Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film(2003)

Bukowski: The Last Straw(en)

The Last Straw is a film documenting the very last live poetry reading given by Charles Bukowski at The Sweetwater, a music club in Redondo Beach, California on March 31, 1980

Me To Play(en)

As their bodies give way to Parkinson's disease, two New York actors put their hearts into one final Off-Broadway production of Beckett's "Endgame," the play that posits, "there's nothing funnier than unhappiness."

Gravel In Her Gut and Spit In Her Eye(en)

Dorothy Johnson was a Western writer ahead of her time. Women saved men, heroes died unwept and unsung, whites lived with Indians and benefited from the experience. Three of her stories were made into films and many critics consider "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" to be the cornerstone of the modern western. This documentary looks back on Dorothy's life, and her place in history.

The Orphan’s Kaddish(fr)

An elderly man is working tirelessly to revive the Jewish world lost in the Holocaust. His name is Aharon Appelfeld, and he became one of the greatest Jewish writers of our time. Every day, through his murmuring voice and handwriting, the survivors, the children of Ukraine, the peasants of Yiddishland come alive in the tiny office of a Jerusalem apartment. Aharon Appelfeld, solitary, wants to fight this battle to his last breath.

Who's Afraid of Kathy Acker?(en)

Documentary tracing the extreme life of outlaw writer, performance artist and punk icon, Kathy Acker. Through animation, archival footage, interviews and dramatic reenactments, director Barbara Caspar explores Acker's colorful history, from her well-heeled upbringing to her role as the scribe of society's fringe.

Waiting for Godot in San Quentin(en)

Documentary about the staging of 'Waiting for Godot' in prison.

The Gospel According to Philip K. Dick(en)

Writers, publishers, fans, and friends share their perspectives and memories of sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick. In his career, Philip Kindred Dick (1928–82) published dozens of science fiction novels and short stories. His work has reached a wider audience due to such film adaptations as BLADE RUNNER (1982), TOTAL RECALL (1990), MINORITY REPORT (2002), and A SCANNER DARKLY (2006).

Prisoners of Beckett(fr)

The meeting of two worlds that never met. One of poetry and freedom, and the other of silence and darkness. A story that begins in a maximum security prison in Sweden where a young actor, Jan Jönson, decides to stage " Waiting for Godot "with five prisoners as actors.

Samuel Beckett: Silence to Silence(en)

The elusive author of Waiting for Godot cooperated in the production of this portrait, which traces Beckett’s artistic life through his prose, plays, and poetry. Billie Whitelaw, Jack McGowran, and Patrick Magee—Beckett’s great dramatic interpreters—appear in selected extracts from the plays; Beckett specialist David Warrilow narrates a variety of texts.

The Remaking of Samuel Beckett’s What Where(en)

A documentary which offers insights into the adaptation of the original stage play and the making of this new production of Beckett's work.

What The Durrells Did Next(en)

Hosted by Keeley Hawes, star of the popular television series The Durrells, this documentary reveals the adventures of the eccentric Durrell family once they left Corfu, Greece.

The Penultimate Truth About Philip K. Dick(en)

This in-depth program explores Philip K. Dick`s world, a universe full of mysteries and intrigues.

Searching for Sam: Adrian Dunbar on Samuel Beckett(en)

Samuel Beckett has fascinated Adrian Dunbar since he was a young student. Now, 30 years after Beckett's death in Paris, Dunbar explores what made the man who made Waiting for Godot.

Waiting for Beckett(en)

Biography and in-depth look of Beckett and his work.

Katja Mann: A Life with Thomas Mann(de)

I Hate Jane Austen(en)

While it may be universally acknowledged that she’s one of the great English writers, Giles Coren breaks down his many reasons for hating Jane Austen.

What Was Virginia Woolf Really Afraid of?(en)

A look back at the troubled life of genius British writer Virginia Woolf (1882-1941).

Thomas Hardy: A Haunted Man(en)

Drama documentary from 1978 exploring the private feelings of novelist Thomas Hardy through the poems of love and remorse that he wrote after the death of his first wife, Emma.

Orchard House: Home of Little Women(en)

Emmy Award-winning chronicle of the history of Orchard House, the home in Concord, Massachusetts where Louisa May Alcott wrote and set Little Women.

The World According to Irving(de)

John Irving's literary worlds are satirically exaggerated, socially critical, unexpectedly magical. But how do these dazzling, sometimes bizarre, narrative worlds emerge? A unique insight into his writing workshop and a search of the places and people who have become part of his stories.