Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory

How Do You Measure a Year?(en)

For 17 years, filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt filmed his daughter Ella on her birthday in the same spot, asking her the same questions. In just 29 minutes, we watch her grow from a toddler to a young woman with all the beautiful and sometimes awkward stages in between. Each phase is captured fleetingly but makes an indelible mark. Her responses to her father’s questions are just a backdrop for a deeper story of parental love, acceptance, and ultimately, independence.

The Monster in Our Closet(en)

A lawyer, reporter, and inventor team up to address one of the world’s largest pollutants that goes under the radar: plastic in clothing.

Tous Les Jours(en)

In rocky Newfoundland, renowned French artist Jean Claude Roy gathers his paints and sets off to face the day. Whether it be freezing snow, violent wind, or pouring rain, he commits vibrant colors to canvas and conquers the day by weaving crooked beauty out of difficulties.

Postmodernism: The Substance of Style(en)

This film features some of the most important living Postmodern practitioners, Charles Jencks, Robert A M Stern and Sir Terry Farrell among them, and asks them how and why Postmodernism came about, and what it means to be Postmodern. This film was originally made for the V&A exhibition 'Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970 - 1990'.

Schindler's List(en)

The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.

Tehran Is the Capital of Iran(fa)

Tehran Is the Capital of Iran (1966-79) documents life in a deprived district in the south of Tehran. The images of destitution in Tehran's poor areas is accompanied by a variety of spoken accounts: the official viewpoint on the district's living conditions, what the inhabitants have to say, and occasional extracts read out of school manuals. The key element in Shirdel's film is the counterpoint effect he creates with image and sound. His impressively powerful portrayal of social unease helps reinforce the impact of his astonishing documentary images and social themes.

The Promised Land(pl)

In nineteenth-century Łódź, Poland, three friends want to make a lot of money by building and investing in a textile factory. An exceptional portrait of rapid industrial expansion is shown through the eyes of one Polish town.

Brzozowa Street(pl)

Battered Warsaw is getting back to life after the WW2 destruction. The ruins of the Old Town become homes once again.

Janek’s Feeder(pl)

A miniature parable about a young boy who misunderstands the function of a bird feeder.

Frans Lanting: The Evolution of LIFE(en)

A dazzling journey through time via the remarkable images of National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting and his epic "LIFE" project, which presents a stunning interpretation of life on Earth, from the Big Bang through the present.

The Sun's Gonna Shine(en)

A lyrical recreation of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ decision at age eight to stop chopping cotton and start singing for a living. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

The Hills of Qaytariyeh(fa)

A strange and mischievous documentary on an archeological site in the Qaytarieh hills in Tehran. This short narrates the story of the dead people who wished never to be found.

Las nubes son de música(es)

A Mixe village is vulnerated when their musical instruments are stolen.

Keeper of the Mountains(en)

Keeper of the Mountains is a portrait of Elizabeth Hawley and her unlikely key role in the Golden Age of Himalayan mountaineering, her defiance of the traditional gender roles of her day and her decision to settle alone in Kathmandu in 1960, where she has famously lived life on her own terms ever since. Hawley, 91 and a former journalist, maintains the world's largest and most treasured archive of Himalayan mountaineering expeditions and her work is trusted by news organizations and publications around the globe. All this despite never having climbed a mountain herself.

Redcoats(en)

During the Revolutionary War, Emily, her daughter Sarah and her two young grandchildren have to look after themselves and run the family farm while the men fight for the patriots' cause. With winter approaching, crops dwindling and food shortages mounting, the women face their greatest fears when three lost British soldiers storm into their house demanding food, drink and anything else they can get their hands on.

6-18-67(en)

6-18-67 is a short quasi-documentary film by George Lucas regarding the making of the Columbia film “Mackenna's Gold”. This non-story, non-character visual tone poem is made up of nature imagery, time-lapse photography, and the subtle sounds of the Arizona desert.

Headdress(en)

For First Nations communities, the headdress bears significant meaning. It's a powerful symbol of hard-earned leadership and responsibility. As filmmaker JJ Neepin prepares to wear her grandfather's headdress for a photo shoot she reflects on lessons learned and the thoughtless ways in which the tradition has been misappropriated.

La bataille de Florange(fr)

Inu-Oh(ja)

A cursed dancer and a blind musician — both ostracized by society — become business partners and inseparable friends as their larger-than-life concerts propel them to stardom in 14th century Japan.

Maria(en)

Maria Callas, the world's greatest opera singer, lives the last days of her life in 1970s Paris, as she confronts her identity and life.

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat(fr)

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.

