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.
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.
Presos del silencio
Cautivos en la arena
Compilation of images of the amateur recordings of Madronita Andreu, Catalan intellectual of the nineteenth century, daughter of Dr. Andreu, famous for its pills and cough syrup.
This film explains what James Ensor (1860-1949) meant for the development of art and makes palpable where he got his inspiration from.
Yarigai
Dialogue-free short detailing the daily tasks of a man and his wife.
Untold stories from the frontlines of the 'Deterring Aggression' battle. This documentary chronicles the ten decisive days preceding the operation, casting light on a political milestone that catalyzed the liberation of Syrian lands and signaled the dawn of a new era of hope.
A portrait of a traveling circus.
The Dangers of the Fly is an educational film made by Ernesto Gunche and Eduardo Martínez de la Pera, also responsible for Gaucho Nobility (1915), the biggest blockbuster of Argentinean silent cinema. De la Pera was a talented photographer, always willing to try new gadgets and techniques. This film experiments with microphotography in the style of Jean Comandon's films for Pathé and it is part of a series which included a film about mosquitoes and paludism and another one about cancer, which are considered lost. Flies were a popular subject of silent films and there are more than a dozen titles featuring them in the teens and early twenties.
Presents life in 18th century Spain as the painter Francisco de Goya showed it to us.
This documentary tells the story of the brilliant Italian polymath, artist, sculptor, painter, poet, musician, writer, philosopher, scientist, botanist, geologist, cartographer, mathematician, anatomist, paleontologist, architect, urban planner, engineer, and inventor. The legacy of the brilliant Leonardo (1452-1519) to the world came in many forms: in the breathtaking beauty of The Last Supper and The Mona Lisa; in his rich collection of engravings; and in his notes on original thoughts on astronomy, biology, and physiology.
A pro-Republican propaganda documentary made during the Spanish Civil War. It reports on the demonstration held in Barcelona on December 27, 1937 to commemorate the capture of Teruel by the Republican forces.
Short documentary about social and economic situation in Galicia (Spain) in 1936
Final Line
JCVD : une légende Made In Belgique
Two unique perspectives on the city of Liverpool come from interviews with the director's parents.
Life on the breadline in the 1930s was hard enough, but times were desperate when you fell beneath it. Hunger marches organised by the National Unemployed Workers' Movement drew attention to the cause, but this left-wing collective picked up a cine-camera. The fictional story at the heart of the film is somewhat melodramatic, but the authentic surroundings give its message realism and weight.
Vilnius is a city of notable historical heritage and unique character currently undergoing considerable changes. Some of the life fragments our camera has recorded are no more. The film, therefore, is a testimony to that which has faded into oblivion, and a glimpse into what is to come.