Trains: Two Centuries of Innovation(2017)

La Traversée de Bourvil(fr)

September 23, 2022 marks the 52nd anniversary of the death of Bourvil (1917-1970). Radio, sketches, boulevard theater, operetta, cinema, songs whimsical or tender, Bourvil is present in all areas of popular culture. Carried by the voice of Valérie Lemercier, this portrait of the artist allows us to rediscover his most beautiful songs, from Les Crayons to La Tendresse, and the highlights of his filmography, from the cult scenes of La Traversée de Paris, Le Corniaud and La Grande Vadrouille to Le Cercle rouge. We also rediscover the richness of his career as a singer and actor, with some little known nuggets. The testimony of Bourvil's two sons, unpublished family films and numerous archives tell the story of the all too brief life of this endearing man.

The Discreet Françoise Hardy(fr)

Sensitive lookback on Françoise Hardy's career and life.

One-Way Ticket(es)

Documentary about how the arrival of the railway industry impacted Puerto Rican culture economically, socially, and humanistically during the first half of the 20th century. It includes photos by Jack Delano, among others, and scenarios to reconstruct the experience of what could have been the last trip made by train from San Juan to Ponce in 1953.

Rail(en)

"Rail" captures British Railways at a major turning-point in its history. In certain respects, this was a period of considerable upheaval and loss. There was a facing-up to the increasing need for a big modernisation drive. Full and speedy electrification, or the wider promotion of diesel-power on remaining lines, became a matter of top priority. Geoffrey Jones recorded a rapidly disappearing world of everyday steam travel, with its labour-intensive rail workforce : some of the footage in "Rail" (recognisable from "Snow") dates from around 1962.

Mein Name sei Altmann(de)

The End of the Line(en)

This documentary short offers a nostalgic look at the steam locomotive as it passes from reality to history. In its heyday, the big smoke-belching steam engine seemed immortal. Now, powerful and efficient diesels are pushing the old coal-burning locomotives to the sidelines, and the lonely echo of their whistles may soon be a thing of the past.

Anthropocene: The Human Epoch(en)

Documentary on psychedelic potash mines, expansive concrete seawalls, mammoth industrial machines, and other examples of humanity’s massive, destructive reengineering of the planet.

The Driving Force(en)

Britain operates the most experienced diesel and electric railway in tne world. A century and a half ago she invented the steam engine and introduced a new system of transport; and in only nine years British Rail and the British locomotive industry designed, built and tested enough diesel and electric locomotives to replace fifteen thousand steam engines. The transition from steam to new forms of motive power, and its effects on rallwaymen and passengers, is the subject of this film. Produced in association with the Central Office of Information, the British Locomotive Allied Manufacturers' Association and the British Electrical Manufacturers' Association.

The Future Works(en)

A film aimed at showing young people the range of careers open to them if they joined British Rail as an apprentice. It shows the support and education given to apprentices during their training.

Measured for Transport(en)

A transformer weighing 123 tons has to be moved to a remote site in Blaenau Ffestiniog. This documents its movement by rail and road.

Points and Aspects(en)

The re-signalling of 1000 track miles from the River Weaver to the Clyde brings the whole line from London to Glasgow under one system of push-button control and colour light signals, and completes the main line electrification. The film follows the intricate production of equipment, and its installation over, under and between trains. The whole project adds up to a piece of modern technology unsurpassed anywhere in the world.

Hiroshima: The Aftermath(en)

Brand new documentary marking the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings which ended WWII and began the nuclear age. Features interviews with survivors from both sides.

The Ballad of Crowfoot(en)

Released in 1968 and often referred to as Canada’s first music video, The Ballad of Crowfoot was directed by Willie Dunn, a Mi’kmaq/Scottish folk singer and activist who was part of the historic Indian Film Crew, the first all-Indigenous production unit at the NFB. The film is a powerful look at colonial betrayals, told through a striking montage of archival images and a ballad composed by Dunn himself about the legendary 19th-century Siksika (Blackfoot) chief who negotiated Treaty 7 on behalf of the Blackfoot Confederacy. The IFC’s inaugural release, Crowfoot was the first Indigenous-directed film to be made at the NFB.

Journey Inter-City(en)

A cheerful and very colourful pastiche of live action with combined graphics set to the music of Muir Mathieson. This film typifies the image British Rail was keen to transmit during the early part of the 1970s. It marked the start of the age of the train, when 100mph running became standard and travelling inter-city took you from 'city to city - heart to heart'.

Orphan Train(en)

A dedicated social worker organizes a train trip for a group of slum orphans in 1894, taking them from New York City to the Midwest in search of new families and new lives.

3 Obás de Xangô(pt)

The friendship between Jorge Amado, Dorival Caymmi, and Carybé, artists who were largely responsible for creating an image of the culture of Bahia that persists to this day, and who believed that the strength of their work lay in documenting what they saw on the streets.

Farewell Kamen Rider Den-O: Final Countdown(ja)

When the Imagin and Kohana take a trip to visit Ryotaro and Airi, they are attacked by the legendary Ghost Train, and onboard are two Imagin and the evil Kamen Rider Yuuki, who is none other than Ryotaro! But when all hope seems lost, a blue DenLiner appears, delivering someone claiming to be Kamen Rider New Den-O! Just who is he, and can he help everyone save Ryotaro and save time once again?

Génération Club Dorothée - L'incroyable histoire d'une émission culte(fr)

L'Odyssée Rosetta, 900 jours sur une comète(fr)

Several hundred million kilometers away, the space probe "Rosetta" and the small lander "Philae" orbit the sun on the comet "Churyumov-Gerasimenko", without any contact with Earth. On September 30, 2016 - two years after the launch of "Philae" - the landing of "Rosetta" on the comet marked the end of a space mission rich in discoveries, successes and setbacks. The documentary "Rendezvous with a comet: Mission Rosetta" revisits this extraordinary space adventure. After the landing of "Philae" on the comet "Churi" in November 2014 - probably one of the greatest successes in space research since the moon landing - the mission continued and provided a whole series of surprises.

Notfilm(en)

NOTFILM is a feature-length experimental essay on FILM -- its author Samuel Beckett, its star Buster Keaton, its production and its philosophical implications -- utilizing additional outtakes, never before heard audio recordings of the production meetings, and other rare archival elements.