Strokes of Genius: de Kooning on de Kooning

An Okinawan photographer, Mao Ishikawa spent her early 20s working as a barmaid in establishments catered specifically to African American GIs stationed in Okinawa. “There was love,” as the tagline reads, her photography book, 『Red Flower – The Women of Okinawa』 captured the diaristic intimacy of friendships, love affairs, and wild nights shared amongst her social circle of that time.

Paleolithic: a mysterious and enigmatic period. Hard to grasp from today's point of view. How did people live then, how did their communities function? What does the statue of the Venus of Willendorf tell us about them? ... The Venus of Willendorf, an ingeniously crafted 29,000-year-old statue of a woman, is a naked and sensual witness to the early Stone Age. Who does he represent? Is it a real depiction of a woman or an ideal? Is it a tribute to women mothers? Analysis of the famous statue and other archaeological finds from Austria and the Czech Republic shows that Paleolithic life was more diverse than previously thought, including the role of women, who very likely performed the same activities as men. They were hunters of big game and guardians of ancient knowledge. Take us back 29,000 years to people who were a lot more like us than we think.

A team of archaeologists examines an ensemble of finely crafted gold and silver artifacts from a temple in Laos. The expedition takes the researchers from the vault where the treasure is now housed to ancient temples hidden deep in the jungle. The team makes spectacular discoveries at excavation sites scanned from the air...

This film explains what James Ensor (1860-1949) meant for the development of art and makes palpable where he got his inspiration from.

Portrait of Andy Goldsworthy, an artist whose specialty is ephemeral sculptures made from elements of nature.

For two hundred years, the Shakers have been America's most successful utopian society. While seeking harmony, order and perfection in every aspect of their lives, they built minimalistic furniture and buildings that influenced modern design. The Shakers wrote songs of exquisite beauty and danced to the point of ecstasy during their religious meetings. Inspired by this music and dance, choreographer Tero Saarinen created Borrowed Light, a dance piece about communal life and individual sacrifice. Shot in Finland and the United States, featuring interviews and excerpts from Borrowed Light, this documentary explore the cultural legacy of this religious group devoted to creating heaven on earth.

With a pair of scissors and some paper, he turned his art into a weapon the Nazis feared. A look back at the eventful career of satirist John Heartfield (1891-1968), pioneer of photomontage and modern graphic design.

Take a deep dive into the fascinating creative journey of the beloved To Your Eternity series through exclusive statements from its manga and anime creators, including Oima Yoshitoki, Kiyoko Sayama, and more. With narration by Kenjiro Tsuda, this documentary features footage to illustrate the past arc to prepare the new adventure in the contemporary arc and beyond.

An exploration of TS Eliot's The Waste Land, in its centenary year, that for the first time uncovers the personal story behind Eliot's creation of his celebrated poem.

Zakarya Diouf, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2005 Community Leadership Awards (Helen Crocker Russell Award) - for his vision in unifying the African cultural arts community, for serving as a mentor and educator of young artists, and for his artistic contributions to the development of African-based performing arts.

A documentary that traces the creation of the Philadelphia sculpture, Schuylkill Currents from the granite quarry through the refined finished public sculpture.

In 1982, Wim Wenders asked 16 of his fellow directors to speak on the future of cinema, resulting in the film Room 666. Now, 40 years later, in Cannes, director Lubna Playoust asks Wim Wenders himself and a new generation of filmmakers (James Gray, Rebecca Zlotowski, Claire Denis, Olivier Assayas, Nadav Lapid, Asghar Farhadi, Alice Rohrwacher and more) the same question: “is cinema a language about to get lost, an art about to die?”

In his 70th year, Alfred Hitchcock came to the National Film Theatre in London to talk to fellow director Bryan Forbes and to answer questions from an audience of film enthusiasts.

Drama documentary from 1978 exploring the private feelings of novelist Thomas Hardy through the poems of love and remorse that he wrote after the death of his first wife, Emma.

Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.

Everyone thinks that Bob Kane created Batman, but that’s not the whole truth. One author makes it his crusade to make it known that Bill Finger, a struggling writer, actually helped invent the iconic superhero, from concept to costume to the very character we all know and love. Bruce Wayne may be Batman’s secret identity, but his creator was always a true mystery.

Notre-Dame Résurrection

When Australian artist Eolo Bottaro revives the lost Triform Goddess Isis, Polizzi's forgotten history revives. This gripping documentary captures the statue's creation, the town's awe, and the artist's unexpected bond with the Sicilian town.

Samba, Popping, and Jazz. Through these dance styles and documentary interviews, Bodies That Tell Stories seeks to discuss the standardization and whitening of dances that had their roots in Black people.

The man who made glassblowing an American art form meets the challenge of a lifetime with Stephen Wynn's 1998 commission of the world's largest glass sculpture. Watch as Chihuly creates, for the lobby of the luxurious Bellagio Resort, Fiori di Como, an explosion of color and light featuring over 2,000 "flowers" hand-blown from molten glass.