With the British government promoting an inaccurate revisionist version of the 1807 Abolition of the 'Slave Trade' Act many are determined to ensure that Truth prevails in 2007. With contributions from community activists, project workers, teachers, historians and the business community, this documentary confronts the myths about British slavery, presents the true history of the Maafa and African resistance and examines the politics of the government's bicentenary celebrations. On Screen Contributors: Dr Abiola Ogunshola, emma pierre, Bro Hakim, Dr Hakim Adi, Henry Bonsu, Ms Serwah, Bro Omowale, Kwaku Bonsu, Kubara Zamani, Dr Kimani Nehusi, Bro Ldr Mbandaka, Michael Eboda, Onyeka, shaka Marday, Stephen Henry, Teleica Kirkland and Dr William Lez Henry. Directed by Toyin Agbetu Produced by emma pierre
Maafa Legacy exposes the euro-academic view that British slavery was just ‘trade’ as a lie and reveals why the crimes both past and present that continue to be committed against Mama Africa and her children stand as the most heinous ever in World history. This documentary also provides a retrospective view of Wilberfest 2007 and explores the enduring legacy of the Maafa on African people residing in the Diaspora. On Screen Contributors: Dr Abiola Ogunshola, Sis Ayen Meke, Christopher Cole, emma pierre, Bro Hakim, Hakim Adi, Sis Jendayi Serwah, Kimani Nehusi, Kubara Zamani, Kwaku Bonsu, Kwaku-Jesse Konadu Olaleye, Dr Lez Henry, Manga Clem Marshall, Bro Mbandaka, Michael Eboda, Morenike Fasuyi, Netsanet Solomon, Oleander William, Onyeka, Bro Omowale, Sis Panyin Aikins, Royson James, Sis Dr. Sandra Richards, Teleica Kirkland, Tony Warner, Toyin Agbetu, Tracey Jarrett Directed and produced by Toyin Agbetu
In a two part documentary, specifically made for a Pan African audience, we follow the writer and activist, Toyin Agbetu as he shares the results of his three year journey across three continents in seek of solutions to the many problems African people currently face as a result of Maafa. Rejecting the classic ten point plan method, Maisha Solutions instead features contributions from various voices across the world with a strong emphasis placed upon independent learning and the empowerment of young people and women. This two part film offers insights into various topics and invites viewers to take leadership roles by becoming Pan African community workers that utilise our progressive traditional customs in order to successfully tackle many of the challenges we face today. Directed and Produced by Toyin Agbetu
This short documentary profiles the uniquely cloistered wildlife of Sable Island, known as the “Atlantic graveyard” due to its inhospitable conditions. Barren sands and endless gales proved too much for human settlement on this island off the coast of Nova Scotia. Only a small group of researchers and maintenance people occupy the island; horses run wild, seals and birds multiply profusely, and the Ipswich sparrow has found a fruitful breeding ground for itself. Sable Island provides a perfect opportunity to observe nature in an untouched, organic laboratory.
The Boys Next Door is a short documentary in which director Bobbie Fay Brandsen examines how she should live together with her new neighbors, Mootie from Syria, Meron from Eritrea and Salihou from Senegal. A film about integration, cultural differences, idealism but even more about the question: 'can we, despite all our differences, live together and if yes, how?' This film is one of the graduation documentaries from the class of 2017 made by a crew entirely consisting of students of the Dutch Filmacademy.
Sabine is looking for a missing image: a day that has left its mark forever and that everyone remembers but her. But maybe this absence is what allows her to move on with her life?
A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.
Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.
An entertaining look at Clint Eastwood's storied career as a Western icon and filmmaker, featuring interviews with Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Costner, Frank Darabont, John Lee Hancock and many more.
Amateur taxidermist, Walter Potter, became an unlikely success by putting his creatures in human positions and scenarios, referred to as anthropomorphic taxidermy. Potter's Museum, filled with his creations and collection of oddities and curiosities dazzled millions for over a hundred years until the collection's unfortunate separation in 2003. While largely about the man and his creations, the film also takes a look at the obsessive nature of collecting, as well as the controversial history of stuffing dead animals.
The first Easter Island documentary, filmed in 1935 when the Belgian naval ship Mercator came to collect Drs. Henri Lavacherry and Alfred Métraux, who had arrived six months before to carry out archaeological and ethnological work. The film, directed with melodramatic gusto and featuring a full orchestral score by Maurice Jaubert (who also did the narration), shows islanders, the monuments, and a public dance. A theme of decay and decadence characterizes the film, the motif portrayed gruesomely by extensive close-ups of the inhabitants of the leper colony there at the time. The film suited a romantic image of a mysterious lost civilization, the survivors eking out a pitiful existence on a barren rock. (Grant McCall)
A simple, carved figure bought at an auction in New York leads David Attenborough on a global journey from Russia to Australia, from England back to the Pacific. On the way he delves into a history of the stunning stones on Easter Island.
This short film explores the resolution of a plumbing problem through a narrative lens compiled from found footage sourced from pornographic websites.
A short making of feature about the 1966 John Frankenheimer movie Grande Prix
To produce speech, a set of mechanisms must be brought together. What is the normal articulation for speech? How to produce the sounds that make it up in the correct way? A physiological analysis of the aspects of speech shows us how: the jaw must move in a certain way; the air must be expelled from the lungs in another. Based on the concepts stated in the film "Normal Speech Articulation" (1965), produced by the University of Iowa (USA), we intend to reflect on the way women have been represented, and consequently educated, over the years, both in film and in the media. Largely composed of archival footage, this film intends to make evident, through a montage inspired by Structuralist movements, the violence of this education.
Since Monsanto began selling their patented 'Roundup Ready' genetically modified (GM) seeds they have sued hundreds of farmers for patent infringement. Michael White, a fourth generation farmer and seed cleaner living in the northeast corner of rural Alabama never imagined that he would become the target of the conglomerates aggressive legal tactics. But unlike other farmers in his area Michael refused to give in to Monsanto and in doing so became one of only a handful of farmers to maintain the ability to speak publicly about his case. This is his story.
Why can't I hear the sound of sewing machines anymore? A meeting with my family and the history of all their sewing machines.
Tassel-spinning showgirl Tina stars in this rare 60s British burlesque stage show reel.
In this anxious and hectic time, Happy Life explores those unusual outlets that soothe the turmoil of the body and mind. In a meditative journey through these analgesic places, this documentary essay paints a portrait of a society in seek of meaning and relief.