Jessye Norman Sings Carmen is a gripping vérité study of the famous dramatic soprano’s approach to mastering Bizet’s heroine in recording sessions with Seiji Ozawa and the Orchestre National de France. Musical segments include performances of three arias and the great duets between Carmen and Don José
For over 20 years, photographer Maya Goded has intimately documented the lives of a close community of prostitutes in Mexico City. With dignity and humor, these women now strive for a better life — and the possibility of true love.
Who, apart from moviegoers, knows Alice Guy (1873-1968) today? However, she was the first woman behind the camera and the first female director and producer of fiction films in history.
In this funny and moving documentary, acclaimed film-maker Daisy Asquith tells the very personal story of her mother's conception after a dance in the 1940s on the remote west coast of Ireland. By exploring the repercussions of this act, Daisy and her mother embark on a fascinating and emotional adventure in social and sexual morality. Her grandmother, compelled to run away to have her baby in secret, handed the child over to 'the nuns'. Daisy's mum was eventually adopted by English Catholics from Stoke-on-Trent. Her grandmother returned to Ireland and told no-one. The father remained a mystery for another 60 years, until Daisy and her mum decided it was time to find out who he was. Their attempts to find the truth make raw the fear and shame that Catholicism has wrought on the Irish psyche for centuries. It leads Daisy and her mum to connect with a brand new family living an extraordinarily different life.
At the border between Navarre and Aragon we find the moors known as the Bardenas Reales, characterized by the dust and the omnipresence of the northern wind. This is a portrait of a land, but also a journey through Pilar’s memories. It is a glance at the past but also the present, and about how everything has changed, for better or worse.
Provocateur, artist, performer: Peter Vanessa "Troy" Davies was a chameleon. Using layers of identity at will, Davies charmed his way through a lifetime of secrets and lies, prostitution, art, HIV, abuse, incest and gender subversion, leaving a legacy of unanswered questions, influential performances and reams of enigmatic home video. Ecco Homo is a psychological detective story and a testament to a social history rarely documented on film
A documentary with many excerpts from the films of French movie pioneer Max Linder, narrated by his daughter.
The story of the women at the "House of Sharing" continues. Old women who share a common bond lead a peaceful life in the countryside, raising vegetables, chickens and painting pictures. They are no different from the elderly women we see every day. But they are all scarred by pain and sorrow from their collective history of being comfort women during World War 2. They became subject to prejudice in their own homeland after their return to Korea. It is painful for them to watch other peoples' children and grandchildren, and they feel rage when the Japanese government tries to cover up the unspeakable crimes they committed against them. The film asks us to remember what these women sacrificed and the shame and misery they faced even as these individuals pass away often forgotten by their own people.
In icy mid-winter Toronto, a group of pregnant women desperately strive to regain control of their lives. They have insurmountable forces against them: homelessness, drug addiction, violent relationships. But following these particular individuals are the attentive eyes of their guardian angels, the social workers of a unique public health initiative. If these expectant mothers can only manage to break free of the vicious cycles dogging their steps, they have a chance to keep their newborns.
Facing a life-defining moment, a man ponders his difficult relationship with his father.
100 year old Micky has been a member of the local bathing club for almost half a decade. Every day, every season, she swims with her friends. From her story we gain a perspective on ourselves and our existence.
Julia and Johanna, from the high-rise flats of Rosengård in Malmö, inseparable for as long as they remember. Curled up beside each other at night, carrying equal memories of abduction and abuse in their home country Azerbaijan. In Blood Sisters we follow their journey from twin sisters in symbiosis to young women trying to stand on their own feet.
The town of Picher, Oklahoma, was once home to the world's richest lead and zinc mining field. After decades of mining, towering piles of mine waste covered 25,000 acres, devastating Quapaw tribal lands and local economies. Acid mine water burned nearby Tar Creek and stained it red. Despite these environmental hazards, many people in Picher desperately wished to stay and revitalize their town.
Choreographer Daniel Nagrin performs in a studio and in the sun.
The lives of three extraordinary African women from different social levels and origins determined to bring about radical transformations in their day to day realities: Kenyan attorney and reputed lawyer Njoki Ndung'u, Puthi Ragophala the committed school principal of a remote South African village and Zimbabwean housewife-entrepreneur, Amai Rosie.
Looking for Lowry is an entertaining documentary film about the life and work of the much loved British artist L.S. Lowry (1887 – 1976). This contemporary new film illuminates Lowry’s extraordinary vision for the first time in high definition, as we meet those who knew him and those who have been inspired in our post-industrial age by his unique observations of our country and his powerful artistic legacy. Manchester-born rock star Noel Gallagher describes how Lowry’s life chimes with his own: “…for me it’s like when did you first hear the Beatles? Lowry has always been there… I guess all the people Lowry ever met are there in his paintings…”
A key ingredient in any survival situation is the mental attitude of the individuals involved.
The acclaimed poet is examined in this film completed just prior to his death at age 88, with his speaking engagements at Amherst and Sarah Lawrence Colleges intercut with studies of his work, as well as with scenes of his life in rural Vermont and personal reminiscences about his career. He is also seen receiving an award from President Kennedy and touring an aircraft carrier. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with UCLA Film & Television Archive in 2006.
TV series directed by Varda in which she gives thoughts to her favorite images and why she is drawn to them (in short one minute segments per image)
The two remaining puppets learn about eating healthy, but things go awry when they receive a mysterious phone call.