From the open air theater in the Bois de Boulogne the sex workers Heden, Claudia and Samantha, tell about the woods which is their work place.
Harrow’s extraordinary and opulent pageant, and seaside holidays on the south coast.
Druids, Romans and Norman knights return to Richmond for the 600th anniversary of the Yorkshire town's charter.
Master baker, owner of Duffryn Bakery, Onllwyn, turns his hand to film-making and captures community events in glorious colour.
A universal underdog tale with its own unique lens. Out of the ashes of loss, can one man use mixed martial arts to save young people from the toughest parts of our society? Zero opportunity, poverty and crime are common themes in the housing estates of Sunderland, North East England. A once proud region of industry, now a wasteland scattered with the relics of the past, as generations of government continue to neglect it.
Severo
Frederick Law Olmsted designed New York City's Central Park with Calvert Vaux over 150 years ago, and it remains an undisputed haven of tranquility amidst one of the largest, tallest, and most unnatural places on earth. This film examines the creation of America's great city parks in the late 1800s through the enigmatic eyes of Frederick Law Olmsted, visionary urban planner and landscape architect. In his own words, Olmsted and America's Urban Parks weaves together Olmsted's engaging and poignant personal story with those of the lasting masterpieces he left for us today, featuring Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Kline as the voice of Frederick Law Olmsted.
Documentary about the social microcosm of Hasenheide, a 50 hectar green area in Berlin, located between Kreuzberg and Neukölln. In this park, you'll find old women with their dogs, young football players, Turks at the barbecue, as well as nudists. For the residents, Hasenheide is sports area, living room, pub and runway all at once. A refutation of the media panic surrounding the park as a place of drug dealing and violence.
Visits to three animal parks in Miami, Florida: the Rare Bird Farm, with it's many chickens, cranes, and other birds; the Monkey Jungle, where the visitors are caged and the simian inhabitants roam freely; and finally the Parrot Jungle.
To Olmsted, a park was both a work of art and a necessity for urban life. Olmsted’s efforts to preserve nature created an “environmental ethic” decades before the environmental movement became a force in American politics. With gorgeous cinematography, and compelling commentary this film presents the biography of a man whose parks and preservation are an essential part of American life.
Reclaiming what was once stolen from him, a man journeys back to the place of his childhood nearly 80 years after his world came crashing down.
André Le Notre is certainly the most famous French gardener. He was also a designer, architect, engineer, landscaper and urban planner. He worked for Louis XIV from 1645 to 1700 and designed the gardens of Versailles, Vaux le Vicomte, Chantilly and Fontainebleau, as well as the Tuileries in Paris.
An actuallity film of a fairground carousel in action. Filmmaker unknown but it has been suggested it is R.W. Paul. The film was made on Hampstead heath, London, UK.
A portrait of five men competing in the Miss Gay America pageant.
From the BFI Collection, this film is actually two films spliced together into one. The first is Birt Acres' work 'A Corner of Barnet Fair' which is the first film seen . This shows a merry-go-round and some people sitting in a doorway while street traffic goes by. The second film is a fragment of unknown origin of a street outside a very large building of what looks like a possible theatre, with a large Victorian awning. the shop next door appears to be selling wines and spirits. A horse drawn charabanc goes past, followed by a male bicyclist. This is closely followed by a male and female couple in an open carriage and two carts with workmen staring at the camera as they pass. Both films are believed to be from Barnet, given they have been spliced together. The film is in a deteriorated state with some rippling.
Forains, l'art en fête
In Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, the Vida/Sida Cacica Pageant brings together members of the Puerto Rican community to celebrate its transgender participants. I Am The Queen follows Bianca, Julissa and Jolizza as they prepare for the pageant under the guidance of Ginger Valdez, an experienced transgender from the neighborhood. These trans women share stories of their transition, their relatives’ varying reactions, and how they find support from within the community. Family dynamics, cultural heritage, and personal identity all play a part in how the contestants face the daily struggle that comes from being true to themselves.
A study into Town End Farm Working Men's Club in Sunderland, England. Like all working men's clubs, Town End Farm has struggled in the past decade to compete with the smoking ban, cheap supermarket alcohol and changing cultural attitudes. The film will be look at the reasons the club is in the position it's in, and how the club has shaped its member's lives.
Lagoa do Nado - A festa de um parque
This short documentary profiles the idyllic landscapes of Parc Lafontaine. Set to an original song, the film follows a mother who brings her son to the park, where he plays, swings, and watches the ducks and gondolas glide on the pond. As an adult, he wanders through the park with his sweetheart. The song closes sadly, for his sweetheart leaves him. The passing gondola seems to bear his love away forever, but the final scenes suggest a happy ending. - NFB