Monuments Are Here

Lawrence Jordan's portrait of the reclusive artist Joseph Cornell.

Giovanni Segantini rose from humble origins to become the most important of Italian pointillists, and one of the most important symbolist painters in the 19th century. This film focuses on his way of feeling nature as a source of artistic and spiritual inspiration.

An insider's look into Francis Ford Coppola's latest Live Cinema project, Distant Vision.

In this film, a police officer tells children about the dangers of accepting rides or presents from strangers, and relates the unfortunate stories of several children who did and were never seen again.

Commissioned by the journal Présence Africaine, this short documentary examines how African art is devalued and alienated through colonial and museum contexts. Beginning with the question of why African works are confined to ethnographic displays while Greek or Egyptian art is celebrated, the film became a landmark of anti-colonial cinema and was banned in France for eight years.

Short documentary about the Thursday-bazaar of Minaab, a small city in South of Iran

Ram Dass is one of the most important cultural figures from the 1960s and 70s. A pyschedelic pioneer, author of Be Here Now, beloved spiritual teacher, and outspoken advocate for death-and-dying awareness, Ram Dass is now himself approaching the end of life. Since suffering a life-changing stroke twenty years ago, he has been living at his home on Maui and deepening his spiritual practice — which is centered on love and his idea of merging with his surroundings and all living things. Shot in a nuanced cinematic style, the film is an intimate summary of his life learning and awareness, and is ultimately a poetic meditation on life, death, and the soul’s journey home.

The increasing reliance of 1970's America on fast food meals is examined, and ways to improve on this diet are suggested.

In 1991, just a few months after the racially motivated murder of Amadeu Antonio, Ralf Marschalleck documents the small town of Eberswalde, its violence, and its resignation.

Draped in an electric blue fabric, the artist acts as a conduit between the tangile and the spiritual, blurring the boundaries between human form and natural elements.

Beijo de Borboleta

In this revealing documentary, Ken McMullen creates an elegant portrait of artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman, based on an interview conducted by John Cartwright. The questions are unobtrusive, allowing Jarman to reflect on his major films. Despite the debilitating effects of serious illness, we see an artist with his inner vision unimpaired; still humorous, self effacing and disarmingly charming.

A one minute short film showcasing the sights, sounds, and people that characterizes Singapore's nightlife.

We Should Have Coffee Sometime is a four-minute animated documentary exploring a loss of faith. The film begins with a meditation on the end of a relationship. About one minute later it is revealed that the relationship is not between friends or romantic partners but between co-director Maile Martinez and God. To complement and clarify the narration, the project employs a variety of animation styles.

A short film warning the unaware housewife of the dangers of “dry cleaning” with gasoline at home.

Archival footage of an American Nazi rally that attracted 20,000 people at Madison Square Garden in 1939, shortly before the beginning of World War II.

Tommy Davis asks dentist Dr. Hendricks about his older brother Jim, a star halfback who failed his Annapolis dental examination. The doctor offers good advice, the kind one should share with his friends. Tommy invites his whole gang to hear Dr. Hendricks explain the importance of dental health and how dental disease can be controlled. Dr. Hendricks tells a fascinating story. He talks about mouth hygiene, dental care and the role foods play in protecting dental health. Tommy and his friends learn the facts, and the care of their teeth and health takes on a new, highly important light. As for Jim, he profits, too. The story ends on the note that dental health is essential in health generally, appearance and personality.

"The prevailing stigmatization of the 'villero' universe is fed back by the images. In order to dismantle this stigmatization, other images must be presented or we need to reveal what the existing ones seek to cover up. The slum is usually represented from a limited and deceitful visual panorama. This representation has an intention. Cinema and television are two image-producing devices that strengthen the stereotypes that we have about the people who inhabit these spaces. And what happens in the field of painting? Do clichés reign there too? This visual essay seeks to confront various works by national painters and sculptors, belonging to the Palais collection, with the kinetic images of current cinema and television, to reflect on both the differences and the similarities in the meanings and discourses that both regimes of images can produce." César González

How do artists view their own work? How does actor Esko Salminen immerse himself in his roles, how does the writer/director Saara Turunen create a whole new world for the stage, and why does musician PK Keränen pick up his guitar time and time again? Is creativity a conscious or subconscious process, a pleasure or a compulsion? Veikko Aaltonen’s documentary takes us straight into the heart of creativity with artists from different fields and generations. Celebrating the various forms of passion and creative work, the film presents a compelling case for the significance of art.

A short documentary following the last 5 hours of a 59-years-old man, Ahmed before becoming homeless due to the late payments and bureaucracy by the Department for Work and Pensions.