We Are Born of Stars

A 2008 short made in accompaniment with Our Beloved Month of August, documenting Gomes's and his crew's hapless search, during 2007's carnival, for one of Arganil's most storied and elusive characters (who does, in fact, ultimately appear as an interviewee/player in the finished film). Paulo "Miller" is known for taking a dangerous jump into the Alva from a bridge each year during carnival, but what this film is about is, in keeping with the free-roving feature, much less the subject himself than Gomes and co.'s inability to pin him down; not only does he not do his famous jump during this year's carnival, but an ostensible technical/audio failure (as with the feature, it's very difficult to say how much of this film is "fact," how much invented) during Gomes's initial on-camera meeting with Paulo "Miller" leads to five minutes of lip-readers attempting to decipher their conversation.

Documentary on various aspects of Kuwaiti life, the contrasts between a backward society that lives in the desert and a very modern society that lives in the city.

Journey into Amazing Caves is an extraordinary IMAX adventure into the depths of the earth to uncover the secrets to life underground.

Yo sentí su amor

Erika Blanc self-reflectively narrates her descent into Italian genre cinema while she hyperbolically playacts in the woods.

Cutberto Ortíz Ramos, a young trombonist, was kidnapped, along with other 42 students, on September 26, 2014, and murdered in Ayotzinapa, México.

In Ana there are irregular paths through which one travel, not knowing where it will be taken or where it really begins. Its paths distract and hide, like a maze of colors and images.

Although it was actually an impersonal commissioned film, the director's style is clearly recognizable. Once again he manages to make something that is normal very strange: the dancing people in costumes are filmed in such a way that they look bizarre and absurd. Jan de Bont's camerawork shows a series of color images of dancing people, edited to the rhythm of the music. Halfway through the film, a lonely clown can be seen among the dancing crowd, accompanied by sad music. This clown is played by Ditvoorst himself.

Bringing offerings of rice, flowers, and woven coconut leaves, clients visit Jero in her household shrine to determine the cause of their son's death. Jero lights an incense brazier, sprinkles holy water, and recites mantras as preliminaries to trance. Several ancestors and finally the young son speak through her voice, revealing the nature of his premature death (witchcraft) and his wishes for cremation. In contrast to other films about Balinese trance which focus on spectacular, community performances, this film provides an intimate view of a fascinating process of communication between Jero, the spirits, and her clients who are at one point moved to tears. (der.org)

This documentary about the 70s porn legend attempts to verify his existence as there are practically no Asian male porn stars in the history of American adult cinema. A controversial mystery akin to Bigfoot and alien abduction, Dick Ho was so well endowed that rumors arose of a conspiracy within the porn industry to eliminate any knowledge of his existence. Includes alleged film footage and testimonials from porn veterans.

This film was made by Bass' company as a presentation to AT&T executives. It would have extended to be shown to the public, but a number of his ideas in the film were not ultimately adopted, like his phone booth designs, and men's and women's uniforms. But a great many of the design were adopted—including, most memorably, the telephone vans and hardhat designs of the 1970s. Bass designed down to the details, showcasing in this film a myriad of ideas, like Yellow Pages book designs, cufflinks for executives, and flags. (AT&T Archives)

A group of Macedonian women are shown hard at work.

The motions and gestures of military riot police, slowed down while performed by dancers, are surprisingly beautiful. Menace and violence estranged from context and time looks eerily strange, and all too familiar. In this gallery piece, Isaac Chong Wai somehow anticipates, a year early, key images of the Hong Kong protests.

A short documentary on how people view art and its value in today's society.

When we depend on others...

Terminal City records the demolition of the Devonshire Hotel in Vancouver; through extreme show motion (200 frames per second) and symmetrical diagonal framing, Gallagher underscores the passage from order to chaos within the event. The sparseness of this centering and he patience required of the viewer heightens the literally explosive climaxes of the film, and transforms the everyday violence of the events into moments of convulsive beauty. – Jim Shedden, Michael Zryd, The Independent Eye

It seems highly unlikely that Colonel Sanders ever thought that he would be selling his Kentucky Fried Chicken to the Japanese, but Kentucky Fried Chicken, Japan, Inc. is doing just that, and doing it successfully. The company, headed by an American director and staffed by the Japanese, has raised the business of fast-food retailing to an art. Here West meets East as the Japanese are shown how to prepare the product and the Americans are introduced to the fine art of Japanese business. –cte.uw.edu

Interviews with people whom Gloria Steinem calls "pink collar" workers--those who wait tables.

Presented without voiceover, various kinds of breads are displayed and broken in a joyous celebration of starch, seed and salt.

The 6 minute short film SLEDGE (1962) was filmed and directed by then 27 years old Kotse Mitrev in Stip, Republic of Macedonia. The lead role is played by London-based producer-director George Stankoski, then 4 years old and son of Macedonian actor Panko Stankoski. SLEDGE won first prizes in the Sarajevo Festival Children's Film Category in 1962, and the Belgrade Republic Festival Shorts Category in 1964. SLEDGE was recently recovered by Stip-based historian and film archivist Alexander Donski, and efforts are now being made to restore and re-scan this working copy for high quality viewing.