A short film documenting Ethiopian musician Hailu Mergia's life as the leader of the Walias Band in the 1970, his immigration to the United States and his subsequent re-emergence as a performer in 2014.
Janey Godley takes centre stage in this engaging and insightful documentary about the fearless and funny comic. Janey found fame for her sweary anti-Trump placards and became a social media sensation as she revoiced First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s Covid briefings. 'First I was cancelled, then I got cancer,' Janey notes as she recalls being called out for racist historic tweets, apologising and then trying to rebuild her career before receiving her diagnosis. That didn’t stop her from going on tour and director John Archer interweaves fly-on-the-wall footage with interviews from people such as Jimmy Carr, Nicola Sturgeon, and Janey's daughter, Ashley, that reveal details of a difficult Glasgow childhood.
A rock band with a propensity to create their own adventures attempts to bring a mandolin Guinness World Record from India to their hometown in Greenville, South Carolina. Along the way, they discover it's far more challenging than they had ever imagined, and there's suddenly a lot riding on their ability to succeed in this one-of-a-kind documentary film.
February 2022. Russia invades Ukraine, a war that brings back dark memories and tragic lessons from World War II. Ariane Mnouchkine, the founder of the Théâtre du Soleil who was born when war was declared in 1939, was in shock. For her, going with part of her troop to Ukraine is above all a message of solidarity and gratitude towards this people of resistance who are fighting both for their freedom but also for that of Europe. The desire of Ariane Mnouchkine and her actors is to find with Ukrainian artists, beyond differences of language and culture, a common and universal language: that of theater.
This short documentary showcases Australian photographer Trent Parke’s The Black Rose exhibit while delving into his past, techniques, and philosophy of art.
Early humans may have discovered wine accidentally, but now it's grown and sold just about everywhere. Jim Hodgson stops in Egypt, ancient Rome, Spain, France and other locations to trace wine's delicious history.
Set against the contrasting backdrops of Manhattan and Los Angeles, this film examines the life of one of the world’s greatest celebrities of print journalism - Dominick Dunne. Drawing on the memories of big names in Dunne’s field, including Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, Tina Brown, Joan Didion and octogenarian New York Post gossip columnist Liz Smith as well as legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans (The Godfather, Chinatown), the film uncovers what lies beneath a life. The film examines Dunne’s life from childhood, and his early days of being “an outsider on the inside”: a theme that has informed his whole life. From his World War II service that made Dunne return an unlikely hero – awarded the Bronze Star for bravery – to his rise and ultimate fall in Hollywood and then total reincarnation as a writer in his fifties, this film explores the nature of reinvention, belief in oneself, and the all-pervasive cult of celebrity.
Most Australians know about the Mabo and Wik decisions, but few know much about the decision makers — The High Court of Australia. Having gained historic access, THE HIGHEST COURT shows first hand the characters and drama of the High Court of Australia, the pinnacle of legal and constitutional processes in Australia. The role of the Court is explored as the film follows the handing down of two historic constitutional judgements, Kruger and Ha, and the appointment of two new Justices — Hayne and Callinan. For the first time cases have been filmed as they actually happen in the Court culminating with the recent Hindmarsh Island Bridge challenge.
The first documentary retrospective of Harry Seidler’s architectural legacy, Harry Seidler: Modernist reveals an intimate portrait of his extraordinary life and internationally...
Beginning with their small wrapped objects of 1958, this portrait examines the continuously bold and ambitious artistic ventures of the enigmatic duo, CHRISTO AND JEANNE-CLAUDE. Though their large scale environmental projects, such as Running Fence and Wrapped Coast, are often met with distress and concern from the surrounding community, perceptions of the project are likely to shift when it comes time to interact with the grand, finished piece. Neither permanent nor purchasable, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s works exude the essence of freedom and exist only for the sake of existing.
Gentrification and displacement are affecting all big cities throughout the world, but none more egregiously than my hometown of New York City. As a Native New Yorker, I am disturbed to see my beloved hometown become a haven for the wealthy when it was once a city that valued culture and community over money. Before Covid happened, the sky seemed to be the limit for corporate greed and that is when I started making this film. I chose specifically to focus on two lower-class neighborhoods that are in peril- Queens and the Lower East Side. In documenting these neighborhoods under threat, I met local activists whose lives centered around maintaining the ethos of their community.
"Shotplayer" is an impressionistic journey into the mind of Wilfred Rose, one of New York City's most notorious pickpockets. As he returns to the subway for the first time in many years he reflects on a life of crime in a society that has left many of its citizens behind. "Shotplayer" asks, when is it ok to push back against that society? What does it mean to live as a criminal? What does it mean to live one’s life on an invisible plane? To live at all?
Heinrich Schütz was presumably the first internationally renowned German composer. In the 40 years he spent as court "kapellmeister" in Dresden, he left a strong impression on musical life in Europe. Although he was named "father of our modern, meaning German, music", he was long forgotten after his death in 1672. His works in their clear beauty still seem up-to-date, almost modern. However, only his vocal works - a small part of his extensive oeuvre - are known today. Narrating this documentary are, amongst others, international musical experts from Germany, Venice or Copenhagen - like David Douglas Bryant, Bjarke Moe, Prof. Matthias Herrmann, Dr. Christina Siegfried - as well as conductor Hans-Christoph Rademann, who was the first to record Schütz's complete (known) oeuvre.
Mary Ainsworth's "Strange Situation" is now basic to understandings of infant-parent interactions and, thus, later emotional development. Working in close collaboration with the British psychiatrist John Bowlby, Ainsworth gave us new understandings of the huge impact very early emotional experiences have on personality development across the life span.
Based on the best-selling book by Drew Gilpin Faust, this film will explore how the American Civil War created a "republic of suffering" and will chart the far-reaching social, political, and social changes brought about by the pervasive presence and fear of death during the Civil War.
Sea otters are once again in peril after being brought back from the brink of extinction. An unprecedented number of sea otter deaths have occurred along the California coast in the last three years. Meanwhile, the Fish & Wildlife Services decision to eliminate their No Otter Zone from Southern California waters remains controversial. This fragile species threatened by pollution, infectious diseases, starvation, and competition with fishermen struggles for survival.