Travel Portraits: Ivory Coast - Wax

A domestic comedy about the McGinis family—husband Aloysius, wife Clarice, daughter Julie, and housemaid Belladonna. The simple story lines often parody society's concern with material goods as an indicator of social standing, but the series was not as narrowly focused as the title implies. The Joneses were the McGinis's neighbors, but were not depicted. They were referred to as objects of envy, with whom the McGinis family was "trying to keep up." In this film, Pa McGinis decides to buy a new hat.

This brief animated film was designed to promote the remodelling of old clothing as part of the World War II effort.

A man, dedicated to his family, discovers what the true meaning of love is as he embarks on a horrific journey through the wilderness.

A cashier at store reconsiders his perspective on the importance of clothing after meeting special customers.

While Aya has dreams of becoming a doctor, her two best friends, Adjoua and Bintou, just like to hang out and spend their evenings dancing, drinking and flirting with boys. Their ambition is to follow Plan C: Combs, Clothes and Chasing Men! But big trouble comes to town when Adjoua realizes she’s pregnant, and the baby’s father is the spoiled son of one of the richest and most feared men in the whole country.

A documentary that explores the dangerous and sometimes deadly world of fake products. An industry that once dealt in imitation designer handbags and shoes has exploded into a global epidemic of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, foods, toys, electronic goods, car parts and microchips. COUNTERFEIT CULTURE challenges consumers to take a deeper look at what appears to be harmless knock-offs at bargain prices.

The American woman is the best dressed woman in the world. This is due to Yankee ingeniuty, which makes a fashionable, well-made dress to sell for twenty dollars or less.

Today, few people's clothes attract as much attention as the royal family, but this is not a modern-day paparazzi-inspired obsession. Historian Dr. Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, reveals that it has always been this way. Exploring the royal wardrobes of our kings and queens over the last four hundred years, Lucy shows this isn't just a public fascination, but an important and powerful message from the monarchs. From Elizabeth I to the present Queen Elizabeth II, Lucy explains how the royal wardrobe's significance goes far beyond the cut and color of the clothing. Royal fashion is, and has always been, regarded as a very personal statement to reflect their power over the reign. Most kings and queens have carefully choreographed every aspect of their wardrobe; for those who have not, there have sometimes been calamitous consequences. As much today as in the past, royal fashion is as much about politics as it is about elegant attire.

A woman with a taste for expensive clothing has four nightmares. An impoverished disabled girl sells her hair, a trapper finds he has an unfaithful wife, the wife of a dying weaver finds she cannot work the loom, and a model harassed by her boss is driven to murder.

In this performance film, the filmmaker presents herself as a naked and clothed being who dances to music from the sixties, puts on different outfits and has lots of fun.

Vestindo Histórias

Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Senegal – when it comes to love and sex, these African countries are caught between tradition and modernity.

In the town of San Antonio in Guerrero, Mexico, lives my mother, Amelia, a 60-year-old woman who leads a quiet life on her ranch, tending to the land and her husband. With the arrival of Holy Week, she is joined by my niece, Rosario, her granddaughter, whom she teaches about religious traditions. Their encounter quietly evokes questions about the role of women in my town. Despite the generational differences, they see themselves reflected in each other and share a deep desire to transform our destinies.

A team of journalists investigate how human trafficking and child labor in the Ivory Coast fuels the worldwide chocolate industry. The crew interview both proponents and opponents of these alleged practices, and use hidden camera techniques to delve into the gritty world of cocoa plantations.

A story about a young man who doesn't believe in sincerity meets Don Quixote, the president of an underwear company, and his right-hand man, Sancho, and becomes sincere both in underwear and in life.

The history of Hip-Hop / Urban fashion and its rise from southern cotton plantations to the gangs of 1970s in the South Bronx, to corporate America, and everywhere in-between. Supported by rich archival materials and in-depth interviews with individuals crucial to the evolution of a way of life--and the outsiders who studied and admired them – Fresh Dressed goes to the core of where style was born on the black and brown side of town.

This documentary shows a few days in the life of various members of Abdijan, Ivory Coast's gay and transgender community. We get to meet a variety of woubis, yossis, etc. The hero/heroine of the film is a statuesque young man named Barbara who is organising the annual year-end party of the Ivory Coast Tranvestite Association, to be held December 27, 1997.

Absent Presence

What does a rural town in South Carolina have to do with China? Americans consume nearly twenty billion new items of clothing each year, and at least one billion of them are made in China. Cotton Road uncovers the transnational movement of cotton and tells the stories of workers lives in a conventional cotton supply chain. From rural farms in South Carolina to factory cities in China, we span the globe to encounter the industrial processes behind our rapacious consumption of cheap clothing and textile products. Are we connected to one another through the things we consume? Cotton Road explores a contemporary landscape of globalized labor through human stories and provides an opportunity to reflect on the ways our consumption impacts others and drives a global economy.

A photoshoot on the roofs and in the streets of Paris, under the astonished eyes of the inhabitants.