Swinging Light

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.

Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.

From the turtles of the Farasan Islands to the ibex that dot the Asir Mountains, this documentary captures Saudi Arabia's diverse wildlife and scenery.

This documentary is featured on the DVD for Captain Blood (1935), released in 2005.

In 1928, as the talkies threw the film industry and film language into turmoil, Chaplin decided that his Tramp character would not be heard. City Lights would not be a talking picture, but it would have a soundtrack. Chaplin personally composed a musical score and sound effects for the picture. With Peter Lord, the famous co-creator of Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit, we see how Chaplin became the king of slapstick comedy and the superstar of the movies.

This film aims to capture the stories of the aging Isabella, but also captures her condition and loss of cohesiveness as she loses herself into dementia and Parkinson's. It is also a very personal film since the subject is the grandmother of one of the co- directors. The idea is interesting as it links one strong clear memory, told several times, to other fragments and truths of her condition. Animation is sparingly but cleverly used to complement the delivery and avoid it just being a talking head.

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

Documentary about the life of explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Presents life in 18th century Spain as the painter Francisco de Goya showed it to us.

Gorillas and Chimpanzees struggle for power and dominance within their clans.

Young men are faced with a medical commission for army recruits and asked to choose where they want to get to, at least theoretically.

The 1966 visit of Hollywood movie star Kirk Douglas at the legendary Polish State Film School in Lódz.

Piwowski's documentary debut is a satirical reportage, referring to the poetics of the Czech school at the time. The starting point was an order from a film studio to join a project proposed by the Germans: what do teenagers in your country do on Saturday at 5 pm? Images from the lives of teenagers from Kętrzyn make up a contrasting slice of free time in a small town. Firemen maneuvering to start a fire outside working hours, bodybuilders training, choir rehearsal, dancing in Hitler's former headquarters...

A satirical look at the Soviet-block hairdressing contest which was held in Warsaw in 1971.

A routine drone survey turns deadly when Ryan Johnson, a marine biologist based in South Africa, films a humpback whale being attacked and strategically drowned by a Great white shark. This is a total perspective shift for the creature.

"This project consists a visual fluidity of construction, harmony and thoughts taking colors and length from this body of autonomy. Different images between figuration and abstraction are created by meaning and phenomenon letting the decoupage revealing a piece of a strange underworld. I built it like a window opened to the fresh air of improvisation by familiar landscapes, those exact moments articulating a connection between light and movement."

Wes Hurley's autobiographical tale of growing up gay in Soviet Union Russia, only to escape with his mother, a mail order bride, to Seattle to face a whole new oppression in his new Christian fundamentalist American dad.

This Pixar documentary short follows Sarah Vowell, who plays herself as the title character, on why she is a superhero in her own way. (This short piece is included on the 2-Disc DVD for "The Incredibles", which was released in 2005.