The Mind and the Crime

Impressions from the Upper Atmosphere(es)

Sistiaga painted directly on 70mm film a circular (planetary?) form, around which dance shifting colours in a psychedelic acceleration matched by the soundtrack’s deep-space roar and howl. - Cinema Scope

Letter in Motion to Gilles Jacob and Thierry Fremaux(fr)

Rather than writing a simple letter to explain his absence from the press conference for his latest Cannes entry, "Goodbye to Language," at the Cannes Film Festival, instead, legendary filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard created a video "Letter in motion to (Cannes president) Gilles Jacob and (artistic director) Thierry Fremaux." The video intercuts from Godard speaking cryptically about his "path" to key scenes from Godard classics such as "Alphaville" and "King Lear" with Burgess Meredith and Molly Ringwald, and quotes poet Jacques Prevert and philosopher Hannah Arendt.

Misty Picture(en)

The television images of the collapse of the World Trade Center were preceded by manifold stagings of the building, either as a highly symbolic icon, a speculative destruction fantasy or merely as a spectacular backdrop. In Misty Picture, city symphony, disaster movie and media trauma therapy become one.

welcome_home.exe(en)

As technology accelerates, our species' collective imagination of the future grows ever more kaleidoscopic. We are all haunted by temporal distortion, perhaps no more than when we attempt to remember what the future looked like to our younger selves. As the mist of time devours our memories, the future recedes; each of us burdened by the gaping mouth of entropy. Yet, emerging technology provides a glimmer of hope; transhumanism promises a future free from mortality, disease and pain. Does our salvation lie in digital simulacra? We're here to sell you the answer to that question, for the low, low price of four hundred and seventy seconds.

Tree of Knowledge(en)

It started with filming the tree. Something was released in that manner of filming seemingly farthest removed from the procedure of the early films. I first thought a simple ordering of this rich material might be enough, something related to BARN RUSHES [...] But the film only came into its form-life with the idea of linking this deep-rooted and far-outreaching tree material with that film on paranoia that had fascinated me for many years. –L. G.

I Have No Memory of My Direction(en)

Ostensibly searching for an emotional connection with her aging father, the woman contemplates her own inherited culture and familial touchstones. Her North American pop culture sensibility fuses with a distorted Japanese perspective to create a surreal interpretation of a “Japan of the imagination.” This fictional landscape is peppered with invented Japanese myths, ruminations on memory loss, the temporal space of digital photography and the ghosts of inherited imagination.

Kaya(sh)

An experimental film about a peaceful and carefree life in a small Dalmatian town, which turns into bloodshed and horror on the eve of the Italian occupation of the country.

Bubble(en)

Bubble is a short film performed by Zeena Parkins and the Plastic Girls, Eleanor Hullihan and Erin Cornell in a public park in Brooklyn, NY.

Still Life(en)

Still Life gazes unflinchingly at the violence of war, observing the eerie architecture of the West Bank and Gaza Strip collapsed under Israeli occupation. This portrait provides brutal witness to how government sanctioned destruction metes upon structures of home and State. Unlike the mediated images of current warfare, Still Life examines the effects of the destruction of Occupation through the details of cinematic landscapes and its inherent inhabitants. In its relentless questioning reaffirmed with a unique and unremitting soundtrack by composer Zeena Parkins, Still Life forces us to focus on details of devastation.

Past Perfect(en)

“Past Perfect” is a spirited meditation on the elusiveness and inaccessibility of (Jewish) history as conveyed through sightseeing tours of “Jewish” Poland, a grandmother’s recollection of life in America during War II, and memoir-like “last moments” of a great aunt believed to have died in Treblinka. Shot almost entirely in contemporary Poland, “Past Perfect” lyrically portrays the relentless yet ultimately futile attempt to resuscitate a history literally gone up in smoke.

Everyday Life(pl)

Dialogue-free short detailing the daily tasks of a man and his wife.

-YAMASE-(ja)

Film by Kenji Onishi. With friends. Mr. Yamase as main character, Sasakubo and Shinojima. And the girls having a good time. The camera is all you need. Looking still at the Mt. Buko which is disappearing.

Spirit House(en)

A tale of 2 passages within the Spirit house. This is the first in a series that looks at the places we find our spiritual presence augmented, inflamed, or simply acknowledged.

Rumstick Road(en)

A video reconstruction of the 1977 Wooster Group production Rumstick Road, an experimental theater performance created by Spalding Gray and Elizabeth LeCompte after the suicide of Gray's mother. Archival recordings are combined with photographs, slides, and other materials to recreate the original production.

The Red and the Blue Gods(en)

An ethnographic field report in which the Anthropologist describes the mythic creation of an unnamed ‘sun-scraping structure’ through the ritualized actions of the Red and the Blue Gods.

Anônimo e incomum(pt)

Every Wall is a Door(fr)

Drawing on VHS tapes of a programme hosted by her mother on Bulgaria’s national television, the filmmaker gives a pop-style and in-depth chronicle of the gentle – even “over-gentle” – 1989 revolution.

Verrückt(en)

Procedurally-generated frames slowly expand in density to visually explore the mind of a psychopathic, narcissistic teenager, up until the demise of the subject.

