The Other Animal

COLUMBA

Short documentary.

A disaster truck, which is equipped to meet practically any emergency that arises in the community; In Oklahoma a breeder of under-slung cattle, making possible smaller grazing areas for milk herds; a deburping machine, of all things.

Visit almost any city and you will likely notice pigeons with deformed or missing feet. This is the result of fibres, often human hair, becoming tangled around their toes and gradually cutting off circulation, a downside to living alongside humans and a metaphor for pigeon and human species entanglement. Rock Dove follows the efforts of a group of dedicated volunteers who meet on Sundays to catch pigeons and painstakingly remove the string and hair from their feet feet. The film focuses in on their hands as they patiently carry out this act of care across the species divide.

For a long time they were an integral part of our society, today they live neglected in our cities and are deemed a problem. The pigeon is a relic of the past that still affects us today.

A quirky urban parable about a faithful pigeon feeder led into temptation on his way to offer the daily bread. Well served by its cast of two off-Broadway actors and a flock of pigeons trained by the 'The Birdmen of Harlem', this low-budget B&W student film has a gritty, high contrast look, achieved by shooting and pro­cessing the film entirely on reversal stock.

A feline news report that includes a flock of pigeons sitting shiva.

An anxiety-ridden man’s decision to take in an injured bird leads to a deep reflection of his traumatic past and an intense physical transformation.

A pastel animation produced by Sheila Graber and based upon the short story by Sid Chaplin. Narrated by north east broadcaster Mike Neville the film tells the story of Geordie, a miner, and his love for his pigeons and the trials and tribulations of his passion which is very popular around the region. The face of Sid Chaplin is used as Geordie.

There's big money in pigeon racing if you've got a fast flyer, and Joe Desmond's blue-pied hen is a natural winner. But Joe's lucky streak with the birds has gone on a bit too long for the comfort of his competitors. It's time someone else had a turn. Mal Middleton's comedy was filmed on location in his home town of Sheffield.

In 1955, fascinated by the ingenious pigeon hunting with wooden paddles and nets, Orson Welles directed the documentary The Land of the Basques. Today, from a mountain hut on the border between Navarre and France, Gerardo Damboriena, a veteran pigeon hunter, reveals to us in basque the secrets of this more than 700-year-old tradition, now on the verge of extinction.

Faced with a plague of pigeons spreading through her hotel, a housekeeper will try to dispose of them and, in the process, confront what lurks inside herself.

A journey back through Dacia Maraini's and her trips around the world with her close friends cinema director Pier Paolo Pasolini and opera singer Maria Callas. An in-depth story of this fascinating woman's life. Maraini's memories come alive through personal photographs taken on the road as well as her own Super 8 films shot almost thirty years ago.

The Sala Clamores Jazz Madrid is a club that keeps good music alive beyond temporary fashions, those imposed by an era: this is its success, its meaning, its resistance. And this in-depth look is the proof. These unique moments, evocations, testimonies, performances by jazz stars and many surprises. Quite a journey, a pleasure for the senses.

Exploring the art of Armenian portraitist Hakob Hovnatanyan, Parajanov revives the culture of Tbilisi of the 19th century.

Documentary about Brazilian poet Waly Salomão, for whom life was always a fictional film and poetry was a way to expose any naturalistic pretention. His convictions affected many friends like Antonio Cícero, Caetano Veloso and Carlos Nader, who documented Waly's life for 15 years. But how does one make a documentary about someone who believes everything is fiction?

Almost 70 years after its sinking, the powerful headlights of two high-tech research submersibles illuminate the silhouette of the biggest German battleship ever. The pride of the German Kriegsmarine: Bismarck. In 1941 the Bismarck was sent out to raid and destroy allied supply convoys in the North Atlantic. With resources vital to their nation under threat, the British fleet went after this supposedly unsinkable ship. But who actually sank the steel giant?

A portrait of ex-S.S. officer Paul Hafner, who moved to Madrid under Franco in 1945 and has no moral qualms about his past.

Documentary about the helpers on the world's highest mountain.

Documentary short following French-Vietnamese artist Marcelino Truong on his journey back to Vietnam for the research on his 'roman graphique' 'Une si jolie petite guerre' (A Lovely Little War). Truong looks back to when his family lived in Saigon from 1961 to 1963 when his father served as a translator to then president of the Republic of Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem. The film follows Truong as he ruminates over memories, photos and films, and also conducts a host of interviews with Vietnamese relatives and officials to present a personal and long awaited Vietnamese perspective to the war.