Alternativ Festival 1975

Karel Vachek’s graduate film offers us a documentary essay which is both a light-hearted and aggressive little piece and also a parody of investigative film journalism. The Strážnice folk festival, backed by the cultural Party apparatus of the time, for years had little to commend itself to authentic folklore. In the film the event assumes the form of a bizarre stage spectacle with almost surrealistic elements that Vachek reinforces with unconventional approaches (commentary appearing as titles on screen, singing, declamations into the camera, feature etudes, the fusion of news coverage and fiction). The result is a stirring film collage depicting various characters, from crowd-pleasers, Easter egg decorators, kitsch artists and peddlers, to museologists and local residents, all of whom come up against the eccentric "identical” twin reporters Karel and Jan Saudek and a bored actress who appears as an extra. Using their special blend of irony and wit, they present us with the sad truth.

In this ultimate guide to Scandinavia travelers Megan McCormick, Ian Wright and Neil Gibson explore Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Lapland, Finland and the Baltic States. From enjoying a traditional Viking festival to crossing the Arctic Circle into Lapland for dinner with reindeer herders to a visit to the capital of Lithuania, Vilinus, and the Midsummer Night Festival in Kernave, these hosts will introduce the viewer to a variety of sites and attractions during their Scandinavian tour.

Documentary film showing authentic Lithuanian traditions & rituals during major seasonal festivals: Winter solstice, Mardi Gras, Easter, Midsummer.

AquaBurn is an award-winning documentary film by director Bill Breithaupt showcasing "The Floating World" theme of the 2002 Burning Man Festival. AquaBurn features many of the incredible Burning Man art installations, the imagination and originality that went into their creation, and the artists who conceived them. Unlike conventional documentaries on the Burning Man Festival, AquaBurn captures the true feeling and excitement of the event itself, transporting the viewer to a hot, dusty wonderland without ever leaving home.

A beautifully done video of Burning Man 2001, 2002 & 2003. Lots of people interviews, Center Cafe activity and extensive coverage of artist David Best and the Temple construction and burn. This documentary captures the swirling columns of dust that were created during the intense heat of the 2002 Temple burn.

One year after discovering the Burning Man Festival, filmmaker Joe Winston and his pals return to the desert. "What this party really needs is a comfortable living room setting, where people can watch TV and drink beer," they proudly declare. Unfortunately, creating the "Couch Potato Camp" over 50 miles from the nearest hardware store turns out to be harder than they thought...

Every year in June, the small Bulgarian village of Balgari celebrates St Constantine with a special ritual. Initiated ‘nestinari’ go into a music-induced trance and dance on bonfires in a display of religious passion.

Drama in the Desert: The Sights and Sounds of Burning Man is a full-color book (which includes a DVD) based on the captivating images of Holly Kreuter, with contributions from an additional 90 Burning Man participants, offering the reader a taste of the Burning Man experience. The DVD includes an original Score by Sean Abreu, seven slideshows featuring 560 Kreuter photographs and video interviews with 8 artists including Larry Harvey.

Documentary following English folk-rock pioneers Fairport Convention as they celebrate their 45th anniversary in 2012. Fairport's iconic 1969 album Liege and Lief featured some of folk music's biggest names - including singer Sandy Denny, guitarist Richard Thompson and fiddler Dave Swarbrick - and was voted by Radio 2 listeners as the most influential folk album of all time.

Children parade through the streets of Hinton St George in Somerset on the last Thursday of October. Children have hollowed out pumpkins or mangelwurzels, a type of animal fodder turnip to make lanterns following a tradition in this part of West Somerset that coincides with Halloween. Punky or Punkie Night is thought to date from the turn of the 20th century or perhaps medieval times chanting rhymes and following a Punkie King and Queen.

An unvarnished chronicle of Bob Dylan's metamorphosis from folk to rock musician via appearances at the Newport Folk Festival between 1963 and 1965.

Marcos Lopez's first feature film explores the world and oeuvre of Argentine folk musician, Ramón Ayala. The movie also provides interviews with contemporary musicians from Argentina, who were influenced by Ayala. At the same time, the picture portrays the different landscapes of the country: the jungle and soil of Misiones (Ayala's native province), the folk festival in Córdoba and the urban environment of Buenos Aires; paying special attention to those places where Ayala's music circulate. One of the most famous Argentine photographers, Lopez takes advantage of the cinematographic medium to stamp his visual aesthetics, which offer a very ironic, yet loving, approach to Argentina.

This short documentary chronicles the culture and arts of Cambodian Americans and the Lowell, MA community through the eyes of Sokhary Chau, the first Cambodian American Mayor in the United States. Chau immigrated to the U.S. at seven years old to escape the Khmer Rouge genocide. Through this unique story that showcases the best of Lowell—immigrant success, assimilation, history, and the development of the arts—we see a man born into a war-torn country who comes to America to be a first-in-the-nation leader.

Valašské tance

Fate begins to smile upon young Chonosuke Tokugawa, son of eleventh Tokugawa Shogun, after some twenty years of life as a dependent at his step-brother's castle, when the ruler of the Takatori Clan suddenly dies leaving no heir and despite the protest from Minister Horio, it is decided that young Chonosuke is to succeed as ruler of the clan. Horio determines to murder Chonosuke on his way to Edo so that his own grandchild may rule the Takatori Clan. "Odd" Han, a travelling gambler happens to stop at the inn where Chonosuke's party is staying in secret. The assassins come to attack Chonosuke on the riverbank where he is viewing the fireworks alone but are driven off by Han. Now Chonosuke travels with Han disguised as a gambler during which he begins to learn the hardships of the peasants and is struck with the contrast between the life of a feudal and those whose labour provides his luxurious living.

A group of young ninjas enters a ninja school where they encounter a cast of eccentric teachers and learn various bizarre ninja techniques. However, amidst their hilarious adventure and blossoming young love, there are dark forces that threaten their school. The ninja kids must learn how to fend themselves and their school.

Teddy wakes up the morning after his wedding to discover that he's jumped forward a year in his life to his first anniversary. Trapped in an endless cycle of time jumps, transported another year ahead every few minutes, he is faced with a race against time as his life crumbles around him.

Origin of the Species is an experimental documentary that explores the current climate of android development with a focus on human/machine relations, gender and the ethical implications of this research. The film provides an insider look into cutting edge laboratories in Japan and the USA where scientists attempt to make robots move, speak and look human. These scientists and their discoveries are contextualized with cinematic and pop culture references, to underline the mythic, comic and uncanny aspects of our aspiration to create machines that are eerily similar to ourselves.