PLEH(nl)

An experimental journey through a year in the life of the director, using his always playing playlist to cross the boundaries of fiction and documentary. Through scenes of both comedy and tragedy, realistic documentary footage and experimental sequences of the director's environment and daily life we get a sometimes estranging image of a young man and also an intriguing insight in his mindset and how this translates to the imagery on screen.

Brutalism(en)

Beneath towering Brutalist architecture, a man is driven to do what must be done.

La casta divina(es)

Chronicle Caste War in Yucatan held in the nineteenth century, where the land and the people were the property of the landowners, who called themselves " divine caste ". On one hand, General Salvador Alvarado organized the revolution; on the other, the landowners hire Colonel Ortiz Argumedo to organized the defense of their autonomy. Don Wilfrido, one of the masters, do not hesitate to send his son to fight to maintain their wealth and privileges.

Inspector Calzonzin(es)

A rumor reaches a small town, San Garabato, that a government infiltrator will arrive to check the conditions of the community. Quickly, the municipal president, Don Perpetuo del Rosal, orders the imprisonment of those who might give a bad image. An indigenous man named Calzonzin arrives in town, pursued by two men. He is quickly taken as the infiltrated inspector, and protected by all the local authorities.

Dharmaveer 2(mr)

Explores Anand Dighe's life, tracing his political journey and capturing the essence of his impactful legacy as a prominent figure.

Solomon Burke: The King Live at Avo Session Basel(en)

Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Solomon Burke -- justly dubbed the King of Soul -- delivers an electrifying performance at Switzerland's AVO Session Basel music festival. Tracks include classics such as "A Change Is Gonna Come," "Georgia on My Mind," "Down in the Valley," "Proud Mary," "Lucille" and "Long Tall Sally." In addition, special guests Terri and Selassie Burke sing renditions of "I Will Survive" and "Mona Lisa."

Strange Object(en)

An archival investigation into the imperial image-making of the RAF ‘Z Unit’, which determined the destruction of human, animal and cultural life across Somaliland, as well as Africa and Asia.

Worst to First(en)

WORST TO FIRST is a feature-length documentary that portrays the against-all-odds inspirational story of the launch of the iconic and most successful radio station in history, New York City's Z100.

Ey Iran(fa)

Towards the end of the Shahanshah's reign, Sergeant Makvandi is assigned the commander of the gendarmerie station in a small town. A stern disciplinarian, Sergeant Makvandi tries to impose order at the station but, being as degenerate as his subordinates, he fails to re-store discipline. faced by rebellious crowds, he imposes martial law, but people outwit him by mailing to his address a forged letter which "promotes the sergeant and ends the curfew". Makvandi tries to intimidate a school teacher into writing a song which he wants the students to sing on the day his "promotion" comes into effect. But the teacher refuses to give in, for he and his students are preparing to sing a new song, the song of revolution.

كعبة حلوى(ar)

Are we born criminal or we became one ?

Max Sets the Style(fr)

Max is late for his own wedding, and, worse yet, has no shoes.

Lost for Words(en)

The year's most beautiful natural experience on the big screen is also a poetic film about the power of language to re-enchant the world around us. Based on Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris' bestseller.

Open(ko)

Chico, the main character, moves from a distant country to Tri-City to become a designer. However, the designer of the city could not do anything other than a large animal, and Chico, a small cat, was ignored and kicked out every time he visited the salon. After being kicked out of the salon, the main character goes home and accidentally sees small animals wearing clothes that don't fit her size. Chico is for small animals. Promising to become a designer, he designs clothes based on small animals, not large ones... Will Chico be able to achieve his dream?

Captain Nulle(lv)

Valdis Nulle is a young and ambitious captain of fishing ship 'Dzintars'. He has his views on fishing methods but the sea makes its own rules. Kolkhoz authorities are forced to include dubious characters in his crew, for example, former captain Bauze and silent alcoholic Juhans. The young captain lacks experience in working with so many fishermen on board. Unexpectedly, pretty engineer Sabīne is ordered to test a new construction fishing net on Nulle's ship and 'production conflict' between her and the captain arises...

Kissing Cousins(en)

A "relatively" romantic comedy about a professional heartbreaker (and cynical bachelor) who teams up with his attractive cousin from the UK in order to fool his friends into believing he is capable of a relationship. Hijinks and laughs ensue with a hilarious cast!

Outpost(en)

In a futuristic wasteland, an overconfident marauder and his snarky robot companion pillage an abandoned bunker and have an unexpected encounter.

Every Home Should Have One(en)

Teddy works for a large advertising company. Given the seemingly impossible task of selling frozen porridge, he decides to produce commercials that make the product seem sexy. This leads him to confrontation with the "Keep Television Clean" movement, of which his wife is a senior member.

The Dreamers(en)

Set in the Middle East in 1919, a group of European Jews planning on settling in the Sinai Desert are attacked by Bedouin tribesmen. As they fight for their lives they realize that they are beginning a struggle for a new Jewish nation. This film chronicles the beginning of the modern Jewish struggle for a homeland.

The Sea Is Blue(en)

A stop motion fable explains how the ocean got its color.

Spring Like Lovers(ja)

Kazu becomes distrustful of his current partner Shin and goes to see his ex-boyfriend Takashi. But he finds out that Takashi has gotten married to a woman and feels that he is left with nowhere to go.