Uzbek Madonna

In one of those wonderful coincidences of history, lumière, the French word for “light,” was also the last name of brothers Auguste and Louis, whose brilliant invention, the cinematograph, helped to inaugurate the most beloved art form of the last 130 years. Institute Lumière director Thierry Frémaux uses Lumière, Le Cinema! to guide the viewer through over a hundred shorts—some famous, some forgotten, some never before seen—directed by Lumière and company. In the process, Frémaux illuminates how the brothers employed the camera as a creative instrument as they (and their operators) mastered framing, staging, and subject selection for quotidian and exotic microdocumentaries as well as the first ever fictional motion pictures. The result is not only a glorious re(telling) of the genesis of cinema but a profound meditation on the beautiful world captured—and the mysterious world imagined—by the Lumières.

A short actualité depicting the aftermath of an infamous accident in Costa Rica when an overcrowded train carrying mostly farmers and labourers derailed while crossing the Virilla River Canyon, killing at least 250.

From 1920 to 1965, the great Buster Keaton made spectacular use of locomotives in his films. This video essay charts the course of his iconic cinematic career across the many tracks he rode along on screen: as a young man in the surge of his silent movie ascent in Our Hospitality, while making his masterpiece The General, and traversing the width of Canada on a railway speeder car as an old man in The Railrodder.

"Iwa Wanja - Kissed by Fate, Forgotten by Everyone", is dedicated to the German film star with Bulgarian roots Ivanka Janakieva. The actress's life is full of twists, dramas and blows of fate, and her remarkable film career makes her the only Bulgarian woman with a name in European cinema from its silent period.

The tragic story of the greatest soccer player the most have never heard of.

London After Midnight (1927), directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney, is the most sought-after lost film by fans of fantastic cinema. Has this mythical treasure finally been found in an old South American cinema?

Charlie Chaplin, The Tramp. In this documentary, we will take a look at the life of actor and director Charlie Chaplin, and talk about his films and hidden symbolisms.

The epic life story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968), a French screenwriter, director and producer, true pioneer of cinema, the first person who made a narrative fiction film; author of hundreds of movies, but banished from history books. Ignored and forgotten. At last remembered.

A group of men shows the 'before and after' physical effects of a journey upon the Mount Aspiring area. Mount Aspiring (9,960 ft.), known as the Matterhorn of New Zealand, together with Mount French, mark the end of the Otago and Westland regions. The movie does not show scenes of the climbing itself, but collects the testimonies of the members of the group, led by Jack Aitken. The other members are Bill Young, Stewert J. Macdonald, Victor Bowden, and Roland Ellis.

Uzbek youth confess their dreams, take flight, and negotiate the reality around them. Directed by Kirill Kulagin. In this documentary directed by Kirill Kulagin, Uzbek teenagers share their innermost dreams. And rather than talk of only fantasies, these dreams unearth the reality these youth face and how they negotiate with it. In Central Asia, talking about oneself can seem impolite. From an outsider perspective, emotions in this culture are only spoken about indirectly, lest they “air [their] dirty laundry in public.” But talking about dreams can break through this social barrier. For the film, Kulagin ran filmmaking labs with Uzbek youth to explore their real stories and real feelings surrounding dreams. These dreams served as jumping-off points to discuss deeper fears and desires, which turned into metaphors and a visual language based on how they navigated the boundaries of intimacy.

A walk through the life and work of the brilliant French filmmaker Georges Méliès (1861-1938), pioneer of special and visual effects.

Throughout the 19th century, imaginative and visionary artists and inventors brought about the advent of a new look, absolutely modern and truly cinematographic, long before the revolutionary invention of the Lumière brothers and the arrival of December 28, 1895, the historic day on which the first cinema performance took place.

Documentary on the rise and fall of the Danish silent film industry.

Long treated with indifference by critics and historians, British silent cinema has only recently undergone the reevaluation it has long deserved, revealing it to be far richer than previously acknowledged. This documentary, featuring clips from a remarkable range of films, celebrates the early years of British filmmaking and spans from such pioneers as George Albert Smith and Cecil Hepworth to such later figures as Anthony Asquith, Maurice Elvey and, of course, Alfred Hitchcock.

A biographical film about cinematic illusionist Georges Méliès featuring Méliès’s widow, Jeanne d’Alcy, as herself, and their son André as his own father.

"While The Salvation Army on the Job is listed in film databases without a full plot summary, it is closely associated with the 1919 short comedy A Desert Hero, which shares the Salvation Army theme and likely served as its inspiration."

Released on August 17th, 1919. Produced by Burton Holmes.

Travelogue of a trip that occurred over a two-week period. Includes scenic sequences of mountains and lakes such as: Spokane, Washington, Rockies, Kootenay National Park, Sinclair Valley, Floc Lake, Marble Canyon, bears chasing and "looting" the cars. Castle Mountain - home of the little Chinook Wing - Banff and Cascade Mountain. Footage includes the people, apparel and cars of the late 1920s.

Released on August 31st, 1919. Produced by Burton Holmes.

Travelogue of Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. Sailing distance to Glacier National Park, Montana. Vimy Mountain overlooks National Parks on both sides of the international line. Hikers hiking through the mountains.