The Schwitters scandal was pure DADA! While he was alive, Schwitters provoked the art world with his one-man Dada movement Merz, which united painting, sculpture, architecture and literature in fragments. After his death he hit the headlines due to several sensational inheritance lawsuits involving his heirs, a mistress, the Norwegian government, and the Marlborough Gallery - which had gained notoriety in the Rothko scandal. Looking back on Schwitters’ life and work, this film unravels a bizarre story of deceit, intrigue, power and money.
Step right up into the world of Werner Tübke! The painter and illustrator from Leipzig created fantastical imagery, replete with virtuosity and a love of storytelling. In the style of the old masters, he transformed the everyday and the political into something that transcends time, and in that way developed his own distinct, anachronistic viewpoint. As a co-founder of the Leipziger Schule, Tübke paved the way for a figurative art, which has earned him international recognition since the 1970s. Reiner E. Moritz met with the GDR’s extravagant prince of painting in his studio and accompanied him at work on his showpiece, the German Peasants' War panorama in Bad Frankenhausen.
The tallest building on the west coast was recently completed in one of the most seismically active zones in the world, Aspire to the Sky: The Wilshire Grand Story.
In the mists of war and violence, the Harlequin, trumpet in hand, drifts through ravaged landscape passing a cripple and a marionette: Bernhard Heisig's pictorial worlds shock the viewer by depicting the great dramas of German history. Both a victim and a perpetrator in World War II and in the GDR dictatorship, the artist's search for sense and truth led him to his moving image formulas. Director Reiner E. Moritz converses with the renowned ex-principal of the Leipzig Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst (Academy of Visual Arts) about his work, which influenced the development of art for many decades in the rigid GDR system.
More recently, in the middle of the last century, a group of enthusiasts began to develop a sport unique to Russia: water skiing. Very quickly, riding on the water behind the boat became popular: tricks became more complicated, new champions appeared. And a few decades later, water skiing was replaced by modern wakeboarding — with its own unique path and bright characters.
Norman Foster (b.1935) is widely considered to be one of the world's greatest living architects. He has offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Berlin, Glasgow and London. While other international practices have succumbed to commercial pressures, Foster has retained a reputation for innovation and originality. He is also highly respected for his flair when adapting or converting older buildings to present-day needs. His designs are always rooted in his concern for minimal environmental damage and maximum technological efficiency. This film follows Foster at work in his office and on the site of some of his major new projects, including the Law Faculty at Cambridge University and the telecommunications tower in Santiago de Compostela. Foster is a man driven by his passion for architecture and his perfectionism. This portrait reveals not only his genius, but also his highly sensitive and artistic personality.
MamaPan is an artisan bakery where the female employees are social cases who would hardly find a job given that, for example, they cannot read or write. We see the harsh reality of these women, their instability and their inability to adapt, which results from all the problems they bring from home. The film presents their perspective in contact with the economic and entrepreneurial perspective and once again shows the problems in the social system related to the integration of vulnerable people in Romania.
A short documentary film by ethnographic filmmaker Tim Asch that shows young members of the Yanomamo Indian tribe sharpening their arrow-shooting skills.
This short 19-minute documentary is an intimate and moving exploration of the profound and far-reaching impact of surveillance on Muslim American individuals and communities. Premiering at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, WATCHED is told through the personal experience of two women, both coming of age in New York. The film charts the devastating toll of surveillance and reveals the scars it leaves behind.
From the deep south to the extreme north, a trip through Iraq where the amazing diversity of Iraqi society is unveiled. Haunting chants are interwoven with the voices of the people, lending a poetic resonance to the issue.
Alexander Zinoviev gained worldwide fame primarily as a logician, sociologist, writer, author of the genre of sociological novel created by him, who marked new milestones in each of these areas of human culture with his work. Poetry and visual creativity of the thinker complement the image of what is called the Zinoviev phenomenon.
This documentary provides a detailed look at the works of the German artist, now best known for his collages and junk sculpture. Schwitters began painting as an expressionist, but in 1919 he turned to collage, incorporating into his works trash such as train tickets and newspapers, which he exploited for their colour, texture, and surprise value. Includes many of Schwitters' most famous creations filmed during an exhibition of his works at the George Pompidou Museum.
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.
This short documentary showcases Australian photographer Trent Parke’s The Black Rose exhibit while delving into his past, techniques, and philosophy of art.
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.