Self-Portrait (Asleep)

A small portrait of the volatility of intimacy and of breaking free from abusive cycles: made in response to a year of collapsing relationships and violent accidents that left me broken, dislocated and stuck in my apartment.

In this short documentary, five black women talk about their lives in rural and urban Canada between the 1920s and 1950s. What emerges is a unique history of Canada’s black people and the legacy of their community elders. Produced by the NFB’s iconic Studio D.

Two friends walk and draw circles. It is what it is, idizwadidiz, c’est ce que c’est, seskecé. Nice weather.

Documentary on Antoine de Caunes, a French television presenter, comedian, actor, journalist, writer and film director.

Sien (74) leaves for her hideout on the captivating island of Vlieland. Here she recollects her memories on an old tape recorder of her turbulent life as a mother, life-drawing model, squatter and activist in Amsterdam in the sixties.

"Ryuta is 5 years old. Even though he is my son, I sometimes wonder what this small person is to me. Even though I see his joys and sadnesses and know the feel of his warmth on my skin when I hold him, there are moments when my feelings for him become vague and blank." - Takashi Ito

The discovery of a human torso thrown into a waterway, leads the viewer to observe the work of modern criminology and the task of special agents to track and record the psychopath's mentality through the elucidation of techniques present in the reality of the police investigation.

'if you only had one year left of your life, what would you do?' This question asks Swiss author Franz Hohler. His answer: 'Make death your adviser to live life to the fullest.' He is one of several carefully chosen Swiss citizens who give us an insight into their personal views on life and death. Besides these colorful, oftentimes funny quotes we meet Tom, a 50-year old male that has been diagnosed with incurable brain tumor. Contrary to what one would expect, Tom takes his sickness not as a burden but as a chance and lives his life happier than ever before. This to the surprise of his family and friends and above all - himself. The film encourages people to live life more consciously.

This cinematic portrait shows the Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl at work. The much-discussed ‘Seidl method’ is conveyed here vividly and directly: The camera watches over Seidl’s shoulder during the filming of his new production IM KELLER, and observes him at the rehearsals for his latest theatre production ‘Böse Buben / Fiese Männer’. The film paints the picture of a fascinating and exceptional artist using a combination of extensive interviews and excerpts from earlier works.

What kind of power is accessible through the discovery of a voice? Morgan Quaintance interlinks two anti-racist and anti-authoritarian liberation movements in South London and Chicago’s South Side with his own biography to explore what happens when speech is ignored, and the voice fades.

"Adrift" is shot on the arctic island of Spitzbergen and in Norway. It combines time-lapse photography with stop-motion animation of the landscape. Through camera-angles and framing the film gradually dislocates the viewer from a stable base where one loses the sense of scale and grounding.

Heartbeat

Experimental educational film reveals the emergence of some ideas of Biophysics in historical, philosophical and methodological aspects. The first film from the Biophysics Cycle (1982-1989).

How do you deal with life's curveballs? FIGURE 3 tells trapeze artist Korri Singh Aulakh's story of being diagnosed with the chronic autoimmune condition Myasthenia Gravis. It's the third installment in FIGURES, a new series of portrait films. Shot on a mix of 16mm film, VHS and digital.

"The majority of my 8-mm works were made for the three-minute "Personal Focus" film special put on in Fukuoka. This film is an animation of photographs I had taken on a regular basis as a sort of diary, and was made to have a rough feel to it." - Takashi Ito

With more than 70 films and 160 million cumulative tickets in France, Jean-Paul Belmondo is one of the essential stars of French cinema.

At various points in its history, tiny St. John's Island was where Singapore's colonial founder Sir Stamford Raffles docked his ship upon arrival, a quarantine centre for immigrants and pilgrims returning from Mecca, a penal colony for political detainees and secret society leaders, and a sleepy holiday resort. Unlike its neighbouring islands, however, St. John's was never fully developed. It occupies an in-between space, the vestiges of its history scattered around the land. Its indeterminacy stands in sharp contrast to Singapore, where land use is meticulously planned to fulfil economic and social functions. In this film, St. John's Island - otherwise known as 'Bukit Orang Salah', a nickname coined by the people who were quarantined there - becomes a site of and for reflection, prompting questions about our history, heritage and identity.

Fragments from a portrait of Jean-Louis Costes - sincere artist, versatile designer, poet of excess -, a man forever atoning his anguish through singing, performance, drawing and writing...

An experimental film about that one hypnotic moment on a regular, unassuming Tuesday when one realizes that time has stopped and the universe has been sucked into a single smile.

A meditation on the relationship between humans, nature, and technology.