The Other Animal

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 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.

Short documentary.

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.

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.

COLUMBA

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

This making-of piece includes remarks from production designer Owen Paterson, concept artist George Hull, visual effects supervisor John Gaeta, US unit production manager L. Dean Jones Jr., US model unit special effects coordinator Geoffrey Heron, Zion unit sequence lead Rodney Iwashina, high speed first assistant camera Paul Sanchez, US model unit art director Nanci Noblett, conceptual designer Geofrey Darrow, model shop supervisor Michael Lynch, US model unit producer David Dranitzke, prop maker foremen Dave Fogler and Fon Davis, and visual effects supervisor John "DJ" Des Jardin.

De(s)amparo, polifonía familiar

This thirty-minute documentary follows the Wachowski sisters and the film's crew through production on the film's famed highway chase sequence. We get interviews with the visual effects supervisors, the stunt coordinators and even are taken through aspects of pre-production and planning for the scene. Then the documentary moves into production, the scariest aspect of which is certainly Carrie Anne-Moss trying to learn to ride a motorcycle good enough to do so safely without helmet for the scene. We also watch as the stretch of freeway used in the film is being built.

This making-of piece offers the standard mix of movie snippets, behind the scenes materials, and interviews from cast and crew on the making of the film.

Alfred DesRochers, poète

A look at Enter the Matrix: The game's story picks up just before The Matrix Reloaded and runs parallel to that of the film. Bend the rules of the Matrix with martial arts, pilot the fastest hovercraft in the fleet, or just fight with lots of guns.

A Matter of Land recounts the first year of application of Colombian's Land Restitution Act from the perspective of a community who decide to engage with the process. The film explores the tensions that arise when such communities come face to face with the complex institutions responsible for enforcing the law. The result of these tensions is a narrative worthy of Kafka, in which a doorway to justice is opened for the sole purpose of demonstrating that no one can pass through it.

A featurette about the special effects of The Matrix Trilogy