O CONTRA-REC

The evolution of the depiction of the various Native American peoples in cinema, from the silent era to the present day: how their image on the screen has changed the way to understand their history and culture.

French film critic Michel Ciment interviews Billy Wilder about his life and filmmaking.

A cineastic journey into the world of Naum Kleiman, one of the most important intellectuals in Russia today. Naum Kleiman, an internationally acclaimed Eisenstein specialist, is the director of the „Musey Kino“, Moscow’s museum of cinema. Since 1989, the „Musey Kino“, has shown previously banned classics of world cinema and Soviet films. Many saw the „Musey Kino“, as Moscow ́s most important intellectual forum. In 2005, the Moscow municipality sold the „Musey Kino’s“ building and it became homeless. In October 2014, the Russian Minister of Culture fired Naum Kleiman as director. In protest, his entire team handed in their resignations. Scenes from iconic movies and interviews with Muscovites of different ages and social backgrounds form a documentary film collage which mirrors Russian reality today.

The epic story of how the film The African Queen (1951), directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, was shot on real African locations, barely overcoming all kinds of hardships and disasters.

Documentary about Finnish film theaters - about their past, disappearance and future. And at the same time universal story how cinema is undeniably connected with life.

In Taiwan, there is a group of people participating in this race against time. They are hidden inside the film archive of New Taipei City’s “Singapore Industrial Park”, where the 17,000-plus film reels and over a million film artifacts have become their spiritual nourishment. Day after day, they shuttle back and forth inside, carrying their doubts, their learnings, and their faith. What they are doing is awakening these long-neglected film reels, then piecing together the no-longer-existent social atmospheres and lives of distant pasts recorded on them. And spending time in this archive has become everyday life for these film archivists and restorers.

A look at the parallel lives of Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler and how they crossed with the creation of the film “The Great Dictator,” released in 1940.

Isabelle Huppert is one of the most famous French actresses. In this portrait she reflects in voice over on her movies and her craft. She seems to like characters that are neurotic, dramatic and even dangerous. Huppert considers every character a means to discover things about herself.

Hong Kong cinemas had a wide range of glamorous female stars during the golden age of the 60's and 70's. The series will take the audience on a sentimental journey to the good old days and once again look at the expansive epic costume dramas and huangmei operas in which actresses played both the male and female roles. Rare interviews with Sir Run Run Shaw, stars Ivy Ling Po, Shaw Yin Yin, Tanny Tie Ni and Cheng Pei Pei are also featured.

Highlighting one of the most innovative American directors, this film reveals the path traveled by the auteur from his small-town Texas roots to his warm reception on the awards circuit. Long before he directed Boyhood, Richard Linklater’s intense desire to create fueled his work outside the Hollywood system. Rather than leave Texas, he chose to collaborate with like-minded artists crafting modest, low-budget films in a DIY style. His ability to showcase realistic characters and tell honest stories was evident from his films, and others soon took notice of his raw talent.

"Ni Muy Muy, Ni Tan Tan, Sim­ple­men­te, Tin Tan. Tin Tan was one of the grea­test com­de­dian-​ac­tors in the his­tory of Me­xi­can Ci­ne­ma. He be­gan his film ca­reer du­ring the early years of what be­ca­me the Gol­den Age of Me­xi­can Ci­ne­ma. Th­roughout the ma­jo­rity of his mo­vies he plays the cha­rac­ter of a pa­chu­co; the Chi­cano/Me­xi­cano in zoot suit, th­ro­wing out the ti­ri­li ph­ra­ses and words, and jam­min the jitty-​bug. With the sty­le and the slang down to a tee, he was pi­cked up in Cd. Jua­rez Chihuahua by an ac­ting trou­pe. Tou­ring ex­ten­si­vely th­rough-​out Me­xi­co with the trou­pe lan­ded him in Me­xi­co City with film con­tracts. It was in tho­se films that Tin Tan ex­po­sed the ima­ge of the pa­chu­co, which Me­xi­can Youth adop­ted. From the de­sert bor­der-​towns of Jua­rez y El Pa­so the sty­le took off in va­rious parts of the coun­try, most no­ta­bly in Me­xi­co City

Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered film content. No longer portrayed as virgins or vamps, the liberated female of the pre-code films had dimensions. Good girls had lovers and babies and held down jobs, while the bad girls were cast in a sympathetic light. And they did it all without apology.

A memory of Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), woman, actress, goddess, myth, in the words of the Spanish director and scriptwriter José Luis Garci, who returns to his childhood and recovers a lost paradise.

An overview of 21st-century feminism through the lens of pop culture.

An account of the life and work of legendary Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-97), the most prominent actor of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.

A journey through Viennese cinemas, from the first showings by the brothers Lumière to modern megaplexes.

The 70th anniversary of the “Fotogramas” magazine comes in the shape of a sentimental voyage through the history of Spanish cinema thanks to a mosaic of voices represented by people who make films, those who write them and those who consume them. The documentary pays tribute to the readers of “Fotogramas” helped by the leading figures of Spanish cinema, who will read to the camera the most representative letters received at its offices in the history of the magazine.

King of Horror, legendary actor, scriptwriter and director, Paul Naschy is regarded as the Spanish Lon Chaney and the most prolific filmmaker dedicated to the fantastic cinema in Spain.

Working largely uncredited in the Hollywood system, storyboard artist Harold and film researcher Lillian left an indelible mark on classics by Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski and many more.

Werner Herzog interviews guests on the art of filmmaking.