Inside Story: National Lampoon's Vacation

Nearly half a century ago, Carmen Ignarra arrived to Mexico after leaving behind her Cuban homeland, in the hopes of becoming the greatest Caribbean actress in Hollywood. But the American dream tur- ned out to be more difficult than she’d thought, and her brief initial success was followed by a slow, painful decline. Today, at 80, the woman who was once Cuba’s most beautiful actress lives totally forgotten in an old mansion in Monterrey. There she survives thanks to her tenants—strange men who she is constantly blaming for mysterious thefts and disappearances. Laura, a young woman also from the Caribbean, arrives at the mansion to work as an assistant in cleaning and housekeeping. With her she brings a video camera and the secret intention of making a documentary about the diva. Together they talk about the past, about wasted talent and lost loves.

Our Cinema

BBC Four’s new documentary takes us on a journey through more than a century of animation. It examines the creative and technical inventiveness of some of the great animation pioneers who have worked in Britain – trailblazing talents such as Len Lye, John Halas and Joy Batchelor, Joanna Quinn, and Bristol’s world-conquering Aardman Animations.

A documentary exploring the birth, death and resurrection of illustrated movie poster art. Through interviews with a number of key art personalities from the 70s and 80s, as well as many modern, alternative poster artists, “Twenty-Four by Thirty-Six” aims to answer the question: What happened to the illustrated movie poster? Where did it disappear to, and why? In the mid 2000s, filling the void left behind by Hollywood’s abandonment of illustrated movie posters, independent artists and galleries began selling limited edition, screenprinted posters — a movement that has quickly exploded into a booming industry with prints selling out online in seconds, inspiring Hollywood studios to take notice of illustration in movie posters once more.

Jánošík ’21

A film about the career and methods of the master silent comedy filmmaker.

From Go Fish to Paris is Burning to The Watermelon Woman, this festival favorite goes behind the scenes to reveal seven successful lesbian directors. These talented movie-makers enlighten and entertain as they explore their sexual identity, growing up gay, inspirations and techniques, Hollywood vs. Indie, and of course, love and sex, onscreen and off. The conversations are intimate, the topics unlimited, and the clips from their work enthralling! Featuring Cheryl Dunye, Rose Troche, Jennie Livingston, Monika Treut, Maria Maggenti, Su Friedrich and Heather MacDonald.

A documentary about the career of legendary production designer Joe Alves and his four decades in Hollywood.

A documentary of uncompromising, outlaw, cult underground filmmaker Jim Van Bebber, covering his life from 2010-2015 while he tries to make a comeback and make a new exploitation film after years of struggling to work.

Survival of the Film Freaks is a documentary exploring the phenomenon of cult film in America and how it survives in the 21st Century. Through interviews and fan events, the documentary will trace decades of film fanaticism up to the present, where the 'digital age' has transformed the way we experience movies.

Follows Roy Andersson around different film festivals as he tries to launch his new film "Songs from the Second Floor" mixed with interviews with family members and colleagues.

Special feature documentary following the cast and crew through the making of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

At 6:00 in the morning on the 1st day of January in 2013 80-year-old film-maker IM Kwon-taek started shooting his 102nd film, after his unintentional 5 years’ break. I visited the shooting scene with my camera and had stayed there until the end of that year. I’ve always wanted to record IM’s shooting scene, as I believed that there we could find his secret manual which reflects the master’s large experience. I’ve been through heavy snow to witness funeral scene. I’ve also been to the west coast to follow funeral cortege in the film. It was an experience to put the life in the frame alongside with the death. When the next spring came, the shooting finally ended.

In 1981, iconic Turkish film director escapes jail to France, his last work re-creating with other exiles the prison lives they left behind.

NOTFILM is a feature-length experimental essay on FILM -- its author Samuel Beckett, its star Buster Keaton, its production and its philosophical implications -- utilizing additional outtakes, never before heard audio recordings of the production meetings, and other rare archival elements.

A coming-of-age documentary that follows a group of young filmmakers as they make their first feature film, Scuba.

A documentary about the comedy director and producer Judd Apatow.

A documentary film about cult director José María Zabalza. How he made pictures with very little money and was granted little recognition.

A unique portrayal of two young amateur actresses embarking on a journey that will forever change their lives as they star in the most eagerly anticipated new show of 2018, Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend.

Spain, 1961. Life in the small village of Torrelobatón, in the province of Valladolid, was turned upside down when the cinematic magic circus of a future Hollywood blockbuster, produced by Samuel Bronston, the rogue mogul of his own film empire, came to town: its inhabitants became participants and witnesses of the shooting of “El Cid,” a film directed by Anthony Mann, starring mythical actors Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. Those days, legends came alive.