Documentary

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In this “film essay,” director Alexander Kluge handles two different stories with both fictional and documentary aspects. In one story, a foster parent cares for a traumatized young girl who is now an orphan after witnessing a car crash that killed both her parents. After the foster-parent does the right thing and takes the girl to her aunt — her court-appointed guardian — she is shocked to see that neither the wealthy aunt nor her servants are very interested in the girl. An unusual decision follows. In the other story, a director goes blind in the middle of a film project but has to be kept on because of his contract. This situation leads to some philosophizing on the nature of film and art in the modern world. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie GuideRead More »

Alida Valli is one of the most famous and beloved actresses of the 20th-century, a true legend, and a national treasure. Mimmo Verdesca tells her the extraordinary life through the words of her letters and diaries, read by Giovanna Mezzogiorno, and exclusive testimonies of eminent protagonists of Italian and international cinema and theatre.

‘Alida’ is a gem for many reasons: and the director proves his ability as a storyteller. He takes you on a fascinating journey that allows you to get to know the artist and the woman as well. And the latter is a captivating discovery.Read More »

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A rehearsal of the Andrzej Kurylewicz quintet is underway in the radio recording studio. The lineup includes: Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, Andrzej Dąbrowski, Wojciech Karolak, Roman Dylag. A well-arranged whole begins to emerge from the polyphony of voices and sounds.Read More »

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Giorni di Gloria has been called “the first documentary on the Resistance” (Antonio Vitti) and “the most revolutionary film in existence” (Paolo Gobetti). I prefer the film’s own dedication:

«A tutti coloro che in Italia hanno sofferto e combattuto l´oppressione nazifascista è dedicato questo film di lotta partigiana e di rinascita nazionale»

“For all those in Italy who have suffered and fought Nazi oppression, this film is dedicated to the partisan struggle and national rebirth.”

The film is raw, brutal, humane, outraged and unflagging in its celebration of resistance in the service of political justice. The photography – credited to a dozen cinematographers, including Gianni Di Venanzo’s first film credit – is starkly beautiful.Read More »

Does India have a national cinema? Does it, indeed, require one? Mrinal Sen is not quite sure. Yet, his latest celluloid essay, And the Show Goes On, a British Film Institute-funded tribute to the world’s largest movie industry in cinema’s centenary year, is quite polemically categorical about what India’s filmic output should be.

But can it ever be what it ideally ought to be? Again, Sen, as is his wont, is not forth coming with a clear answer. His prescription, however, is rather unambiguous: cinema should confront social realities, no matter how harsh; it cannot continue being as cavalierly escapist as it is in India and yet expect to be taken seriously on the global stage. As film director and critic Chidananda Dasgupta says on camera: “India lives too much by myth and too little by fact”. That, for Sen, is where the problem begins. And ends.Read More »

This documentary explores the folk horror phenomenon from its beginnings in three foundational films – Michael Reeves’ “Witchfinder General” (1968), Piers Haggard’s “Blood on Satan’s Claw” (1971) and Robin Hardy’s “The Wicker Man” (1973) – through its proliferation on British television in the 1970s and its culturally specific manifestations in American, Asian, Australian and European horror, to the genre’s revival over the last decade. Touching on over 100 titles and featuring over 50 interviewees, the film investigates the many ways by which we alternately celebrate, conceal and manipulate our own histories in an attempt to find spiritual resonance in our surroundings.Read More »

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Peter Nestler’s poetic documentary Verteidigung der Zeit is not only an hommage to Jean-Marie Straub’s and Danièle Huillet’s film Quei loro incontri (2005), but also to their access to cinema itself. In various encounters and conversations Nestler offers an insight into their life and work, including passages from Italian poet Cesare Pavese.Read More »

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Abstract documentary account of the 2005 Festival Art Rock in Saint-Brieuc, France, featuring performances by Sonic Youth, Metric and others.

Performances by:
MIRROR/DASH (kim gordon – thurston moore)
JEANNE BALIBAR/RODOLPHE BURGER
METRIC
TEXT OF LIGHT (lee ranaldo – steve shelley)
AFEL BOCOUM
MARIE MODIANO
ALLA
WHITE TAHINA (joanna preiss – vincent epplay)
PASCAL RAMBERT
JIM O’ROURKERead More »

A woman yearns to find her identity through her character:a supervillain, dancer and mother, in the Mena sector, or what they call “the largest ghetto in Chile”, in Puente Alto, Santiago.Read More »