The Sprinkler Sprinkled(fr)

A gardener is watering his flowers, when a mischievous boy sneaks up behind his back, and puts a foot on the water hose. The gardener is surprised and looks into the nozzle to find out why the water has stopped coming. The boy then lifts his foot from the hose, whereby the water squirts up in the gardener's face. The gardener chases the boy, grips his ear and slaps him in his buttocks. The boy then runs away and the gardener continues his watering. Three separate versions of this film exist, this is the original, filmed by Louis Lumière.

Baby's Meal(fr)

A father, a mother and a baby are sitting at a table, on a patio outside. Dad is feeding Baby her lunch, while Mum is serving tea.

Piggy(es)

Sara is an overweight teen who lives in the shadow of a clique of cool girls holidaying in her village. Not even her childhood friend, Claudia, defends her when she's bullied at the local pool in front of an unknown man. Her clothes are stolen and Sara must get home wearing nothing but her bikini.

Man Walking Around a Corner(xx)

The last remaining production of Le Prince's LPCC Type-16 (16-lens camera) is part of a gelatine film shot in 32 images/second, and pictures a man walking around a corner. Le Prince, who was in Leeds (UK) at that time, sent these images to his wife in New York City in a letter dated 18 August 1887.

Snowball Fight(fr)

Wintertime in Lyon. About a dozen people, men and women, are having a snowball fight in the middle of a tree-lined street. The cyclist coming along the road becomes the target of opportunity. He falls off his bicycle. He's not hurt, but he rides back the way he came, as the fight continues.

Playing Cards(fr)

Three friends are playing cards in a beer garden. One of them orders drinks. The waitress comes back with a bottle of wine and three glasses on a tray. The man serves his friends. They clink glasses and drink. Then the man asks for a newspaper. He reads a funny story in it and the three friends burst out laughing while the waitress merely smiles.

The Docks of New York(en)

A blue-collar worker on New York's depressed waterfront finds his life changed after he saves a woman attempting suicide.

A Nightmare(fr)

A man has a fantastical nightmare involving, among other things, a grinning malevolent moon.

Sack Race(fr)

Shot in 1896, this playful actuality captures workers from the Lumière factory in Lyon competing in a sack race. The scene shows the participants’ comic struggles and falls, with onlookers enjoying the lighthearted contest. Beyond its humor, the film offers a glimpse of everyday leisure and camaraderie among the Lumière workforce during cinema’s earliest years.

The Photographical Congress Arrives in Lyon(fr)

Down the gangway, photographers leave the deck of a riverboat in large numbers.

The X-Ray Fiend(en)

A romantic couple are transformed into skeletons via X-Rays. The film combines two very recent innovations: Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of X-rays in 1895, and Georges Méliès' accidental realisation of the special-effects potential of the jump-cut in 1896.

La lupa(it)

She was tall, dark and thin, with a proud and voluptuous bust. They called her "The she-wolf" because she seemed never to be satisfied. All the men were obsessed with her but one day the she-wolf fell madly in love with young Nanni.

Horse Trick Riders(en)

In the background is a house. In the foreground, a groom holds the reins of a sleek black horse that stands in profile. A tall man, dressed in a black uniform, demonstrates how to mount the horse then encourages and tries to assist a man in white. The man in white keeps falling, and soon it's apparent that he's an putting on a show. His pratfalls become more elaborate and stylish. The horse stands patient. The little groom laughs to see such sport. And finally, the man in white finds a comic accommodation. The story, though brief, has a beginning, middle, and end.

Transformation by Hats(fr)

Félicien Trewey uses a basic prop to create comical hats and their accompanying caricatures.

Malice in Wonderland(en)

A jet-propelled white rabbit flies through the vulva of a supine woman into a wonderland where people and objects turn inside out, changing shapes and identities at warp speed. Events roughly follow Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland." The caterpillar and the queen make appearances, as does Alice. Images and symbols are often sexual. At the end, Alice asks, "Who has had such a curious dream?"

Line 9(es)

In a city with constant movement like the subway rides, the paths of Andrés and Miguel are crossing. It seems like the beginning of a new Romance but Andrés doesn't know which direction to take.

Gentleman's Agreement(en)

A magazine writer poses as a Jew to expose anti-Semitism.

Zygote(en)

The two remaining crew members of a mining operation in the Arctic Circle fight to survive against an alien creature.

Zeitgeist: Addendum(en)

Zeitgeist: Addendum premiered at the 5th Annual Artivist Film Festival. Director Peter Joseph stated: "The failure of our world to resolve the issues of war, poverty, and corruption, rests within a gross ignorance about what guides human behavior to begin with. It address the true source of the instability in our society, while offering the only fundamental, long-term solution."