Mr. Cao Goes to Washington

Take a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers Ron & Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.

There is a popular theory that it takes at least 10,000 hours of focused practice for a human to become expert in any field. In Japan, there are craftspeople who go far beyond this to reach a special kind of mastery. These people are called Takumi and they devote 60,000 hours to their craft. That's 8 hours a day, 240 days a year, for over 30 years. It's an almost superhuman level of dedication to a life of repetition and no shortcuts. This film asks the question: Will human craft disappear as artificial intelligence reaches beyond our limits?

Kekaiulu Hula Studio follows the Proclaimed Hula Halau of the same name, showcasing their twist on what the real reason for hula is and what life as a dancer in the halau is really like. Something previously unseen in the public eye.

In a leafy forest, a Galician sovereign who longs to attain wisdom meets a sorcerer, who tells him: “Go back to your country and study the Earth and the Stars in the sky; anywhere in the world reflects an image of it. You will ride on this arrow, which you must keep for a hundred years and a day. After this time, stick it in the widest valley of all those you possess, with the tip facing the sky. Then the Moon will come and, just as it exerts its action on the waters of the sea, it will act on the arrow, turning it into a holy mountain." - Legend about the Pico Sacro Inspired by Hokusai's views of Mount Fuji and Cézanne's paintings of Mont Sainte-Victoire, "Pico Sacro [The Holy Mountain]" aims to reveal the mystery and the magic that underlie reality.

When the immigrants came to America, their cultures entered the "great melting pot." In Michigan's Upper Peninsula Finnish immigrants mixed their musical traditions with many other cultures, creating a sound that was unique to the "Copper Country."

In 1519, the Portuguese captain Fernão de Magalhães ventured to travel and ended up proving that the Earth was round. In 1997, the Schürmann family decided to travel around the world again along this path.

Fall in love with our Avon and the people fighting to protect it, the Bristol way! Rave On For The Avon is a feature-length documentary film that follows campaigners and river lovers through six seasons: their highs and lows, love and loss.

From the slow waitings for opening of the big top to the loneliness in the dressing room backstage, Abuhadba follows the life of a small circus in Chile run entirely by a traditional circus family.

A meditation on memory around Iceland's famous Ring Road.

“Pipe Dreams” follows the story of my Chinese dad and grandpa’s journey in what it means to make sacrifices for your children. They are both currently working as a father-and-son duo for a plumbing business. With long and demanding days, the job has taken a toll on their bodies. However, the unexpected growing bond between them and their connection to their newfound home in New Mexico has made it worth it.

An observational documentary following Steven Brooke and how the solitude of painting impacts his life and artwork.

Reila

Atravessadores

A reflection on the beauty of the roads less traveled.

A collection of cool and calming shots from around a town.

Presents the history of the domestic cat, tracing the animal as a house pet and as a symbol of mystery and worship from ancient Egypt to the present day. Offers hints on the care and treatment of cats in homes of today.

By the late 1960's, people living in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada with a direct connection to Racalmuto, Sicily, outnumbered the total population of Racalmuto. Since 1990, The Fratellanza Racalmutese Club of Hamilton celebrate Festa Maria SS. Del Monte, mirroring the festival held annually in Racalmuto for over 500 years. Filmed over three days in June 2018, Filmmaker Terrance Odette, with a camera, microphone and life-long fascination for culturally significant parades and ceremonies, captures a people’s commitment to community, rain or shine. Through food, play, and religious ceremony the film celebrates the value of cultural performance within the fabric of Canada’s multiculturalism.

When an 80 year old intellectual is confronted with issues of old age and death, she reminisces the death of her mother that happened 30 years earlier. With dialogue inspired by Simone de Beauvoir mixed with contemporary dance, the cycle of life is exposed in a poetic manner.

Across four summer days, Raveena took up residency and reflected through conversation with Sophia Roe at Callisto Farm in New York. She was joined by a group of artists exploring the symbiotic relationship between humanity and Earth, known as Aerthship. Together, they asked the question: Where do butterflies go in the rain?

A short documentary about everyday objects, the people who used them, and the beauty of that use. From the video description: "An encounter with the past. The introductory film for visitors to the National Museum of Ireland (NMI) - Country Life. It tells a story about Irish traditional folk life, the self-sufficiency and community spirit by which people's lives were played out against a challenging physical environment. That environment quite often dictated the materials, crafts and traditions by which lives were lived. The museum's collection of 'ordinary things', on display in Turlough Park, illustrate these stories." Written and narrated by Irish writer and broadcaster Theo Dorgan. Made in association with the NMI — Country Life. Available online on the Youtube channel of the NMI — Country Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCYrq8yWSSQ