Documentary

The world of Zeytin, a stray dog living life on the streets of Istanbul.Read More »

Quote:
In an Armenian village with a patriarchal tradition, five women who are daughters, mothers and grandmothers debate together about life and war while they prepare lavash the Armenian traditional bread.Read More »

Synopsis:
87-year-old persecuted and declared guerrilla Giannis Lionakis, in a farewell trip to the place that defined his life, tells us about a 14-years (1948-1962) incredible survival effort, which begins with the end of the Civil War in Crete.Read More »

During the early 1980s, David Hockney focused on a new technique for creating photographic collages, which he termed ‘joiners’. These works involve assembling scores of photos of the same subject taken from different angles in a single session. Hockney’s aim was to inject a visible element of time into photographic images, which normally represent only ‘frozen moments’. To illustrate his approach, a special project was devised for this film, and Hockney is shown at his Los Angeles studio creating the ‘joiner’ later titled Fredda bringing Ann and me a Cup of Tea. Through his exploration of this new method, Hockney illuminates his underlying attitudes to the nature of visual representation. This film adds a further dimension by looking at the influence of photographs on Hockney’s paintings and graphic works throughout his career. Hockney places his own experiments in a wide perspective, highlighting the interaction between an artist’s creativity and chosen medium.Read More »

American composers have long struggled against the momentum of the Western European classical tradition and the prestige it has held in America’s cultural life. Featuring Harry Partch, Lou Harrison and Terry Riley, Musical Outsiders: An American Legacy addresses the freedom desired by the musicians and their efforts to gain recognition and opportunities while existing outside of the mainstream. When asked about his creative process, Terry Riley offered the following thought, “There’s always an endless frontier in music, because we’re dealing here with a person’s soul, you’re dealing with something that’s very basic, it’s a spiritual element.” (Terry Riley). Together the featured artists offer a deeper understanding of their alternative musical pursuits and how they have affected American culture.Read More »

Tibetan Buddhist Master Choogyal Namkhai Norbu watches as his western-born son, Yeshi, who was recognized at birth as the reincarnation of a famous spiritual master, considers departing from tradition to embrace the modern world.Read More »

In the desolate wilderness of the disappearing islands along the Brahmaputra river, 12-year-old orphan Afrin is coming of age. When heavy rainfalls and flood waters ravage Afrin’s island, she refuses to surrender to its deadly tides. Afrin rows herself in a wooden boat toward the teeming metropolis of Dhaka to find her estranged father among the millions of climate refugees. Forced to grow up fast, Afrin must confront the mysteries of a sinking world.Read More »

The turmoil that has overtaken Hong Kong since its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 has spawned a new generation of young, passionately committed activist filmmakers; they want to tell Hong Kong’s story with Hong Kong voices. And the best indie documentary to have emerged so far from the HKSAR is this year’s Yellowing, by Chan Tze Woon, a 29-year-old with degrees in policy studies and film production. Hong Kong’s fraught, tense relationship with its mainland Chinese overseers came to a head with the Umbrella Movement of 2014. A crowd of protesters stormed Civic Square on September 27. The next day police shocked most residents of the HKSAR by attacking the growing crowds with volleys of tear gas, whereupon a wide cross section of Hong Kongers occupied the streets in several areas and stayed for almost 6 weeks.Read More »

In 1914, explorer Ernest Shackleton set out to become the first man to cross the frozen wastes of the Antarctic continent on foot; however, a combination of treacherous conditions, unexpected changes in weather, and simple bad luck left Shackleton and his crew of 28 men stranded in one of the world’s most unforgiving environments for nearly two years. Miraculously, Shackleton and his men not only survived, but brought back remarkable footage of their ordeal, thanks to cameraman Frank Hurley, who traveled with Shackleton to record the adventure on film. The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition, adapted from the book by Caroline Alexander, combines Hurley’s material with newly shot footage tracing the path of Shackleton’s journey, presenting a remarkable true-life tale of courage and human survival against grim odds. Liam Neeson narrates.Read More »