listening to the gig. In this film, we meet Vladan and what it is that inspires him about hardcore, but through his portrait we also get to know life in a small town like Bosilegrad, as well as the history of hardcore music in Serbia and how bands came together to honor their most loyal fan.

Shawn Michaels - The Showstopper Unreleased(en)

To the WWE Universe, Shawn Michaels made every match he competed in feel like a main event. No matter the time or the place, when The Showstopper stepped inside the ring, he delivered a performance unlike any other. Now for the first time ever, WWE Home Video dives deep into the archives to bring the WWE Universe never-before-released matches spanning the entire career of “The Heartbreak Kid.”

A Vida é da Cor que Pintamos(pt)

Perpetuating art was the main objective in the life of visual artist, filmmaker and cultural manager Chico Liberato, who died in January, 2023. A pioneer of animation cinema in Bahia, he left a legacy for the area, and even in his family.

Silent impulses(en)

Silent Impulses is a documentary portrait of a young woman who openly deals with taboo sexual deviations. The film reveals her inner world, the way she deals with this issue and how it affects her relationships and perception of herself.

A Day in the Life of a Consumer(de)

The film shows one day from waking up in the morning all the way to waking up again the next morning. The everyday situations that many commercials are made of, the little dramas that they create and solve through the product or service they sell, are stitched together into one day. This is a film about the everyday in (German, or Western-European) society because the commercials are part of the everyday of most people (everyone who watches television) and they depict an ideal image of society. The film abundantly uses repetition as an editing technique, in visual ways as described above, but also because commercials can be read in different ways. For instance, Brat baking foil shows up at the evening dinner sequence, when an ovendish is put on the table, and again later on in the sequence about going out to a classic concert, because the clip has classic music.

Strangers(en)

When does someone stop being a Stranger? In a world emerging from social lockdown, this documentary explores the way communication is changing. Seven participants give us their views on social interactions, before having a conversation with a Stranger. Will this change their perceptions?

Fragonard: Lessons in Love(fr)

Waiting for Hockney(en)

A young working class Baltimore man spends 10 years on a single portrait, believing it is his means to fame and fortune. But he also believes that only one man can lead him there---the famous artist David Hockney. What happens when you finally meet the god of your own making?

Sala de Roteiristas(pt)

What is the difference between a story and a good story? In this short documentary, ten of the greatest screenwriters in Brazil answer this and other questions, guiding us through the universe of creative writing and all its possibilities.

Dans le vent(fr)

Short subject on how fashion is created-- not by the great couturiers, but on the street.