The Magic Lantern

Film historians, and survivors from the nearly 30-year struggle to bring sound to motion pictures take the audience from the early failed attempts by scientists and inventors, to the triumph of the talkies.

TAMAN HUTAN Chapter Four: The Wound Response focuses on the rubber craze of the 20th century through both archival documentation of wages and an interview with Cek Anuan on his grandfather Rasimin who worked with English naturalist Henry Nicholas Ridley. Focusing on the Singapore Botanic Gardens as the site of interaction between colonists and labourers, the film reveals the wounds of those erased from colonial records but who remain inscribed within nature itself.

Proximities focuses on the trope of the Malay Boy found in the works of Singaporean artist Cheong Soo Pieng (b. 1917-1983). It attempts to locate the Malay male in art history while unpacking underlying systems of power that have shaped and naturalised the understanding of difference.

An elegy about ‘José Ð Almeida’s life and work. Along an intimate metamorphosis, this dreamlike and visually expressive world created by the visionary and insane dreamer is recreated and performed between a symbiosis of moving image, photography and painting- in a scenic, dramatic, symbolic and mystical tone.

Holding Space explores the lived experiences of Burmese immigrants in Singapore under the gaze of neighbours in public flats. With a focus on spatial arrangements and housing exteriors, the experimental film challenges the ways architects visualise and instrumentalise their ways of seeing, seeking to hold space for subjective experiences and the subtle yet persistent influences on our domestic interiors.

An evocative portrait of people having orgasms, lingering on the silent classical face of ecstasy.

Surfing at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. Most surfers are human, one is a dog. The educational documentary is part of the Bruce Scenic Novelties series.

An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.

Documentary charting the experiences of projectionists who work or worked in cinemas in London, exploring the skills and dedication required for this unique role, set against changes in technology, society, and entertainment.

Fifty years after its release, the special effects makeup team behind Planet of the Apes reflect on making the iconic film.

Remarkable life story of Henri Diamant-Berger, a director and screenwriter whose devotion to cinema led him to collaborate with some of the greatest actors and filmmakers of his time.

Life on the breadline in the 1930s was hard enough, but times were desperate when you fell beneath it. Hunger marches organised by the National Unemployed Workers' Movement drew attention to the cause, but this left-wing collective picked up a cine-camera. The fictional story at the heart of the film is somewhat melodramatic, but the authentic surroundings give its message realism and weight.

A documentary about some of the comedians of the silent era featuring clips from their films and biographical information.

Footage shot during Japanese Army Lieutenant Nobu Shirase’s second Antarctica expedition.

A documentary on the life and career of one of the most influential film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg.

On the Sorrento peninsula, orange and lemon groves stretch all the way to the coast. In the orange plantations, the high wooden frames are covered with mats to protect the trees from intense sunlight. The function of the artificial irrigation system is demonstrated. The oculation of trees is demonstrated in a young plantation. The oranges are cleaned on the spot, then sent to the laundry, cleaned, dried and made ready for dispatch. In a lemon plantation, many pickers stand on ladders on a tall tree and remove the fruit. The lemons are sorted, wrapped in tissue paper and packaged in home and large-scale factories. Before being exported, the goods are checked again for quality.

This film records the vast public response to the early death of Vera Kholodnaya, the first star of Russian cinema.

To popularize the idea of automobile travel, Ford Motor Company produced Ford Educational Weekly, a film magazine distributed free to theaters. One 1916 series featured "Visits to American Cities." In this episode, Los Angeles is featured at the very beginning of the boom created by oil, movies and aircraft. On the occasion of its centennial in 1953, Ford donated its film to the National Archives and Records Service; this copy derives from a fine grain master printed from the Archive's preservation negative. Music by Frederick Hodges.

The history of the comic book superhero, Superman, in his various media incarnations.

Short documentary released in 1907.