Documentary

  • James Algar – Jungle Cat (1959)

    James Algar1951-1960AdventureDocumentaryUSA

    This final True-Life Adventure would also appear to be one of the best, as we go into the South American jungle to observe the jaguar. Jungle Cat is more intimate than its kin, allowing individual animal characters to be developed. Central to the cast is a pair of jaguars (one ebony), whose fighting leads to love and, not long after, two babies (one resembling each parent). As in Lion, other creatures in the area also get sufficiently documented. Among these are curious otters, strange-looking anteaters, crocodiles, flamingoes, lizards, and a number of tropical birds.Read More »

  • Lewis Jacobs – Tree Trunk to Head (1938)

    Lewis Jacobs1931-1940DocumentaryExperimentalUSA

    Quote:
    “The personality of the sculptor Chaim Gross, his mannerisms, his characteristic method of work, his tendencies are all intimately disclosed in minute details, as though unobserved—a sort of candid-camera study. Dramatic form and cinematic structure endow the presentation with excitement, humor, and interest.” – Lewis JacobsRead More »

  • Katja Gauriloff – Säilöttyjä Unelmia AKA Canned Dreams (2012)

    2011-2020DocumentaryFinlandKatja Gauriloff

    A simple can of ravioli propels this spectacular 30,000-kilometre, eight-country journey through all phases of food production and the far flung sources of international ingredients. A dream-like voyage with glimpses of disconcerting realities, the story begins with a single mother toiling in one of the biggest open pit mines in Brazil and ends on the shelf of a grocery store in Finland. Along the way, the workers whose calloused hands mine, raise and harvest each ingredient reveal their dreams and hopes, like the Danish pig farmer who loves his sows but longs for a girlfriend, and the Portuguese tomato picker who wants to stay healthy long enough to pay her daughters way through university. Sumptuous photography and impressive sound design make an eloquent statement about our modern, globalized world, making us aware of the hundreds of invisible people who prepare the food we eat every day. -Gisèle Gordon (HotDocs.ca)Read More »

  • Robert Kramer – Starting Place/Point de départ (1994)

    1991-2000ArthouseDocumentaryFranceRobert Kramer

    Synopsis:
    In Starting Place, Robert Kramer revisits Hanoi, two decades after the end of the war and his making of People’s war. He succeeds in creating an impressionistic portrait of a country dealing with its haunting past while struggling to build a competitive economy.Read More »

  • Charles Eames & Ray Eames – Powers of Ten (1977)

    Charles Eames1971-1980DocumentaryRay EamesShort FilmUSA

    Beginning with a shot of a couple enjoying a picnic, then zooming out incrementally by powers of ten, the film offers a glimpse of everything from the edge of the known universe to the molecules on a person’s hand.Read More »

  • Christopher Bird & Kevin Brownlow – Garbo (2005)

    Kevin Brownlow2001-2010Christopher BirdDocumentaryUSA

    Quote:
    An original documentary from Turner Classic Movies, Garbo offers an intimate look at the life and career of the movies’ most luminous, reclusive and mystifying star. A portrait of Garbo the woman is drawn through interviews with biographers and admirers, plus many of the friends, relatives and associates who came closest to penetrating the lonely star’s veil of solitude.Read More »

  • Peter Flynn – Film is Dead — Long Live Film (2024)

    2021-2030DocumentaryPeter FlynnUSA

    Film collectors rescue and preserve obscure and forgotten photochemical films from basement vault, releasing and restoring titles before analog film disappear, blurring lines between piracy and preservation as archives seek their holdings.Read More »

  • William Fairman & Max Gogarty – Chemsex (2015)

    Max Gogarty2011-2020DocumentaryQueer Cinema(s)United KingdomWilliam Fairman

    imdb wrote:
    In hidden basements, bedrooms and bars across London, “Chemsex” is a documentary that exposes frankly and intimately a dark side to modern gay life. Traversing an underworld of intravenous drug use and weekend-long sex parties, “Chemsex” tells the story of several men struggling to make it out of ‘the scene’ alive – and one health worker who has made it his mission to save them. While society looks the other way, this powerful and unflinching film uncovers a group of men battling with HIV, drug addiction and finding acceptance in a changing world.Read More »

  • Adam Curtis – Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone (2022)

    Adam Curtis2021-2030DocumentaryPoliticsUnited Kingdom

    At the start of the 1990s the Soviet Union – one the largest empires in the world – imploded.

    It was not a slow collapse like the British Empire, but one that collapsed suddenly – in just a few months.

    In the west we didn’t really see or understand what then happened because we were blinded by victory in the cold war. In reality what the Russian people experienced was a profound disaster which left behind it deep scars and a furious anger – that led to what is happening in Russia now and in Ukraine.Read More »

Back to top button