Metropolis Refound

In 1928, as the talkies threw the film industry and film language into turmoil, Chaplin decided that his Tramp character would not be heard. City Lights would not be a talking picture, but it would have a soundtrack. Chaplin personally composed a musical score and sound effects for the picture. With Peter Lord, the famous co-creator of Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit, we see how Chaplin became the king of slapstick comedy and the superstar of the movies.

It may be the largest and most densely populated city on Earth, but Tokyo’s 14 million human residents share their home with an astonishing array of wildlife. From jewel beetles and goshawks in the city’s shrines to the forests of Okutama where bears, monkeys and tanuki feast, this film reveals the power of nature in Japan’s capital.

Documentary short regarding the preservation and restoration of the worldwide remains of the Keystone films.

A documentary on Cosme Alves Netto (1937-1996), former head of the Cinematheque of the Museum of Modern Arts at Rio de Janeiro.

A glimpse at how genre film-focused home video companies have taken the charge in preserving, restoring, and releasing so many works which otherwise might have been lost to time.

Tells the history and importance of The National Film Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself.

A comprehensive and fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the restoration process of restoring 3-strip Cinerama for the 1962 film "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm".

L’apocalypse a déjà eu lieu

Among the pieces featured in Fragments are the final reel of John Ford's The Village Blacksmith (1922) and a glimpse at Emil Jannings in The Way of All Flesh (1927), the only Oscar®-winning performance in a lost film. Fragments also features clips from such lost films as Cleopatra (1917), starring Theda Bara; The Miracle Man (1919), with Lon Chaney; He Comes Up Smiling (1918), starring Douglas Fairbanks; an early lost sound film, Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929), filmed in early Technicolor, and the only color footage of silent star Clara Bow, Red Hair (1928). The program is rounded out with interviews of film preservationists involved in identifying and restoring these films. Also featured is a new interview with Diana Serra Cary, best known as "Baby Peggy", one of the major American child stars of the silent era, who discusses one of the featured fragments, Darling of New York (1923).

Documentary on Day Dreams (1922), a Buster Keaton silent comedy.

In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short, a look is taken at the problems of film preservation efforts in the 1930s and early 1940s.

Documentary about the Buster Keaton short Hard Luck (1921).

Ben Model discusses scoring music for silent movies.

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short highlights the film preservation efforts of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Several scenes from early newsreels are shown.

Thierno Souleymane Diallo sets out with his camera in search of the birth of filmmaking in Guinea. Charming and determined, he traces his country’s film heritage and history and reveals the importance of film archives.

Vivian Maier's photos were seemingly destined for obscurity, lost among the clutter of the countless objects she'd collected throughout her life. Instead these images have shaken the world of street photography and irrevocably changed the life of the man who brought them to the public eye. This film brings to life the interesting turns and travails of the improbable saga of John Maloof's discovery of Vivian Maier, unravelling this mysterious tale through her documentary films, photographs, odd collections and personal accounts from the people that knew her. What started as a blog to show her work quickly became a viral sensation in the photography world. Photos destined for the trash heap now line gallery exhibitions, a forthcoming book and this documentary film.

"Ang Pagbabalik ng Ibong Adarna,” looks into our lost film history and the fight to restore and protect films for the future generations. It focuses on “Ibong Adarna,” one of only six surviving pre-war Filipino movies and the first Filipino film partially made with color. Jeff also follows the story of Mila, one of the movie queens during the golden age of Philippine Cinema, who passionately fought to protect the industry she loved.

American director William Friedkin interviewed Austrian director Fritz Lang on February 21st and 24th, 1975. Lang died August 2nd, 1976.

Why are we still able, today, to view images that were captured over 125 years ago? As we enter the digital age, audiovisual heritage seems to be a sure and obvious fact. However, much of cinema and our filmed history has been lost forever. Archivists, technicians and filmmakers from different parts of the world explain what audiovisual preservation is and why it is necessary. The documentary is a tribute to all these professionals and their important work.

During the 1920's, Augusto San Miguel (1905-1937) directed, produced and starred in the first feature films made in Ecuador. Unfortunately, San Miguel's films -like many episodes of his life- disappeared in time. The only remains are the movie ads on old newspapers and a mysterious legend, by which San Miguel was buried with his films.