Portrait of the popular Dutch singer André Hazes.
On the edge of the 30th anniversary of punk rock, Punk's Not Dead takes you into the sweaty underground clubs, backyard parties, recording studios, shopping malls and stadiums where punk rock music and culture continue to thrive.
A 2004 documentary on thirty years of alternative rock 'n roll in NYC.Documenting the history from the genuine authenticity of No Wave to the current generation of would be icons and true innovators seeing to represent New York City in the 21st century
A look back at the girl-group craze of the 60's through archival footage and interviews with those involved.
When Ruben, a young Chicano musician, is caught between his mother’s expectations and his own hopes, he is forced to make a decision that will change his life forever. Based on true events, “Con Esperanza” follows Ruben on his journey of pursuing his dreams, balancing both the traditional and financial expectations of his Mother.
Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.
A powerful and intimate portrait, Joan Mitchell: Portrait of an Abstract Painter captures Mitchell's independent spirit and testifies eloquently to Mitchell's art. Joan Mitchell was born in Chicago in 1926 and died in Paris in 1992. After graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Joan settled in New York City in 1950. She was an active participant of New York's dynamic Abstract Expressionist scene and hung out with fellow painters Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning and Philip Guston and, soon, poets Frank O'Hara, James Schuyler and John Ashbery. In the mid-fifties, she moved to Paris, France. There she was part of a circle of friends that included Pierre Matisse, Samuel Beckett and Alberto Giacometti. Mitchell is one of the great abstract painters of the 20th century. This elegantly edited documentary weaves interviews with the acerbic Mitchell and other leading painters and critics while letting her stunning pictures dominate the film.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, abstraction - that most quintessentially modernist innovation - maintains a peculiarly contradictory position. Used, on one hand, by post-modernist artists as just one more quotable style amongst many, it is on the other hand still considered an elitist or hermetic language by audiences intimidated by its lack of recognizable subject matter. Yet ultimately, abstraction continues to be a viable creative path for contemporary artists of all generations, many of whom embrace it as the most inclusive and fundamentally resonant of artistic languages. Filmed at the artists' studios, the Dia Center for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Museum during their exhibition, "Abstraction in the Twentieth Century."
“Dub Echoes” is a documentary that traces the origins of the Jamaican dub music and it’s influence on the development of hip hop and electronic music.The film shows how the Jamaican invention called dub ended up influencing much of the music we hear today, from electronic music to hip-hop, transforming the studio in a musical instrument and giving way to all of sonic experiments.
A documentary that follows a middle-aged Azorean record obsessive who has lost the vinyl collection of his youth, and so seeks to reconnect with it through talking with the fellow island collectors he grew up with about the music scene of their wilder years.
Impressionism and expression of a view, Mavy uses fragments of the ocean landscapes of Alice Guy's studies through fluctuations of bright nuances and an imitation of these tormented waves in the eyes of a modern camera
Jackson Pollock said, “he makes the rest of us look academic,” Mark Rothko acknowledged him as a “myth-maker” and Clement Greenberg called him “a highly influential maverick and an independent genius.” Clyfford Still, one of the strongest, most original contributors to abstract expressionism, walked away from the commercial art world at the height of his career. Extremely disciplined, principled, and prolific, Still left behind a treasure trove of works like no other major artist in history. With a wonderful mosaic of archival material, found footage and audio recorded by the artist himself, Lifeline paints a picture of a modern icon, his uncompromising creative journey and the price of independence.
A BBC documentary short on the development of jungle music from an underground, bedroom producer scene into a mainstream top 40 music.
A Jumpin' Night in the Garden of Eden was the first film to document the klezmer revival, tracing the efforts of two founding groups, Kapelye and Boston's Klezmer Conservatory Band, to recover the lost history of klezmer music. For nearly a millennium, this vigorous and soulful music was part of the celebration of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. In the early decades of this century, the music took root in America. Klezmer musicians learned hundreds of tunes by ear and their ears were open to Gypsy, Ukrainian and Greek melodies of the old world, as well as to the new sounds of American jazz. Music born in Eastern Europe lived on in the imaginations of composers for New York's Yiddish theater, men whose tunes entered the mainstream through such unlikely adapters as the Andrew Sisters. Eventually Klezmer went underground as its audience assimilated into mainstream American culture.
The Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky claimed, or has been credited with, the 'creation' of abstract art. At the core of this film is a dramatic recreation of Kandinsky's account of returning to his studio one dark evening, and being astonished by an unknown masterpiece of abstract art leaning against the easel - a picture which turned out to be one of his own landscapes fallen on its side. 'Now I knew for certain that the object spoiled my pictures.' While this film's narration does indeed emphasize the notion of an inspired breakthrough to Abstraction, the picture it conveys in more purely filmic ways is a rich and complex one.
This documentary offers an intimate look at the life and legacy of American abstract expressionist Franz Kline. Through personal memories and reflections from those who knew him—such as fellow artist Willem de Kooning, de Kooning’s wife Elaine, and other contemporaries—the film paints a vivid portrait of Kline’s personality, artistic spirit, and lasting influence. Known for his powerful black and white compositions and bold brushwork, Kline is remembered not only for his art, but also for his wit, warmth, and passionate approach to painting. The episode explores both his creative process and the deep friendships that shaped his career.
Here’s an interesting and extremely rare documentary from 1989, which features legendary producer and multimedia artist Brian Eno discussing his process and his thoughts on music in general.
When two friends collect money for the so-called "suffering in America" in the streets of Accra, is it for fun, political provocation, or a prophecy? Two Swiss filmmakers will answer these questions with the help of seven musicians from Ghana-M3NSA, Wanlov The Kubolor, Adomaa, Worlasi, Akan, Mutombo Da Poet, and Poetra Asantewa-who have written new songs and produced video clips especially for the documentary film Contradict.
Explores the paths being forged by six modern artists, giving us rare insight into the minds behind this rousing new wave of painting.
Do you ever wonder why you are the way you are? One day I decided to ask myself this question and I have been struggling to put the answer together ever since. “Enough of Myself” is my visualization of this process. When I finally had the headspace to consider my own emotions, it turned out to be a lot harder than I had thought. When you start to examine your own thoughts and patterns, the digging doesn’t stop. You keep digging deeper and finding new connections that you might have preferred stay hidden. But to ignore these things is to give in to them. Growth requires a certain level of vulnerability, not just towards others but towards yourself as well. To grow beyond those negative patterns, you need to look them in the eye first. In my film I tried to capture this emotional process in an array of animations. I hope that I haven’t just captured my own emotional process, but some deeper universal emotions as well.