Documentary

  • Andrzej Munk – Niedzielny poranek AKA One Sunday Morning (1955)

    1951-1960Andrzej MunkDocumentaryPolandShort Film

    An impressionistic image of Warsaw rebuilt after the war and its residents. A kind of lyrical film version of a feature article, full of warm humour and enriched with observations of everyday life. (Awards: 1955 – 9th International Film Festival, Edinburgh, Honorary Diploma, 5th World Festival of Youth and Students, Warsaw, Gold Medal; 1956 – 5th Cultural and Documentary Film Week, Mannheim, Film Critics’ Award)Read More »

  • Jürgen Böttcher – Stars (1963)

    1961-1970DocumentaryGermanyJürgen BöttcherShort Film

    Quote:
    This black and white documentary film reports on a brigade of women, they are the “stars” of a Berlin light bulb factory. What is striking is the cordiality and good cooperation within the women’s group, despite their monotonous work in the control area in the production of tungsten wires, also called filaments. Original tones are inserted to convey the joys, the cheerfulness and quick-wittedness that they have despite their burden of family and work. A problem of the wrong way of counting the female workers is openly addressed by the brigade leader and in a countercut Inge introduces her baby to her colleagues in the company. Everything seems like one big family and nobody can really imagine being without this work.Read More »

  • Philippe Garrel – Actua I (1968)

    1961-1970DocumentaryFrancePhilippe GarrelShort FilmThe Films of May '68

    May 68 events seen through various 16 & 35mm shots, anonymous images made by young protesters who were filming during the night.Read More »

  • Antonio Giménez Rico – Vestida de azul AKA Dressed in Blue (1983)

    Antonio Giménez RicoDocumentaryQueer Cinema(s)Spain

    Quote:
    This is a documentary about drag queens and transsexuals in Madrid.
    This is the story of real people: Lorenzo, Rene, Jose Antonio, Paco, Juan and Jose, told by themselves. Sometimes funny, other dramatic, often pathetic, and how and why they became Lorena, Renee, Mayte, Eve, Tamara and Jhosette.Read More »

  • Tony Markes & Adam Rifkin – Welcome to Hollywood (1998)

    1991-2000Adam RifkinComedyDocumentaryTony MarkesUSA

    A mockumentary about a young man trying to make it in Hollywood as an actor.Read More »

  • Veiko Õunpuu – Viimeiset (2020)

    2011-2020DocumentaryDramaFinlandVeiko Õunpuu

    Tradition versus industrialism.
    The world of The Last Ones is set in a small mining village, in the Lapland tundra, filled with tensions between local reindeer herders and miners.
    The struggling mine owner, nicknamed The Fisherman, supplies his workers with drugs so they’ll forget a tough existence. The nearby small community of reindeer breeders also struggles.
    This critique of capitalism unfolds against a Western like landscape, as the film raises questions about the use and worth of the Arctic lands. The story also tackles romantic conflicts and northern melancholy with a touch of dark humor.
    According to director Õunpuu, The Last Ones aims to depict an image of the current state of the world.Read More »

  • John Ford – Torpedo Squadron (1942)

    1941-1950DocumentaryJohn FordShort FilmUSA

    There were only 30 copies of this film made, one for each family who lost someone during the attack on the Japanese fleet at Midway on 4 June 1942 by Torpedo Squadron 8, VT-8, USS Hornet. The squadron was led by Cmdr John Waldron, and this video was made using the original film that had been given to Waldron’s wife & daughter. The original film was made by John Ford from the footage of of classic documentary, The Battle of Midway.

    A short documentary filed during the Battle of Midway, June 4, 1942. Focuses on the 30 men in the torpedo squadron of the US Aircraft Carrier Hornet.Read More »

  • D.A. Pennebaker – Monterey Pop [+Extras] (1968)

    USA1961-1970D.A. PennebakerDocumentaryPerformance

    On a beautiful June weekend in 1967, at the beginning of the Summer of Love, the Monterey International Pop Festival roared forward, capturing a decade’s spirit and ushering in a new era of rock and roll. Monterey featured career-making performances by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding, but they were just a few of the performers in a wildly diverse lineup that also included Simon and Garfunkel, the Mamas and the Papas, the Who, the Byrds, Hugh Masekela, and the extraordinary Ravi Shankar. With his characteristic vérité style—and a camera crew that included the likes of Albert Maysles and Richard Leacock—D. A. Pennebaker captured it all, immortalizing moments that have become legend: Pete Townshend smashing his guitar, Jimi Hendrix burning his, Mama Cass watching Janis Joplin’s performance in awe. The most comprehensive document of the Monterey Pop Festival ever produced features the film Monterey Pop along with every available complete performance filmed by Pennebaker and his crew, along with additional rare outtakes and supplements.Read More »

  • Jem Cohen – Instrument: Ten Years with the Band Fugazi (1999)

    USA1991-2000DocumentaryJem CohenPerformance

    Quote:
    Instrument is a documentary film directed by Jem Cohen about the band Fugazi. Cohen’s relationship with band member Ian MacKaye extends back to the 1970s when the two met in high school in Washington, D.C.. The film takes its title from the Fugazi song of the same name, from their 1993 album, In on the Kill Taker.
    Editing of the film was done by both Cohen and the members of the band over the course of five years. It was shot from 1987 through 1998 on super 8, 16mm and video and is composed mainly of footage of concerts, interviews with the band members, practices, tours and time spent in the studio recording their 1995 album, Red Medicine.
    The film also includes portraits of fans as well as interviews with them at various Fugazi shows around the United States throughout the years.Read More »

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