This is a documentary about the 1956 invention of the first VCR (video cassette recorder), which launched the home video revolution.
Social & External
Narrator
Filmmakers and collectors lift the curtain on their manic media obsession that is not only a huge part of their lives, but the lifeblood of their existence!
Using testimonies by pioneers and witnesses of the times, delve into the feverish visual culture the media generated – with far-fetched examples of canine television games, seduction manuals, aerobics class while holding a baby, among others.
Kassetten-Fernsehen tells the story of the development of video as an entertainment medium in West Germany. The story begins with visions of a revolution and ends with a persistent censorship debate in a climate of intellectual and moral change.
A video store clerk showcases clips from Z-grade horror movies to curious customers.
A video found on a strange tape kept by someone's uncle.
Two twisted young film makers are shocked when a purchase of some new snuff hits a little too close to home.
The video evidence of the murder, which is especially brutal and graphic, that shouldn't be released to the public; a reporter who has access to the prosecutor's office hears about a cursed tape in the video archive and begins reporting on it.
A snooty female production assistant and an eager gopher at a TV station are assigned by their boss to locate a mysterious cassette. They quickly find themselves framed for murder and pursued by government agents.
"Oil Rocks" - behind the enigmatic name lies the first and largest offshore oil-platform ever built, a vast city in the middle of the Caspian Sea, built by Stalin in 1949. 60 years on, "Oil Rocks" is still operational and the first western film crew ever receives access. Just imagine: 200 kilometers of bridges, thousands of oil workers, hundreds of platforms, up to nine-story buildings, a park and sports field, nothing less then an oil-rig Atlantis, only real. Combining archive footage from the Soviet era and the exclusive new footage, the film tells the story of this timeless place and it's inhabitants.
They came from Poland, Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and France - forced laborers who ensured that life in Germany was maintained and that supplies reached the German front during the Second World War. They were often deported to Germany at a young age and had to live in adverse conditions.
Narrated by Rebecca St. James (Grammy Award Winning Artist), Mother India is a compelling documentary capturing the stories of abandoned and orphaned kids living in India. For one week, David and Shawn stepped into the lives of 25 boys and girls living alongside the railway station in the southern town of Tenali (Andhra Pradesh). With over 31 million orphans in India, the stories that emerge reflect the complexity of the issues and the challenge of rescuing kids from a life of begging and addiction. Find out what happens when these two friends eat, sleep, and play among this 'family' of street kids in an effort to experience life through their eyes. You'll never be the same.
APPROACHING THE ELEPHANT is a feature-length documentary about The Teddy McArdle Free School, where classes are optional and rules are made by democratic vote. Summerhill, founded 90 years ago by A. S. Neill, was the first free school - now there are more than 200 worldwide. Approaching the Elephant chronicles a free school in the making - spanning two years, from Teddy McArdle's first day when there were no rules or classes, through the changing of the school's director and the expulsion of a student by democratic vote, to the last day of the second year, APPROACHING THE ELEPHANT is an intimate portrait of a small group of people from a range of educational backgrounds, come together to forge a place where children are treated as equals, at liberty to spend their days however they please.
Short documentary about the ideology of publicity and mass medias.
A 10-minute portrait of modernist poet and de Andrade’s godfather, Manuel Bandeira, is clear in its affection for it subject, though like many New-Waveish films of the time, depicts the modern urban landscape as an ominous and alienating force.
Reveals the shared narratives found in individual and collective ideologies of hate, and how we as a species can overcome them. For six years the filmmaker worked with unprecedented access to some of the most venomous ideologies and violent conflicts of our time including the white supremacist movement, Christian Fundamentalism as an anti-gay platform, Muslim extremism, the Palestinian Intifada, Israeli settlers and soldiers, and US Forces in Iraq. By juxtaposing this verite footage with interviews from leading sociological, psychological, and neurological experts, and interspersing stories of redemption told by former "combatants", the film weaves a tapestry that reveals both the emotional and biological mechanisms which make all of us susceptible to acts and ideologies of hate, and demonstrates how these very same traits make us equally capable of overcoming them.
A television documentary produced for British Television directed by Peter Greenaway.
A television documentary produced for British Television directed by Peter Greenaway
Documentary about influential Brazilian sociologist Gilberto Freyre, made in his country house in Apipucos, Pernambuco (Northeast Brazil).
Pure Comedy is a black and white document of the live tracking of Pure Comedy, as well as a surreal look into Tillman's writing process. A six person crew, complete with cranes in the tracking rooms, captured every moment of the recording, giving the viewer intimate audience to actual album takes, including the one and only 2:00am performance of the 13-minute "Leaving LA."
A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
A documentary about the sport of boxing, as seen through the eyes of champions Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Bernard Hopkins.
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Documentary of the making of the sequel to the popular Schwarzenegger film, The Terminator.
In his latest documentary, Sean Menard gives viewers an unprecedented look at Vince Carter: the six-foot-six, eight-time NBA All-Star from Daytona Beach who made waves in the Canadian basketball scene when he joined the Toronto Raptors in 1998.
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.
A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.
In 1999, Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris recruits dozens of young men and women who agree to live in underground apartments for weeks at a time while their every movement is broadcast online. Soon, Harris and his girlfriend embark on their own subterranean adventure, with cameras streaming live footage of their meals, arguments, bedroom activities, and bathroom habits. This documentary explores the role of technology in our lives, as it charts the fragile nature of dot-com economy.
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
Iverson is the ultimate legacy of NBA legend Allen Iverson, who rose from a childhood of crushing poverty in Hampton, Virginia, to become an 11-time NBA All-Star and universally recognized icon of his sport. Off the court, his audacious rejection of conservative NBA convention and unapologetic embrace of hip hop culture sent shockwaves throughout the league and influenced an entire generation. Told largely in Iverson's own words, the film charts the career highs and lows of one of the most distinctive and accomplished figures the sport of basketball has ever seen.
Follow the evolution of the 'Halloween' movies over the past twenty-five years. It examines why the films are so popular and revisits many of the original locations used in the films - seeing the effects on the local community. For the first time, cast, crew, critics and fans join together in the ultimate 'Halloween' retrospective.
A chronicle of the life, work and mind that created the Cthulhu mythos.
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
The Crash Reel tells the story of a sport and the risks that athletes face in reaching the pinnacle of their profession. This is Kevin Pearce’s story, a celebrated snowboarder who sustained a brain injury in a trick gone wrong and who now aims, against all the odds, to get back on the snow.
